Buildoutput

Buildoutput is the term used to describe the set of files produced by a software build. It typically includes executables or libraries, packaged distributions, and auxiliary artifacts such as documentation, license files, and debug symbols. The exact content depends on the language and build system; for example, a Java project might emit JARs and compiled class files, a C or C++ project may produce executables and shared libraries, and a JavaScript project may generate bundles in a dist or build directory. The build output is usually stored in a dedicated output directory defined by the project’s build configuration, such as build/ or target/ in many ecosystems, or dist/ for frontend projects. The names and paths can be customized and are designed to support reproducible builds and caching in CI pipelines.

Build outputs serve as deliverables for packaging, deployment, and distribution, and are typically separate from source code and dependencies. They may include metadata such as version, commit hash, and build timestamp to support traceability, and may be signed for integrity. Reproducible builds aim to produce identical outputs from the same inputs by minimizing nondeterminism.

In practice, build outputs are archived and published to artifact repositories or container registries, enabling reuse across environments. Build tooling may also manage cleanup, incremental builds, and caching to optimize storage and build times.