Demo Review Audit Output Files

Let’s review the output files produced by the audit command when migrating Jenkins jobs to GitHub Actions.

A blue-green gradient slide with centered white text that reads "Review Audit Output Files." A small "© Copyright KodeKloud" appears in the bottom-left corner.

Overview The audit run performs the following high-level steps:

Fetches Jenkins job configuration (config.xml) from the Jenkins API.
Attempts to convert Jenkinsfiles to a JSON intermediate representation using the pipeline-model-converter.
Generates per-job artifact directories under tmp/audit/<job>/ containing converted GitHub Actions workflows, JSON job metadata, original Jenkinsfiles (if available), and diagnostic files (e.g., error.txt) when conversion fails.
Redacts secrets in any exported output files.

The audit log below demonstrates these interactions — HTTP requests/responses, transformer activity, and the list of generated output files:

# Logfile created on 2025-05-21 18:19:51 +0000 by logger.rb/v1.6.0
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:51.860944 #1]  INFO -- : Using GitHub Features: Defaults
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:51.860996 #1]  INFO -- : Auditing 'http://139.84.149.83:8080/'
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:51.943207 #1]  INFO -- : request: GET http://139.84.149.83:8080/api/json?tree=jobs%5Bname%2Curl%2CfullName%5D
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:52.061601 #1]  INFO -- : response: Status 200
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:52.062902 #1]  INFO -- : Thread collection size: 2
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:52.065400 #1]  INFO -- : request: GET http://139.84.149.83:8080/job/ci-pipeline-poll-scm/config.xml
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:52.065912 #1]  INFO -- : request: GET http://139.84.149.83:8080/job/Generate%20ASCII%20Artwork/config.xml
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:52.256241 #1]  INFO -- : response: Status 200
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:52.547983 #1]  INFO -- : response: Status 200
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:52.555698 #1]  INFO -- : request: GET http://139.84.149.83:8080/job/scripted-pipeline/config.xml
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:52.645484 #1]  INFO -- : request: GET REDACTED://api.github.com/repos/jenkins-demo-org/solar-system/contents/Jenkinsfile?ref=
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:52.645989 #1]  INFO -- : response: Status 200
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:52.663528 #1]  INFO -- : request: GET http://139.84.149.83:8080/job/solar-system-ci-pipeline/config.xml
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:52.746682 #1]  INFO -- : response: Status 200
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:52.751625 #1]  INFO -- : request: GET REDACTED://api.github.com/repos/jenkins-demo-org/solar-system/contents/Jenkinsfile?ref=
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:53.093094 #1]  INFO -- : response: Status 200
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:53.094349 #1]  INFO -- : request: POST http://139.84.149.83:8080/pipeline-model-converter/toJson
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:53.152165 #1]  INFO -- : response: Status 200
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:53.153487 #1]  INFO -- : request: POST http://139.84.149.83:8080/pipeline-model-converter/toJson
...
D, [2025-05-21T18:19:58.553745 #1] DEBUG -- : [Transformers::Jenkins::JenkinsfilePipeline::DeclarativePipeline::Defaults]: Failed to locate transformer
D, [2025-05-21T18:19:58.557727 #1] DEBUG -- : [Transformers::Jenkins::JenkinsfilePipeline::DeclarativePipeline::RunsOn]: Located transformer
D, [2025-05-21T18:19:58.560897 #1] DEBUG -- : [Transformers::Jenkins::JenkinsfilePipeline::DeclarativePipeline::Container]: Failed to locate transformer
...
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:58.853152 #1] INFO -- : Output file(s):
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:58.944499 #1] INFO -- : tmp/audit/ci-pipeline-poll-scm/.github/workflows/ci-pipeline-poll-scm.yml
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:58.946512 #1] INFO -- : tmp/audit/ci-pipeline-poll-scm/config.json
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:58.948044 #1] INFO -- : tmp/audit/ci-pipeline-poll-scm/jenkinsfile
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:58.949097 #1] INFO -- : tmp/audit/Generate ASCII Artwork/.github/workflows/generate_ascii_artwork.yml
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:58.950993 #1] INFO -- : tmp/audit/Generate ASCII Artwork/config.json
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:58.954993 #1] INFO -- : tmp/audit/scripted-pipeline/error.txt
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:58.955692 #1] INFO -- : tmp/audit/scripted-pipeline/config.json
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:59.044062 #1] INFO -- : tmp/audit/solar-system-ci-pipeline/.github/workflows/solar-system-ci-pipeline.yml
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:59.045809 #1] INFO -- : tmp/audit/solar-system-ci-pipeline/config.json
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:59.048992 #1] INFO -- : tmp/audit/solar-system-ci-pipeline/jenkinsfile
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:59.864090 #1] INFO -- : tmp/audit/workflow_usage.csv
I, [2025-05-21T18:19:59.961311 #1] INFO -- : tmp/audit/audit_summary.md
W, [2025-05-21T18:20:20.571659 #1] WARN -- : Secrets redacted in file(s):
W, [2025-05-21T18:20:20.571857 #1] WARN -- : tmp/audit/Generate_ASCII_Artwork/.github/workflows/generate_ascii_artwork.yml
W, [2025-05-21T18:20:20.571952 #1] WARN -- : tmp/audit/Generate_ASCII_Artwork/config.json
W, [2025-05-21T18:20:20.572034 #1] WARN -- : tmp/audit/ci-pipeline-poll-scm/config.json
W, [2025-05-21T18:20:20.572233 #1] WARN -- : tmp/audit/solar-system-ci-pipeline/config.json
W, [2025-05-21T18:20:20.572721 #1] WARN -- : tmp/audit/log/valet-20250521-181951.log
I, [2025-05-21T18:20:20.574730 #1] INFO -- : request: GET https://api.github.com/user

