Aspect Workflows Case Study: Sourcegraph

Sourcegraph, a code intelligence platform, enhanced its development process by adopting Bazel, an open-source build and test tool, to tackle inefficiencies in its CI/CD pipeline. Initially, their CI process was hampered by non-incremental builds and unoptimized Docker images, which made it slow and costly. Aspect, a Bazel product partner, assisted Sourcegraph in this transition, providing expertise and their monorepo developer platform, Aspect Workflows. This collaboration led to a significant improvement, making CI 2-3 times faster and reducing cloud compute costs by 40%. The migration was executed in phases to mitigate risks, starting with a proof of concept for migrating a React frontend app to Bazel. After successful implementation, they further optimized the build process using Aspect Workflows, achieving faster builds and reduced costs. By March 2024, Sourcegraph fully integrated Aspect Workflows into its pipeline, enhancing build speed and efficiency, and earning the approval of CEO Quinn Slack, who noted a more rapid and reliable development process.