From fe3a0626a9d360998f93757d2307a30a40275ea7 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Laert Llaveshi <l.llaveshi@tum.de>
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2026 07:59:43 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 01/12] #2178: Initial implementation

---
 .../tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java | 38 ++++++++++++-------
 .../ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java     | 26 ++++++++-----
 2 files changed, 41 insertions(+), 23 deletions(-)

diff --git a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java
index 99c7c131de..46a082e3b6 100644
--- a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java
+++ b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java
@@ -50,25 +50,37 @@ protected void doRun() {
       throw new CliException("Missing current working directory!");
     }
 
-    List<String> args = this.arguments.asList();
-    LocalToolCommandlet commandlet = null;
-    for (Class<? extends LocalToolCommandlet> toolClass : BUILD_TOOLS) {
-      LocalToolCommandlet toolCommandlet = this.context.getCommandletManager().getCommandlet(toolClass);
-      Path buildDescriptor = toolCommandlet.findBuildDescriptor(buildPath);
-      if (buildDescriptor != null) {
-        commandlet = toolCommandlet;
-        if (args.isEmpty()) {
-          String variableName = commandlet.getName().toUpperCase(Locale.ROOT) + "_BUILD_OPTS";
-          args = getDefaultToolOptions(variableName);
-        }
-      }
-    }
+    LocalToolCommandlet commandlet = findBuildCommandlet(this.context, buildPath);
     if (commandlet == null) {
       throw new CliException("Could not find build descriptor - no pom.xml, build.gradle, or package.json found!");
     }
+    List<String> args = this.arguments.asList();
+    if (args.isEmpty()) {
+      String variableName = commandlet.getName().toUpperCase(Locale.ROOT) + "_BUILD_OPTS";
+      args = getDefaultToolOptions(variableName);
+    }
     commandlet.runTool(args);
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Detects the applicable build tool for the given {@code buildPath} by {@link LocalToolCommandlet#findBuildDescriptor(Path) querying} the available build
+   * commandlets (in order of priority) for a matching build descriptor (e.g. {@code pom.xml}, {@code build.gradle} or {@code package.json}).
+   *
+   * @param context the {@link IdeContext}.
+   * @param buildPath the {@link Path} to the directory to build.
+   * @return the applicable build {@link LocalToolCommandlet} or {@code null} if no build descriptor was found.
+   */
+  static LocalToolCommandlet findBuildCommandlet(IdeContext context, Path buildPath) {
+
+    for (Class<? extends LocalToolCommandlet> toolClass : BUILD_TOOLS) {
+      LocalToolCommandlet toolCommandlet = context.getCommandletManager().getCommandlet(toolClass);
+      if (toolCommandlet.findBuildDescriptor(buildPath) != null) {
+        return toolCommandlet;
+      }
+    }
+    return null;
+  }
+
   private List<String> getDefaultToolOptions(String buildOptionName) {
 
     String[] defaultToolOptions = this.context.getVariables().get(buildOptionName).split(" ");
diff --git a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
index 141992e9fa..9f94c0f9be 100644
--- a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
+++ b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 package com.devonfw.tools.ide.commandlet;
 
-import java.nio.file.Files;
 import java.nio.file.Path;
 
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
@@ -11,7 +10,8 @@
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.git.GitContext;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.process.ProcessResult;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.property.StringProperty;
-import com.devonfw.tools.ide.tool.mvn.Mvn;
+import com.devonfw.tools.ide.tool.BuildTool;
+import com.devonfw.tools.ide.tool.LocalToolCommandlet;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.version.VersionIdentifier;
 
