CI Tidbit — Build & Package

Install your app's dependencies and package it into a distributable artifact — a Python wheel — inside a Harness CI pipeline running on Harness Cloud. No delegate, no Kubernetes, no infrastructure to manage. This tidbit clones a repo, installs the build tooling, and runs python -m build to produce a .whl you can see in the logs. The same two-step pattern swaps cleanly to a Java JAR or a Node package.

What this skill accomplishes

Build & Package is the atomic CI skill of turning source code into a shippable artifact. Harness clones your repo onto a Harness Cloud VM, you install whatever your build needs, then you run your ecosystem's package command. The result — here, tidbit_calc-0.1.0-py3-none-any.whl — is a real, installable artifact produced from the committed sample-app/, not a fabricated inline script. (Testing and publishing the artifact are separate tidbits.)

What you will build

A single CI stage on Harness Cloud with two Run steps:

1. Install Dependencies — upgrades pip and installs the PEP 517 build frontend.
2. Build Package — cd sample-app and runs python -m build, producing sample-app/dist/tidbit_calc-0.1.0-py3-none-any.whl (plus the .tar.gz sdist), then lists dist/.

No delegate, no Kubernetes — Python is preinstalled on the Harness Cloud Linux image.

Prerequisites

• A Harness account with a Project (free tier is fine).
• Permission to create and run pipelines.
• A GitHub code connector (this pipeline uses account.github_public, an Account-level connector on the public GitHub URL). Any healthy GitHub connector works; Connectivity Mode "Connect through Harness Platform" is required for Harness Cloud.
• Harness Cloud build credits (included on the free tier). No delegate needed.

Language swap cheat sheet

Ecosystem	Install step	Package command	Artifact lands in
Python wheel	pip install build	python -m build	dist/*.whl
Java JAR	(Maven/Gradle preinstalled)	mvn -B package or ./gradlew build	target/*.jar
Node package	npm ci	npm pack	*.tgz

Point the Build Package step's cd at the directory that holds that ecosystem's build file (pyproject.toml, pom.xml, package.json).

Steps

1. Fork / clone this repo so the pipeline can clone your copy and build your sample-app/.
2. Configure .env (optional, for reference): cp .env.example .env and fill your connector ref, repo, and org/project. The .env is git-ignored and not consumed by the pipeline — it only documents your swap points.
3. Create / confirm a GitHub connector in Harness: Project Settings → Connectors → New Connector → GitHub. Note its reference (e.g. account.github_public), then run Test Connection.
4. Import the pipeline:
   • In your project → Pipelines → Create a Pipeline → Import From Git, or Create → YAML and paste .harness/build_and_package.yaml.
   • Edit every # REPLACE: line: projectIdentifier / orgIdentifier, connectorRef, repoName (your fork), and branch.
5. Run it. Click Run; provide branch: main if prompted.
6. Expected success. The build reaches Success in well under a minute. In the Build Package step log you'll see:

   Successfully built tidbit_calc-0.1.0.tar.gz and tidbit_calc-0.1.0-py3-none-any.whl
   ----- Built artifacts -----
   tidbit_calc-0.1.0-py3-none-any.whl
   tidbit_calc-0.1.0.tar.gz
   

Try it locally first (optional sanity check)

cd sample-app
pip install build
python -m build
ls dist/   # tidbit_calc-0.1.0-py3-none-any.whl

Try it: swap the language without changing the shape

• Replace the Build Package command per the cheat sheet above (mvn -B package, npm pack, …) and point cd at that build file's directory.
• Add a real dependency to sample-app/pyproject.toml, replace the install step with pip install -r requirements.txt, and watch it install before the build.

Troubleshooting

• No module named build in Build Package. Step 1 (pip install build) didn't run or was deleted. Ensure it runs before Step 2.
• ERROR Multiple top-level packages discovered / no dist/ produced. python -m build ran in the wrong directory, or your package layout doesn't match. cd into the dir holding pyproject.toml. This repo uses a src/ layout declared via [tool.setuptools.packages.find] where = ["src"].
• Clone fails with connector not found / auth error. connectorRef doesn't exist in scope or can't reach the repo. Use the exact identifier (account-scoped refs are prefixed account.), run Test Connection, and confirm repoName matches your fork.

What this tidbit intentionally does NOT cover

Running tests, publishing/uploading the artifact to a registry, Docker image builds, and caching build dependencies. Those are separate tidbits. This one is only install + package.

Reference

• CI Run step settings: https://developer.harness.io/docs/continuous-integration/use-ci/run-step-settings
• Configure codebase (clone): https://developer.harness.io/docs/continuous-integration/use-ci/codebase-configuration/create-and-configure-a-codebase
• Harness Cloud build infrastructure: https://developer.harness.io/docs/continuous-integration/use-ci/set-up-build-infrastructure/use-harness-cloud-build-infrastructure