---
title: Your First Build
description: What happens after you connect a repo -- build phases, the Deployments tab, and what to check if something fails.
---

Your first build starts automatically when you connect a repository.

## Automatic Builds

When you connect a repository, Jamdesk triggers an initial build immediately. Every subsequent push to your connected branch triggers a new build automatically.

## Build Progress

Track your build in the dashboard:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Queued">
    Your build is waiting to start. During peak times, there may be a brief queue.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Cloning">
    Jamdesk pulls your repository content from GitHub.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Validating">
    Your `docs.json` and MDX files are validated for errors.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Building">
    MDX is compiled to optimized HTML with syntax highlighting and search indexing.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Deploying">
    Built files upload to the global CDN.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Live">
    Your docs are available at your project URL.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Viewing Your Live Docs

Once the build completes, click **View Site** in the dashboard or visit `https://your-project.jamdesk.app`.

If you configured a custom domain, your docs will also be available there.

## Manual Rebuild

Need to rebuild without pushing changes?

1. Go to your project in the [dashboard](https://dashboard.jamdesk.com)
2. Open **Settings**
3. Click **Rebuild**

Use this after changing environment variables or to force a fresh build.

## If Your Build Fails

Build failures show an error message in the dashboard. Common causes:

- Invalid `docs.json` syntax
- MDX syntax errors
- Missing pages referenced in navigation

<Card title="Build Error Reference" icon="circle-exclamation" href="/help/troubleshooting/error-reference">
  See common error codes and how to fix them
</Card>

## Related Articles

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Triggering Builds" icon="play" href="/builds/triggering">
    Learn about automatic and manual build triggers
  </Card>
  <Card title="Monitoring Builds" icon="chart-line" href="/builds/monitoring">
    Track build progress and view logs
  </Card>
</Columns>