Build command

A project-defined command that compiles, transforms, validates, or packages source material into deployable output.

A build may transpile code, bundle browser assets, render static pages, generate server artifacts, optimize images, validate types, or copy resources. Some projects run directly without a separate build, and some deployment systems reuse cached or previously built artifacts. The command's contract comes from the repository and framework, not from the word build alone.

Builder example

Local development can use a different path from production, so the production build may reveal missing imports, environment assumptions, server-only code, or generated-content errors. A successful build establishes artifact creation, not that the deployed runtime or user flow works.

Common confusion: Running the build command is the packaging step; deployment is the separate step that copies the built output onto a host and makes it reachable by link. A build can succeed and still never go live if the deploy step is skipped, and a deploy can fail even when the build itself passed.