i've seen an issue recently that editors with open CMakeLists.txt files are not reloaded when they are changed externally.
typically qtcreator will ask if it should reload the file, but sometimes it doesn't. i haven't been able to isolate the exact reason for it, but it happens when switching git branches or resolving git merge conflicts when rebasing a branch.

however i've been able to prepare a test case in https://github.com/timblechmann/qt-change-branch-bug

• import the project from the root CMakeListst.txt file and open sub/CMakeLists.txt in the editor
• switch between the branches "master" and "main" ("main" will have a syntax error in the cmake file). it may be necessary to switch from master to main and back a few times in a row to trigger the issue.
• at one point the editor for sub/CMakeLists.txt will not ask to reload the externally changed file when switching branches. i need to explicitly "File->Reload" to show the current state