 /**
@@ -41,15 +41,20 @@ protected void doRun() {
 
     Path projectPath = this.context.getCwd();
     GitContext git = this.context.getGitContext();
-    Mvn buildTool = this.context.getCommandletManager().getCommandlet(Mvn.class);
+
+    LocalToolCommandlet commandlet = BuildCommandlet.findBuildCommandlet(this.context, projectPath);
+    if (!(commandlet instanceof BuildTool buildTool)) {
+      throw new CliException("Could not find a supported build tool to release the project in " + projectPath + ".");
+    }
 
     if (git.hasUntrackedFiles(projectPath)) {
       throw new CliException("Your local git repository has uncommitted changes. Please use 'git stash' and rerun on clean repo.");
     }
     if (warnIfFork(git, projectPath)) {
-      confirmWarning("You seem to work on a fork. Releases should be done on the original repository!\nWe strongly recommend to abort and rerun on original repository.");
+      confirmWarning("You seem to work on a fork. Releases should be done on the original repository!\n"
+          + "We strongly recommend to abort and rerun on original repository.");
     }
-    if (!this.context.isForceMode() && !isTopLevelProject(projectPath)) {
+    if (!this.context.isForceMode() && !isTopLevelProject(commandlet, projectPath)) {
       throw new CliException("Release has to be performed from the top-level project or using force option.");
     }
 
@@ -94,14 +99,15 @@ private boolean warnIfFork(GitContext git, Path projectPath) {
     return false;
   }
 
-  private boolean isTopLevelProject(Path projectPath) {
+  private boolean isTopLevelProject(LocalToolCommandlet buildTool, Path projectPath) {
 
-    // returns false in case there's no pom.xml present or if parent directory has a pom.xml
-    return Files.exists(projectPath.resolve("pom.xml"))
-        && !Files.exists(projectPath.getParent().resolve("pom.xml"));
+    // top-level if a build descriptor is present here but not in the parent directory
+    Path parent = projectPath.getParent();
+    return (buildTool.findBuildDescriptor(projectPath) != null)
+        && ((parent == null) || (buildTool.findBuildDescriptor(parent) == null));
   }
 
-  private void buildAndDeploy(Mvn buildTool) {
+  private void buildAndDeploy(BuildTool buildTool) {
 
     while (true) {
       ProcessResult result = buildTool.buildAndDeploy(this.arguments.asList());

From 793a9ab908aaf505ff18fb378424caed9c308ee6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Laert Llaveshi <l.llaveshi@tum.de>
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2026 08:29:03 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 02/12] #2178: Add tests

---
 .../ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java     |  3 +--
 .../ide/commandlet/BuildCommandletTest.java   | 24 +++++++++++++++++++
 .../ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandletTest.java | 15 ++++++++++++
 .../workspaces/main/gradle/build.gradle       |  0
 4 files changed, 40 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 cli/src/test/resources/ide-projects/release/project/workspaces/main/gradle/build.gradle

diff --git a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
index 9f94c0f9be..b73dff13d8 100644
--- a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
+++ b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
@@ -51,8 +51,7 @@ protected void doRun() {
       throw new CliException("Your local git repository has uncommitted changes. Please use 'git stash' and rerun on clean repo.");
     }
     if (warnIfFork(git, projectPath)) {
-      confirmWarning("You seem to work on a fork. Releases should be done on the original repository!\n"
-          + "We strongly recommend to abort and rerun on original repository.");
+      confirmWarning("You seem to work on a fork. Releases should be done on the original repository!\nWe strongly recommend to abort and rerun on original repository.");
     }
     if (!this.context.isForceMode() && !isTopLevelProject(commandlet, projectPath)) {
       throw new CliException("Release has to be performed from the top-level project or using force option.");
diff --git a/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandletTest.java b/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandletTest.java
index 9bda384fac..a817ca98b0 100644
--- a/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandletTest.java
+++ b/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandletTest.java
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertThrows;
 
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.cli.CliException;
@@ -11,6 +13,10 @@
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.log.IdeLogLevel;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.os.SystemInfo;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.os.SystemInfoMock;
+import com.devonfw.tools.ide.tool.gradle.Gradle;
+import com.devonfw.tools.ide.tool.mvn.Mvn;
+import com.devonfw.tools.ide.tool.npm.Npm;
+import com.devonfw.tools.ide.tool.yarn.Yarn;
 import com.github.tomakehurst.wiremock.junit5.WireMockRuntimeInfo;
 import com.github.tomakehurst.wiremock.junit5.WireMockTest;
 
