Copying artifacts between jobs in Jenkins - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Copying Artifacts Between Jenkins Jobs

📖 Scenario: You are working on a Jenkins pipeline where you need to build a project in one job and then use the build output (artifact) in another job. This is common when you want to separate build and deployment steps into different jobs.

🎯 Goal: Build a Jenkins pipeline script that copies an artifact from one job to another using the copyArtifacts plugin step.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a Jenkins pipeline script with two stages: Build and Deploy

In the Build stage, create a file named app.jar as a dummy artifact

Archive the app.jar file as an artifact in the Build stage

In the Deploy stage, copy the artifact app.jar from the Build stage using copyArtifacts

Print a message confirming the artifact was copied

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

In real projects, build and deployment are often separated into different jobs. Copying artifacts lets you reuse build outputs without rebuilding.

💼 Career

DevOps engineers and Jenkins administrators frequently use artifact copying to create efficient CI/CD pipelines.

1

Create the Build stage with artifact

Create a Jenkins pipeline script with a Build stage that creates a file named app.jar containing the text "dummy artifact" and archives it using archiveArtifacts.

Jenkins

// Your code here to create a pipeline with a Build stage that creates and archives app.jar

Hint

Use writeFile to create the file and archiveArtifacts to save it as an artifact.

2

Add Deploy stage with copyArtifacts configuration

Add a Deploy stage to the pipeline that uses copyArtifacts to copy the artifact app.jar from the Build stage.

Jenkins

pipeline {
    agent any
    stages {
        stage('Build') {
            steps {
                script {
                    writeFile file: 'app.jar', text: 'dummy artifact'
                }
                archiveArtifacts artifacts: 'app.jar'
            }
        }
        // Add Deploy stage below
    }
}
// Your code here

Hint

Use copyArtifacts with projectName: env.JOB_NAME and selector: lastSuccessful() to copy from the same job's last successful build.

3

Add a step to confirm artifact copy

Inside the Deploy stage, add a sh step to list the files in the workspace to confirm that app.jar was copied.

Jenkins

pipeline {
    agent any
    stages {
        stage('Build') {
            steps {
                script {
                    writeFile file: 'app.jar', text: 'dummy artifact'
                }
                archiveArtifacts artifacts: 'app.jar'
            }
        }
        stage('Deploy') {
            steps {
                copyArtifacts(projectName: env.JOB_NAME, selector: lastSuccessful())
                // Add shell command to list files
            }
        }
    }
}
// Your code here

Hint

Use sh 'ls -l' to list files in the workspace.

4

Print confirmation message after copying artifact

Add a echo step inside the Deploy stage after copying the artifact to print "Artifact app.jar copied successfully".

Jenkins

pipeline {
    agent any
    stages {
        stage('Build') {
            steps {
                script {
                    writeFile file: 'app.jar', text: 'dummy artifact'
                }
                archiveArtifacts artifacts: 'app.jar'
            }
        }
        stage('Deploy') {
            steps {
                copyArtifacts(projectName: env.JOB_NAME, selector: lastSuccessful())
                sh 'ls -l'
                // Add echo statement here
            }
        }
    }
}
// Your code here

Hint

Use echo 'Artifact app.jar copied successfully' to print the confirmation message.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of using the copyArtifacts step in Jenkins?

easy

A. To compile source code in a Jenkins job

B. To delete artifacts after a build completes

C. To trigger a new Jenkins job automatically

D. To copy files from one Jenkins job to another

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the copyArtifacts step

   The copyArtifacts step is designed to transfer files (artifacts) from one Jenkins job to another.

2. Step 2: Identify the main use case

   This step helps share build outputs between jobs without rebuilding, enabling reuse of files.

