---
layout: "docs_machine_readable"
page_title: "Command: build - Machine-Readable Reference"
---

# Build Command Types

These are the machine-readable types that exist as part of the output
of `packer build`.

<dl>
	<dt>artifact (>= 2)</dt>
	<dd>
		<p>
		Information about an artifact of the targetted item. This is a
		fairly complex (but uniform!) machine-readable type that contains
		subtypes. The subtypes are documented within this page in the
		syntax of "artifact subtype: SUBTYPE". The number of arguments within
		that subtype is in addition to the artifact args.
		</p>

		<p>
		<strong>Data 1: index</strong> - The zero-based index of the
		artifact being described. This goes up to "artifact-count" (see
		below).
		</p>
		<p>
		<strong>Data 2: subtype</strong> - The subtype that describes
		the remaining arguments. See the documentation for the
		subtype docs throughout this page.
		</p>
		<p>
		<strong>Data 3..n: subtype data</strong> - Zero or more additional
		data points related to the subtype. The exact count and meaning
		of this subtypes comes from the subtype documentation.
		</p>
	</dd>

	<dt>artifact-count (1)</dt>
	<dd>
		<p>
		The number of artifacts associated with the given target. This
		will always be outputted _before_ any other artifact information,
		so you're able to know how many upcoming artifacts to look for.
		</p>

		<p>
		<strong>Data 1: count</strong> - The number of artifacts as
		a base 10 integer.
		</p>
	</dd>

	<dt>artifact subtype: builder-id (1)</dt>
	<dd>
		<p>
		The unique ID of the builder that created this artifact.
		</p>

		<p>
		<strong>Data 1: id</strong> - The unique ID of the builder.
		</p>
	</dd>

	<dt>artifact subtype: end (0)</dt>
	<dd>
		<p>
		The last machine-readable output line outputted for an artifact.
		This is a sentinel value so you know that no more data related to
		the targetted artifact will be outputted.
		</p>
	</dd>

	<dt>artifact subtype: file (2)</dt>
	<dd>
		<p>
		A single file associated with the artifact. There are 0 to
		"files-count" of these entries to describe every file that is
		part of the artifact.
		</p>

		<p>
		<strong>Data 1: index</strong> - Zero-based index of the file.
		This goes from 0 to "files-count" minus one.
		</p>

		<p>
		<strong>Data 2: filename</strong> - The filename.
		</p>
	</dd>

	<dt>artifact subtype: files-count (1)</dt>
	<dd>
		<p>
		The number of files associated with this artifact. Not all
		artifacts have files associated with it.
		</p>

		<p>
		<strong>Data 1: count</strong> - The number of files.
		</p>
	</dd>

	<dt>artifact subtype: id (1)</dt>
	<dd>
		<p>
		The ID (if any) of the artifact that was built. Not all artifacts
		have associated IDs. For example, AMIs built have IDs associated
		with them, but VirtualBox images do not. The exact format of the ID
		is specific to the builder.
		</p>

		<p>
		<strong>Data 1: id</strong> - The ID of the artifact.
		</p>
	</dd>

	<dt>artifact subtype: nil (0)</dt>
	<dd>
		<p>
		If present, this means that the artifact was nil, or that the targetted
		build completed successfully but no artifact was created.
		</p>
	</dd>

	<dt>artifact subtype: string (1)</dt>
	<dd>
		<p>
		The human-readable string description of the artifact provided by
		the artifact itself.
		</p>

		<p>
		<strong>Data 1: string</strong> - The string output for the artifact.
		</p>
	</dd>

	<dt>error-count (1)</dt>
	<dd>
		<p>
		The number of errors that occurred during the build. This will
		always be outputted before any errors so you know how many are coming.
		</p>

		<p>
		<strong>Data 1: count</strong> - The number of build errors as
		a base 10 integer.
		</p>
	</dd>

	<dt>error (1)</dt>
	<dd>
		<p>
		A build error that occurred. The target of this output will be
		the build that had the error.
		</p>

		<p>
		<strong>Data 1: error</strong> - The error message as a string.
		</p>
	</dd>
</dl>