diff --git a/librepomgr/tests/webapi.cpp b/librepomgr/tests/webapi.cpp
index b98a2d7..7e1c005 100644
--- a/librepomgr/tests/webapi.cpp
+++ b/librepomgr/tests/webapi.cpp
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
+#include "../buildactions/buildaction.h"
 #include "../serversetup.h"
+#include "../webapi/params.h"
+#include "../webapi/routes.h"
 #include "../webapi/server.h"
+#include "../webapi/session.h"
 #include "../webclient/session.h"
 
 #include "../../libpkg/data/config.h"
@@ -13,6 +17,8 @@
 #include <cppunit/TestFixture.h>
 #include <cppunit/extensions/HelperMacros.h>
 
+#include <boost/asio/ip/tcp.hpp>
+
 #include <iostream>
 #include <random>
 #include <string>
@@ -21,6 +27,7 @@
 using namespace std;
 using namespace CPPUNIT_NS;
 using namespace CppUtilities;
+using namespace CppUtilities::Literals;
 
 using namespace LibRepoMgr;
 using namespace LibRepoMgr::WebAPI;
@@ -28,6 +35,7 @@ using namespace LibRepoMgr::WebAPI;
 class WebAPITests : public TestFixture {
     CPPUNIT_TEST_SUITE(WebAPITests);
     CPPUNIT_TEST(testBasicNetworking);
+    CPPUNIT_TEST(testPostingBuildAction);
     CPPUNIT_TEST_SUITE_END();
 
 public:
@@ -37,6 +45,9 @@ public:
 
     void testRoutes(const std::list<std::pair<string, WebClient::Session::Handler>> &routes);
     void testBasicNetworking();
+    std::shared_ptr<WebAPI::Response> invokeRouteHandler(
+        void (*handler)(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler), std::vector<std::pair<std::string_view, std::string_view>> &&queryParams);
+    void testPostingBuildAction();
 
 private:
     ServiceSetup m_setup;
@@ -46,7 +57,7 @@ private:
 
 CPPUNIT_TEST_SUITE_REGISTRATION(WebAPITests);
 
-unsigned short randomPort()
+static unsigned short randomPort()
 {
     random_device dev;
     default_random_engine engine(dev());
@@ -68,6 +79,9 @@ void WebAPITests::tearDown()
 {
 }
 
+/*!
+ * \brief Runs the Boost.Asio/Beast server and client to simulte accessing the specified \a routes.
+ */
 void WebAPITests::testRoutes(const std::list<std::pair<std::string, WebClient::Session::Handler>> &routes)
 {
     // get first route
@@ -83,9 +97,6 @@ void WebAPITests::testRoutes(const std::list<std::pair<std::string, WebClient::S
 
     // define function to stop server
     const auto stopServer = [&] {
-        if (server->m_socket.is_open()) {
-            server->m_socket.cancel();
-        }
         if (server->m_acceptor.is_open()) {
             server->m_acceptor.cancel();
         }
@@ -104,7 +115,7 @@ void WebAPITests::testRoutes(const std::list<std::pair<std::string, WebClient::S
     handleResponse = [&](WebClient::Session &session, const WebClient::HttpClientError &error) {
         currentRoute->second(session, error);
         if (++currentRoute == routes.end()) {
-            boost::asio::post(server->m_socket.get_executor(), stopServer);
+            boost::asio::post(server->m_acceptor.get_executor(), stopServer);
             return;
         }
         testNextRoute();
@@ -115,6 +126,10 @@ void WebAPITests::testRoutes(const std::list<std::pair<std::string, WebClient::S
     m_setup.webServer.ioContext.run();
 }
 
