---
title: Isolated builds
description: An isolated build processes a single docset.yml — one documentation set from one repository. This is the default when you run docs-builder locally. An...
url: https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/docs-builder/documentation/isolated
products:
  - Elastic Docs Builder
---

# Isolated builds
An isolated build processes a single `docset.yml` — one documentation set from one repository. This is the default when you run docs-builder locally.
An isolated build can be:
- **Published on its own** — as a standalone static site to GitHub Pages or any other host (see [Publish](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/docs-builder/getting-started/publish))
- **A building block** for a larger [assembler](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/docs-builder/documentation/assembler) or [codex](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/docs-builder/documentation/codex) build, where many isolated builds are composed into a unified experience


## Getting started

1. [Install docs-builder](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/docs-builder/getting-started/installation)
2. Create a `docs/` folder with a `docset.yml` and `index.md`
3. Run `docs-builder serve` — see [Serve and preview](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/docs-builder/getting-started/serve)


## Cross-link validation

Even in isolated mode, cross-repository links are validated against published link indexes from the [link service](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/docs-builder/documentation/distributed-builds), ensuring your cross-references are valid without needing to clone other repositories locally.