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name: jenkins description: Use when installing, configuring, or developing with Jenkins CI/CD — server administration (installation on RHEL, systemd, reverse proxy, backup), security (RBAC, LDAP/AD, credentials management, script approval), declarative and scripted pipelines (Jenkinsfile), shared libraries, multibranch pipelines, agent management (SSH/JNLP/Docker/Kubernetes agents), plugin management, job DSL, Blue Ocean, Jenkins Configuration as Code (JCasC), and pipeline best practices. Part of the cicd-* skill family.

Jenkins CI/CD — Administration & Development

For Docker agent patterns see docker-admin and docker-cicd. For reverse proxy configuration see rhel-web-servers or ubuntu-web-servers.

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Reference Files

Detailed code examples, patterns, and configuration are in the reference files below. Read the relevant file when working on that area.

File	Covers
admin-security-agents.md	architecture overview, RHEL 9 installation, security (RBAC, LDAP/AD, credentials), and agent management (SSH, Docker, Kubernetes)
backup-jcasc-pipelines.md	backup/disaster recovery, Jenkins Configuration as Code (JCasC), and declarative pipeline syntax and patterns
libraries-multibranch-patterns-dsl.md	shared libraries, multibranch pipelines, advanced pipeline patterns (parallel, matrix, docker agents), and Job DSL

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Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern	Why It Fails	Correct Approach
Configuring jobs through the UI instead of Jenkinsfile	No version control, no code review, no audit trail; configuration drift between environments	Use declarative Jenkinsfile in SCM; treat pipeline as code; review changes through PRs
Running builds on the Jenkins controller node	Controller becomes unstable; resource contention; security risk if builds have network access	Use dedicated agents (Docker, SSH, or cloud agents); controller should only orchestrate
Storing credentials in pipeline scripts or environment variables	Plaintext secrets in build logs, SCM history, and console output	Use Jenkins Credentials store with proper scoping; access via credentials() binding in Jenkinsfile
No pipeline timeout or resource limits	Stuck builds consume executor slots indefinitely; queue backs up; other builds starve	Set timeout in pipeline options; configure executor limits per node; use lock for shared resources
Not backing up Jenkins configuration	Controller disk failure loses all job configs, credentials, and build history; days of manual recreation	Schedule daily backups of JENKINS_HOME (or use SCM-based config with JCasC); test restore quarterly

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Related Skills

Topic	Skill
Docker agent patterns, Dockerfile best practices	docker-admin, docker-cicd
Docker networking, storage, security	docker-networking, docker-storage, docker-security
Docker Compose for local Jenkins stacks	docker-compose-patterns
Reverse proxy (Nginx/Apache) for Jenkins	rhel-web-servers, ubuntu-web-servers
RHEL system admin (systemd, firewalld, SELinux)	rhel-server-admin
Kubernetes cluster management	(kubernetes skill — planned)
LDAP/AD/SSO configuration	windows-sso, linux-centrify
Git workflows and branching strategies	(git skill — planned)
IBM WebSphere deployments from Jenkins	ibm-websphere
IBM MQ integration in pipelines	ibm-mq
BMC Control-M job scheduling alongside Jenkins	control-m