Build Quickstart

This walks through building an image from a local directory and handing it to Compute to run. It uses the dodil CLI — see CLI Basics to install and authenticate it.

Before you start

The dodil CLI, authenticated (a token + endpoint — see CLI Basics).
A directory containing a Dockerfile and your app’s source.

The build context must be under 4 MB to send inline. For larger trees, upload it first with dodil ignite build upload (see step 1, alternative) — or point the build at a git repo.

1. Start the build

From your project directory:


dodil ignite build create my-image --context . --tag latest

The CLI tars the context, submits the build, and prints a build_id. The build is queued immediately — it doesn’t block.

Large contexts. If the directory is bigger than 4 MB, upload it once and reference the returned id:


dodil ignite build upload --folder . --name my-image      # prints a context_id
dodil ignite build create my-image --context-id <context_id> --tag latest

2. Follow the logs


dodil ignite build logs <build_id> --follow

This streams Kaniko’s output until the build reaches a terminal state. Status moves PENDING → RUNNING → SUCCEEDED (or FAILED / CANCELLED).

3. Get the image reference


dodil ignite build get <build_id>

On success the build’s imageRefs holds the full image reference (registry/your-org/my-image:latest) pushed to your organization’s registry.

4. Run it on Compute

Point an image-mode app version at that image and publish it — the image must satisfy the image-mode contract ($PORT, POST /, /healthz, non-root). See the Bring Your Own Image recipe for the full deploy flow.

Prefer HTTP or gRPC?

Everything above maps to BuildService RPCs — CreateBuild, StreamBuildLogs, GetBuild. See the API Reference for the raw HTTP and gRPC contracts.