SetsBuild

SetsBuild is a build orchestration concept and toolchain designed to assemble and produce cohesive bundles from modular components. It focuses on organizing resources into named sets, each with its own build recipe and dependency graph, allowing teams to compose feature subsets without rebuilding unrelated parts. The approach supports modular development, reproducible builds, and easier customization of release artifacts.

A project using setsBuild is typically defined by a manifest file, such as setsBuild.yaml or setsBuild.json. The manifest declares the sets, their dependencies, and the commands or scripts required to build each set. By capturing the relationships between sets, developers can describe how larger products are composed from smaller units, including code, assets, and configuration. The manifest also specifies output locations and versioning rules to ensure traceability of produced artifacts.

During execution, a setsBuild engine resolves the dependency graph, executes build steps in parallel where safe, and leverages caching to speed up incremental builds. It aims for reproducible results by freezing inputs and recording environment details. Output artifacts are organized by set and version, enabling precise downstream consumption and testing. The workflow typically integrates with existing CI/CD pipelines, allowing automated validation and deployment of selected sets or complete bundles.

Common uses include game asset pipelines, data processing workflows, and modular software releases where teams want to assemble specific feature sets. Benefits include modularity, selective rebuilding, and clearer scope management; challenges can include upfront manifest design and dependency complexity. See also: build systems, asset pipelines, dependency graphs.