Explore Builds
The Builds view is a simple interface that lets you inspect your build history and manage builders using Docker Desktop. By default, it displays a list of all your ongoing and completed builds.
Show build list
Select the Builds view in the Docker Dashboard to open the build list.
The build list shows running and completed builds for your active builders. The top-right corner shows the name of your currently selected builder, and the Builder settings button lets you manage builders in the Docker Desktop settings.
Running builds are displayed in the top section of this view, with information about the build target and progress.
The lower section of the view shows your recent builds. You can select any of the builds from the active builds or completed builds section to view detailed information, such as logs, a performance breakdown, cache utilization, and more.
The build list doesn't include builds for inactive builders. That is, builders that you've removed from your system, or builders that have been stopped.
Inspect a build
To inspect a build, select the build that you want to view in the list. The inspection view contains a number of tabs:
Info tab
The Info tab displays details about the build.
If you're inspecting a multi-platform build, the drop-down menu in the top-right of this tab lets you filter the information down to a specific platform:
The Source details section shows the filepath to the frontend that was used and, if available, information about the source code repository.
The Build timing section contains charts showing a breakdown of the build execution from various angles.
- Real time refers to the wall-clock time that it took to complete the build.
- Accumulated time shows the total CPU time for all steps.
- Cache usage shows the extent to which build operations were cached.
- Parallel execution shows how much of the build execution time was spent running steps in parallel.
The chart colors and legend keys describe the different build operations. Build operations are defined as follows:
| Build operation | Description |
|---|---|
| Local file transfers | Time spend transferring local files from the client to the builder. |
| File operations | Any operations that involve creating and copying files in the build. For example, the COPY, WORKDIR, ADD instructions in a Dockerfile frontend all incur file operations. |
| Image pulls | Time spent pulling images. |
| Executions | Container executions, for example commands defined as RUN instructions in a Dockerfile frontend. |
| HTTP | Remote artifact downloads using ADD. |
| Git | Same as HTTP but for Git URLs. |
| Result exports | Time spent exporting the build results. |
| SBOM | Time spent generating the SBOM attestation. |
| Idle | Idle time for build workers, which can happen if you have configured a max parallelism limit. |
The Dependencies section shows images and remote resources used to during the build. Resources listed here include:
- Container images used during the build
- Git repositories included using the
ADDDockerfile instruction - Remote HTTPS resources included using the
ADDDockerfile instruction
The Configuration section shows parameters passed to the build:
- Build arguments
- Secrets
- SSH sockets
- Labels
- Additional contexts
The Build results section shows a summary of the generated build artifacts, including the image manifest media type and digest, and information about build attestations such as SBOM and provenance data.
Source tab
The Source tab shows the frontend used to create the build.
Error tab
The Error tab appears if the build finished with an error.
If the error was caused by an issue with the frontend, this tab displays the frontend source with the error message inline where the build failed.
Logs tab
The Logs tab displays the build logs. If the build is currently running, the logs are updated in real-time.
History tab
The History tab displays statistics data about completed builds.
The time series chart in the Related history section shows the duration, build steps, and cache usage for related builds. This chart is useful for identifying trends and changes in your build operations over time.
You can navigate to and inspect a related build by selecting it in the chart, or in the Past builds list below the history tab.
Manage builders
To inspect your builders, and change your default builder, select Builder settings to open the settings menu.
For more information about managing builders, see: