Recent articles won't show when using externalUrl _build param - is it expected?

[Deewens]

Hello,

So on my website, I only have articles redirecting to an external URL. I tried to show recent articles on the home page, but it did not work. After experimenting a bit, if I remove the _build parameter to prevent a normal page for the content to be generated, then it work.

_build:
  render: "false"
  list: "local"

MY question is, is it an expected behaviour, and if so, will it cause side-issues if I just use externalUrl for all of my articles without the _build parameter?

Thanks!