@@ -118,4 +124,22 @@ void testBuildWithNoBuildFile() {
     context.setCwd(context.getWorkspacePath().resolve("empty"), context.getWorkspacePath().toString(), context.getIdeHome());
     assertThrows(CliException.class, buildCommandlet::run);
   }
+
+  /**
+   * Tests {@link BuildCommandlet#findBuildCommandlet(com.devonfw.tools.ide.context.IdeContext, Path)} detecting the applicable build tool by its build
+   * descriptor and preferring {@link Yarn} over {@link Npm} when a {@code yarn.lock} is present.
+   */
+  @Test
+  void testFindBuildCommandlet() {
+
+    IdeTestContext context = newContext(PROJECT_BUILD);
+    Path workspace = context.getWorkspacePath();
+
+    assertThat(BuildCommandlet.findBuildCommandlet(context, workspace.resolve("mvn"))).isInstanceOf(Mvn.class);
+    assertThat(BuildCommandlet.findBuildCommandlet(context, workspace.resolve("gradle"))).isInstanceOf(Gradle.class);
+    assertThat(BuildCommandlet.findBuildCommandlet(context, workspace.resolve("npm"))).isInstanceOf(Npm.class);
+    // both npm and yarn match package.json, but yarn.lock is present so yarn must take precedence over npm
+    assertThat(BuildCommandlet.findBuildCommandlet(context, workspace.resolve("yarn"))).isInstanceOf(Yarn.class);
+    assertThat(BuildCommandlet.findBuildCommandlet(context, workspace.resolve("empty"))).isNull();
+  }
 }
diff --git a/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandletTest.java b/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandletTest.java
index a17e2db7e0..6cc5f39c77 100644
--- a/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandletTest.java
+++ b/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandletTest.java
@@ -93,4 +93,19 @@ void testReleaseWithoutBuildDescriptor() {
 
     assertThrows(CliException.class, releaseCommandlet::run);
   }
+
+  /**
+   * Tests that the release fails gracefully if a build descriptor is found but its build tool does not support releasing (does not implement
+   * {@link com.devonfw.tools.ide.tool.BuildTool}), e.g. a gradle project (only maven currently supports releasing).
+   */
+  @Test
+  void testReleaseWithUnsupportedBuildToolThrowsException() {
+
+    IdeTestContext context = newReleaseContext(false);
+    context.setCwd(context.getWorkspacePath().resolve("gradle"), context.getWorkspacePath().toString(), context.getIdeHome());
+    ReleaseCommandlet releaseCommandlet = context.getCommandletManager().getCommandlet(ReleaseCommandlet.class);
+
+    CliException exception = assertThrows(CliException.class, releaseCommandlet::run);
+    assertThat(exception).hasMessageContaining("Could not find a supported build tool");
+  }
 }
diff --git a/cli/src/test/resources/ide-projects/release/project/workspaces/main/gradle/build.gradle b/cli/src/test/resources/ide-projects/release/project/workspaces/main/gradle/build.gradle
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2

From 8b9e5a75ce08b9983b194944cae8cd2de88a9272 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Laert Llaveshi <l.llaveshi@tum.de>
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2026 08:30:20 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 03/12] #2178: Add CHANGELOG.adoc

---
 CHANGELOG.adoc | 1 +
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)

diff --git a/CHANGELOG.adoc b/CHANGELOG.adoc
index 9b633d56ba..28dfdd91b0 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.adoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.adoc
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ The full list of changes for this release can be found in https://github.com/dev
 
 Release with new features and bugfixes:
 
+* https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy/issues/2178[#2178]: Make ReleaseCommandlet independent of specific build commandlet
 * https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy/issues/2197[#2197]: Fix broken python integration
 * https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy/issues/2131[#2131]: Improve `ide upgrade --mode=` auto-completion
 * https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy/issues/1870[#1870]: Add generic get-version implementation for global tools under windows

From f6dd0196e9a292414864ffa38f8971147adaea51 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Laert Llaveshi <l.llaveshi@tum.de>
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2026 08:38:38 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 04/12] #2178: Added line break due to CI build fail

