Where or how can I access the publish directory of a previous build

[bert-bruggeman]

About me

• My name: Bert Bruggeman
• I've used Netlify: lots

My question in a little more detail

Where or how can I access the publish directory of a previous build, my app checks if a file is present in the generated directory before building it again, for example:

• A static website generator want's to compile sass from the source directory
• Before building it looks for the generated css file in the publish directory
• If the file is present in the publish directory it checks if it's newer than the source file
• If the source file is newer than the published css file the static website generator compiles the sass and overwrites the previous css file
• Else it keeps the previous file and the sass file doesn't need to be compiled
• Precious build minutes saved!

I could use a cache system, writing the generated css to '/opt/build/cache' and compare/copy that file to the publish directory when building the site, but that seems a bit unnecessary knowing the files where already generated on a previous build...

Another solution I used in the past is writing the files back to github after build (with [skip ci] in the commit message) but that feels a little dirty...

Additional comments for Netlify

A strange thing, when checking my publish directory before building ;1 folder (of many) is still present?

[Pieparker]

Hey there! If you still require help, can I ask that you visit Netlify Community and share your question there? You may wish to search and see if this has been asked before!