Lesson 13: Jenkins Pipelines

What is a Jenkins Pipeline?

A Jenkins pipeline is a set of automated processes for building, testing, and deploying software. Pipelines define the entire CI/CD workflow as code.

Types of Pipelines

• Declarative Pipeline: Structured and easy-to-read syntax for CI/CD jobs.
• Scripted Pipeline: More flexible Groovy-based syntax for advanced workflows.

Pipeline Stages and Steps

• Stages: Logical blocks of the workflow (e.g., Build, Test, Deploy)
• Steps: Individual commands executed within a stage
• Post Actions: Tasks after stage completion (e.g., notifications, cleanup)

Sample Declarative Pipeline

pipeline {
    agent any
    stages {
        stage('Build') {
            steps {
                echo 'Building application...'
            }
        }
        stage('Test') {
            steps {
                echo 'Running tests...'
            }
        }
        stage('Deploy') {
            steps {
                echo 'Deploying to production...'
            }
        }
    }
    post {
        success {
            echo 'Pipeline completed successfully!'
        }
        failure {
            echo 'Pipeline failed.'
        }
    }
}
    

Best Practices for Pipelines

• Keep stages simple and clear
• Use version control for pipeline scripts
• Automate tests and deployments
• Use environment variables and credentials securely

What You Learned

• Jenkins pipeline concepts
• Declarative vs Scripted pipelines
• Stages, steps, and post actions
• Best practices for CI/CD workflows