---
 .../com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java    | 3 ++-
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
index b73dff13d8..9f94c0f9be 100644
--- a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
+++ b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
@@ -51,7 +51,8 @@ protected void doRun() {
       throw new CliException("Your local git repository has uncommitted changes. Please use 'git stash' and rerun on clean repo.");
     }
     if (warnIfFork(git, projectPath)) {
-      confirmWarning("You seem to work on a fork. Releases should be done on the original repository!\nWe strongly recommend to abort and rerun on original repository.");
+      confirmWarning("You seem to work on a fork. Releases should be done on the original repository!\n"
+          + "We strongly recommend to abort and rerun on original repository.");
     }
     if (!this.context.isForceMode() && !isTopLevelProject(commandlet, projectPath)) {
       throw new CliException("Release has to be performed from the top-level project or using force option.");

From 3be890e7efdf3cd3e2132ad098a21617e2fac317 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Laert Llaveshi <l.llaveshi@tum.de>
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:19:17 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 05/12] #2178: Improve error messages

---
 .../com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java  | 5 ++++-
 .../devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandletTest.java  | 5 +++--
 2 files changed, 7 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
index 9f94c0f9be..e4c5b89104 100644
--- a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
+++ b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
@@ -43,8 +43,11 @@ protected void doRun() {
     GitContext git = this.context.getGitContext();
 
     LocalToolCommandlet commandlet = BuildCommandlet.findBuildCommandlet(this.context, projectPath);
+    if (commandlet == null) {
+      throw new CliException("Could not find a build descriptor in " + projectPath + ". There is nothing to release here.");
+    }
     if (!(commandlet instanceof BuildTool buildTool)) {
-      throw new CliException("Could not find a supported build tool to release the project in " + projectPath + ".");
+      throw new CliException("The build tool " + commandlet.getName() + " detected in " + projectPath + " does not support releasing.");
     }
 
     if (git.hasUntrackedFiles(projectPath)) {
diff --git a/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandletTest.java b/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandletTest.java
index 6cc5f39c77..4905037d8a 100644
--- a/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandletTest.java
+++ b/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandletTest.java
@@ -91,7 +91,8 @@ void testReleaseWithoutBuildDescriptor() {
     context.setCwd(context.getWorkspacePath().resolve("empty"), context.getWorkspacePath().toString(), context.getIdeHome());
     ReleaseCommandlet releaseCommandlet = context.getCommandletManager().getCommandlet(ReleaseCommandlet.class);
 
-    assertThrows(CliException.class, releaseCommandlet::run);
+    CliException exception = assertThrows(CliException.class, releaseCommandlet::run);
+    assertThat(exception).hasMessageContaining("Could not find a build descriptor");
   }
 
   /**
@@ -106,6 +107,6 @@ void testReleaseWithUnsupportedBuildToolThrowsException() {
     ReleaseCommandlet releaseCommandlet = context.getCommandletManager().getCommandlet(ReleaseCommandlet.class);
 
     CliException exception = assertThrows(CliException.class, releaseCommandlet::run);
-    assertThat(exception).hasMessageContaining("Could not find a supported build tool");
+    assertThat(exception).hasMessageContaining("gradle").hasMessageContaining("does not support releasing");
   }
 }

From 7db6236cfa4178a3311c340337a10c543c612c4c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Laert Llaveshi <l.llaveshi@tum.de>
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2026 10:10:01 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 06/12] #2178: Update CHANGELOG.adoc

---
 CHANGELOG.adoc | 3 ++-
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/CHANGELOG.adoc b/CHANGELOG.adoc
index 28dfdd91b0..ebc2986ae2 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.adoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.adoc
@@ -6,8 +6,10 @@ This file documents all notable changes to https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy[IDE
 
 Release with new features and bugfixes:
 
+* https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy/issues/2178[#2178]: Make ReleaseCommandlet independent of specific build commandlet and fix `ide build` using npm instead of yarn
 * https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy/issues/989[#989]: Allow expressions in template variable definitions
 
+
 The full list of changes for this release can be found in https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy/milestone/50?closed=1[milestone 2026.09.002].
 
