diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index f5d2d27..3e34a0c 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 *~
 devtools-*.tar.gz*
-build/
+/build/
diff --git a/contrib/completion/zsh/_devtools.in b/contrib/completion/zsh/_devtools.in
index 2961f6f..c743667 100644
--- a/contrib/completion/zsh/_devtools.in
+++ b/contrib/completion/zsh/_devtools.in
@@ -34,6 +34,25 @@ _pkgctl_auth_status_args=(
 	'(-h --help)'{-h,--help}'[Display usage]'
 )
 
+_pkgctl_build_args=(
+	"--arch=[Specify architectures to build for (disables auto-detection)]:arch:($_arch[*])"
+	"--repo=[Specify a target repository (disables auto-detection)]:repo:($_repos[*])"
+	'(-s --staging)'{-s,--staging}'[Build against the staging counterpart of the auto-detected repo]'
+	'(-t --testing)'{-t,--testing}'[Build against the testing counterpart of the auto-detected repo]'
+	'(-o --offload)'{-o,--offload}'[Build on a remote server and transfer artifacts afterwards]'
+	'(-c --clean)'{-c,--clean}'[Recreate the chroot before building]'
+	'(-I --install)'{-I,--install}'[Install a package into the working copy of the chroot]:target:_files -g "*.pkg.tar.*(.)"'
+	'--pkgver=[Set pkgver, reset pkgrel and update checksums]:pkgver:'
+	'--pkgrel=[Set pkgrel to a given value]:pkgrel:'
+	'--rebuild[Increment the pkgrel variable]'
+	'(-e --edit)'{-e,--edit}'[Edit the PKGBUILD before building]'
+	'(-r --release)'{-r,--release}'[Automatically commit, tag and release after building]'
+	'(-m --message=)'{-m,--message=}"[Use the given <msg> as the commit message]:message:"
+	'(-u --db-update)'{-u,--db-update}'[Automatically update the pacman database as last action]'
+	'(-h --help)'{-h,--help}'[Display usage]'
+	'*:git_dir:_files -/'
+)
+
 _pkgctl_db_cmds=(
 	"pkgctl db command"
 	"move[Move packages between pacman repositories]"
@@ -213,6 +232,7 @@ _devtools_completions_all_packages() {
 _pkgctl_cmds=(
 	"pkgctl command"
 	"auth[Authenticate with services like GitLab]"
+	"build[Build packages inside a clean chroot]"
 	"db[Pacman database modification for packge update, move etc]"
 	"diff[Compare package files using different modes]"
 	"release[Release step to commit, tag and upload build artifacts]"
diff --git a/doc/man/pkgctl-build.1.asciidoc b/doc/man/pkgctl-build.1.asciidoc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..132c0a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man/pkgctl-build.1.asciidoc
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+pkgctl-build(1)
+===============
+
+Name
+----
+pkgctl-build - Build packages inside a clean chroot
+
+Synopsis
+--------
+pkgctl build [OPTIONS] [PATH...]
+
+Description
+-----------
+
+TODO
+
+Build Options
+-------------
+
+*--arch* 'ARCH'::
+	Specify architectures to build for (disables auto-detection)
+
+*--repo* 'REPO'::
+	Specify a target repository (disables auto-detection)
+
+*-s, --staging*::
+	Build against the staging counterpart of the auto-detected repo
+
+*-t, --testing*::
+	Build against the testing counterpart of the auto-detected repo
+
+*-o, --offload*::
+	Build on a remote server and transfer artifacts afterwards
+
+*-c, --clean*::
+	Recreate the chroot before building
+
+*-I, --install* 'FILE'::
+	Install a package into the working copy of the chroot
+
+PKGBUILD Options
+----------------
+
+*--pkgver*='PKGVER'::
+	Set pkgver, reset pkgrel and update checksums
+
+*--pkgrel*='PKGREL'::
+	Set pkgrel to a given value
+
+*--rebuild*::
+	Increment the current pkgrel variable
+
+*-e, --edit*::
+	Edit the PKGBUILD before building
+
+Release Options
+---------------
