BuildMaster

BuildMaster
Developer(s)	Inedo
Stable release	6.0 / March 2018
Operating system	Microsoft Windows and Linux
Type	Application release automation and Release management
License	Proprietary
Website	inedo.com/BuildMaster

BuildMaster is an application release automation tool, designed by the software development team Inedo. It combines build management and ARA capabilities to manage and automate processes primarily related to continuous integration, database change scripts, and production deployments, overall releasing applications reliably.^[1] The tool is browser-based and able to be used "out-of-the-box". Its feature set and scope puts it in line with the DevOps movement, and is marketed as "more than a release automatigs together the people, processes, and practices that allow teams to deliver software rapidly, reliably, and responsibly.” It's a tool that embodies incremental DevOps adoption.^[2]

BuildMaster is configured entirely through its UI, as opposed to scripts or XML-based configuration files. Although the primary web application is Windows-only, BuildMaster orchestrates Windows or Linux-based servers to perform various build-release-deploy actions.^{[citation needed]}

The main features of BuildMaster are:^[3]

• Pipelines as Code – Pivot between Visual mode and the JSON Text editor
• Global Pipeline – Reusability across releases and applications
• Database Changes – Use BuildMaster to ensure sensitive information is protected and associate connection string with environment
• Issue tracking Integration – Tight integration with variety of issue tracker and built-in including JIRA, GitHub, TFS, and YouTrack
• Pipeline Gates – Mix of manual and automated approvals that unless approved prevent advancement to next pipeline stage
• Deployment Plans – Drag-and –drop visual user interface that may also be edited in text mode (code view)
• PowerShell Integration – First class integration with PowerShell and Shell for support of both Windows and Linux.
• Event Listener – Useful for monitoring action and operations
• Configuration Variables – Add flexibility when modeling deployment plans
• Release Packages – Flexibility by uploading manually, pushed from CI server such as TeamCity or TFS, created within BuildMaster or Pushed from ProGet
• Configuration File Management - enables configuration files to be defined with multiple instances (such as one per environment) in a version-controlled manner with file deployments logged
• Continuous Integration - support for CI tools including Jenkins, TFS, and TeamCity
• Infrastructure Configuration Sync - visualize the infrastructure (servers and environments) that pipelines target
• Resource Credentials - manage, store, and control access to tokens, passwords, and API Key that are involved in deployments

Highlights include:^[4]

• A simple, plan editor that allows for code or drag and drop interface
• Intuitive UI that enables quick implementation
• Strong support for .NET applications Microsoft Windows

Some notable BuildMaster Users include University Hospitals of Cleveland, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Allrecipes, and UCHealth.^[5]

Of interest also is the corporate culture where BuildMaster was developed.^[6] Its producer Inedo were cited in the creation of the software development card game Release!, and have been cited in several sources that their products are developed as much by the coding work that went into them, as the sense of community that an office gaming culture has established.^[7]

• Software build automation
• Continuous Integration
• DevOps
• Application release automation
• DevOps toolchain