 == 2026.09.001
@@ -45,7 +47,6 @@ The full list of changes for this release can be found in https://github.com/dev
 
 Release with new features and bugfixes:
 
-* https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy/issues/2178[#2178]: Make ReleaseCommandlet independent of specific build commandlet
 * https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy/issues/2197[#2197]: Fix broken python integration
 * https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy/issues/2131[#2131]: Improve `ide upgrade --mode=` auto-completion
 * https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy/issues/1870[#1870]: Add generic get-version implementation for global tools under windows

From 5325462027939f676ba4fcb54808f4ac10c626b1 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Laert Llaveshi <l.llaveshi@tum.de>
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2026 08:52:27 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 07/12] #2178: Add test for build tool priority in polyglot
 projects

---
 .../com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandletTest.java   | 2 ++
 .../build/project/workspaces/main/mvn-and-npm/package.json      | 0
 .../build/project/workspaces/main/mvn-and-npm/pom.xml           | 0
 3 files changed, 2 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 cli/src/test/resources/ide-projects/build/project/workspaces/main/mvn-and-npm/package.json
 create mode 100644 cli/src/test/resources/ide-projects/build/project/workspaces/main/mvn-and-npm/pom.xml

diff --git a/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandletTest.java b/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandletTest.java
index a817ca98b0..20c5ad8eb6 100644
--- a/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandletTest.java
+++ b/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandletTest.java
@@ -140,6 +140,8 @@ void testFindBuildCommandlet() {
     assertThat(BuildCommandlet.findBuildCommandlet(context, workspace.resolve("npm"))).isInstanceOf(Npm.class);
     // both npm and yarn match package.json, but yarn.lock is present so yarn must take precedence over npm
     assertThat(BuildCommandlet.findBuildCommandlet(context, workspace.resolve("yarn"))).isInstanceOf(Yarn.class);
+    // a polyglot project must be built by the highest-priority tool, not the last one that matches
+    assertThat(BuildCommandlet.findBuildCommandlet(context, workspace.resolve("mvn-and-npm"))).isInstanceOf(Mvn.class);
     assertThat(BuildCommandlet.findBuildCommandlet(context, workspace.resolve("empty"))).isNull();
   }
 }
diff --git a/cli/src/test/resources/ide-projects/build/project/workspaces/main/mvn-and-npm/package.json b/cli/src/test/resources/ide-projects/build/project/workspaces/main/mvn-and-npm/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
diff --git a/cli/src/test/resources/ide-projects/build/project/workspaces/main/mvn-and-npm/pom.xml b/cli/src/test/resources/ide-projects/build/project/workspaces/main/mvn-and-npm/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2

From 0e51ecc94ce80f0064e4a797bda87d6d872f06e3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Laert Llaveshi <l.llaveshi@tum.de>
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2026 08:55:40 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 08/12] #2178: Rename buildTool to BuildCommandlet

---
 .../com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java | 6 +++---
 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
index e4c5b89104..33504895c4 100644
--- a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
+++ b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
@@ -102,12 +102,12 @@ private boolean warnIfFork(GitContext git, Path projectPath) {
     return false;
   }
 
-  private boolean isTopLevelProject(LocalToolCommandlet buildTool, Path projectPath) {
+  private boolean isTopLevelProject(LocalToolCommandlet buildCommandlet, Path projectPath) {
 
     // top-level if a build descriptor is present here but not in the parent directory
     Path parent = projectPath.getParent();
-    return (buildTool.findBuildDescriptor(projectPath) != null)
-        && ((parent == null) || (buildTool.findBuildDescriptor(parent) == null));
+    return (buildCommandlet.findBuildDescriptor(projectPath) != null)
+        && ((parent == null) || (buildCommandlet.findBuildDescriptor(parent) == null));
   }
 
   private void buildAndDeploy(BuildTool buildTool) {

From dc44b9a4d690601f03ccfebf83111f60446fc321 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Laert Llaveshi <l.llaveshi@tum.de>
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2026 09:03:15 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 09/12] #2178: Remove redundant build descriptor check in
 isTopLevelProject

---
 .../com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java  | 5 ++---
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
index 33504895c4..fb2c48f359 100644
--- a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
+++ b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
@@ -104,10 +104,9 @@ private boolean warnIfFork(GitContext git, Path projectPath) {
 
   private boolean isTopLevelProject(LocalToolCommandlet buildCommandlet, Path projectPath) {
 
