Understanding the GraalVM Native Image Build Process

GraalVM Native Image is a popular tool for building standalone executables from Java applications. It is able to generate executables with fast startup time and low memory footprint through the use of a closed world assumption, constraints on dynamism, and many traditional compiler optimizations.

Unfortunately, Native Image's many advanced features can make its build process inscrutable to an inexperienced developer. It is hard to decipher how its many internal components (e.g. analysis, compiler phases, plugins, intrinsics, features, singletons, substitutions, etc.) work in concert and what assumptions must not be violated.

In this talk I will attempt to help make sense of the Native Image build process. I will first describe what components exist and how they interact with each other. Next, I will walk through a native image build and highlight key phases of the process. Finally, I will provide some practical tips to follow when trying to learn more about specific functionality within Native Image.