> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://notes.kodekloud.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Jenkins Supervision > This article discusses effective monitoring strategies for Jenkins to enhance continuous integration and delivery by detecting errors and optimizing performance. Effective continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) depend on actively monitoring Jenkins. Proactive supervision helps you detect system errors, plugin failures, or pipeline issues early—preventing disruptions, reducing deployment delays, and maintaining optimal throughput. ![The image is an infographic titled "Jenkins Supervision," highlighting common monitoring areas like system errors, plugin malfunctions, and pipeline code issues, along with key benefits such as preventing disruptions, reducing delays, and maintaining efficiency.](https://kodekloud.com/kk-media/image/upload/v1752870737/notes-assets/images/Certified-Jenkins-Engineer-Jenkins-Supervision/jenkins-supervision-infographic.jpg) In this guide, we’ll explore: 1. How to access and analyze Jenkins logs 2. Built-in tools and plugins for performance monitoring 3. Auditing user actions and configuration changes *** ## 1. Accessing Jenkins Logs Jenkins logs are the primary source for troubleshooting builds, plugins, and system health. Depending on your installation method, log locations and configuration files vary: | Installation Type | Log Location | Config File Path | View Command Example | | ----------------- | ------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | | Standalone WAR | Console output | N/A | `java -jar jenkins.war` | | Debian (APT) | `/var/log/jenkins/jenkins.log` | `/etc/default/jenkins` | `cat /var/log/jenkins/jenkins.log` | | Red Hat (YUM/DNF) | `/var/log/jenkins/jenkins.log` | `/etc/sysconfig/jenkins` | `vi /etc/sysconfig/jenkins` | | Windows MSI/ZIP | `%JENKINS_HOME%\jenkins.out` | `Jenkins.xml` (service wrapper settings) | `Get-Content $env:JENKINS_HOME\jenkins.out` | | Docker Container | Container stdout | N/A | `docker logs ` | | Jenkins UI | Embedded log viewer | N/A | **Manage Jenkins** → **System Log** | Rotate and archive Jenkins logs regularly to avoid disk space issues—especially on high-throughput servers. *** ## 2. Built-In Monitoring and Load Statistics Jenkins ships with basic performance charts under **Manage Jenkins** → **Load Statistics**. Use these metrics to size agents and optimize throughput: * **Available Executors**: Idle build slots ready to accept jobs * **Busy Executors**: Active build slots currently executing jobs * **Queue Size**: Number of jobs waiting for allocation * **Overall Load**: Aggregate CPU and memory demand ![The image is about Jenkins supervision and monitoring, featuring a graph of load statistics and icons for logs, monitoring, and auditing. It includes a tooltip suggesting checking resource utilization.](https://kodekloud.com/kk-media/image/upload/v1752870739/notes-assets/images/Certified-Jenkins-Engineer-Jenkins-Supervision/jenkins-supervision-monitoring-graph.jpg) *** ## 3. Monitoring Plugins Enhance Jenkins observability with these community-maintained plugins: | Plugin Name | Description | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [Monitoring Plugin](https://plugins.jenkins.io/monitoring/) | Integrates [Java Melody](https://github.com/javamelody/javamelody/) for charts on CPU, memory, GC, response times, HTTP sessions, and errors. | | [Disk Usage Plugin](https://plugins.jenkins.io/disk-usage/) | Tracks per-job and workspace disk consumption with historical trends and alerts. | | [Build Monitor Plugin](https://plugins.jenkins.io/build-monitor-plugin/) | Displays a dashboard of job statuses, highlighting failing jobs and culprits. | For enterprise-grade dashboards, forward Jenkins metrics to your APM or time-series database: ![The image illustrates Jenkins supervision and monitoring using Grafana and Datadog, featuring dashboards for performance and health metrics. It includes sections for logs, monitoring, and auditing.](https://kodekloud.com/kk-media/image/upload/v1752870740/notes-assets/images/Certified-Jenkins-Engineer-Jenkins-Supervision/jenkins-supervision-monitoring-dashboards.jpg) * **Datadog / New Relic** plugins: Ship Jenkins performance counters to your APM platform. * **Prometheus Plugin** + **Grafana**: Expose metrics via Prometheus and visualize in Grafana dashboards. Monitor plugin compatibility after Jenkins core upgrades—some plugins may require updates to continue reporting metrics. *** ## 4. Auditing Configuration and User Activity Maintaining an audit trail is crucial for security and compliance. Combine these two plugins for complete coverage: ### 4.1 Audit Trail Plugin [Audit Trail Plugin](https://plugins.jenkins.io/audit-trail/) records every user action: * **File Logger** (default): Rotating local log files * **Syslog Logger**: Centralizes events on a syslog server * **Console Logger**: Streams actions to the console (avoid in prod) * **Elasticsearch Logger**: Indexes logs for advanced search and analytics ### 4.2 Job Config History Plugin [Job Config History Plugin](https://plugins.jenkins.io/jobConfigHistory/) version-controls your `config.xml`: * Stores historical copies of job, folder, and global configs * Provides a diff view and one-click rollback of changes ![The image is a diagram illustrating Jenkins supervision and auditing, showing the use of the Audit Trail Plugin and Job Config History Plugin, with various loggers like File Logger and Syslog Logger.](https://kodekloud.com/kk-media/image/upload/v1752870741/notes-assets/images/Certified-Jenkins-Engineer-Jenkins-Supervision/jenkins-supervision-auditing-diagram.jpg) Using both plugins ensures you log **who** did **what** and can restore previous configurations if needed. *** ## Links and References * [Jenkins Documentation](https://www.jenkins.io/doc/) * [Kubernetes Basics](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/overview/what-is-kubernetes/) * [Terraform Registry](https://registry.terraform.io/) * [Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com/)