Interface Basics

BuildNinja's user interface is designed to provide quick access to all core features, from managing projects and viewing builds to configuring projects and deployments. Familiarity with the layout will help you work more efficiently and reduce the time spent searching for tools or settings.

Sidebar

Sidebar serves as the primary navigation menu within the BuildNinja. It is typically anchored to the left side of the interface and provides persistent access to core features. The Sidebar includes the following key sections:

• Dashboard: Overview of recent build and deployment activity.
• Projects: Manage project-specific and build configuration settings.
• Agents: Monitor and manage build agents available to execute builds.
• Queue: View and manage builds waiting to be executed, including their priority and assigned agents.
• Trigger: Configure external or manual triggers for build execution.
• Users: Manage user accounts and access permissions.
• Settings: Configure system-wide settings such as SSO integrations.
• Expand/Collapse Toggle: Show or hide the project management tree from any page for quick access and navigation.

Dashboard

Dashboard provides a centralized summary of BuildNinja's current state. It offers real-time indicators that help you monitor overall system and project performance at a glance.

Dashboard Controls

Time Range Filter

Customize the data shown on the dashboard by selecting a predefined time range:

• Last 24 hours
• Last 7 days (Week)
• Last 30 days (Month)
• Last 90 days (Quarter)
• Last 6 months
• Last 1 year
• Last 3 years

Refresh Options

• Manual Refresh: Click Refresh button to instantly update the dashboard with the latest data.
• Auto Refresh: Enable or disable auto-refresh with the following interval options:
  • Every 10 seconds
  • Every 30 seconds
  • Every 1 minute
  • Every 5 minutes
  • Select Auto Refresh: Off to disable automatic updates

Key Metrics

The dashboard provides detailed metrics and filters to help you assess and optimize your CI/CD builds:

• Configuration Success Rate: See the percentage of successful builds for each configuration.
• Top 5 Build History: Highlights the five most recent builds with their outcomes.
• Agent Utilization: Understand how efficiently your build agents are being used over time.

Recent Builds

The Recent Builds section displays the latest build activity across your projects. Each entry includes:

Field	Description
Build Number	Unique identifier for the build
Configuration	The associated build configuration
Status	Build result
Trigger Time	When the build is scheduled to run on the agent; it includes the queue time also
Completed At	When the build finished
Duration	Total time the build took to complete

This table helps you quickly identify build status and troubleshoot issues when needed.

Projects

Projects organizes the individual projects, each serving as a container for related sub-projects and builds. Within Projects, you can perform actions such as:

• View a list of active projects
• Add, copy, and delete projects
• Add and view new build configurations
• Pin frequently visited projects and builds

Each project serves as a container for its builds and deployment records.

Build

Build provides detailed insight into individual build processes, allowing you to manage, monitor, and troubleshoot builds effectively by enabling you to:

• Browse the history of past builds
• View logs for each step in the build process
• Check and edit configuration details
• Identify and troubleshoot build failures
• Download build artifacts
• Check compatible agents for the build
• Set triggers to automate build execution
• Manually run builds when needed

Build Tabs

The following tabs are available to help you interact with and configure builds:

• History: Displays high-level build information, including status, trigger time, and duration.

  

• Agents: Lists available build agents capable of running the build, based on platform, capacity, and configuration.

  

• Triggers: Allows you to define when builds should be triggered.

  

• Notifications: Allows you to define how and when you receive alerts for your builds.

  

• Configuration Details: Provides access to the build’s configuration options, such as repository settings, execution steps, artifacts settings, and agent criteria.

  

Build Result Tabs

The following tabs are available to view build results that provide detailed insights into each successful or failed build:

• Overview: Displays key details such as trigger information, build duration, and agent details.

  

• Execution Logs: Provides a step-by-step record of the build process, useful for reviewing executed actions and diagnosing errors.

  

• Artifacts: Lists the files generated during the build, if artifact publishing is configured.

  

Build Configuration Tabs

The following tabs are available to configure and manage your build settings and requirements:

• Basic Information: Manage the build name and description.

  

• VCS Settings: Configure version control repositories and caching.

  

• Execution Steps: Define the sequence of actions for building, testing, and deploying code.

  

• Artifacts: Specify the directories where build artifacts will be stored after the build process completes.

  

• Agents Criteria: Set rules to select suitable build agents based on OS, tools, or tags.

