Email notifications in pipelines in Jenkins - Commands & Configuration

Introduction

Sometimes your automated tasks need to tell you when they finish or fail. Email notifications in Jenkins pipelines help you get these messages automatically, so you don't have to check manually.

When you want to get an email if your code build fails so you can fix it quickly.

When you want to notify your team that a deployment finished successfully.

When you want to send a summary email after running tests in your pipeline.

When you want to alert yourself if a scheduled job did not run as expected.

When you want to keep stakeholders informed about pipeline results without logging into Jenkins.

Config File - Jenkinsfile

Jenkinsfile

pipeline {
  agent any
  stages {
    stage('Build') {
      steps {
        echo 'Building...'
      }
    }
    stage('Test') {
      steps {
        echo 'Testing...'
      }
    }
  }
  post {
    success {
      mail to: '[e-mail]',
           subject: "SUCCESS: Job '${env.JOB_NAME} [${env.BUILD_NUMBER}]'",
           body: "Good news! The job '${env.JOB_NAME} [${env.BUILD_NUMBER}]' succeeded."
    }
    failure {
      mail to: '[e-mail]',
           subject: "FAILURE: Job '${env.JOB_NAME} [${env.BUILD_NUMBER}]'",
           body: "Oops! The job '${env.JOB_NAME} [${env.BUILD_NUMBER}]' failed. Please check the logs."
    }
  }
}

This Jenkinsfile defines a simple pipeline with two stages: Build and Test.

The post section sends email notifications after the pipeline finishes.

• success: sends an email if the pipeline succeeds.
• failure: sends an email if the pipeline fails.

The mail step uses the recipient's email, subject, and body to send the notification.

Commands

This command updates the Jenkins pipeline with the Jenkinsfile that includes email notifications. It applies the pipeline configuration to Jenkins.

Terminal

jenkins-jobs --conf jenkins.ini update Jenkinsfile

Expected Output

Job updated successfully

This command starts the pipeline job named 'my-pipeline' to run the stages and trigger email notifications based on the result.

Terminal

jenkins-cli build my-pipeline

Expected Output

Started build #1

This command shows the console output of the first build of 'my-pipeline' so you can verify the pipeline ran and emails were triggered.

Terminal

jenkins-cli console my-pipeline #1

Expected Output

[Pipeline] Start of Pipeline

[Pipeline] echo

Building...

[Pipeline] echo

Testing...

[Pipeline] mail

Sending email to [e-mail]

[Pipeline] End of Pipeline

Finished: SUCCESS

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else from this pattern, remember: use the post section in Jenkinsfile to send emails after pipeline success or failure.

Common Mistakes

Not configuring the SMTP server in Jenkins settings before using the mail step.

Without SMTP setup, Jenkins cannot send emails and the mail step will fail silently or cause errors.

Go to Jenkins system configuration and set up the SMTP server details before running pipelines with email notifications.

Using incorrect email addresses or missing quotes around strings in the mail step.

This causes syntax errors or emails not being sent to the right recipients.

Always use quotes around email addresses and strings, and double-check email addresses for typos.

Summary

Write a Jenkinsfile with a post section to send emails on success and failure.

Use the mail step with to, subject, and body parameters to customize notifications.

Run the pipeline and check console output to confirm emails are sent.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of adding email notifications in Jenkins pipelines?

easy

A. To increase the number of pipeline stages

B. To speed up the pipeline execution

C. To automatically inform team members about pipeline success or failure

D. To reduce the size of the pipeline script

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the role of email notifications

   Email notifications are used to keep team members informed about the status of the pipeline automatically.

2. Step 2: Identify the correct purpose

   Speeding up execution, increasing stages, or reducing script size are unrelated to email notifications.

3. Final Answer:

   To automatically inform team members about pipeline success or failure -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Email notifications = Inform team automatically [OK]

Hint: Email notifications alert teams about pipeline results [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking email notifications speed up pipelines
• Confusing notifications with pipeline structure changes
• Assuming notifications reduce script size

2. Which Jenkins pipeline syntax correctly sends an email notification only on failure using the post section?

easy

A. post { failure { emailext to: '[e-mail]', subject: 'Build Failed', body: 'Check the logs.' } }

B. post { always { emailext to: '[e-mail]', subject: 'Build Failed', body: 'Check the logs.' } }

C. post { success { emailext to: '[e-mail]', subject: 'Build Failed', body: 'Check the logs.' } }

D. post { failure { mail to: '[e-mail]', subject: 'Build Failed', body: 'Check the logs.' } }

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify correct post condition for failure

   The failure block runs only when the pipeline fails, which is correct here.

2. Step 2: Check the email sending syntax

   emailext is the correct step for sending emails with extended options; mail is less common and may lack features.

