What is an Angular CLI builder, and how does it differ from a schematic?

A schematic generates or modifies source code files, while a builder actually performs a task using your project's code, such as building it for production, running tests, or deploying it somewhere. Builders are what power commands like ng build and ng test behind the scenes.

// angular.json referencing a builder for the build target
"build": {
  "builder": "@angular-devkit/build-angular:browser",
  "options": { "outputPath": "dist/my-app" }
}