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AWS CodeBuild

What is it​

A fully managed continuous integration service that compiles source code, runs tests, and produces software packages ready for deployment.

What it's for​

Automate the software build process, eliminating the need to provision, manage, and scale your own build servers.

Use cases​

  • Source code compilation and unit test execution
  • Generation of deployment artifacts (e.g., JAR, WAR files, Docker images)
  • Integration with CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery) pipelines
  • Execution of integration tests and security tests
  • Building serverless and containerized applications

Key points​

  • Fully managed: AWS handles the build infrastructure, scalability, and availability
  • Pre-configured build environments: Supports multiple programming languages and frameworks
  • Scalability: Automatically scales to handle build volume
  • Pay-as-you-go: You only pay for the compute time used for your builds
  • Integration: Integrates with AWS CodePipeline, AWS CodeCommit, Amazon S3, and other AWS services
  • Buildspecs: Allows defining build steps in a buildspec.yml file

Comparison with Jenkins (self-managed)​

  • AWS CodeBuild: A managed service that eliminates the operational overhead of maintaining a build server. Ideal for those seeking a serverless, fully managed CI solution
  • Jenkins (self-managed): An open-source CI/CD tool that offers great flexibility and customization, but requires users to provision, configure, and maintain their own Jenkins servers. Can be more complex to scale and manage at large scale