3. Final Answer:

   post { failure { emailext to: '[e-mail]', subject: 'Build Failed', body: 'Check the logs.' } } -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Failure + emailext = Correct syntax [OK]

Hint: Use 'post { failure { emailext ... } }' for failure emails [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using 'always' instead of 'failure' for failure-only emails
• Using 'success' block for failure notifications
• Using 'mail' instead of 'emailext' without plugin support

3. Given this Jenkins pipeline snippet, what will happen when the build succeeds?

post {
  success {
    emailext to: '[e-mail]', subject: 'Build Success', body: 'Good job!'
  }
  failure {
    emailext to: '[e-mail]', subject: 'Build Failed', body: 'Please check.'
  }
}

medium

A. Both success and failure emails are sent

B. An email with subject 'Build Failed' is sent to [e-mail]

C. No email is sent

D. An email with subject 'Build Success' is sent to [e-mail]

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand post conditions for success

   The success block triggers only when the build finishes successfully.

2. Step 2: Identify which email is sent on success

   The email with subject 'Build Success' is sent to '[e-mail]' in the success block.

3. Final Answer:

   An email with subject 'Build Success' is sent to [e-mail] -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Success block sends success email [OK]

Hint: Success block emails only on successful builds [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing failure email with success email
• Thinking no email is sent on success
• Assuming both emails send regardless of build result

4. You wrote this Jenkins pipeline snippet to send failure emails, but no emails are sent on failure:

post {
  failure {
    mail to: '[e-mail]', subject: 'Build Failed', body: 'Fix it!'
  }
}

What is the likely problem?

medium

A. The 'failure' block should be 'always' to send emails on failure

B. The 'mail' step requires proper configuration; use 'emailext' instead

C. The 'to' field must be inside quotes like "to: '[e-mail]'"

D. The 'body' field is missing a required parameter

Solution

1. Step 1: Check the email step used

   The mail step is basic and may not work without proper setup; emailext from the Email Extension plugin is recommended for reliable emails.

2. Step 2: Confirm correct step for failure emails

   Using emailext ensures emails are sent with more options and better support in pipelines.

3. Final Answer:

   The 'mail' step requires proper configuration; use 'emailext' instead -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Use emailext for failure emails [OK]

Hint: Use 'emailext' not 'mail' for reliable email notifications [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using 'mail' without proper configuration
• Confusing 'failure' with 'always' block
• Incorrect quoting of parameters

5. You want to send an email notification only if the build fails and the failure is caused by a test failure. Which Jenkins pipeline snippet correctly implements this logic?

hard

A. post {
failure {
script {
if (currentBuild.rawBuild.getLog(100).any { it.contains('TEST-FAILURE') }) {
emailext to: '[e-mail]', subject: 'Test Failure', body: 'Tests failed!'
}
}
}
}

B. post {
always {
emailext to: '[e-mail]', subject: 'Test Failure', body: 'Tests failed!'
}
}

C. post {
failure {
emailext to: '[e-mail]', subject: 'Test Failure', body: 'Tests failed!'
}
}

D. post {
success {
emailext to: '[e-mail]', subject: 'Test Failure', body: 'Tests failed!'
}
}

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the requirement for conditional email on test failure

   The email should send only if the build fails and the failure is due to test failures, so a condition checking the build log is needed.

2. Step 2: Analyze the options for conditional logic

   post { failure { script { if (currentBuild.rawBuild.getLog(100).any { it.contains('TEST-FAILURE') }) { emailext to: '[e-mail]', subject: 'Test Failure', body: 'Tests failed!' } } } } uses a script block to check the build log for 'TEST-FAILURE' text before sending the email, matching the requirement exactly.

3. Step 3: Exclude other options

   post { always { emailext to: '[e-mail]', subject: 'Test Failure', body: 'Tests failed!' } } sends email always, ignoring failure condition. post { failure { emailext to: '[e-mail]', subject: 'Test Failure', body: 'Tests failed!' } } sends email on any failure, not just test failures. post { success { emailext to: '[e-mail]', subject: 'Test Failure', body: 'Tests failed!' } } sends email on success, which is incorrect.

4. Final Answer:

   post { failure { script { if (currentBuild.rawBuild.getLog(100).any { it.contains('TEST-FAILURE') }) { emailext to: '[e-mail]', subject: 'Test Failure', body: 'Tests failed!' } } } } -> Option A

5. Quick Check:

   Conditional script in failure block = post { failure { script { if (currentBuild.rawBuild.getLog(100).any { it.contains('TEST-FAILURE') }) { emailext to: '[e-mail]', subject: 'Test Failure', body: 'Tests failed!' } } } } [OK]

Hint: Use script block to check logs inside failure post section [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Sending emails on all failures without checking cause
• Using 'always' or 'success' blocks incorrectly
• Not using script block for conditional logic