buck

TLDR

Build a target

$ buck build //[path/to:target]

Run a binary target

$ buck run //[path/to:target]

Run tests

$ buck test //[path/to:target]

Query target dependencies

$ buck query "deps(//[path/to:target])"

List all targets in a package

$ buck targets //[path/to/package]:

Build with specific configuration

$ buck build //[target] --config [section.option=value]

Clean build artifacts

$ buck clean

Show build output path

$ buck build //[target] --show-output

SYNOPSIS

buck command [options] [targets]
buck2 command [options] [targets]

Buck is a fast, multi-language build system developed by Facebook (Meta). It uses a dependency graph to determine which targets need rebuilding, enabling incremental builds. Buck2 is the rewritten successor with improved performance.
Build rules are defined in BUCK files (or BUILD for Buck2) using a Python-like syntax. Targets are referenced using the //path/to/package:name convention. Buck caches build artifacts and can distribute builds across machines.
Buck supports many languages including C++, Java, Python, Go, Rust, and others through its extensible rule system. It's designed for large monorepo codebases with complex dependency graphs.

PARAMETERS

build targets

Build specified targets.

run target

Build and run a binary target.

test targets

Build and run tests.

clean

Delete build artifacts.

targets pattern

List targets matching pattern.

query expression

Query the target graph.

audit subcommand

Audit build configuration.

install target

Build and install (mobile apps).

--config key=value

Override configuration values.

--show-output

Show output file paths.

--no-cache

Ignore cached results.

-j jobs

Number of parallel jobs.

-v verbosity

Verbosity level (0-10).

--help

Show help information.

CAVEATS

Requires Java runtime (Buck1) or standalone binary (Buck2). Build files must be in specific format. Large dependency graphs can cause slow initial analysis. Remote execution setup requires additional infrastructure. Buck2 is not fully backward compatible with Buck1.

HISTORY

Buck was developed at Facebook starting around 2013 to handle the company's large codebase. It was open-sourced and used by companies like Uber and Airbnb. Buck2 was announced in 2022 as a complete rewrite in Rust, offering significant performance improvements. Buck2 was open-sourced in April 2023 and is now the recommended version.