+/*!
+ * \brief Checks a few basic routes using the Boost.Beast-based HTTP server and client to test whether basic
+ *        networking and HTTP processing works.
+ */
 void WebAPITests::testBasicNetworking()
 {
     testRoutes({
@@ -123,7 +138,6 @@ void WebAPITests::testBasicNetworking()
                 const auto &response = get<Response>(session.response);
                 CPPUNIT_ASSERT(!error);
                 CPPUNIT_ASSERT(!response.body().empty());
-                cout << "index: " << response.body() << endl;
             } },
         { "/foo",
             [](const WebClient::Session &session, const WebClient::HttpClientError &error) {
@@ -145,7 +159,67 @@ void WebAPITests::testBasicNetworking()
                 CPPUNIT_ASSERT(!error);
                 CPPUNIT_ASSERT(!response.body().empty());
                 CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL("application/json"s, response[boost::beast::http::field::content_type].to_string());
-                cout << "status: " << response.body() << endl;
             } },
     });
 }
+
+/*!
+ * \brief Invokes the specified route \a handler with the specified \a queryParams and returns the response.
+ */
+std::shared_ptr<Response> WebAPITests::invokeRouteHandler(
+    void (*handler)(const Params &, ResponseHandler &&), std::vector<std::pair<std::string_view, std::string_view>> &&queryParams)
+{
+    auto &ioc = m_setup.webServer.ioContext;
+    auto session = std::make_shared<WebAPI::Session>(boost::asio::ip::tcp::socket(ioc), m_setup);
+    auto params = WebAPI::Params(m_setup, *session, WebAPI::Url(std::string_view(), std::string_view(), std::move(queryParams)));
+    auto response = std::shared_ptr<WebAPI::Response>();
+    session->assignEmptyRequest();
+    std::invoke(handler, params, [&response](std::shared_ptr<WebAPI::Response> &&r) { response = r; });
+    return response;
+}
+
+/*!
+ * \brief Parses the specified \a json as build action storing results in \a buildAction.
+ */
+static void parseBuildAction(BuildAction &buildAction, std::string_view json)
+{
+    const auto doc = ReflectiveRapidJSON::JsonReflector::parseJsonDocFromString(json.data(), json.size());
+    if (!doc.IsObject()) {
+        CPPUNIT_FAIL("json document is no object");
+    }
+    auto errors = ReflectiveRapidJSON::JsonDeserializationErrors();
+    ReflectiveRapidJSON::JsonReflector::pull(buildAction, doc.GetObject(), &errors);
+    CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL_MESSAGE("response is valid json", 0_st, errors.size());
+}
+
+/*!
+ * \brief Tests the handler to post a build action.
+ * \remarks Only covers a very basic use so far.
+ */
+void WebAPITests::testPostingBuildAction()
+{
+    {
+        const auto response = invokeRouteHandler(&WebAPI::Routes::postBuildAction, {});
+        CPPUNIT_ASSERT_MESSAGE("got response", response);
+        CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL_MESSAGE("response body", "need exactly either one type or one task parameter"s, response->body());
+        CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL_MESSAGE("response ok", boost::beast::http::status::bad_request, response->result());
+    }
+    {
+        const auto response = invokeRouteHandler(&WebAPI::Routes::postBuildAction,
+            {
+                { "type"sv, "prepare-build"sv },
+                { "start-condition"sv, "manually"sv },
+            });
+        CPPUNIT_ASSERT_MESSAGE("got response", response);
+
+        auto buildAction = BuildAction();
+        parseBuildAction(buildAction, response->body());
+        CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL_MESSAGE("expected build action type returned", BuildActionType::PrepareBuild, buildAction.type);
+
+        const auto createdBuildAction = m_setup.building.getBuildAction(buildAction.id);
+        CPPUNIT_ASSERT_MESSAGE("build action actually created", createdBuildAction);
+        CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL_MESSAGE("build action not started yet", BuildActionStatus::Created, createdBuildAction->status);
+        CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL_MESSAGE("build action has no result yet", BuildActionResult::None, createdBuildAction->result);
+        CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL_MESSAGE("response ok", boost::beast::http::status::ok, response->result());
+    }
+}
diff --git a/librepomgr/webapi/params.cpp b/librepomgr/webapi/params.cpp
index 0410acf..a2790ea 100644
--- a/librepomgr/webapi/params.cpp
+++ b/librepomgr/webapi/params.cpp
@@ -9,6 +9,13 @@ using namespace CppUtilities;
 namespace LibRepoMgr {
 namespace WebAPI {
 
+Url::Url(std::string_view path, std::string_view hash, std::vector<std::pair<std::string_view, std::string_view>> &&params)
+    : path(path)
+    , hash(hash)
+    , params(std::move(params))
+{
+}
+
 Url::Url(const Request &request)
 {
     const auto target = request.target();
diff --git a/librepomgr/webapi/params.h b/librepomgr/webapi/params.h
index 2ee980b..c21b7b5 100644
--- a/librepomgr/webapi/params.h
+++ b/librepomgr/webapi/params.h
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ inline BadRequest::BadRequest(const char *message)
 }
 
 struct LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT Url {
+    Url(std::string_view path, std::string_view hash, std::vector<std::pair<std::string_view, std::string_view>> &&params);
     Url(const Request &request);
     std::string_view path;
     std::string_view hash;
@@ -55,6 +56,7 @@ inline bool Url::hasPrettyFlag() const
 
 struct LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT Params {
     Params(ServiceSetup &setup, Session &session);
+    Params(ServiceSetup &setup, Session &session, Url &&target);
     ServiceSetup &setup;
     Session &session;
     const Url target;
@@ -70,6 +72,13 @@ inline Params::Params(ServiceSetup &setup, Session &session)
 {
 }
 
