Getting started with Pipeline

Category : Devops | Sub Category : Jenkins | By Prasad Bonam Last updated: 2021-03-20 04:40:43 Viewed : 575


Getting started with Pipeline 

 Jenkins Pipeline is a suite of plugins that supports implementing and integrating continuous delivery pipelines into Jenkins. Pipeline provides an extensible set of tools for modeling simple-to-complex delivery pipelines "as code" via the Pipeline DSL. [1]

This section describes how to get started with creating your Pipeline project in Jenkins and introduces you to the various ways that a Jenkinsfile can be created and stored.

Prerequisites

To use Jenkins Pipeline, you will need:

  • Jenkins 2.x or later (older versions back to 1.642.3 may work but are not recommended)

  • Pipeline plugin, [2] which is installed as part of the "suggested plugins" (specified when running through the Post-installation setup wizard after installing Jenkins).

Read more about how to install and manage plugins in Managing Plugins.

Defining a Pipeline

Both Declarative and Scripted Pipeline are DSLs [1] to describe portions of your software delivery pipeline. Scripted Pipeline is written in a limited form of Groovy syntax.

Relevant components of Groovy syntax will be introduced as required throughout this documentation, so while an understanding of Groovy is helpful, it is not required to work with Pipeline.

A Pipeline can be created in one of the following ways:

  • Through Blue Ocean - after setting up a Pipeline project in Blue Ocean, the Blue Ocean UI helps you write your Pipeline’s Jenkinsfile and commit it to source control.

  • Through the classic UI - you can enter a basic Pipeline directly in Jenkins through the classic UI.

  • In SCM - you can write a Jenkinsfile manually, which you can commit to your project’s source control repository. [3]

The syntax for defining a Pipeline with either approach is the same, but while Jenkins supports entering Pipeline directly into the classic UI, it is generally considered best practice to define the Pipeline in a Jenkinsfile which Jenkins will then load directly from source control.

Through Blue Ocean

If you are new to Jenkins Pipeline, the Blue Ocean UI helps you set up your Pipeline project, and automatically creates and writes your Pipeline (i.e. the Jenkinsfile) for you through the graphical Pipeline editor.

As part of setting up your Pipeline project in Blue Ocean, Jenkins configures a secure and appropriately authenticated connection to your project’s source control repository. Therefore, any changes you make to the Jenkinsfile via Blue Ocean’s Pipeline editor are automatically saved and committed to source control.

Read more about Blue Ocean in the Blue Ocean chapter and Getting started with Blue Ocean page.

Through the classic UI

Jenkinsfile created using the classic UI is stored by Jenkins itself (within the Jenkins home directory).

To create a basic Pipeline through the Jenkins classic UI:

  1. If required, ensure you are logged in to Jenkins.

  2. From the Jenkins home 

  3. page (i.e. the Dashboard of the Jenkins classic UI), click New Item at the top left.

    Classic UI left column

    1. In the Enter an item name field, specify the name for your new Pipeline project.
      Caution: Jenkins uses this item name to create directories on disk. It is recommended to avoid using spaces in item names, since doing so may uncover bugs in scripts that do not properly handle spaces in directory paths.

    2. Scroll down and click Pipeline, then click OK at the end of the page to open the Pipeline configuration page (whose General tab is selected).

      Enter a name, click <strong>Pipeline</strong> and then click <strong>OK</strong>

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