Build Plugins Add Lifecycle Hooks to Netlify Deploys
Netlify announced Build Plugins at Jamstack_Conf, giving developers programmatic control over key moments in the build process. Plugins hook into events such as when a build starts or finishes, letting you run custom logic at those precise points.
A Netlify build happens whenever you connect a repository from GitHub, GitLab, or another provider — or when you manually upload a directory. Netlify processes the assets, installs dependencies, and generates a static version of the site for distribution across its global CDN. Build Plugins expose checkpoints during this flow: onPreBuild, onPostBuild, onSuccess, and others. At each event you can execute your own logic, like kicking off a library or script you'd normally run inside your app. Plugins are just plain JavaScript objects:
module.exports = {
onPreBuild: () => {
console.log('Hello world from onPreBuild event!')
},
}Existing Plugins Cover Testing, Accessibility, and Performance
You're not limited to writing your own. The community has already published a variety of plugins that can be enabled directly from the Netlify dashboard with a few clicks:
- a11y — automated accessibility checks.
- Cypress — run end-to-end tests as part of the build.
- Inline Critical CSS — inlines above-the-fold styles.
- Subfont — optimizes font loading automatically; a video demo is available.
For full details, see the official announcement post.