-    // top-level if a build descriptor is present here but not in the parent directory
+    // top-level if the build descriptor found here is not also present in the parent directory
     Path parent = projectPath.getParent();
-    return (buildCommandlet.findBuildDescriptor(projectPath) != null)
-        && ((parent == null) || (buildCommandlet.findBuildDescriptor(parent) == null));
+    return (parent == null) || (buildCommandlet.findBuildDescriptor(parent) == null);
   }
 
   private void buildAndDeploy(BuildTool buildTool) {

From 7f17064794b42b6b5118d4c8df2f2e83f830b45d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Laert Llaveshi <l.llaveshi@tum.de>
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2026 09:11:16 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 10/12] #2178: Return null from findBuildCommandlet for null
 path

---
 .../java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java | 3 +++
 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+)

diff --git a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java
index 46a082e3b6..705741c6f2 100644
--- a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java
+++ b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java
@@ -72,6 +72,9 @@ protected void doRun() {
    */
   static LocalToolCommandlet findBuildCommandlet(IdeContext context, Path buildPath) {
 
+    if (buildPath == null) {
+      return null;
+    }
     for (Class<? extends LocalToolCommandlet> toolClass : BUILD_TOOLS) {
       LocalToolCommandlet toolCommandlet = context.getCommandletManager().getCommandlet(toolClass);
       if (toolCommandlet.findBuildDescriptor(buildPath) != null) {

From 632af8e18838773ca2c08ab2f120f6b5bc3d4fdb Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Laert Llaveshi <l.llaveshi@tum.de>
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2026 09:49:34 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 11/12] #2178: Move build tool detection to CommandletManager

---
 .../tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java | 30 +------------------
 .../ide/commandlet/CommandletManager.java     | 10 +++++++
 .../ide/commandlet/CommandletManagerImpl.java | 20 +++++++++++++
 .../ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java     |  2 +-
 .../ide/commandlet/BuildCommandletTest.java   | 16 +++++-----
 5 files changed, 40 insertions(+), 38 deletions(-)

diff --git a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java
index 705741c6f2..981bfd2173 100644
--- a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java
+++ b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java
@@ -8,18 +8,12 @@
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.context.IdeContext;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.property.StringProperty;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.tool.LocalToolCommandlet;
-import com.devonfw.tools.ide.tool.gradle.Gradle;
-import com.devonfw.tools.ide.tool.mvn.Mvn;
-import com.devonfw.tools.ide.tool.npm.Npm;
-import com.devonfw.tools.ide.tool.yarn.Yarn;
 
 /**
  * Build tool {@link Commandlet} for automatically detecting build configuration files and running the respective tool.
  */
 public class BuildCommandlet extends Commandlet {
 
-  private static final List<Class<? extends LocalToolCommandlet>> BUILD_TOOLS = List.of(Mvn.class, Gradle.class, Yarn.class, Npm.class);
-
   /** The explicit build options to use (if empty use defaults). */
   public final StringProperty arguments;
 
@@ -50,7 +44,7 @@ protected void doRun() {
       throw new CliException("Missing current working directory!");
     }
 
-    LocalToolCommandlet commandlet = findBuildCommandlet(this.context, buildPath);
+    LocalToolCommandlet commandlet = this.context.getCommandletManager().findBuildTool(buildPath);
     if (commandlet == null) {
       throw new CliException("Could not find build descriptor - no pom.xml, build.gradle, or package.json found!");
     }
@@ -62,28 +56,6 @@ protected void doRun() {
     commandlet.runTool(args);
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Detects the applicable build tool for the given {@code buildPath} by {@link LocalToolCommandlet#findBuildDescriptor(Path) querying} the available build
-   * commandlets (in order of priority) for a matching build descriptor (e.g. {@code pom.xml}, {@code build.gradle} or {@code package.json}).
-   *
-   * @param context the {@link IdeContext}.
-   * @param buildPath the {@link Path} to the directory to build.
-   * @return the applicable build {@link LocalToolCommandlet} or {@code null} if no build descriptor was found.
-   */
-  static LocalToolCommandlet findBuildCommandlet(IdeContext context, Path buildPath) {
-
-    if (buildPath == null) {
-      return null;
-    }
-    for (Class<? extends LocalToolCommandlet> toolClass : BUILD_TOOLS) {
-      LocalToolCommandlet toolCommandlet = context.getCommandletManager().getCommandlet(toolClass);
-      if (toolCommandlet.findBuildDescriptor(buildPath) != null) {
-        return toolCommandlet;
-      }
-    }
-    return null;
-  }
-
   private List<String> getDefaultToolOptions(String buildOptionName) {
 