  

Build Runners

Build Runners define how your execution steps are executed. BuildNinja supports the following runner types:

• Command Line: Executes shell or batch scripts; flexible for a wide range of tasks. Parameters include:

  • Step Name: Optional step name.
  • Working Directory: Directory where the commands will be executed. Defaults to the system working directory if left blank.
  • Commands: The shell command(s) to run during the build process.
  • Execute Next Steps: Determines whether subsequent steps run when this step fails.

  

• Config File: Triggers and configures builds using a declarative YAML file. Parameters include:

  • Step Name: Optional step name.
  • Working Directory: Directory where the build process runs.
  • Config File: Path to the configuration file.

  

• MSBuild: Builds .NET and Visual Studio projects. Parameters include:

  • Step Name: Optional step name.
  • Working Directory: Directory where the build runs.
  • Solution: Path to the solution file to build.
  • Configuration: Build configuration (e.g., Debug or Release).
  • Parameters: Additional parameters to pass to MSBuild.

  

• VSTest: Runs automated tests within Visual Studio projects. Parameters include:

  • Step Name: Optional step name.
  • Working Directory: Directory where the test process runs.
  • Test Assembly: Path to the test assembly to run.
  • Reports Folder: Folder path where test reports are saved.
  • Report Name: Name of the test report file (without extension).
  • Fail Criterion: Defines failure conditions — test fails if errors exceed a specified percentage or count.
  • Arguments: Additional arguments to pass to VSTest.

  

Agents

Agents provides visibility and control over the resources that execute builds and deployments. It helps you monitor, register, and manage agents efficiently. Within Agents, you can:

• View a list of all registered agents along with their status
• See key details such as agent name, platform, assigned labels, and current task
• Filter agents based on OS or status
• Enable, disable, refresh, reset, or delete agents

Agent Tabs

The following tabs are available to help you interact with agents:

• Information: Displays core agent details.

  

• Parameters: Shows environment variables associated with the agent.

  

• Actions: Provides controls to manage the agent, including authorizing, enabling or disabling, resetting, and deleting.

  

Queue

Queue displays and manages builds that are waiting to be executed. It provides you with real-time visibility into the scheduling and prioritization of builds across available agents. Within Queue, you can:

• View a list of queued builds along with their position in the queue
• Identify which build is queued
• Check how long ago each build was added to the queue
• Reorder builds to adjust execution priority
• Cancel queued builds before they start
• Search and filter queued builds to quickly locate specific build configurations

Triggers

Triggers allows you to define and manage the conditions under which a build is automatically started. This helps automate workflows and ensure builds run consistently in response to key events. Within Triggers, you can:

• View a list of all configured triggers
• Add new triggers based on scheduled times
• Enable or disable specific triggers without deleting them
• Search and filter triggers to locate relevant configurations quickly

Build triggers help teams reduce manual effort and ensure timely, automated build execution across development cycles.

Users

Users provides access to user management and permission settings across the system. It allows administrators to control who can access the platform. Within Users, you can:

• View a list of all registered users along with their status
• Block users when access is no longer needed
• Quickly locate users by searching by name or email
• Approve or reject user access requests
• Export a log of registered users and requests that are pending approval

Users Tabs

The following tabs are available to help you interact with user-related settings:

• Pending Approvals: Displays a list of users who have requested access, allowing administrators to approve or reject requests. It includes registration date, registration method, and options to search, filter, and export pending requests for record-keeping or audit purposes.

  

• Users: Displays all registered users along with their registration date, registration method, and current status. Administrators can search, export, reset passwords, and block or unblock user accounts for efficient user management.

  

Settings

Settings provides access to global configuration options that define how the platform behaves system-wide. It allows administrators to manage key settings such as SSO authentication, notifier configurations, and license management, ensuring secure, consistent, and centralized access control.

Settings Tabs

The following tabs are available to help you manage key administrator settings:

• SSO Settings: Configure and manage Single Sign-On (SSO) integration, including authentication providers.

  

• Notifier Settings: Define and manage system-wide notification channels to ensure users receive build and system alerts.

  

• Manage License: View existing license details and add or activate a new license online or offline.

  

Profile

Profile provides access to user-specific information. Manage personal details and update account security settings for your BuildNinja account.

Profile Tabs

The following tabs are available:

• Profile Information: Displays details about the logged-in user, such as name, email, and account status.

  

• Change Password: Allows you to update your account password securely.