Shell steps (sh, bat) in Jenkins - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to run a shell command in a Jenkins pipeline.

Jenkins

pipeline {
  agent any
  stages {
    stage('Example') {
      steps {
        [1] 'echo Hello World'
      }
    }
  }
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Abat

Bpowershell

Cscript

Dsh

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'bat' on Unix agents causes errors.

Using 'powershell' without Windows agent.

The sh step runs shell commands on Unix-like agents in Jenkins pipelines.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to run a Windows batch command in a Jenkins pipeline.

Jenkins

pipeline {
  agent any
  stages {
    stage('Build') {
      steps {
        [1] 'dir'
      }
    }
  }
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Apowershell

Bsh

Cbat

Dcmd

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'sh' on Windows agents without a Unix shell.

Using 'cmd' which is not a Jenkins pipeline step.

The bat step runs Windows batch commands in Jenkins pipelines.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the Jenkins pipeline code to run a shell command.

Jenkins

pipeline {
  agent any
  stages {
    stage('Test') {
      steps {
        [1] "echo Testing"
      }
    }
  }
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Ash

Bscript

Cpowershell

Dbat

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'bat' on Unix agents.

Using 'powershell' without Windows.

Use sh to run shell commands on Unix-like agents. Using bat causes errors on non-Windows agents.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to run a shell command and a batch command in the same Jenkins pipeline stage.

Jenkins

pipeline {
  agent any
  stages {
    stage('Multi') {
      steps {
        [1] 'echo Unix command'
        [2] 'dir'
      }
    }
  }
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Ash

Bpowershell

Cbat

Dscript

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'bat' for shell commands.

Using 'powershell' instead of 'bat' for batch commands.

Use sh for shell commands and bat for batch commands in Jenkins pipelines.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a map of commands with their respective Jenkins steps.

Jenkins

def commands = [
  build: [1] 'make build',
  test: [2] 'pytest',
  clean: [3] 'rm -rf build'
]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Ash

Bbat

Dpowershell

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'powershell' where not needed.

Mixing up 'sh' and 'bat' steps.

Use sh for Unix shell commands and bat for Windows batch commands in Jenkins pipelines.

Practice

1. In Jenkins pipelines, which shell step should you use to run a command on a Linux agent?

easy

A. bat

B. sh

C. cmd

D. powershell

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand Jenkins shell steps

   Jenkins uses sh to run shell commands on Linux/macOS agents.

2. Step 2: Identify the correct shell for Linux

   Since Linux uses bash or sh shells, sh is the correct step.

3. Final Answer:

   sh -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Linux shell step = sh [OK]

Hint: Use sh for Linux/macOS, bat for Windows agents [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using bat on Linux agents
• Confusing cmd with sh
• Using powershell on non-Windows agents

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to run a Windows batch command in a Jenkins pipeline?

easy

A. sh 'dir'

B. cmd 'dir'

C. powershell 'dir'

D. bat 'dir'

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify Windows shell step in Jenkins

   Jenkins uses bat to run Windows batch commands.

2. Step 2: Match syntax for batch command

   The correct syntax is bat 'command', so bat 'dir' is correct.

3. Final Answer:

   bat 'dir' -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Windows batch command = bat [OK]

Hint: Use bat for Windows commands in Jenkins pipelines [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using sh for Windows commands
• Using cmd which is not a Jenkins step
• Using powershell without proper syntax

3. What will be the output of this Jenkins pipeline snippet on a Linux agent?

sh 'echo Hello Jenkins'

medium

A. Hello Jenkins

B. sh: command not found

C. echo Hello Jenkins

D. Syntax error

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the sh step execution

   The sh step runs the command inside quotes on the Linux shell.

2. Step 2: Predict command output

   The command echo Hello Jenkins prints the text 'Hello Jenkins' to the console.

3. Final Answer:

   Hello Jenkins -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   sh echo outputs text [OK]

Hint: sh runs commands and prints their output on Linux [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Expecting the command itself as output
• Confusing syntax error with correct command
• Assuming sh step fails on Linux

4. You wrote this Jenkins pipeline step:

bat 'echo Hello from Linux'

But it runs on a Linux agent and fails. What is the problem?

medium

A. bat is for Windows, not Linux

B. echo command is invalid

C. Missing quotes around command

D. Pipeline syntax error

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify shell step and agent OS mismatch

   The bat step runs Windows batch commands, but the agent is Linux.

2. Step 2: Understand why failure occurs

   Linux agents do not support bat, so the step fails.

3. Final Answer:

   bat is for Windows, not Linux -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   bat step on Linux = failure [OK]

Hint: Match shell step to agent OS: bat=Windows, sh=Linux [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking echo is invalid on Linux
• Assuming quotes cause error
• Blaming pipeline syntax instead of shell step

5. You want to write a Jenkins pipeline that runs a shell command on both Windows and Linux agents. Which approach is best?

hard

A. Use sh step for all agents

B. Use bat step for all agents

C. Use sh for Linux and bat for Windows with if condition

D. Use powershell step for all agents

Solution

1. Step 1: Recognize OS differences in shell steps

   Linux agents require sh, Windows agents require bat.

2. Step 2: Use conditional logic in pipeline

   Use an if condition to detect OS and run the correct shell step.

3. Final Answer:

   Use sh for Linux and bat for Windows with if condition -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Conditional shell steps match OS [OK]

Hint: Use if condition to select sh or bat by OS [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using one shell step for all OSes
• Ignoring agent OS detection
• Using powershell without Windows-only context