What's New

A running log of meaningful updates to AR15.BUILD (Staging). We ship when something is genuinely useful, not on a schedule.

Build tool improvements

Latest

  • Bundle item override — got a complete lower but want a different trigger? You can now replace any individual item included in a bundle with a component of your choice. The build reflects both the bundle and your override.
  • Each selected component in your build now has a direct link to its product page, so you can pull up specs, pricing, and reviews without leaving your build.

Sort by popularity and rating

  • Product list pages now support sorting by popularity — ranked by how many public builds include each component — and by rating.
  • Sort order (ascending or descending) can be toggled independently of the sort field.

Richer compatibility data

We're expanding the dimensional data we capture across component types. This data isn't yet wired into the compatibility checker, but it lays the groundwork for more precise fitment checks in the future.

  • Gas blocks now capture bore diameter — the critical spec for matching to your barrel's journal diameter.
  • Scopes and magnifiers now capture tube diameter (1", 30mm, 34mm, 35mm) and optic mounts capture their ring bore diameter.
  • Barrel gas block journal diameter is now explicitly extracted rather than inferred, completing the barrel → gas block data chain.
  • Buffer tubes and stocks/braces now capture their respective outer and inner diameters, covering mil-spec vs commercial fitment.

Mobile browsing improvements

  • Product list pages now show a clean card layout on phones — no more horizontal scrolling through a wide table.
  • Build hero images and pagination fixed across all public build pages.

Price alerts

  • Set a target price on any component and get notified when it drops below your threshold.
  • Alerts are managed from your account and work across all tracked component types.

Inventory tracking

  • Components now track in-stock and out-of-stock status based on merchant data, so you can see at a glance what's available.

Brand pages & global search

  • Every manufacturer now has a dedicated page listing all of their components in the catalog.
  • Global search now returns products, brands, builds, and guides from a single search bar.
  • Improved SEO and internal linking across product and brand pages.

Improved product filtering

  • Product list pages now support filtering by material, caliber, barrel length, and rating.
  • Sort by name, price, or manufacturer — in either direction.
  • Active filters are preserved in the URL so you can share or bookmark a filtered view.
  • Pagination added to product lists to handle large catalogs efficiently.

Guides & articles

  • A new guides section covers build planning fundamentals, left-handed AR-15 considerations, and more.
  • Guides are linked from relevant product and tool pages to surface them in context.

Planning tools

  • Muzzle velocity estimator — estimate velocity based on barrel length and caliber.
  • Sound level estimator — understand how suppressor choice affects decibel output.
  • Gas & buffer pairing — guidance on matching your gas system length to buffer weight.
  • Zero & holdover calculator — work out point-of-impact at various distances given your zero and optic height.

Expanded component catalog

  • Added suppressors as a browsable and build-selectable component type.
  • Optics split into three distinct categories: scopes, red dots, and magnifiers — each with their own dedicated product pages.
  • Several additional component types added across the catalog.
  • AI-assisted duplicate detection runs continuously in the background. Confirmed duplicates are auto-merged to keep the catalog clean and accurate.

Marketplace

  • Sellers can now mark listings as sold once a deal is complete.
  • Expanded search filters let buyers narrow by condition, price range, and location.
  • Gift system lets community members send parts as gifts to other builders.
  • Marketplace listings are now indexed for search engine discoverability.