zonai build

Compile a production-ready deployment bundle.

Create a complete, self-contained deployment bundle in the build/ directory. No Dart SDK is required on the target machine.

zonai build [flags]

Flags#

Flag	Description
`--flavor <name>`	Config flavor to compile with
`--release`	Compile without Dart asserts (recommended for production)
`-c, --config <path>`	Path to a custom `zonai.yaml`

What's in build/#

build/
├── zonai                       # Project-linked binary (ops/rules + full CLI)
├── .zonai/executables/         # Worker binaries (config, extensions, …)
├── migrations/                 # SQL migration files
├── email_templates/            # HTML email templates
└── zonai.yaml                  # Project configuration

build/zonai is compiled from your project's generated entry (.dart_tool/zonai/project_main.dart). It embeds your schemas, operations, and rules in-process, and still exposes serve, db, compile, and the rest of the CLI. It is not a copy of the global/bootstrap zonai tool.

Copy the entire build/ directory to your server and run:

./zonai serve --release --flavor prod

Typical Production Build#

zonai build --flavor prod --release

Cross-Compilation#

By default, build targets the current machine's OS and architecture. Set buildSettings.targetOs and buildSettings.targetArch in zonai.yaml to cross-compile the project binary and workers for a different target. See Cross-Compilation.

vs. zonai compile#

zonai compile — compiles workers to .zonai/executables/ only; no bundle. Use during development.
zonai build — workers + project-linked build/zonai + migrations/settings. Use for deployment.