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Jenkins Job Triggers

1. Poll SCM

Overview

Poll SCM periodically scans the repository for changes and triggers a build when updates are detected.

Enable Poll SCM

  1. Open the Jenkins job.
  2. Go to Configure.
  3. Scroll to Build Triggers.
  4. Enable Poll SCM.
  5. Add a cron expression.

Example:

H/5 * * * *

This checks the repository every 5 minutes.

2. Build after other projects are built

Overview

This trigger allows a Jenkins job to start automatically after another specified job finishes successfully.

Enable the Trigger

  1. Open your Jenkins job.
  2. Click Configure.
  3. Scroll to Build Triggers.
  4. Enable Build after other projects are built.
  5. In Projects to watch, enter the name of the upstream job.

Example: UpstreamJobName

Test the Trigger

  1. Start the upstream job manually.
  2. Wait for it to finish.
  3. Verify that the downstream job starts automatically.

Workflow

Upstream Job
↓
Build completes
↓
Downstream Job starts automatically

3. Remote Trigger

Overview

Remote triggering allows you to start a Jenkins job from an external script or system using an HTTP request.

Enable the Remote Trigger

Requirements

  • curl
  • wget

Step 1 — Enable Remote Trigger in Jenkins

  1. Open your Jenkins job.
  2. Click Configure.
  3. Go to Build Triggers.
  4. Enable:
Trigger builds remotely (e.g., from scripts)
  1. Create a token in Authentication Token.

Example:

mybuildtoken

Your trigger URL format will be:

http://JENKINS_URL/job/JOB_NAME/build?token=TOKEN_NAME

Example:

http://localhost:8080/job/BuildTriggerTest/build?token=mybuildtoken

Step 2 — Generate Jenkins API Token

  1. Click your username (top-right corner).
  2. Go to Security.
  3. Click Add new Token.
  4. Copy the token.

Example credentials format:

username:api_token

Example:

admin:1188c983482ac7f4a125a83c1316f43b30

Step 3 — Generate Jenkins Crumb (CSRF Protection)

Run the following command to retrieve the Jenkins crumb:

wget -q \
--auth-no-challenge \
--user USERNAME \
--password API_TOKEN \
--output-document - \
"http://JENKINS_IP:8080/crumbIssuer/api/xml?xpath=concat(//crumbRequestField,\":\",//crumb)"

Example output:

Jenkins-Crumb:eb5d4ffd2ee8cabb4d15ee6d515bba5a6cc7f2045b4eb640e43914342d851ca8

Step 4 — Trigger the Jenkins Job

Use curl to trigger the job:

curl -X POST \
http://USERNAME:API_TOKEN@JENKINS_IP:8080/job/JOB_NAME/build?token=TOKEN_NAME \
-H "Jenkins-Crumb:CRUMB"

Example

curl -X POST \
http://admin:1188c983482ac7f4a125a83c1316f43b30@localhost:8080/job/BuildTriggerTest/build?token=mybuildtoken \
-H "Jenkins-Crumb:eb5d4ffd2ee8cabb4d15ee6d515bba5a6cc7f2045b4eb640e43914342d851ca8"

This will remotely trigger the Jenkins job BuildTriggerTest.

Quick Flow

Create API Token
↓
Enable "Trigger builds remotely"
↓
Generate Jenkins Crumb
↓
Send POST request using curl
↓
Jenkins job starts