Jenkins

Jenkins Commands Cheat Sheet

Practical Jenkins commands for jobs, builds, pipelines, agents, plugins, credentials, logs, REST API, CI/CD and troubleshooting.

17 categories85+ commands

Showing 85 commands.

Jenkins CLI and Server

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ help

Display available Jenkins CLI commands.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ version

Display the Jenkins CLI/server version.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ who-am-i

Display the authenticated Jenkins user.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ help build

Display help for the Jenkins build CLI command.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ help console

Display help for the Jenkins console CLI command.

Jobs

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ list-jobs

List Jenkins jobs visible to the authenticated user.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ create-job my-job

Create a Jenkins job from XML supplied through standard input.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ get-job my-job

Retrieve the XML configuration of a Jenkins job.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ update-job my-job

Update an existing Jenkins job using XML configuration.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ copy-job old-job new-job

Create a new job by copying an existing Jenkins job.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ delete-job my-job

Delete a Jenkins job.

Builds

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ build my-job

Trigger a Jenkins job build.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ build my-job -s

Trigger a build and wait until the build starts.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ build my-job -f

Trigger a build and wait until it finishes.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ build my-job -p VERSION=1.0

Trigger a parameterized Jenkins build with a parameter value.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ console my-job

Display the console output of a Jenkins job's latest build.

Parameterized Builds

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ build my-job -p ENV=production

Trigger a build with a string parameter.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ build my-job -p BRANCH=main

Trigger a build using a Git branch parameter.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ build my-job -p IMAGE_TAG=v1.2.0

Pass an image tag to a Jenkins build.

Pipelines

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ get-job my-pipeline

Retrieve the configuration of a Jenkins Pipeline job.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ build my-pipeline

Trigger a Jenkins Pipeline build.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ console my-pipeline

Display console output from the Pipeline's latest build.

pipeline { agent any }

Define a Declarative Jenkins Pipeline that can execute on any available agent.

stage('Build') { steps { sh 'npm run build' } }

Define a Pipeline stage that executes a build command.

sh 'docker build -t myapp .'

Execute a shell command from a Jenkins Pipeline on a Unix-like agent.

bat 'docker build -t myapp .'

Execute a Windows batch command from a Jenkins Pipeline.

Pipeline Environment and Parameters

environment { APP_ENV = 'production' }

Define environment variables for a Declarative Pipeline.

parameters { string(name: 'BRANCH', defaultValue: 'main') }

Define a string parameter for a Jenkins Pipeline.

echo "${env.BUILD_NUMBER}"

Print the current Jenkins build number from a Pipeline.

echo "${params.BRANCH}"

Read a Pipeline parameter.

withCredentials([...])

Temporarily expose configured Jenkins credentials to Pipeline steps.

Agents and Nodes

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ list-nodes

List Jenkins agents/nodes available to the authenticated user.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ get-node node1

Display configuration information for a Jenkins node.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ offline-node node1 -m "Maintenance"

Mark a Jenkins node offline with a maintenance message.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ online-node node1

Bring a Jenkins node back online.

Plugins

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ list-plugins

List installed Jenkins plugins.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ install-plugin workflow-aggregator

Install a Jenkins plugin by its short name.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ install-plugin git

Install the Jenkins Git plugin.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ install-plugin docker-workflow

Install the Jenkins Docker Pipeline integration plugin.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ restart

Restart Jenkins after plugin or configuration changes when permitted.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ safe-restart

Restart Jenkins after running builds have completed.

Credentials

withCredentials([usernamePassword(...)])

Use a configured username/password credential securely inside a Pipeline.

withCredentials([string(...)])

Use a configured secret text credential inside a Pipeline.

withCredentials([file(...)])

Use a configured secret file credential inside a Pipeline.

credentials('docker-registry')

Reference a Jenkins credential from a Declarative Pipeline.

