[builds.sr.ht](https://builds.sr.ht) is a service on sr.ht that allows you to
submit "build manifests" for us to work on. We spin up a virtual machine per
your specifications and run your scripts in it. This is generally used to
compile and test patches, deploy websites, build and publish packages, and so
on.

**See also**:

- [API reference](api.md)
- [Installation guide](installation.md)

# How jobs are submitted

Unlike some other build systems, builds.sr.ht does not let you configure builds
on the website itself. Instead, you write build *manifests* - YAML files that
tell builds.sr.ht what to do. You can then submit these manifests via the API
and we'll assign a runner and execute your job.

For convenience, there are ways of submitting builds automatically throughout
the sr.ht ecosystem - for example by pushing to repositories on git.sr.ht.
These integrations are [discussed below](#integrations). For details on
submitting jobs via the API, see the [API reference](api.md).

## Build manifests

Build manifests are YAML files that contain a description of your build
environment and steps to run in that environment. A very simple example could
be:

    image: alpine
    steps:
      say hello: |
          echo hello
      say world: |
          echo world

When you submit this build, we'll fire up a virtual machine running an
up-to-date image of Alpine Linux. Then, we'll copy your scripts into the machine
and run them one at a time. More complex build jobs will probably use more
features of the build.yml - here's an example that deploys
[web.synapse-bt.org](https://web.synapse-bt.org):

    image: archlinux
    packages:
      - nodejs
      - npm
      - rsync
    sources:
      - https://git.sr.ht/~sircmpwn/receptor
    environment:
      deploy: synapse@synapse-bt.org
    secrets:
      - 7ebab768-e5e4-4c9d-ba57-ec41a72c5665
    tasks:
      - setup: |
          cd receptor
          npm install
      - build: |
          cd receptor
          npm run build:production
      - deploy: |
          cd receptor
          sshopts="ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no"
          rsync --rsh="$sshopts" -rP index.html $deploy:/var/www/web.synapse-bt.org/
          rsync --rsh="$sshopts" -rP dist $deploy:/var/www/web.synapse-bt.org/

A [full reference](manifests.md) for build manifests is available.

## Build images

Presently, the following build images are available:

- archlinux
- alpine
- debian/buster
- debian/jessie
- debian/sid

Additional images are possible - and not just of Linux distros. Please [email
me](mailto:sir@cmpwn.com) if you'd like to see another image.

## Build environment

Each task's script is given a preamble that looks like this:

    #!/usr/bin/env bash
    . ~/.buildenv
    set -x
    set -e

The actual shell varies depending on your build image. `~/.buildenv` contains
the environment variables you specified in your manifest, but feel free to
modify it to communicate state between build steps.

# Integrations

Do you have something that integrates with builds.sr.ht? Submit a patch for this
page!

## git.sr.ht

git.sr.ht can submit builds for you if you store your manifest in the
repository as `.build.yml`. Each time you push, a build with this manifest will
be submitted. If the repo you pushed to is present in the manifest's sources
array, we'll edit it to point to the ref you just pushed. You can also submit
several builds on each push by providing `.builds/*.yml`.