Jenkins

February 22, 2026

What it is

Jenkins is an open source automation server for continuous integration and delivery. Pipelines are defined in Jenkinsfile (Groovy) or via UI; a large plugin ecosystem covers build, test, deploy, and integrations.

Usage

Build, test, package, and deploy on code changes; run scheduled jobs; integrate with Git, artifact stores, and cloud providers.

Pros and cons

Pros	Cons
Huge plugin ecosystem	JVM and UI can feel heavy
Flexible pipelines (Groovy, Declarative)	Stateful server; backup/upgrade care needed
Self-hosted, no per-seat cost	Many plugins unmaintained or insecure
Widely known and documented

Alternatives

GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, Tekton, Argo CD (GitOps). Why Jenkins: Maximum flexibility and plugin choice; good when you need custom logic and don’t want vendor CI.

Suggested tech stack

Run on a dedicated server or in Docker/Kubernetes; use agents for different runtimes. Put behind reverse proxy for TLS.

When to use it

You need highly customizable CI/CD, existing Jenkins expertise, or integrations only available via Jenkins plugins.