+
+*-r, --release*::
+	Automatically commit, tag and release after building
+
+*-m, --message* 'MSG'::
+	Use the given <msg> as the commit message
+
+*-u, --db-update*::
+	Automatically update the pacman database as last action
+
+Options
+-------
+
+*-h, --help*::
+	Show a help text
+
+See Also
+--------
+
+linkman:pkgctl-release[1]
+linkman:pkgctl-db-update[1]
+
+include::include/footer.asciidoc[]
diff --git a/doc/man/pkgctl.1.asciidoc b/doc/man/pkgctl.1.asciidoc
index 8da5d19..c5a6174 100644
--- a/doc/man/pkgctl.1.asciidoc
+++ b/doc/man/pkgctl.1.asciidoc
@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@ Subcommands
 pkgctl auth::
 	Authenticate with services like GitLab
 
+pkgctl build::
+	Build packages inside a clean chroot
+
 pkgctl db::
 	Pacman database modification for packge update, move etc
 
@@ -36,6 +39,7 @@ See Also
 --------
 
 linkman:pkgctl-auth[1]
+linkman:pkgctl-build[1]
 linkman:pkgctl-db[1]
 linkman:pkgctl-diff[1]
 linkman:pkgctl-release[1]
diff --git a/src/lib/build/build.sh b/src/lib/build/build.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e32c79f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/build/build.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,387 @@
+#!/hint/bash
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
+
+[[ -z ${DEVTOOLS_INCLUDE_BUILD_SH:-} ]] || return 0
+DEVTOOLS_INCLUDE_BUILD_SH=1
+
+_DEVTOOLS_LIBRARY_DIR=${_DEVTOOLS_LIBRARY_DIR:-@pkgdatadir@}
+# shellcheck source=src/lib/common.sh
+source "${_DEVTOOLS_LIBRARY_DIR}"/lib/common.sh
+# shellcheck source=src/lib/db/update.sh
+source "${_DEVTOOLS_LIBRARY_DIR}"/lib/db/update.sh
+# shellcheck source=src/lib/release.sh
+source "${_DEVTOOLS_LIBRARY_DIR}"/lib/release.sh
+# shellcheck source=src/lib/util/git.sh
+source "${_DEVTOOLS_LIBRARY_DIR}"/lib/util/git.sh
+# shellcheck source=src/lib/util/pacman.sh
+source "${_DEVTOOLS_LIBRARY_DIR}"/lib/util/pacman.sh
+# shellcheck source=src/lib/valid-repos.sh
+source "${_DEVTOOLS_LIBRARY_DIR}"/lib/valid-repos.sh
+# shellcheck source=src/lib/valid-tags.sh
+source "${_DEVTOOLS_LIBRARY_DIR}"/lib/valid-tags.sh
+
+source /usr/share/makepkg/util/config.sh
+source /usr/share/makepkg/util/message.sh
+
+set -e
+
+
+pkgctl_build_usage() {
+	local -r COMMAND=${_DEVTOOLS_COMMAND:-${BASH_SOURCE[0]##*/}}
+    cat <<- _EOF_
+		Usage: ${COMMAND} [OPTIONS] [PATH]...
+
+		Build packages inside a clean chroot
+
+		When a new pkgver is set using the appropriate PKGBUILD options the
+		checksums are automatically updated.
+
+		TODO
+
+		BUILD OPTIONS
+		    --arch ARCH          Specify architectures to build for (disables auto-detection)
+		    --repo REPO          Specify a target repository (disables auto-detection)
+		    -s, --staging        Build against the staging counterpart of the auto-detected repo
+		    -t, --testing        Build against the testing counterpart of the auto-detected repo
+		    -o, --offload        Build on a remote server and transfer artifacts afterwards
+		    -c, --clean          Recreate the chroot before building
+		    -I, --install FILE   Install a package into the working copy of the chroot
+
+		PKGBUILD OPTIONS
+		    --pkgver=PKGVER      Set pkgver, reset pkgrel and update checksums
+		    --pkgrel=PKGREL      Set pkgrel to a given value
+		    --rebuild            Increment the current pkgrel variable
+		    -e, --edit           Edit the PKGBUILD before building
+
+		RELEASE OPTIONS
+		    -r, --release        Automatically commit, tag and release after building
+		    -m, --message MSG    Use the given <msg> as the commit message