What the audit produces The audit writes a directory per job under tmp/audit/. Typical contents include:

File / Path	Purpose
`.github/workflows/*.yml`	Generated GitHub Actions workflow(s) for the job
`config.json`	JSON representation of the Jenkins job config (converted `config.xml`)
`jenkinsfile`	The original Jenkinsfile (if available)
`error.txt`	Conversion error report for jobs that could not be parsed/converted
`workflow_usage.csv`	CSV report summarizing workflow usage across jobs
`audit_summary.md`	Human-readable audit summary document

Generate ASCII Artwork — config.json The exporter translates the Jenkins job configuration into JSON. For this job the config.json shows a shell builder that calls an external Advice API.

{
  "project": {
    "actions": null,
    "description": "Generate ASCII Artwork using Cowsay library and AdviceSlip Rest API",
    "keepDependencies": "false",
    "properties": null,
    "scm": {
      "class": "hudson.scm.NullSCM"
    },
    "canRoam": "true",
    "disabled": "false",
    "blockBuildWhenDownstreamBuilding": "false",
    "blockBuildWhenUpstreamBuilding": "false",
    "triggers": null,
    "concurrentBuild": "true",
    "builders": [
      {
        "hudson.tasks.Shell": {
          "command": "# Build a message by invoking ADVICESLIP API\ncurl -s REDACTED://api.adviceslip.com/advice > adv",
          "configuredLocalRules": null
        }
      }
    ],
    "publishers": null,
    "buildWrappers": "null"
  }
}

Generate ASCII Artwork — generated GitHub Actions workflow The importer generated a GitHub Actions workflow that preserves job intent: run on Ubuntu, checkout code, query the Advice API, validate word count, install cowsay, and print the message with a random cow. Note how filenames were normalized (e.g., writing to advice.json) to match the generated workflow layout.

name: Generate_ASCII_Artwork
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on:
      - ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v4.1.0
      - name: run command
        shell: bash
        run: |-
          # Build a message by invoking ADVICESLIP API
          curl -s REDACTED://api.adviceslip.com/advice > advice.json
          cat advice.json
          # Test to make sure the advice message has more than 5 words.
          cat advice.json | jq -r .slip.advice > advice.message
          [ $(wc -w < advice.message) -gt 5 ] && echo "Advice has more than 5 words" || (echo "Advice - $(cat advice.message)")
          # Deploy
          sudo apt-get install cowsay -y
          echo $PATH
          export PATH="$PATH:/usr/games:/usr/local/games"
          cat advice.message | cowsay -f $(ls /usr/share/cowsay/cows | shuf -n 1)

Tip: After import, verify the generated workflow in the target repository and adjust filenames, environment variables, or permissions as needed. ci-pipeline-poll-scm — config.json (declarative pipeline metadata) Declarative (pipeline model) jobs include plugin metadata and trigger information in config.json. The Jenkins SCM trigger shows up as a cron-like schedule in the JSON:

{
  "flow-definition": {
    "plugin": "workflow-job@1520.v56d65e3b_4566",
    "actions": [
      {
        "org.jenkinsci.plugins.pipeline.modeldefinition.actions.DeclarativeJobAction": {
          "plugin": "pipeline-model-definition@2.2255.v56a_15e805f12"
        }
      },
      {
        "org.jenkinsci.plugins.pipeline.modeldefinition.actions.DeclarativeJobPropertyTrackerAction": {
          "plugin": "pipeline-model-definition@2.2255.v56a_15e805f12",
          "jobProperties": null,
          "triggers": null,
          "parameters": null,
          "options": null
        }
      }
    ],
    "description": null,
    "keepDependencies": "false",
    "properties": [
      {
        "org.jenkinsci.plugins.workflow.job.properties.PipelineTriggersJobProperty": {
          "triggers": [
            {
              "hudson.triggers.SCMTrigger": {
                "spec": "0 0 * * *",
                "ignorePostCommitHooks": "false"
              }
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

ci-pipeline-poll-scm — generated GitHub Actions workflow (partial) The importer converts many declarative pipeline constructs into Actions equivalents. However, when a Jenkins step or plugin has no matching transformer, the tool inserts commented YAML blocks marked with “This item has no matching transformer”. These commented sections indicate items that must be migrated manually or addressed by implementing custom transformers.

