Glossary

Run

A single execution of a build configuration. Equivalent to build in the TeamCity web interface.

Job

A set of instructions for running a build. Equivalent to build configuration in the TeamCity web interface.

Project

A collection of build configurations (jobs) with an associated name and description. Projects can be nested to form a hierarchy.

Pipeline

A YAML-defined collection of jobs that share a single .teamcity.yml source. Pipelines are TeamCity's declarative alternative to Kotlin DSL and the web UI; the CLI can list, view, validate, and sync them.

VCS Root

A pointer to a version control repository (Git, Mercurial, Perforce, …). Jobs attach to one or more VCS roots to fetch source for their builds. The CLI manages VCS roots at the project level.

Connection

Stored credentials for an external service (GitHub App, Bitbucket, Docker registry, AWS, …) that TeamCity uses on behalf of jobs. Connections live at the project level and avoid embedding secrets in individual jobs.

Versioned Settings

A TeamCity feature that synchronizes a project's configuration (jobs, parameters, triggers) with a Git repository as Kotlin DSL or XML. The CLI can export and validate the DSL locally without round-tripping through the UI.

Build Queue

A list of builds waiting to be assigned to an available agent. Builds in the queue are distributed to compatible agents as resources become available. The queue can be reordered manually.

Build Agent

A piece of software that executes builds. Agents are installed on separate machines and are assigned builds based on their compatibility with build configurations.

Agent Pool

A named group of build agents. Projects can be linked to pools to control which agents run their builds.

Cloud Profile

A binding between a project and a cloud provider (AWS, GCP, Azure, Kubernetes, …). A profile defines one or more images that TeamCity uses to start ephemeral build agents on demand.

Cloud Image

A template for spinning up ephemeral agents from a cloud profile — for example, an AMI on EC2 or a container image on Kubernetes. Each image specifies the agent runtime that TeamCity boots when builds need capacity.

Cloud Instance

A single running ephemeral agent created from a cloud image. Instances are short-lived: TeamCity provisions them when builds need an agent and tears them down when the work finishes.

Change

A modification to source code detected by TeamCity. A change is considered pending when it has been committed to the VCS but not yet included in a build.

Personal Build

A build initiated by a developer to test local changes without affecting the main build history. In TeamCity CLI, personal builds are triggered using the --local-changes flag.

Alias

A custom command shortcut that expands into a full teamcity command. Aliases support positional arguments and shell expressions.

Skill

A bundled configuration file that teaches AI coding agents (Claude Code, Cursor, and others) how to use TeamCity CLI. Skills follow the Agent Skills specification.

Terminology mapping