3. Final Answer:

   To copy files from one Jenkins job to another -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   copyArtifacts = copy files between jobs [OK]

Hint: copyArtifacts copies files between jobs, not triggers or deletes [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing copyArtifacts with job triggers
• Thinking it deletes files instead of copying
• Assuming it compiles code

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to copy artifacts from a job named BuildJob in a Jenkins pipeline script?

easy

A. copyArtifacts(projectName: 'BuildJob')

B. copyArtifacts('BuildJob')

C. copyArtifacts job: 'BuildJob'

D. copyArtifacts from: 'BuildJob'

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall the correct syntax for copyArtifacts

   The correct syntax uses named parameters, with projectName specifying the source job.

2. Step 2: Match the syntax to the options

   copyArtifacts(projectName: 'BuildJob') uses copyArtifacts(projectName: 'BuildJob'), which is the correct form in pipeline scripts.

3. Final Answer:

   copyArtifacts(projectName: 'BuildJob') -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Use named parameter projectName in copyArtifacts [OK]

Hint: Use named parameter projectName: 'JobName' in copyArtifacts [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using positional arguments instead of named parameters
• Using incorrect keywords like job or from
• Missing parentheses or quotes

3. Given the following Jenkins pipeline snippet, what files will be copied?

copyArtifacts(projectName: 'BuildJob', filter: '**/*.jar')

medium

A. Only files with .jar extension from BuildJob artifacts

B. All files from BuildJob workspace

C. Only files named exactly 'filter' from BuildJob

D. No files will be copied due to syntax error

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the filter parameter

   The filter parameter uses Ant-style patterns to select files. '**/*.jar' means all .jar files in any folder.

2. Step 2: Determine which files are copied

   Only artifact files matching the pattern '*.jar' from the 'BuildJob' are copied, not all files.

3. Final Answer:

   Only files with .jar extension from BuildJob artifacts -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   filter '**/*.jar' copies only .jar files [OK]

Hint: filter '**/*.ext' copies only files with that extension [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming all files copy without filter
• Thinking filter is a filename, not a pattern
• Believing syntax causes error here

4. You wrote this snippet to copy artifacts but it fails:

copyArtifacts(projectName: BuildJob)

What is the likely cause of the failure?

medium

A. copyArtifacts does not accept projectName parameter

B. Missing quotes around the job name 'BuildJob'

C. The job BuildJob does not exist

D. copyArtifacts requires a filter parameter

Solution

1. Step 1: Check syntax for projectName parameter

   In pipeline scripts, string values must be quoted. Missing quotes cause syntax errors.

2. Step 2: Identify the error cause

   Since BuildJob is unquoted, Jenkins treats it as a variable, causing failure if undefined.

3. Final Answer:

   Missing quotes around the job name 'BuildJob' -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Job names must be quoted strings [OK]

Hint: Always quote job names in copyArtifacts [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Forgetting quotes around job names
• Assuming filter is mandatory
• Ignoring existence of source job

5. You want to copy only the latest successful build's output.zip artifact from job PackageJob to your current job. Which snippet correctly does this?

hard

A. copyArtifacts(projectName: 'PackageJob', selector: latest(), filter: 'output.zip')

B. copyArtifacts(projectName: 'PackageJob', filter: 'output.zip')

C. copyArtifacts(projectName: 'PackageJob', selector: lastSuccessful(), filter: 'output.zip')

D. copyArtifacts(projectName: 'PackageJob', selector: lastCompleted(), filter: 'output.zip')

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand selecting the build to copy from

   The selector parameter chooses which build's artifacts to copy. lastSuccessful() picks the latest successful build.

2. Step 2: Verify filter and selector usage

   copyArtifacts(projectName: 'PackageJob', selector: lastSuccessful(), filter: 'output.zip') uses selector: lastSuccessful() and filters for 'output.zip', matching the requirement exactly.

3. Final Answer:

   copyArtifacts(projectName: 'PackageJob', selector: lastSuccessful(), filter: 'output.zip') -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Use selector lastSuccessful() to copy latest successful build [OK]

Hint: Use selector lastSuccessful() to get latest successful build artifacts [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using selector latest() which is invalid
• Omitting selector and copying from last build regardless of status
• Using lastCompleted() which may include failed builds