name: ci-pipeline-poll-scm
on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 0 * * *'
env:
  MONGO_URI: mongodb+srv://supercluster.d83jj.mongodb.net/superData
#  # This item has no matching transformer
#  MONGO_DB_CREDS:
#  # This item has no matching transformer
#  MONGO_USERNAME:
#  # This item has no matching transformer
jobs:
  Installing_Dependencies:
    name: Installing Dependencies
    runs-on:
      - self-hosted
      - us-west-1-ubuntu-22
    container:
      image: node:24

# Example of commented-out transformer output (illustrative — importer reports these as unmapped)
# This item has no matching transformer
# - dependencyCheck:
#   - key: additionalArguments
#     value:
#       isLiteral: true
#       value: "\n                      --scan './' \n                      --out './' \n                      --format
# - key: nvdCredentialsId
#   value:
#     isLiteral: true
#     value: owasp-dependency-check
# - key: odcInstallation
#   value:
#     isLiteral: true
#     value: OWASP-DepCheck-10
# This item has no matching transformer
# - dependencyCheckPublisher:
#   - key: failedTotalCritical
#     value:
#       isLiteral: true
#       value: 1
# - key: pattern
#   value:
#     isLiteral: true
#     value: dependency-check-report.xml
# - key: stopBuild
#   value:
#     isLiteral: true
#     value: true

When you encounter commented sections like these, plan to either:

Implement a custom transformer to map the Jenkins plugin to a GitHub Action, or
Rework that pipeline step manually in the generated workflow using equivalent Actions or scripts.

Scripted pipeline — config.json and error.txt Scripted (CPS) Jenkins pipelines are not supported by the importer. For jobs using scripted pipelines the audit still saves the config.json (so you have the original pipeline script and metadata) and writes an error.txt describing the limitation.

Scripted Jenkins pipelines are not supported by the importer. Jobs using scripted pipelines must be migrated manually to GitHub Actions or rewritten as declarative pipelines for automated conversion.

Example config.json captured for a scripted pipeline:

{
  "flow-definition": {
    "plugin": "workflow-job@1520.v56d65e3b_4566",
    "actions": null,
    "description": null,
    "keepDependencies": "false",
    "properties": null,
    "definition": {
      "class": "org.jenkinsci.plugins.workflow.cps.CpsFlowDefinition",
      "plugin": "workflow-cps@4106.v7a_8a_8176d450",
      "script": "node {  // Runs on any available agent\n    stage('Greet') {\n      echo 'Hello, World!'\n    }\n",
      "sandbox": "true"
    },
    "triggers": null,
    "disabled": "false"
  }
}

Corresponding error.txt produced by the importer:

Unable to parse Jenkins pipeline. Scripted pipelines are not currently supported.
Pipeline type: flow-definition
Message: Jenkins scripted pipelines are not supported

This limitation means scripted pipelines require manual conversion efforts — either rewrite as declarative or design equivalent GitHub Actions workflows. Best practices and next steps

Start with declarative pipelines and plugin-dependent steps; those convert more cleanly.
Inspect tmp/audit/<job>/ for each job: review .github/workflows/*.yml, resolve commented/unmapped sections, and adjust secrets or environment variables.
For jobs with error.txt, plan a manual migration or pipeline refactor to declarative form.
Consider implementing custom transformers for frequently-used proprietary plugins to automate parts of the migration.

Quick checklist

Action	Why
Review `.github/workflows/*.yml`	Ensure generated workflows run in the target repository and adjust runner/container settings
Inspect `config.json`	Confirm plugin metadata and triggers were captured
Open `error.txt` (if present)	Understand conversion failures and plan manual migration
Replace/commented sections	Implement custom transformers or manual workflow steps for unsupported plugins
Validate secrets	Confirm redactions and move sensitive data into GitHub Secrets or OIDC solutions

Links and references

GitHub Actions Documentation
Jenkins Documentation
Pipeline Model Definition Plugin (Jenkins)
Consider scanning or auditing generated workflows with repository-specific CI checks and tests after import.

Summary

The audit fetches Jenkins job configurations and Jenkinsfiles, calls the pipeline-model-converter to produce an intermediate JSON representation, and writes converted artifacts into tmp/audit/<job>/.
Per-job output commonly includes .github/workflows/*.yml, config.json, jenkinsfile, and error.txt (for failed conversions).
Declarative pipelines convert best; plugin-specific or unsupported features are left commented in the generated YAML and require manual attention or custom transformers.
Scripted pipelines are not automatically converted and must be migrated manually.

That’s all for now.

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