+		    -u, --db-update      Automatically update the pacman database as last action
+
+		OPTIONS
+		    -h, --help           Show this help text
+
+		EXAMPLES
+		    $ ${COMMAND}
+		    $ ${COMMAND} --rebuild --staging --message 'libyay 0.42 rebuild' libfoo libbar
+		    $ ${COMMAND} --pkgver 1.42 --release --db-update
+_EOF_
+}
+
+pkgctl_build_check_option_group_repo() {
+	local option=$1
+	local repo=$2
+	local testing=$3
+	local staging=$4
+	if ( (( testing )) && (( staging )) ) ||
+		( [[ $repo =~ ^.*-(staging|testing)$ ]] && ( (( testing )) || (( staging )) )); then
+		die "The argument '%s' cannot be used with one or more of the other specified arguments" "${option}"
+		exit 1
+	fi
+	return 0
+}
+
+pkgctl_build_check_option_group_ver() {
+	local option=$1
+	local pkgver=$2
+	local pkgrel=$3
+	local rebuild=$4
+	if [[ -n "${pkgver}" ]] || [[ -n "${pkgrel}" ]] || (( rebuild )); then
+		die "The argument '%s' cannot be used with one or more of the other specified arguments" "${option}"
+		exit 1
+	fi
+	return 0
+}
+
+# TODO: import pgp keys
+pkgctl_build() {
+	if (( $# < 1 )) && [[ ! -f PKGBUILD ]]; then
+		pkgctl_build_usage
+		exit 1
+	fi
+
+	local UPDPKGSUMS=0
+	local EDIT=0
+	local REBUILD=0
+	local OFFLOAD=0
+	local STAGING=0
+	local TESTING=0
+	local RELEASE=0
+	local DB_UPDATE=0
+
+	local REPO=
+	local PKGVER=
+	local PKGREL=
+	local MESSAGE=
+
+	local paths=()
+	local BUILD_ARCH=()
+	local BUILD_OPTIONS=()
+	local MAKECHROOT_OPTIONS=()
+	local RELEASE_OPTIONS=()
+
+	local PTS
+	PTS="$(tty | sed 's|/dev/pts/||')"
+	local WORKER="${USER}-${PTS}"
+
+	# variables
+	local path pkgbase pkgrepo source
+
+	while (( $# )); do
+		case $1 in
+			-h|--help)
+				pkgctl_build_usage
+				exit 0
+				;;
+			--repo)
+				(( $# <= 1 )) && die "missing argument for %s" "$1"
+				REPO="${2}"
+				pkgctl_build_check_option_group_repo '--repo' "${REPO}" "${TESTING}" "${STAGING}"
+				shift 2
+				;;
+			--arch)
+				(( $# <= 1 )) && die "missing argument for %s" "$1"
+				if [[ ${2} == all ]]; then
+					BUILD_ARCH=("${_arch[@]::${#_arch[@]}-1}")
+				elif [[ ${2} == any ]]; then
+					BUILD_ARCH=("${_arch[0]}")
+				elif ! in_array "${2}" "${BUILD_ARCH[@]}"; then
+					if ! in_array "${2}" "${_arch[@]}"; then
+						die 'invalid architecture: %s' "${2}"
+					fi
+					BUILD_ARCH+=("${2}")
+				fi
+				shift 2
+				;;
+			--pkgver=*)
+				pkgctl_build_check_option_group_ver '--pkgver' "${PKGVER}" "${PKGREL}" "${REBUILD}"
+				PKGVER="${1#*=}"
+				PKGREL=1
+				UPDPKGSUMS=1
+				shift
+				;;
+			--pkgrel=*)
+				pkgctl_build_check_option_group_ver '--pkgrel' "${PKGVER}" "${PKGREL}" "${REBUILD}"
+				PKGREL="${1#*=}"
+				shift
+				;;
+			--rebuild)
+				# shellcheck source=src/lib/util/git.sh
+				source "${_DEVTOOLS_LIBRARY_DIR}"/lib/util/git.sh
+				pkgctl_build_check_option_group_ver '--rebuild' "${PKGVER}" "${PKGREL}" "${REBUILD}"
+				REBUILD=1
+				shift
+				;;
+			-e|--edit)
+				EDIT=1
+				shift
+				;;
+			-o|--offload)
+				OFFLOAD=1
+				shift
+				;;
+			-s|--staging)
+				STAGING=1
+				pkgctl_build_check_option_group_repo '--staging' "${REPO}" "${TESTING}" "${STAGING}"
+				shift
+				;;
+			-t|--testing)
+				TESTING=1
+				pkgctl_build_check_option_group_repo '--testing' "${REPO}" "${TESTING}" "${STAGING}"
+				shift
+				;;
+			-c|--clean)
+				BUILD_OPTIONS+=("-c")
+				shift
+				;;
+			-I|--install)
+				(( $# <= 1 )) && die "missing argument for %s" "$1"
+				MAKECHROOT_OPTIONS+=("-I" "$2")
+				warning 'installing packages into the chroot may break reproducible builds, use with caution!'
