pure build

pure build uploads your project to api.pure.dev, compiles the entry point to a native binary in the cloud, streams the compile log, and downloads the finished executable.

pure build <entry> [options]

The current directory is packaged as a gzipped tarball and uploaded. node_modules and .git are excluded, but package.json and your lockfile are kept so the server-side pre-command can install dependencies. The build never runs on your machine — no local toolchain is required.

Arguments

Argument	Description
<entry>	Entry file to compile, relative to the source directory (e.g. server.ts or src/main.ts).

Options

Flag	Default	Description
-o, --out <file>	./<entry-stem>	Path to write the downloaded binary. For src/main.ts the default is ./main.
--release	off	Compile with release optimisations. Recommended for production builds.
--target <kind>	binary	Output artifact: binary (a standalone executable) or node-addon (a Node.js native addon).
--libc <c>	musl	C library for the compiled binary: musl (fully static, runs on any Linux host) or glibc (dynamically linked, needs glibc on the run host).
--glibc-version <v>	2.25	Minimum glibc version to target, e.g. 2.31. Only valid with --libc glibc — the binary runs on any host with glibc at or above this version.
--pre <cmd>	—	Pre-command run server-side before compiling, e.g. "npm ci".
--env KEY=VAL	—	Environment variable for the build sandbox. Repeatable.
--dir <path>	current dir	Source directory to upload instead of the current directory.
--api-key <key>	—	API key override (see authentication order).
--api-url <url>	wss://api.pure.dev/ws	API endpoint override. Also settable via PURE_API_URL.

Examples

Compile the file in the current directory:

pure build server.ts

Production build to a specific path:

pure build src/main.ts --release --out ./dist/server

Custom install step and build-time environment:

pure build app.ts --pre "npm ci" --env NODE_ENV=production --env TZ=UTC

Upload a different directory:

pure build main.ts --dir ./service --release

What it prints

Progress (upload size, queue position, “Wrote …”) is written to stderr; the streamed compile log is written to stdout. This means you can capture just the compiler output with a normal redirect:

pure build src/main.ts --release > build.log

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
0	Build succeeded and the binary was written
1	Invalid arguments, authentication failure, or a build/compile error

Environment variables

Variable	Description
PURE_API_KEY	API key to use (overridden by --api-key, overrides pure login).
PURE_API_URL	API endpoint (overridden by --api-url).