diff --git a/scripts/build.sh b/scripts/build.sh
index 33d021674..5619af37f 100755
--- a/scripts/build.sh
+++ b/scripts/build.sh
@@ -225,7 +225,8 @@ fi
 if [[ -z $QMAKE  ||  ! -x $QMAKE ]] ; then
 	hash qmake > /dev/null 2> /dev/null && QMAKE=qmake
 	[ -z $QMAKE ] && hash qmake-qt5 > /dev/null 2> /dev/null && QMAKE=qmake-qt5
-	[ -z $QMAKE ] && echo "cannot find qmake or qmake-qt5" && exit 1
+	[ -z $QMAKE ] && hash qmake-qt6 > /dev/null 2> /dev/null && QMAKE=qmake-qt6
+	[ -z $QMAKE ] && echo "cannot find qmake, qmake-qt5, or qmake-qt6" && exit 1
 fi
 
 # it's not entirely clear why we only set this on macOS, but this appears to be what works