+				shift 2
+				;;
+			-r|--release)
+				# shellcheck source=src/lib/release.sh
+				source "${_DEVTOOLS_LIBRARY_DIR}"/lib/release.sh
+				RELEASE=1
+				shift
+				;;
+			-m|--message)
+				(( $# <= 1 )) && die "missing argument for %s" "$1"
+				MESSAGE=$2
+				RELEASE_OPTIONS+=("--message" "${MESSAGE}")
+				shift 2
+				;;
+			-u|--db-update)
+				DB_UPDATE=1
+				shift
+				;;
+			--)
+				shift
+				break
+				;;
+			-*)
+				die "invalid argument: %s" "$1"
+				;;
+			*)
+				paths=("$@")
+				break
+				;;
+		esac
+	done
+
+	# check if invoked without any path from within a packaging repo
+	if (( ${#paths[@]} == 0 )); then
+		if [[ -f PKGBUILD ]]; then
+			paths=(".")
+		else
+			pkgctl_build_usage
+			exit 1
+		fi
+	fi
+
+	# Update pacman cache for auto-detection
+	if [[ -z ${REPO} ]]; then
+		update_pacman_repo_cache
+	# Check valid repos if not resolved dynamically
+	elif ! in_array "${REPO}" "${_repos[@]}"; then
+		die "Invalid repository target: %s" "${REPO}"
+	fi
+
+	for path in "${paths[@]}"; do
+		pushd "${path}" >/dev/null
+
+		if [[ ! -f PKGBUILD ]]; then
+			die 'PKGBUILD not found in %s' "${path}"
+		fi
+
+		source=()
+		# shellcheck source=contrib/makepkg/PKGBUILD.proto
+		. ./PKGBUILD
+		pkgbase=${pkgbase:-$pkgname}
+		pkgrepo=${REPO}
+		msg "Building ${pkgbase}"
+
+		# auto-detection of build target
+		if [[ -z ${pkgrepo} ]]; then
+			if ! pkgrepo=$(get_pacman_repo_from_pkgbuild PKGBUILD); then
+				die 'failed to get pacman repo'
+			fi
+			if [[ -z "${pkgrepo}" ]]; then
+				die 'unknown repo, please specify --repo for new packages'
+			fi
+		fi
+
+		# special cases to resolve final build target
+		if (( TESTING )); then
+			pkgrepo="${pkgrepo}-testing"
+		elif (( STAGING )); then
+			pkgrepo="${pkgrepo}-staging"
+		elif [[ $pkgrepo == core ]]; then
+			pkgrepo="${pkgrepo}-testing"
+		fi
+
+		# auto-detection of build architecture
+		if [[ $pkgrepo = multilib* ]]; then
+			BUILD_ARCH=("")
+		elif (( ${#BUILD_ARCH[@]} == 0 )); then
+			if in_array any "${arch[@]}"; then
+				BUILD_ARCH=("${_arch[0]}")
+			else
+				BUILD_ARCH+=("${arch[@]}")
+			fi
+		fi
+
+		# print gathered build modes
+		msg2 "repo: ${pkgrepo}"
+		msg2 "arch: ${BUILD_ARCH[*]}"
+
+		# increment pkgrel on rebuild
+		if (( REBUILD )); then
+			# try to figure out of pkgrel has been changed
+			if ! old_pkgrel=$(git_diff_tree HEAD PKGBUILD | grep --perl-regexp --only-matching --max-count=1 '^-pkgrel=\K\w+'); then
+				old_pkgrel=${pkgrel}
+			fi
+			# check if pkgrel conforms expectations
+			[[ ${pkgrel/.*} =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] || die "Non-standard pkgrel declaration"
+			[[ ${old_pkgrel/.*} =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] || die "Non-standard pkgrel declaration"
+			# increment pkgrel if it hasn't been changed yet
+			if [[ ${pkgrel} = "${old_pkgrel}" ]]; then
+				PKGREL=$((${pkgrel/.*}+1))
+			else
+				warning 'ignoring --rebuild as pkgrel has already been incremented from %s to %s' "${old_pkgrel}" "${pkgrel}"
+			fi
+		fi
+
+		# update pkgver
+		if [[ -n ${PKGVER} ]]; then
+			if [[ $(type -t pkgver) == function ]]; then
+				# TODO: check if die or warn, if we provide _commit _gitcommit setter maybe?
