**Course Title:** Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) **Section Title:** Building CI Pipelines **Topic:** Understanding Build Artifacts and Storage **Introduction** In the previous topics, we explored the fundamentals of building CI pipelines, including creating build configurations and defining build triggers. In this topic, we will delve into the concept of build artifacts and storage, which play a crucial role in the CI/CD pipeline. Build artifacts are the output of the build process, and proper storage and management of these artifacts are essential for efficient and reliable pipeline execution. **What are Build Artifacts?** Build artifacts are the files or packages generated by the build process, which can include compiled code, executables, libraries, and documentation. These artifacts can be used for various purposes, such as deploying to production, creating release packages, or providing feedback to developers. Examples of build artifacts include: * Compiled Java class files * Executable JAR or WAR files * Python wheels or egg files * Documentation files (e.g., PDF, HTML) * Test reports and coverage data **Types of Build Artifacts** There are two primary types of build artifacts: 1. **Primary artifacts**: These are the main output of the build process, such as executable files or compiled code. Primary artifacts are typically stored in a repository or artifact store. 2. **Secondary artifacts**: These are supplementary files generated during the build process, such as test reports, coverage data, or documentation. Secondary artifacts can be stored in a separate repository or artifact store. **Build Artifact Storage** Build artifacts need to be stored securely and efficiently to ensure that they are accessible and usable throughout the CI/CD pipeline. There are several options for storing build artifacts: 1. **Artifact repositories**: Specialized repositories designed to store and manage build artifacts, such as JFrog Artifactory, Sonatype Nexus, or Cloud-based repositories like AWS S3 or Google Cloud Storage. 2. **File systems**: Build artifacts can be stored on a shared file system, such as a network-attached storage (NAS) device or a cloud-based file system like Amazon EFS. 3. **Package managers**: Some package managers, like Maven or npm, can store build artifacts in a centralized repository. **Popular Build Artifact Storage Options** Some popular build artifact storage options include: * JFrog Artifactory: [https://jfrog.com/artifactory/](https://jfrog.com/artifactory/) * Sonatype Nexus: [https://www.sonatype.com/products/nexus](https://www.sonatype.com/products/nexus) * AWS S3: [https://aws.amazon.com/s3/](https://aws.amazon.com/s3/) * Google Cloud Storage: [https://cloud.google.com/storage](https://cloud.google.com/storage) **Best Practices for Build Artifact Storage** When choosing a build artifact storage solution, consider the following best practices: 1. **Versioning**: Ensure that your storage solution supports versioning to track changes to build artifacts over time. 2. **Security**: Choose a solution that provides robust security features, such as access controls, encryption, and audit logging. 3. **Scalability**: Select a solution that can scale with your pipeline's needs, handling large volumes of artifacts and traffic. 4. **Integration**: Consider a solution that integrates seamlessly with your CI/CD pipeline tools. **Conclusion** In this topic, we explored the concept of build artifacts and storage, covering the different types of artifacts, storage options, and best practices for managing build artifacts. Proper storage and management of build artifacts are crucial for efficient and reliable pipeline execution. By following the best practices outlined in this topic, you can ensure that your build artifacts are stored securely, efficiently, and are readily available throughout the CI/CD pipeline. **Next Topic:** 'Best Practices for Build Pipelines' **Leave a comment or ask for help:** If you have any questions or need further clarification on the topic of build artifacts and storage, please leave a comment below.