Scripted Pipeline Static Agent

This article shows a concise scripted Jenkins pipeline that runs entirely on a dedicated static agent. By specifying the agent label at the top-level node(...), every stage executes on that agent instead of the controller (master) node. We already have an agent configured with the label ubuntu-docker-jdk17-node20 (Ubuntu + Docker + JDK 17 + Node 20). We’ll use that label to ensure the pipeline uses the static agent.

A Jenkins node page for "Agent ubuntu-agent" showing the node is connected with monitoring data (Architecture: Linux amd64, Free Disk Space: 72.87 GiB, Free Swap: 0 B, Response Time: 78ms). The left sidebar shows Jenkins menu options and a highlighted label "ubuntu-docker-jdk17-node20."

Wrap the label in single quotes when specifying the node: node('ubuntu-docker-jdk17-node20').

Below is a compact, production-oriented example Jenkinsfile that:

pins the pipeline to the static agent at the node level,
checks out source code,
uses a configured Node.js tool installation (updates PATH),
and runs a Unit Testing stage that injects MongoDB credentials with withCredentials.

// Jenkinsfile (scripted pipeline)
node('ubuntu-docker-jdk17-node20') {
    stage('Checkout') {
        // Example checkout; adapt to your SCM setup
        checkout scm
    }

    // Optional: cache or install dependencies here
    stage('Install') {
        // Use a configured NodeJS tool installation (name as configured in Jenkins).
        // The 'tool' step returns the installation path; add its bin directory to PATH.
        def nodeHome = tool name: 'nodejs-22', type: 'jenkins.plugins.nodejs.tools.NodeJSInstallation'
        withEnv(["PATH+NODE=${nodeHome}/bin"]) {
            sh 'node -v'
            sh 'npm install'
        }
    }

    stage('Unit Testing') {
        // Use withCredentials to inject username/password into environment variables
        withCredentials([usernamePassword(
            credentialsId: 'mongo-credentials',      // replace with your credential ID
            usernameVariable: 'MONGO_USERNAME',
            passwordVariable: 'MONGO_PASSWORD')]) {
            
            // If you have a pre-configured MONGO_URI (connection string) in Jenkins env,
            // it will be available here as MONGO_URI. Otherwise you can construct it.
            // Run tests which rely on MONGO_URI, MONGO_USERNAME and MONGO_PASSWORD.
            sh 'npm test'
        }
    }
}

Stages and common commands

Stage	Purpose	Example commands
Checkout	Retrieve source from SCM (Git, etc.)	`checkout scm`
Install	Make a configured Node.js available, install dependencies	`def nodeHome = tool name: 'nodejs-22', type: 'jenkins.plugins.nodejs.tools.NodeJSInstallation'` `withEnv(["PATH+NODE=${nodeHome}/bin"]) { sh 'npm install' }`
Unit Testing	Run tests with injected credentials	`withCredentials([usernamePassword(credentialsId: 'mongo-credentials', usernameVariable: 'MONGO_USERNAME', passwordVariable: 'MONGO_PASSWORD')]) { sh 'npm test' }`

Never hard-code secrets in your Jenkinsfile. Store credentials in the Jenkins Credentials store and reference them by credential ID (for example mongo-credentials). withCredentials masks/hides sensitive values in the console output.

Notes on credentials and environment variables:

withCredentials injects MONGO_USERNAME and MONGO_PASSWORD into the environment for the duration of the block.
If your tests need a MONGO_URI, provide it either as:
- a global environment variable in Jenkins (Pipeline environment/global config), or
- build it dynamically inside the pipeline and export via withEnv.
Use the Jenkins UI to create and manage credentials. Reference them by the returned credential ID in your pipeline.

Example trimmed console output from a successful run:

[Pipeline] Start of Pipeline
[Pipeline] node
Running on ubuntu-docker-jdk17-node20 in /home/jenkins-agent/workspace/n_solar-system_pipeline_scripted
[Pipeline] {
[Pipeline] tool
Installing NodeJS from /var/lib/jenkins/caches/nodejs/LINUX/amd64/22.6.0.tar.gz to /home/jenkins-agent/tools/jenkins.plugins.nodejs.tools.NodeJSInstallation/nodejs-22-6-0 on ubuntu-docker-jdk17-node20
[Pipeline] stage
[Pipeline] { (Checkout)
[Pipeline] checkout
Cloning the remote Git repository
Checking out Revision a012a80153207ffb757c966314d750dce9709fbe (pipeline/scripted)
[Pipeline] }
[Pipeline] // stage
[Pipeline] stage
[Pipeline] { (Unit Testing)
[Pipeline] withCredentials (hide)
Masking supported pattern matches of $MONGO_PASSWORD
[Pipeline] {
[Pipeline] sh
+ node -v
v22.6.0
[Pipeline] sh
+ npm test
> Solar System@6.7.6 test
> mocha app-test.js --timeout 10000 --reporter mocha-junit-reporter --exit
Server successfully running on port - 3000
(node:34277) [DEP0170] DeprecationWarning: The URL mongodb://supercluster-shard-00-00.d83jj.mongodb.net:27017,supercluster-shard-00-02.d83jj.mongodb.net:27017,supercluster-shard-00-01.d83jj.mongodb.net:27017/superData?authSource=admin&replicaSet=atlas-11b0vt-shard-0&ssl=true is invalid. Future versions of Node.js will throw an error.
[Pipeline] }
[Pipeline] // withCredentials
[Pipeline] }
[Pipeline] // stage
[Pipeline] }
[Pipeline] // node
[Pipeline] End of Pipeline
Finished: SUCCESS

What happened

Because the node label was provided at the top level (node('ubuntu-docker-jdk17-node20')), the entire scripted pipeline executed on that static agent.
The tool step installed/mapped the Node.js tool and withEnv updated PATH so node/npm were available.
withCredentials injected MONGO_USERNAME and MONGO_PASSWORD for the test run; the tests connected to MongoDB and completed successfully.

Links and references

Jenkins Pipeline documentation: https://www.jenkins.io/doc/book/pipeline/
Pipeline: Node documentation (reference for node step): https://www.jenkins.io/doc/pipeline/steps/workflow-durable-task-step/
Jenkins Credentials Binding Plugin (withCredentials): https://plugins.jenkins.io/credentials-binding/
NodeJS Plugin (tool step usage): https://plugins.jenkins.io/nodejs/

Shared Libraries in Jenkins

Agents and Nodes in Jenkins

Pipeline Enhancement and Caching

Pipeline Structure and Scripted vs Declarative

Jenkins Administration and Monitoring

Backup and Configuration Management

Introduction

Scripted Pipeline Static Agent

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