What Are Builds?
A Build represents a specific version of your software that was tested. Instead of just knowing "we ran tests," you now know "we ran tests against version 2.14.1 deployed to Production on March 15th." Each build captures:
The software version (e.g., v2.14.1)
The environment it was deployed to (e.g., Production, Staging, Development)
When it was released
Who created it
Links to the deployment and release notes (if applicable)
Builds are used to group test results. When you link a test plan to a build, all test executions on that plan are associated with that specific software version.
What Are Releases?
A Release groups multiple builds together under a named release (e.g., "Release 2.14"). This is useful when you ship the same version to different environments or when you have patch versions (2.14.0, 2.14.1, 2.14.2) that all belong to the "Release 2.14" family.
A release typically contains:
A release name
Multiple builds that belong to it
A release date
Optional release notes
Go/no-go information (pass rates, defect thresholds, risk coverage)
How Builds and Releases Work Together
The relationship is hierarchical:
Release 2.14
├── Build v2.14.0 (Production)
├── Build v2.14.0 (Staging)
└── Build v2.14.1 (Development)
Release 2.15
├── Build v2.15.0 (Staging)
└── Build v2.15.0 (Production)
Builds can be automatically grouped into releases using version patterns. For example, you can tell TestCollab: "Any build with a version matching 2.14.* belongs to Release 2.14." This happens automatically when you create a build or edit its version. You can also manually assign a build to a different release if needed.
Enabling the Feature
A project administrator must enable Builds and Releases for each project:
Go to Project Settings in the sidebar
Open the General tab
Look for the Builds & Releases toggle
Turn it On (it is on by default for Elite and Enterprise plans)
Click Save
Once enabled, you'll see the "Releases" section appear in the sidebar.
Navigating to Builds and Releases
After enabling the feature, the left sidebar shows a "Releases" section with three options:
Builds - manage and view your builds
Releases - manage your release groupings
Settings - configure builds and releases for this project
Click Builds to see the list of all builds in your project and create new ones. Click Releases to manage release groupings and view release readiness information.
ℹ️ Builds and Releases are available on Elite plan and above. If your subscription doesn't include this feature, you'll see a message when you try to access it.
Next Steps
Creating and Managing Builds - Learn how to manually create and manage builds in TestCollab
Creating Builds from Your CI/CD Pipeline - Automate build creation from your deployment pipelines
The Build Detail Page - Understand all the information available on a build's detail page
Grouping Builds Under a Release - Learn about version patterns and automatic build-to-release linking