Batch Compilation and CI/CD Integration

You manage multiple VBA Padlock projects and want to automate the build process. This guide shows you how to compile projects from the command line, integrate with batch scripts, and set up CI/CD pipelines.

What you’ll learn:

• How to build VBA Padlock projects from the command line
• How to create batch scripts for multiple projects
• How to integrate with CI/CD systems
• How to verify build artifacts

Time needed: 15 minutes

VBAPadlock.exe "<office-file>" [switches]

The first argument is the path to the Office source file (.xlsm, .docm, .accdb, .pptm, etc.). The associated .vbapadlock project folder must be in the same directory.

Without any switches, passing just a file path opens the project in VBA Padlock Studio — no compilation is triggered:

VBAPadlock.exe "C:\Projects\MyApp\MyWorkbook.xlsm"

Create a batch script that builds one project and checks the result:

@echo off
setlocal

set VBAPADLOCK="C:\Program Files\VBA Padlock\VBAPadlock.exe"
set PROJECT="C:\Projects\MyApp\MyWorkbook.xlsm"

echo Building %PROJECT%...
%VBAPADLOCK% %PROJECT% --compile --silent --log:build.log

if %ERRORLEVEL% NEQ 0 (
    echo BUILD FAILED with exit code %ERRORLEVEL%
    type build.log
    exit /b %ERRORLEVEL%
)

echo Build successful.
endlocal

Build several projects in sequence:

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion

set VBAPADLOCK="C:\Program Files\VBA Padlock\VBAPadlock.exe"
set PROJECTS_DIR=C:\Projects

set FAILED=0

for %%P in (
    "%PROJECTS_DIR%\AppA\Workbook.xlsm"
    "%PROJECTS_DIR%\AppB\Report.docm"
    "%PROJECTS_DIR%\AppC\Database.accdb"
) do (
    echo.
    echo === Building %%~nxP ===
    %VBAPADLOCK% %%P --compile --silent --log:%%~nP_build.log
    if !ERRORLEVEL! NEQ 0 (
        echo FAILED: %%~nxP
        set /a FAILED+=1
    ) else (
        echo OK: %%~nxP
    )
)

echo.
if %FAILED% GTR 0 (
    echo %FAILED% project(s) failed to build.
    exit /b 1
) else (
    echo All projects built successfully.
)

endlocal

After building, verify the output DLLs exist:

@echo off
set PROJECT_DIR=C:\Projects\MyApp

:: Check all three DLLs exist
if not exist "%PROJECT_DIR%\bin\MyWorkbookrun32.dll" (
    echo ERROR: Missing 32-bit runtime DLL
    exit /b 1
)
if not exist "%PROJECT_DIR%\bin\MyWorkbookrun64.dll" (
    echo ERROR: Missing 64-bit runtime DLL
    exit /b 1
)
if not exist "%PROJECT_DIR%\bin\MyWorkbook.dll" (
    echo ERROR: Missing satellite DLL
    exit /b 1
)

echo All build artifacts verified.

• VBA Padlock must be installed on the build machine.
• The Office file and its .vbapadlock project folder must be in the repository.
• The bin\ output directory should be in .gitignore.

name: Build VBA Padlock Projects
on: [push]

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: self-hosted
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Build Project
        shell: cmd
        run: |
          "C:\Program Files\VBA Padlock\VBAPadlock.exe" "%GITHUB_WORKSPACE%\MyWorkbook.xlsm" --compile --silent --publish --log:build.log
          if %ERRORLEVEL% NEQ 0 (
            type build.log
            exit /b %ERRORLEVEL%
          )

      - name: Upload artifacts
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: protected-app
          path: |
            MyWorkbook.xlsm
            bin/

      - name: Upload build log
        if: always()
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: build-log
          path: build.log

MyProject/
├── MyWorkbook.xlsm              ← Office file
├── MyWorkbook.vbapadlock/       ← Project folder (commit this)
│   ├── project.xml
│   ├── Main.bas
│   └── Helpers.bas
├── build.bat                    ← Build script
├── .gitignore                   ← Excludes bin/
└── bin/                         ← Output (generated, do not commit)

When --log:<path> is specified, the log file is a plain UTF-8 text file containing all compilation messages. Each line is prefixed with its severity level:

VBA Padlock Compilation Log - 2026-02-12 14:30:00
------------------------------------------------------------
[Info] Validating project settings...
[Info] Compiling scripts...
[Info] Built 32-bit runtime DLL: C:\Projects\bin\MyWorkbookrun32.dll
[Info] Built 64-bit runtime DLL: C:\Projects\bin\MyWorkbookrun64.dll
[Info] Built satellite DLL: C:\Projects\bin\MyWorkbook.dll
[Success] Compilation completed successfully.

The log file is created in all exit paths — including error scenarios — so it can always be inspected after a build.

• The Office document and its .vbapadlock project folder must be in the same directory.
• VBA Padlock must have access to its dll_templates\ subdirectory (part of the installation).
• All VBA script modules (.bas files) must be saved as UTF-8. The compiler reads scripts using UTF-8 encoding. Using a different encoding may cause compilation errors or incorrect string handling.

• Project Format Reference — Project directory structure
• Troubleshooting — Common issues and solutions