     String[] defaultToolOptions = this.context.getVariables().get(buildOptionName).split(" ");
diff --git a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/CommandletManager.java b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/CommandletManager.java
index 92105a33ea..dd6cc327f8 100644
--- a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/CommandletManager.java
+++ b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/CommandletManager.java
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 package com.devonfw.tools.ide.commandlet;
 
+import java.nio.file.Path;
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.Iterator;
 
@@ -106,4 +107,13 @@ default LocalToolCommandlet getRequiredLocalToolCommandlet(String name) {
    */
   Iterator<Commandlet> findCommandlet(CliArguments arguments, CompletionCandidateCollector collector);
 
+  /**
+   * Detects the applicable build tool for the given {@code buildPath} by {@link LocalToolCommandlet#findBuildDescriptor(Path) querying} the registered build
+   * commandlets (in order of priority) for a matching build descriptor (e.g. {@code pom.xml}, {@code build.gradle} or {@code package.json}).
+   *
+   * @param buildPath the {@link Path} to the directory to build.
+   * @return the applicable build {@link LocalToolCommandlet} or {@code null} if no build descriptor was found or {@code buildPath} was {@code null}.
+   */
+  LocalToolCommandlet findBuildTool(Path buildPath);
+
 }
diff --git a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/CommandletManagerImpl.java b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/CommandletManagerImpl.java
index f98a63decd..c42d462bb8 100644
--- a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/CommandletManagerImpl.java
+++ b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/CommandletManagerImpl.java
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 package com.devonfw.tools.ide.commandlet;
 
+import java.nio.file.Path;
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.HashMap;
@@ -19,6 +20,7 @@
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.git.repository.RepositoryCommandlet;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.property.KeywordProperty;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.property.Property;
+import com.devonfw.tools.ide.tool.LocalToolCommandlet;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.tool.androidstudio.AndroidStudio;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.tool.aws.Aws;
 import com.devonfw.tools.ide.tool.az.Azure;
@@ -82,6 +84,9 @@ public class CommandletManagerImpl implements CommandletManager {
 
   private static final Logger LOG = LoggerFactory.getLogger(CommandletManagerImpl.class);
 
+  /** The build commandlets in order of priority - the first one with a matching build descriptor wins. */
+  private static final List<Class<? extends LocalToolCommandlet>> BUILD_TOOLS = List.of(Mvn.class, Gradle.class, Yarn.class, Npm.class);
+
   private final IdeContext context;
 
   private final Map<Class<? extends Commandlet>, Commandlet> commandletTypeMap;
@@ -279,6 +284,21 @@ public Iterator<Commandlet> findCommandlet(CliArguments arguments, CompletionCan
     return new CommandletFinder(commandlet, arguments.copy(), collector);
   }
 
+  @Override
+  public LocalToolCommandlet findBuildTool(Path buildPath) {
+
+    if (buildPath == null) {
+      return null;
+    }
+    for (Class<? extends LocalToolCommandlet> toolClass : BUILD_TOOLS) {
+      LocalToolCommandlet toolCommandlet = getCommandlet(toolClass);
+      if (toolCommandlet.findBuildDescriptor(buildPath) != null) {
+        return toolCommandlet;
+      }
+    }
+    return null;
+  }
+
   private final class CommandletFinder implements Iterator<Commandlet> {
 
     private final Commandlet firstCandidate;
diff --git a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
index fb2c48f359..2c14eff032 100644
--- a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
+++ b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/ReleaseCommandlet.java
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ protected void doRun() {
     Path projectPath = this.context.getCwd();
     GitContext git = this.context.getGitContext();
 