+				warning 'setting pkgver variable has no effect if the PKGBUILD has a pkgver() function'
+			fi
+			msg "Bumping pkgver to ${PKGVER}"
+			grep --extended-regexp --quiet --max-count=1 "^pkgver=${pkgver}$" PKGBUILD || die "Non-standard pkgver declaration"
+			sed --regexp-extended "s|^(pkgver=)${pkgver}$|\1${PKGVER}|g" -i PKGBUILD
+		fi
+
+		# update pkgrel
+		if [[ -n ${PKGREL} ]]; then
+			msg "Bumping pkgrel to ${PKGREL}"
+			grep --extended-regexp --quiet --max-count=1 "^pkgrel=${pkgrel}$" PKGBUILD || die "Non-standard pkgrel declaration"
+			sed --regexp-extended "s|^(pkgrel=)${pkgrel}$|\1${PKGREL}|g" -i PKGBUILD
+		fi
+
+		# edit PKGBUILD
+		if (( EDIT )); then
+			stat_busy 'Editing PKGBUILD'
+			if [[ -n $VISUAL ]]; then
+				$VISUAL PKGBUILD || die
+			elif [[ -n $EDITOR ]]; then
+				$EDITOR PKGBUILD || die
+			elif command -v vi &>/dev/null; then
+				vi PKGBUILD || die
+			else
+				die "need \$VISUAL or \$EDITOR to edit the PKGBUILD"
+			fi
+			stat_done
+		fi
+
+		# update checksums if any sources are declared
+		if (( UPDPKGSUMS )) && (( ${#source[@]} >= 1 )); then
+			updpkgsums
+		fi
+
+		# execute build
+		for arch in "${BUILD_ARCH[@]}"; do
+			if [[ -n $arch ]]; then
+				msg "Building ${pkgbase} for [${pkgrepo}] (${arch})"
+				BUILDTOOL="${pkgrepo}-${arch}-build"
+			else
+				msg "Building ${pkgbase} for [${pkgrepo}]"
+				BUILDTOOL="${pkgrepo}-build"
+			fi
+
+			if (( OFFLOAD )); then
+				offload-build --repo "${pkgrepo}" -- "${BUILD_OPTIONS[@]}" -- "${MAKECHROOT_OPTIONS[@]}" -l "${WORKER}"
+			else
+				"${BUILDTOOL}" "${BUILD_OPTIONS[@]}" -- "${MAKECHROOT_OPTIONS[@]}" -l "${WORKER}"
+			fi
+		done
+
+		# release the build
+		if (( RELEASE )); then
+			pkgctl_release --repo "${pkgrepo}" "${RELEASE_OPTIONS[@]}"
+		fi
+
+		# reset common PKGBUILD variables
+		unset pkgbase pkgname arch pkgrepo source pkgver pkgrel validpgpkeys
+		popd >/dev/null
+	done
+
+	# update the binary package repo db as last action
+	if (( RELEASE )) && (( DB_UPDATE )); then
+		# shellcheck disable=2119
+		pkgctl_db_update
+	fi
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/util/git.sh b/src/lib/util/git.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c4af662
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/util/git.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+#!/hint/bash
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
+
+[[ -z ${DEVTOOLS_INCLUDE_UTIL_GIT_SH:-} ]] || return 0
+DEVTOOLS_INCLUDE_UTIL_GIT_SH=1
+
+_DEVTOOLS_LIBRARY_DIR=${_DEVTOOLS_LIBRARY_DIR:-@pkgdatadir@}
+
+
+git_diff_tree() {
+	local commit=$1
+	local path=$2
+	git \
+		--no-pager \
+		diff \
+		--color=never \
+		--color-moved=no \
+		--unified=0 \
+		--no-prefix \
+		--no-ext-diff \
+		"${commit}" \
+		-- "${path}"
+}
diff --git a/src/pkgctl.in b/src/pkgctl.in
index 47409de..40f9259 100644
--- a/src/pkgctl.in
+++ b/src/pkgctl.in
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ usage() {
 
 		COMMANDS
 		    auth    Authenticate with services like GitLab
+		    build   Build packages inside a clean chroot
 		    db      Pacman database modification for packge update, move etc
 		    diff    Compare package files using different modes
 		    release Release step to commit, tag and upload build artifacts
@@ -46,6 +47,14 @@ while (( $# )); do
 			usage
 			exit 0
 			;;
+		build)
+			_DEVTOOLS_COMMAND+=" $1"
+			shift
+			# shellcheck source=src/lib/build/build.sh
+			source "${_DEVTOOLS_LIBRARY_DIR}"/lib/build/build.sh
+			pkgctl_build "$@"
+			exit 0
+			;;
 		repo)
 			_DEVTOOLS_COMMAND+=" $1"
 			shift