Input step for manual approval in Jenkins - Step-by-Step Execution

Process Flow - Input step for manual approval

Pipeline reaches input step

↓

Pause execution, wait for user

↓

User sees prompt in Jenkins UI

↓

User clicks Approve or Abort

↓

Approve

↓

Continue

The pipeline pauses at the input step, waits for a user to approve or abort, then continues or stops based on the choice.

Execution Sample

Jenkins

pipeline {
  agent any
  stages {
    stage('Approval') {
      steps {
        input 'Approve deployment?'
      }
    }
  }
}

This Jenkins pipeline pauses at the input step asking for manual approval before continuing.

Process Table

Step	Pipeline State	Action	User Interaction	Result
1	Running before input	Reach input step	No	Pipeline pauses, waiting
2	Paused at input	Wait for user	Yes - prompt shown	User sees approval prompt
3	Paused at input	User clicks Approve	Yes - user approves	Pipeline resumes execution
4	Running after input	Continue pipeline	No	Next stages run
5	Paused at input	User clicks Abort	Yes - user aborts	Pipeline stops with failure

💡 Pipeline stops or continues based on user approval or abort action

Status Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 1	After Step 2	After Step 3	Final
pipeline_state	Not started	Running before input	Paused at input	Running after input	Completed or Aborted

Key Moments - 3 Insights

Why does the pipeline pause and not continue automatically?

Because the input step waits for manual approval, as shown in execution_table row 1 and 2, the pipeline pauses until the user responds.

What happens if the user clicks Abort instead of Approve?

As shown in execution_table row 5, the pipeline stops immediately with failure and does not continue.

Can the pipeline continue without user interaction at the input step?

No, the pipeline stays paused at the input step until the user approves or aborts, as seen in execution_table rows 2 and 3.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution table, what is the pipeline state after the user clicks Approve?

A Paused at input

B Running after input

C Stopped

D Not started

💡 Hint

Check execution_table row 3 and 4 for pipeline state after approval

At which step does the pipeline show the approval prompt to the user?

A Step 2

B Step 4

C Step 1

D Step 5

💡 Hint

Look at execution_table row 2 where user interaction is 'Yes - prompt shown'

If the user aborts at the input step, what is the pipeline result?

A Pipeline continues to next stage

B Pipeline pauses indefinitely

C Pipeline stops with failure

D Pipeline restarts

💡 Hint

See execution_table row 5 for user abort action result

Concept Snapshot

Jenkins input step pauses pipeline for manual approval.
Pipeline waits until user approves or aborts.
Approve resumes pipeline; abort stops it.
Used to add human checks in automated flows.
Syntax: input 'Prompt message'.

Full Transcript

In Jenkins pipelines, the input step pauses the pipeline execution and waits for a manual approval from a user. When the pipeline reaches this step, it stops and shows a prompt in the Jenkins user interface. The user can then choose to approve or abort the pipeline. If approved, the pipeline continues running the next stages. If aborted, the pipeline stops immediately with failure. This allows adding human checks in automated processes to prevent unwanted deployments or actions. The pipeline state changes from running to paused at the input step, then back to running or stopped based on user choice.