diff --git a/commands/operator-sdk/cmd/build.go b/commands/operator-sdk/cmd/build.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fc03afc91b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/commands/operator-sdk/cmd/build.go
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+package cmd
+
+import "github.com/spf13/cobra"
+
+// buildCmd represents the build command
+var buildCmd = &cobra.Command{
+	Use:   "build <image>",
+	Short: "Compiles code and builds artifacts",
+	Long: `The operator-sdk build command compiles the code, builds the executables,
+	and generates Kubernetes manifests.
+
+	<image> is the container image to be built, e.g. "quay.io/example/operator:v0.0.1".
+	This image will be automatically set in the deployment manifests.
+
+	After build completes, the image would be built locally in docker. Then it needs to
+	be pushed to remote registry.
+	For example:
+	$ operator-sdk build quay.io/example/operator:v0.0.1
+	$ docker push quay.io/example/operator:v0.0.1
+`,
+	Run: newFunc,
+}