Backing upRestoring Jenkins

Regular backups of your Jenkins instance are critical for disaster recovery, data integrity, and accidental-deletion protection. In this guide, we’ll cover the most reliable backup strategies and detail exactly which files and directories you should preserve.

Backup Approaches

Approach	Description	Tools / Plugins
File-system snapshots	Capture a point-in-time, consistent copy of the entire file system.	Linux LVM, AWS EBS snapshots, GCP persistent disks
Jenkins plugins	Export Jenkins configuration and jobs via plugin interfaces.	ThinBackup
Custom scripts	Copy only essential directories and files to a backup location.	Bash, PowerShell, rsync
Hybrid strategy	Use local snapshots for speed, then replicate to remote storage.	Combination of above

Note

The ThinBackup plugin is the only actively maintained backup plugin for Jenkins. Other plugins may be outdated or lack features.

By combining snapshots, plugins, and scripts, you can assemble a resilient backup plan tailored to your infrastructure and RPO/RTO requirements.

What to Backup

Your $JENKINS_HOME directory (typically /var/lib/jenkins on Linux) holds all your Jenkins data. While full-directory backups are the simplest, selective backups can save storage and speed up operations.

$ tree /var/lib/jenkins
.
├── config.xml            # Main Jenkins configuration file
├── *.xml                 # Site-wide config files (e.g., credentials.xml)
├── builds/               # Build results: build.xml, changelog.xml
├── fingerprints/         # Artifact fingerprint records
├── identity.key.enc      # Encrypted RSA key pair for this instance
├── jobs/                 # Job definitions and history
│   └── [JOBNAME]/
│       └── config.xml    # Individual job configuration
├── nodes/                # Configuration for build agents
├── plugins/              # Installed plugins (.jpi, .hpi)
├── secrets/              # Encrypted credentials and keys
├── userContent/          # Static files served at /userContent/
├── users/                # User account configurations
└── workspace/            # SCM workspace directories

Essential Inclusions

Directory / File	Purpose	Priority
`config.xml`, `*.xml`	Global Jenkins and system configurations	High
`jobs/[JOBNAME]/config.xml`	Job definitions and parameters	High
`secrets/`, `identity.key.enc`	Credentials and master keys	High
`fingerprints/`	Artifact tracking records	Medium
`nodes/`	Build agent configurations	Medium
`plugins/`	Installed plugin binaries (can be reinstalled)	Low–Medium

Optional Exclusions

workspace/ directories (recreated on build)
Build artifacts and logs (exclude if storing centrally)
Caches and temporary files
Plugin data that can be fetched again from Update Center

Warning

Always encrypt your backups at rest and in transit. Store credentials and master keys securely to prevent unauthorized access.

By exporting these files—via snapshots, plugins, or scripts—and replicating them to secure local and remote targets, you ensure a solid Jenkins disaster-recovery strategy.

Links and References

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