+inline Params::Params(ServiceSetup &setup, Session &session, Url &&target)
+    : setup(setup)
+    , session(session)
+    , target(std::move(target))
+{
+}
+
 inline const Request &Params::request() const
 {
     return session.request();
diff --git a/librepomgr/webapi/routes.cpp b/librepomgr/webapi/routes.cpp
index c9b8ff4..f9bfe86 100644
--- a/librepomgr/webapi/routes.cpp
+++ b/librepomgr/webapi/routes.cpp
@@ -620,7 +620,7 @@ void postBuildAction(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler)
     auto buildLock = params.setup.building.lockToWrite();
     const auto id = params.setup.building.allocateBuildActionID();
     auto startsAfterBuildActions = params.setup.building.getBuildActions(startAfterIds);
-    const auto startNow = startImmediately || BuildAction::haveSucceeded(startsAfterBuildActions);
+    const auto startNow = startImmediately || (!startsAfterBuildActions.empty() && BuildAction::haveSucceeded(startsAfterBuildActions));
     buildLock.unlock();
     auto buildAction = std::make_shared<BuildAction>(id);
     if (!directories.empty()) {
@@ -734,7 +734,7 @@ void postBuildActionsFromTask(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler, c
     auto &building = params.setup.building;
     auto buildLock = building.lockToWrite();
     auto startsAfterBuildActions = building.getBuildActions(startAfterIds);
-    const auto startNow = startImmediately || BuildAction::haveSucceeded(startsAfterBuildActions);
+    const auto startNow = startImmediately || (!startsAfterBuildActions.empty() && BuildAction::haveSucceeded(startsAfterBuildActions));
     for (auto &newBuildAction : newBuildActions) {
         newBuildAction->id = building.allocateBuildActionID();
         if (lastBuildAction) {
diff --git a/librepomgr/webapi/routes.h b/librepomgr/webapi/routes.h
index 2dc5b3a..a780903 100644
--- a/librepomgr/webapi/routes.h
+++ b/librepomgr/webapi/routes.h
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #ifndef LIBREPOMGR_ROUTES_H
 #define LIBREPOMGR_ROUTES_H
 
+#include "../global.h"
 #include "./typedefs.h"
 
 #include "../buildactions/buildactionfwd.h"
@@ -9,27 +10,27 @@ namespace LibRepoMgr {
 namespace WebAPI {
 
 namespace Routes {
-void getRoot(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
-void getVersion(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
-void getStatus(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
-void getDatabases(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
-void getUnresolved(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
-void getPackages(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
-void getBuildActions(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
-void getBuildActionDetails(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
-void getBuildActionOutput(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
-void getBuildActionLogFile(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
-void getBuildActionArtefact(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
-void postLoadPackages(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
-void postDumpCacheFile(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
-void postBuildAction(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
-void postBuildActionsFromTask(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler, const std::string &taskName, const std::string &directory,
-    const std::vector<BuildActionIdType> &startAfterIds, bool startImmediately);
-void deleteBuildActions(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
-void postCloneBuildActions(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
-void postStartBuildActions(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
-void postStopBuildActions(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
-void postQuit(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void getRoot(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void getVersion(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void getStatus(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void getDatabases(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void getUnresolved(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void getPackages(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void getBuildActions(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void getBuildActionDetails(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void getBuildActionOutput(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void getBuildActionLogFile(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void getBuildActionArtefact(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void postLoadPackages(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void postDumpCacheFile(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void postBuildAction(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void postBuildActionsFromTask(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler, const std::string &taskName,
+    const std::string &directory, const std::vector<BuildActionIdType> &startAfterIds, bool startImmediately);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void deleteBuildActions(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void postCloneBuildActions(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void postStartBuildActions(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void postStopBuildActions(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
+LIBREPOMGR_EXPORT void postQuit(const Params &params, ResponseHandler &&handler);
 } // namespace Routes
 
 } // namespace WebAPI
diff --git a/librepomgr/webapi/session.h b/librepomgr/webapi/session.h
index 54d339d..1685653 100644
--- a/librepomgr/webapi/session.h
+++ b/librepomgr/webapi/session.h
@@ -18,13 +18,14 @@ namespace WebAPI {
 
 class Session : public std::enable_shared_from_this<Session> {
 public:
-    Session(boost::asio::ip::tcp::socket socket, ServiceSetup &config);
+    Session(boost::asio::ip::tcp::socket &&socket, ServiceSetup &config);
 
     void receive();
     void respond(std::shared_ptr<Response> &&response);
     void respond(const char *localFilePath, const char *mimeType, std::string_view urlPath);
     void close();
     const Request &request() const;
+    void assignEmptyRequest();
     boost::asio::ip::tcp::socket &socket();
     void received(boost::system::error_code ec, std::size_t bytesTransferred);
     void responded(boost::system::error_code ec, std::size_t bytesTransferred, bool shouldClose);
@@ -38,7 +39,7 @@ private:
     std::shared_ptr<void> m_res;
 };
 
-inline Session::Session(boost::asio::ip::tcp::socket socket, ServiceSetup &setup)
+inline Session::Session(boost::asio::ip::tcp::socket &&socket, ServiceSetup &setup)
     : m_socket(std::move(socket))
     , m_strand(m_socket.get_executor())
     , m_setup(setup)
@@ -50,6 +51,11 @@ inline const Request &Session::request() const
     return m_parser->get();
 }
 
+inline void Session::assignEmptyRequest()
+{
+    m_parser = std::make_unique<RequestParser>();
+}
+
 inline boost::asio::ip::tcp::socket &Session::socket()
 {
     return m_socket;