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In this guide, you’ll learn how to install multiple Jenkins plugins automatically by leveraging the Jenkins Remote API. This approach avoids manual UI steps under Manage Jenkins → Manage Plugins, speeding up your CI/CD setup.

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1. Verify Jenkins Is Running

First, confirm that the Jenkins service is active: 
sudo systemctl status jenkins
Example output: 
● jenkins.service - LSB: Start Jenkins at boot time
   Loaded: loaded (/etc/init.d/jenkins; generated)
   Active: active (exited) since Tue 2021-06-15 05:07:43 UTC; 1h 39min ago
     Docs: man:systemd-sysv-generator(8)
Next, retrieve the initial admin password for API authentication: 
sudo cat /var/lib/jenkins/secrets/initialAdminPassword
# e.g. 14f8cea6ad4b0a883997e96d4a6a7
Save this initial password—you’ll use it to generate an API token in the installer script.

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2. Explore the Plugin Installer Script

Assuming you cloned the devsecops-k8s-demo repository, navigate to the Jenkins plugins directory: 
cd devsecops-k8s-demo/setup/jenkins-plugins/
ls -l
FilePurpose
plugins.txtLists each plugin and its version
plugin-installer.shBash script to call the Jenkins Remote API for plugin installs

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2.1 plugins.txt

Here’s how the file lists desired plugins:
PluginVersion
performance3.18
docker-workflow1.26
dependency-check-jenkins-plugin5.1.1
blueocean2.24.7
jacoco2.0.7
slack2.4.8
sonar2.13.1
pitmutation1.0.2
kubernetes-cli1.10.2

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2.2 plugin-installer.sh

This Bash script automates plugin installation using the Jenkins Remote API and jq for JSON parsing: 
#!/bin/bash
set -e

JENKINS_URL="http://localhost:8080"
ADMIN_USER="admin"
ADMIN_PASSWORD=$(sudo cat /var/lib/jenkins/secrets/initialAdminPassword)

# Fetch CRSF protection crumb
JENKINS_CRUMB=$(
  curl -s --cookie-jar /tmp/cookies \
       -u ${ADMIN_USER}:${ADMIN_PASSWORD} \
       "${JENKINS_URL}/crumbIssuer/api/json" \
  | jq -r .crumb
)

# Generate a new API token for 'admin'
JENKINS_TOKEN=$(
  curl -s -X POST \
       -H "Jenkins-Crumb:${JENKINS_CRUMB}" \
       --cookie /tmp/cookies \
       -u ${ADMIN_USER}:${ADMIN_PASSWORD} \
       "${JENKINS_URL}/me/descriptorByName/jenkins.security.ApiTokenProperty/generateNewToken?newTokenName=plugin-installer" \
  | jq -r .data.tokenValue
)

echo "Jenkins URL: ${JENKINS_URL}"
echo "API Token: ${JENKINS_TOKEN}"

# Install each plugin from plugins.txt
while read -r plugin; do
  echo "Installing ${plugin}..."
  curl -s --user "${ADMIN_USER}:${JENKINS_TOKEN}" \
       -H "Content-Type: text/xml" \
       --data "<jenkins><install plugin='${plugin}' /></jenkins>" \
       "${JENKINS_URL}/pluginManager/installNecessaryPlugins"
done < plugins.txt

echo "Plugin installation requests sent."
echo "Some plugins may require a safe restart:"
echo "  ${JENKINS_URL}/safeRestart"
Ensure jq is installed (sudo apt-get install -y jq) and Jenkins is accessible at localhost:8080 before running the script.

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3. Run the Installer

Execute the installer script: 
bash plugin-installer.sh
Sample output: 
Jenkins URL: http://localhost:8080
API Token: 8f2a...
Installing [email protected]...
Installing [email protected]...
…
Installing [email protected]...
Plugin installation requests sent.
Some plugins may require a safe restart:
  http://localhost:8080/safeRestart

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4. Verify Plugin Installation

  1. Open Manage Jenkins → Manage Plugins → Installed in the Jenkins UI.
  2. If any plugin is missing, switch to Available, search for it (e.g., “Kubernetes CLI”), select the version, and click Install without restart.

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5. Next Steps

With your plugins in place, create a Jenkins pipeline that integrates Maven, Docker, and Kubernetes to validate the new capabilities.

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