Jenkins CLI

Output formats

Table, JSON, and YAML output, plus raw streams and structured errors.

Use the global -o / --output flag with structured read commands:

  • -o table: default, human-readable output
  • -o json: JSON for scripts and coding agents
  • -o yaml: YAML output
jenkins status -o json | jq -r .version
jenkins job list --recursive -o json | jq '.[].name'
jenkins build get team/deploy 42 -o yaml

Agents: use -o json for structured reads. If a command fails in JSON mode, stderr receives a JSON object with error and, for API failures, status_code.

Raw-output commands

Some commands intentionally return content rather than a table or object:

jenkins job config team/deploy > config.xml
jenkins build log team/deploy 42 > build.log
jenkins build log team/deploy 42 --follow

Artifact downloads and browser-opening commands also perform actions rather than producing structured records. Write commands may print status messages; use --quiet when a script does not need those informational lines.

Useful filters

jenkins job list --folder team --recursive --status FAILURE -o json
jenkins build list team/deploy --status SUCCESS --limit 10 -o json
jenkins node list --offline -o yaml
jenkins plugin list --active -o json
jenkins credential list --type SSH -o json