Build

A Build stage pre-configures a stage for compiling, testing, and validating code.

A Build stage is a starting configuration for compiling source code, running tests, building container images, and publishing artifacts. Selecting Build when you add a stage pre-populates the Code & build section with fields for your source connector and infrastructure, so you can get started without configuring a blank stage from scratch.

The Build type is not a restriction. You can add deployment steps, run scripts, or call APIs from within a Build stage. The label describes intent, not capability.

What you will learn

• What a Build stage is and when to use one over a blank canvas stage

• What the Code & build configuration section pre-populates when you add a Build stage

• How to configure the source connector, build infrastructure, and clone settings

What build stages are used for

• Compiling and building application code

• Running unit tests, integration tests, and code coverage

• Building and pushing Docker images or other artifacts

• Running static analysis, security scans, or linting

• Publishing build artifacts to a registry

Code & build configuration

When you add a Build stage, the Code & build section expands automatically. This section contains:

• Connector: the source code connector pointing to your Git repository

• Build infrastructure: where the build runs (Harness Cloud, a Kubernetes cluster, a local machine, or a VM)

• Clone settings: whether to clone the repository and how (depth, submodules, LFS)

All other stage sections (Inputs & outputs, Execution controls, Runtime Environment) are also available and work the same way as in any other stage type.

Full documentation

For full documentation on configuring builds, test intelligence, caching, artifact publishing, and build infrastructure, go to the Continuous Integration module documentation.

Next steps

• Go to Stage overview to understand how stages work and how to add them to a pipeline.

• Go to Blank canvas to start a stage without any pre-configured sections.

• Go to the Continuous Integration module documentation for full build configuration, test intelligence, and artifact publishing.