Overview
build_daemon is a developer tool that runs Dart builds as a persistent background process, enabling faster incremental builds and improved development workflow. It acts as a daemon, maintaining state between build requests to reduce overhead. This package is particularly useful for IDEs and build systems that need efficient, repeated compilation of Dart code across multiple platforms including Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, and Linux. By keeping the build environment alive, it minimizes startup time and enhances productivity during active development.
Use cases
- Fast incremental builds
- IDE integration
- Continuous development workflows
- Automated build pipelines
- Cross-platform compilation
Key features
- Persistent build process
- Reduced build startup time
- Support for multiple platforms
- Stateful builds
- Integration with build_runner
Suitable for
- Dart developers
- IDE plugin authors
- CI/CD pipeline builders
- Build system integrators
Considerations
- Requires manual daemon management
- Higher memory usage
- Not suitable for one-off builds
- Limited to Dart projects
- Needs proper shutdown handling