Getting Started with BT++: A Beginner’s GuideBT++ is an emerging toolkit designed to streamline development and automation workflows across modern software projects. Whether you’re a developer evaluating new tooling, a DevOps engineer automating pipelines, or a product manager exploring faster delivery options, this guide will walk you through the essentials: what BT++ is, why it matters, how to install and configure it, basic usage patterns, common workflows, troubleshooting tips, and next steps for learning.
What is BT++?
BT++ is a modular, extensible toolkit that focuses on building, testing, and deploying applications with an emphasis on performance, simplicity, and developer ergonomics. Its design centers around a lightweight core with pluggable components that let teams adopt only the features they need. Typical BT++ capabilities include:
- Task orchestration and pipelines
- Rapid incremental builds
- Integrated testing runners
- Deployment adapters for popular cloud providers
- Observability hooks and lightweight dashboards
Why it matters: BT++ aims to reduce friction in common developer tasks (build → test → deploy) by providing opinionated defaults, sensible automation, and a clear extensibility model so teams can scale from small projects to complex microservice landscapes.
Core concepts
- Agents: lightweight worker processes that execute tasks (builds, tests, deploys). Agents can run locally, in CI, or on remote runners.
- Pipelines: declarative definitions of workflows (stages and steps) that BT++ executes.
- Artifacts: outputs produced by tasks (compiled binaries, test reports, container images).
- Adapters: plugins that let BT++ interact with external systems (cloud providers, container registries, notification systems).
- Cache layers: mechanisms to speed up incremental work by reusing previously produced outputs.
Installation
BT++ supports Mac, Linux, and Windows. The typical install options are:
- Prebuilt binaries (recommended for most users)
- Package managers (Homebrew, apt, choco)
- Container image (for running agents in CI)
Example (macOS Homebrew):
brew install btpp Verify installation:
btpp --version You should see a version string like BT++ 1.x.x.
First-time setup
-
Initialize a project:
cd my-project btpp initThis creates a minimal
btpp.ymlpipeline file and a.btpp/directory for local state. -
Configure an agent (local):
btpp agent start --local -
Run the default pipeline:
btpp run
These steps let you run a simple build/test cycle locally before adding complexity.
btpp.yml — pipeline basics
Pipelines are declared in a YAML file (btpp.yml). A minimal pipeline might look like:
version: "1.0" pipeline: - name: build steps: - run: npm install - run: npm run build - name: test steps: - run: npm test Key fields:
- name: logical stage name
- steps: ordered commands or actions
- run: shell commands executed by the agent
- env: environment variables for steps
- artifacts: declare outputs to persist between stages
Common usage patterns
- Incremental builds: enable caching in
btpp.ymlto avoid redoing work across runs. - Parallel stages: mark independent stages as parallel to speed pipelines.
- Matrix builds: define variations (OS, runtime versions) to test multiple configurations.
- Secret management: use the built-in secret store or integrate with external secret managers for credentials.
Example: enabling cache for node_modules
pipeline: - name: build cache: paths: - node_modules steps: - run: npm ci - run: npm run build Integrations
BT++ offers adapters for:
- Container registries (Docker Hub, ECR, GCR)
- Cloud providers (AWS, GCP, Azure)
- CI systems (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI)
- Observability (Prometheus, custom webhooks)
Use adapters in your pipeline steps or configure them globally in .btpp/config.yml.
Local development tips
- Use
btpp agent devto run an agent with hot-reload semantics for iterative pipeline changes. - Keep heavy steps isolated (e.g., container builds) to reduce local friction.
- Use the BT++ dashboard (if installed) for live logs and artifact browsing.
CI/CD and deployment
Common flow:
- Commit pipeline and push to repo.
- CI triggers a remote agent or containerized runner.
- Pipeline builds, tests, produces artifacts (containers, binaries).
- Deployment stage uses adapters to push images and roll out releases.
Example deployment step (Docker image push):
- name: publish steps: - run: docker build -t myapp:${BTPP_BUILD_ID} . - run: btpp adapter docker push --image myapp:${BTPP_BUILD_ID} Observability and troubleshooting
- Logs: btpp stores per-run logs; access via CLI
btpp logs <run-id>or dashboard. - Retry: mark flaky steps with
retries:to automatically re-run failed steps. - Debug mode:
btpp run --debugprints expanded environment, cached paths, and execution details. - Common errors: missing dependencies, misconfigured adapters, permission issues for registries — check agent user permissions and secret configuration.
Security considerations
- Never store secrets in plain
btpp.yml; use the secret store or environment variables injected securely by CI. - Limit agent permissions — run agents with least privilege needed for their tasks.
- Validate adapter credentials and rotate keys regularly.
Example: Full btpp.yml for a Node app
version: "1.0" pipeline: - name: install cache: paths: - node_modules steps: - run: npm ci - name: build steps: - run: npm run build artifacts: - path: dist - name: test steps: - run: npm test - name: publish when: branch == "main" steps: - run: docker build -t myorg/myapp:${BTPP_BUILD_ID} . - run: btpp adapter docker push --image myorg/myapp:${BTPP_BUILD_ID} Where to go next
- Read the official BT++ docs for advanced adapter configuration and plugin development.
- Explore community-contributed adapters and example pipelines for frameworks you use.
- Set up a small CI flow to practice remote agents and artifact promotion.
If you want, I can:
- Convert this to a checklist for onboarding a new repo.
- Generate a btpp.yml tailored to a specific language/framework (Node, Python, Go, Java).
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