fix: ensure UI directory is created when building debian-dev image

[sihyeonn]

Description

This PR fixes a build failure when running make build-on-debian-dev.

The debian-dev image build failed at:

[2/2] STEP 9/21: COPY --chown=nobody:root ui/ /usr/local/apisix/ui/
Error: building at STEP "COPY --chown=nobody:root ui/ /usr/local/apisix/ui/": checking on sources under "/var/tmp/libpod_builder971763380/build": copier: stat: "/ui": no such file or directorybecause the ui directory does not exist in the build context.

To resolve this, the build script now ensures that an (empty) ui directory is created before building the debian-dev image, so the COPY ui/ /usr/local/apisix/ui/ step always succeeds even when no UI assets are present.

Which issue(s) this PR fixes:

Fixes #

Checklist

• I have explained the need for this PR and the problem it solves
• I have explained the changes or the new features added to this PR
• I have added tests corresponding to this change
• I have updated the documentation to reflect this change
• I have verified that this change is backward compatible (If not, please discuss on the APISIX mailing list first)

[Baoyuantop]

Hi @sihyeonn, you can merge the latest main branch to make CI pass.

[sihyeonn]

Hi @sihyeonn, you can merge the latest main branch to make CI pass.

Thank you for your review! But I still need 2 more reviews to merge 🥲 Merging is blocked!

[Baoyuantop]

The failed test appears to be unrelated to this change and has already been fixed in the main branch.

[SkyeYoung]

🤔 What you're doing is feasible, but currently, the debian-dev build is used like this: https://github.com/apache/apisix/blob/master/.github/workflows/push-dev-image-on-commit.yml#L37-L54

So I think, you might as well move the part of building the UI directly into the Makefile.

Or is your idea that you don’t want a UI?

[sihyeonn]

Hi @SkyeYoung, thanks for the review!

Yes, this is for use cases where the UI is not needed.

I use make build-on-debian-dev locally when testing just the gateway functionality without the UI, and the build fails at the COPY step when the ui directory doesn't exist.

Moving the UI build from the workflow into the Makefile as you suggested is one approach, but it would increase build time and complexity for development environments where the UI isn't necessary.

The current fix just creates an empty directory to allow builds to succeed without UI assets - it's a minimal change. Do you think there's a better approach to handle this?

[Baoyuantop]

Hi @sihyeonn, thank you for your contribution, but we are unsure if this requirement aligns with the needs of most users, so we need more discussion on this topic within the community.

[sihyeonn]

Hi @Baoyuantop, I think the direction here is appropriate and consistent with the existing pattern. It’s just a bit disappointing to hear that it doesn’t fully align with the current approach, since applying the same func_check_folder behavior to ui seems like a natural extension of how it’s already used (e.g., for release).

[github-actions]

This pull request has been marked as stale due to 60 days of inactivity. It will be closed in 4 weeks if no further activity occurs. If you think that's incorrect or this pull request should instead be reviewed, please simply write any comment. Even if closed, you can still revive the PR at any time or discuss it on the dev@apisix.apache.org list. Thank you for your contributions.

[Baoyuantop]

Please retain spaces.

[Baoyuantop]

Suggested change

	$(call func_check_folder, ui)
	$(call func_check_folder,ui)

[moonming]

Hi @sihyeonn, thank you for looking into the build/Makefile issue!

After reviewing the discussion thread (7 comments), it seems there wasn't a clear consensus on the right approach for the ui/ directory handling. Given that:

1. This is a build configuration change with differing opinions on the correct solution
2. The change is small (3 lines) but touches infrastructure that affects all build environments
3. The discussion hasn't converged on a direction

I think we should close this PR for now and revisit the ui/ directory question as part of a broader build system review. If you'd like to continue this discussion, opening an issue might be a better venue to reach consensus first before implementing.

Thank you for the contribution, and I hope you'll continue contributing to APISIX! 🙏