Logs and Console Output

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ console my-job

Display the latest console output for a job.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ console my-job 25

Display console output for a specific build number.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ console my-job -f

Follow console output while a build is running.

echo "Build ${env.BUILD_NUMBER}"

Print build information to the Jenkins Pipeline console.

REST API

curl http://localhost:8080/api/json

Retrieve Jenkins information through the JSON REST API.

curl http://localhost:8080/job/my-job/api/json

Retrieve JSON information about a specific Jenkins job.

curl http://localhost:8080/job/my-job/lastBuild/api/json

Retrieve information about the latest build of a Jenkins job.

curl http://localhost:8080/job/my-job/lastBuild/consoleText

Retrieve plain-text console output from the latest build.

curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/job/my-job/build

Trigger a Jenkins build through the REST API when authentication and permissions allow it.

Jenkins Environment Variables

echo $BUILD_NUMBER

Display the current Jenkins build number from a Unix-like shell.

echo $BUILD_ID

Display the current Jenkins build identifier.

echo $BUILD_URL

Display the URL of the current Jenkins build.

echo $JOB_NAME

Display the current Jenkins job name.

echo $WORKSPACE

Display the workspace directory on the Jenkins agent.

echo $GIT_COMMIT

Display the Git commit associated with the build when Git integration provides it.

Workspace and Cleanup

deleteDir()

Delete the current Pipeline workspace contents.

cleanWs()

Clean the Jenkins workspace when the Workspace Cleanup plugin is available.

dir('frontend') { ... }

Execute Pipeline steps inside a specific workspace directory.

ws('/custom/workspace') { ... }

Execute Pipeline steps using a specified workspace location.

Jenkins Administration

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ reload-configuration

Reload Jenkins configuration from disk.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ reload-job my-job

Reload a job configuration from disk when applicable.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ quiet-down

Prevent new builds from starting while Jenkins completes existing work.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ cancel-quiet-down

Cancel quiet-down mode and allow new builds to start.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ restart

Restart the Jenkins controller.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ safe-restart

Restart Jenkins after running builds have completed.

Build Control

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ stop-builds my-job

Stop builds for a job when supported by the installed Jenkins CLI command set.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ build my-job -f

Trigger a build and wait for its completion.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ console my-job -f

Follow live console output from the latest build.

CI/CD Workflow

checkout scm

Check out the source code configured for the Jenkins Pipeline.

sh 'npm ci'

Install Node.js dependencies in a Unix-like Jenkins agent.

sh 'npm run build'

Build a Node.js application in a Jenkins Pipeline.

sh 'docker build -t myapp:${BUILD_NUMBER} .'

Build a Docker image using the Jenkins build number as the image tag.

sh 'docker push registry.example.com/myapp:${BUILD_NUMBER}'

Push a built Docker image to a container registry.

sh 'kubectl apply -f k8s/'

Deploy Kubernetes manifests from a Jenkins Pipeline when kubectl is configured on the agent.

Jenkins Troubleshooting

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ version

Verify Jenkins server and CLI version information.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ who-am-i

Verify the authenticated Jenkins identity and permissions.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ list-jobs

Check whether the expected jobs are accessible.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ list-nodes

Check available Jenkins agents when builds cannot start.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ list-plugins

Inspect installed plugins when Pipeline features are unavailable.

java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://localhost:8080/ console my-job -f

Follow live build logs while troubleshooting a failed or hanging build.

Recommended Jenkins Workflow

# Check out source
checkout scm

# Install dependencies
sh 'npm ci'

# Run tests
sh 'npm test'

# Build application
sh 'npm run build'

# Build container
sh 'docker build -t myapp:$BUILD_NUMBER .'

# Push container
sh 'docker push registry.example.com/myapp:$BUILD_NUMBER'

# Deploy
sh 'kubectl apply -f k8s/'

DevOpsCommands Tip

Keep Jenkins pipelines in source control with a Jenkinsfile. Store secrets in Jenkins Credentials rather than directly inside Pipeline code, and make build stages small and easy to troubleshoot.