JUnit test report publishing in Jenkins - Commands & Configuration

Introduction

When you run tests in Jenkins, you want to see the results clearly. Publishing JUnit test reports helps Jenkins show which tests passed or failed, so you can fix problems quickly.

When you want Jenkins to show test results after running Java tests.

When you need to track test failures over time in your build pipeline.

When you want to fail a build automatically if tests do not pass.

When you want to generate a visual report of test results in Jenkins.

When you want to share test results with your team through Jenkins.

Config File - Jenkinsfile

Jenkinsfile

pipeline {
  agent any
  stages {
    stage('Build') {
      steps {
        echo 'Building the project'
        // Add build commands here
      }
    }
    stage('Test') {
      steps {
        echo 'Running tests'
        // Run your tests here, for example:
        sh 'mvn test'
      }
      post {
        always {
          junit 'target/surefire-reports/*.xml'
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

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

In the Test stage, it runs tests using Maven and then publishes JUnit test reports from the 'target/surefire-reports' directory.

The junit step tells Jenkins where to find the XML test report files to display results.

Commands

Runs the Java tests using Maven. This generates JUnit XML reports in the default directory.

Terminal

mvn test

Expected Output

[INFO] Scanning for projects...

[INFO] 

[INFO] ------------------< com.example:my-app >-------------------

[INFO] Building my-app 1.0-SNAPSHOT

[INFO] --------------------------------[ jar ]---------------------------------

[INFO] 

[INFO] --- maven-surefire-plugin:3.0.0-M5:test (default-test) @ my-app ---

[INFO] Tests run: 5, Failures: 0, Errors: 0, Skipped: 0, Time elapsed: 2.345 s - in com.example.AppTest

[INFO] 

[INFO] BUILD SUCCESS

Triggers the Jenkins pipeline job that includes the JUnit report publishing step.

Terminal

jenkins-jobs build my-pipeline

Expected Output

Started build #15 for job 'my-pipeline'

Building remotely on agent-1

[Pipeline] stage

[Pipeline] { (Test)

[Pipeline] sh

+ mvn test

[INFO] Tests run: 5, Failures: 0, Errors: 0, Skipped: 0

[Pipeline] junit

Recording test results

[Test Result] Test Result: 5 tests, 0 failures, 0 skipped

[Pipeline] }

Fetches the JSON summary of the test report from Jenkins for build 15 to verify test results programmatically.

Terminal

curl -s http://jenkins.example.com/job/my-pipeline/15/testReport/api/json

Expected Output

{"totalCount":5,"failCount":0,"skipCount":0,"suites":[{"name":"com.example.AppTest","cases":[{"name":"testApp","status":"PASSED"}]}]}

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else from this pattern, remember: the Jenkins 'junit' step reads XML test reports to show test results and control build status.

Common Mistakes

Not specifying the correct path to the JUnit XML report files in the 'junit' step.

Jenkins cannot find the test reports, so it shows no test results or fails silently.

Use the exact path pattern where your test reports are generated, for example 'target/surefire-reports/*.xml'.

Running tests but forgetting to add the 'junit' step in the Jenkinsfile.

Test results are not published, so Jenkins does not show test status or fail the build on test failures.

Always add the 'junit' step in the post section of your test stage to publish reports.

Using an outdated or incompatible test report format.

Jenkins cannot parse the reports, so test results are missing or incorrect.

Ensure your tests generate standard JUnit XML reports compatible with Jenkins.

Summary

Run your tests to generate JUnit XML reports using your build tool like Maven.

Add the 'junit' step in your Jenkins pipeline to publish these test reports.

Verify test results in Jenkins UI or via Jenkins API to track test success or failure.