-    LocalToolCommandlet commandlet = BuildCommandlet.findBuildCommandlet(this.context, projectPath);
+    LocalToolCommandlet commandlet = this.context.getCommandletManager().findBuildTool(projectPath);
     if (commandlet == null) {
       throw new CliException("Could not find a build descriptor in " + projectPath + ". There is nothing to release here.");
     }
diff --git a/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandletTest.java b/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandletTest.java
index 20c5ad8eb6..a6c5ae4962 100644
--- a/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandletTest.java
+++ b/cli/src/test/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandletTest.java
@@ -126,22 +126,22 @@ void testBuildWithNoBuildFile() {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Tests {@link BuildCommandlet#findBuildCommandlet(com.devonfw.tools.ide.context.IdeContext, Path)} detecting the applicable build tool by its build
+   * Tests {@link CommandletManager#findBuildTool(Path)} detecting the applicable build tool by its build
    * descriptor and preferring {@link Yarn} over {@link Npm} when a {@code yarn.lock} is present.
    */
   @Test
-  void testFindBuildCommandlet() {
+  void testFindBuildTool() {
 
     IdeTestContext context = newContext(PROJECT_BUILD);
     Path workspace = context.getWorkspacePath();
 
-    assertThat(BuildCommandlet.findBuildCommandlet(context, workspace.resolve("mvn"))).isInstanceOf(Mvn.class);
-    assertThat(BuildCommandlet.findBuildCommandlet(context, workspace.resolve("gradle"))).isInstanceOf(Gradle.class);
-    assertThat(BuildCommandlet.findBuildCommandlet(context, workspace.resolve("npm"))).isInstanceOf(Npm.class);
+    assertThat(context.getCommandletManager().findBuildTool(workspace.resolve("mvn"))).isInstanceOf(Mvn.class);
+    assertThat(context.getCommandletManager().findBuildTool(workspace.resolve("gradle"))).isInstanceOf(Gradle.class);
+    assertThat(context.getCommandletManager().findBuildTool(workspace.resolve("npm"))).isInstanceOf(Npm.class);
     // both npm and yarn match package.json, but yarn.lock is present so yarn must take precedence over npm
-    assertThat(BuildCommandlet.findBuildCommandlet(context, workspace.resolve("yarn"))).isInstanceOf(Yarn.class);
+    assertThat(context.getCommandletManager().findBuildTool(workspace.resolve("yarn"))).isInstanceOf(Yarn.class);
     // a polyglot project must be built by the highest-priority tool, not the last one that matches
-    assertThat(BuildCommandlet.findBuildCommandlet(context, workspace.resolve("mvn-and-npm"))).isInstanceOf(Mvn.class);
-    assertThat(BuildCommandlet.findBuildCommandlet(context, workspace.resolve("empty"))).isNull();
+    assertThat(context.getCommandletManager().findBuildTool(workspace.resolve("mvn-and-npm"))).isInstanceOf(Mvn.class);
+    assertThat(context.getCommandletManager().findBuildTool(workspace.resolve("empty"))).isNull();
   }
 }

From df1ad010a685dac2a28be16baf01d8155e453ed2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Laert Llaveshi <l.llaveshi@tum.de>
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2026 10:12:56 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 12/12] #2178: Improve exception message

---
 CHANGELOG.adoc                                                  | 1 -
 .../java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java  | 2 +-
 2 files changed, 1 insertion(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/CHANGELOG.adoc b/CHANGELOG.adoc
index ebc2986ae2..35e56d7f07 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.adoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.adoc
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ Release with new features and bugfixes:
 * https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy/issues/2178[#2178]: Make ReleaseCommandlet independent of specific build commandlet and fix `ide build` using npm instead of yarn
 * https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy/issues/989[#989]: Allow expressions in template variable definitions
 
-
 The full list of changes for this release can be found in https://github.com/devonfw/IDEasy/milestone/50?closed=1[milestone 2026.09.002].
 
 == 2026.09.001
diff --git a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java
index 981bfd2173..f47cf8f088 100644
--- a/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java
+++ b/cli/src/main/java/com/devonfw/tools/ide/commandlet/BuildCommandlet.java
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ protected void doRun() {
 
     LocalToolCommandlet commandlet = this.context.getCommandletManager().findBuildTool(buildPath);
     if (commandlet == null) {
-      throw new CliException("Could not find build descriptor - no pom.xml, build.gradle, or package.json found!");
+      throw new CliException("Could not find a build descriptor in " + buildPath + " - no supported build tool detected.");
     }
     List<String> args = this.arguments.asList();
     if (args.isEmpty()) {