gebuild

Gebuild is an open-source build automation tool designed to orchestrate compilation, testing, packaging, and deployment tasks across software projects. It provides a declarative configuration model in which users describe tasks, their inputs and outputs, and the relationships between tasks. Gebuild constructs a directed acyclic graph of tasks, enabling incremental and parallel execution to minimize work after changes.

Configuration and extensibility are central to gebuild. The system uses a manifest file written in a human-readable format, with support for additional configuration through plugins. Plugins allow integration with common programming languages, frameworks, testing tools, and continuous integration services. Gebuild emphasizes a language-agnostic core, aiming to accommodate diverse tech stacks within a single project workflow.

Key features include incremental builds, caching, and parallel task execution to improve performance on large projects. It also offers a robust plugin API, sandboxed execution environments, and mechanisms for deterministic, reproducible builds. Remote execution options and environment isolation help users run builds across different machines or cloud contexts while maintaining consistency.

History and status: Gebuild emerged from an international, community-driven effort in the mid-2010s, with the first stable releases following in the latter half of the decade. Development has continued through regular updates, focusing on speed, portability, and ecosystem integration. The project has found adoption in small to mid-sized teams and in educational settings, where clear task graphs and reproducible builds are valued.

See also: build tool, dependency graph, continuous integration, automation.