build_item
Build an item in Jenkins
LABSCO SUMMARY
The whole trail of a failed build, without six Jenkins tabs.
From the running build to its console output, test report and artifacts, the chase stays in one session — and get_build_console_output takes a pattern with offset and limit, so you can ask for the stack trace instead of the whole log. The plugin tools cover the other half of owning a Jenkins: what is broken, what has an update waiting, and what still has a backupVersion to roll back to.
What it is
A Jenkins client in 33 tools covering builds, jobs and folders, agents, plugins, the queue, views, and a Groovy escape hatch for the parts Jenkins does not expose over REST.
What you get
- Build inspection: what is running now, a specific build's info, its parameters, its scripts, its test report, and console output paged with offset, limit and a pattern
- Artifacts listed, downloaded — binaries base64-encoded, text as plain text — or handed back as a direct URL
- Jobs triggered and stopped, and items queried by fullname, class or colour pattern down to a folder depth
- A job's parameter definitions read before you trigger it, and job or node configuration read and written as config XML
- Agents listed and inspected, including their executors
- Plugin health: everything installed, the ones with problems, the ones with updates, the ones holding a backupVersion that can be rolled back, and a Graphviz dependency graph for one plugin
- The queue listed, a queue item read by id, and a queued item cancelled
- Views listed and walked by path through nested sub-views, and an arbitrary Groovy script executed on the server
Requirements
A reachable Jenkins instance and an account on it, plus uv on your PATH, which resolves the Python runtime through UV_PYTHON. run_groovy_script executes arbitrary Groovy on that instance.
Setup effort
Add the configuration to your client
USE CASES
01
Finding out why last night's build went red
Read the build's result, pull the console output filtered by a pattern instead of the whole log, and check the test report for which cases actually failed.
02
Getting an artifact to someone who needs it now
List what the build produced, then either download the file — binaries base64-encoded, text as plain text — or hand over the direct URL and let them fetch it themselves.
03
Re-running a job with the right parameters
Read the job's parameter definitions, check what the last run was given, and trigger it again with the values corrected rather than copied blind.
04
Clearing a queue that has jammed
See what is waiting and what is running, cancel the queued items that should not be there, and stop the build that is holding the executor.
05
Auditing plugins before you upgrade the controller
List what is installed, separate the plugins already reporting problems from the ones with updates waiting, and read one plugin's dependency graph before you move its version.
06
Working out whether the agents are the bottleneck
Compare what is queued against the nodes available and their executors, so a slow pipeline is attributed to capacity or ruled out before anyone tunes the job.
33 tools
Counted once with only startup setup. Other versions, modes or optional credentials may expose a different list.
cancel_queue_item
Cancel a specific item in Jenkins queue by id
get_all_build_artifacts
List the artifacts of a specific build in Jenkins
get_all_items
Get all items from Jenkins
Returns: A list of items
get_all_nodes
Get all nodes from Jenkins
Returns: A list of all nodes
get_all_plugins
Get all installed plugins from Jenkins
get_all_queue_items
Get all items in Jenkins queue
Returns: A list of all items in the Jenkins queue
get_all_views
Get all top-level views from Jenkins.
Returns: A list of views with their name and URL.
get_build
Get specific build info from Jenkins
get_build_artifact
Download an artifact from a specific build in Jenkins
Binary files are returned as base64-encoded content; text files are returned as plain text.
get_build_artifact_url
Get the direct URL of an artifact from a specific build in Jenkins
get_build_console_output
Get the console output of a specific build in Jenkins
get_build_parameters
Get the parameters of a specific build in Jenkins
get_build_scripts
Get the scripts used in a specific build in Jenkins
get_build_test_report
Get the test report of a specific build in Jenkins
get_item
Get specific item from Jenkins
get_item_config
Get specific item config from Jenkins
get_item_parameters
Get the parameter definitions of a Jenkins job
get_node
Get a specific node from Jenkins
Contains executor about the node.
get_node_config
Get node config from Jenkins
get_plugin
Get a specific plugin from Jenkins
Contains detailed information about the plugin, including dependencies when depth >= 2.
get_plugin_dependency_graph
Get dependency graph for a specific plugin in Graphviz format
Recursively analyzes dependencies down to leaf nodes. Returns nodes and edges that can be used to generate a dependency graph.
get_plugins_with_backup
Get plugins that can be downgraded
Returns plugins that have a backupVersion and can be rolled back.
get_plugins_with_problems
Get all plugins with problems from Jenkins
These are plugins that have issues such as missing dependencies, incompatible versions, core version mismatch, or other configuration problems.
Returns: A list of plugins with problems
get_plugins_with_updates
Get plugins that have available updates
get_queue_item
Get a specific item in Jenkins queue by id
get_running_builds
Get all running builds from Jenkins
Returns: A list of all running builds
get_view
Get a Jenkins view by path, returning its jobs and/or nested sub-views.
Views can be nested up to multiple levels deep. Use "/" to separate levels in the path. If the view contains sub-views instead of jobs, the response will include their names so you can drill down further.
query_items
Query items from Jenkins
run_groovy_script
Execute an arbitrary Groovy script on Jenkins.
This tool provides access to Jenkins internal features that are not available via REST API.
set_item_config
Set specific item config in Jenkins
set_node_config
Set specific node config in Jenkins
stop_build
Stop a specific build in Jenkins
BEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
33 tools when we connected.
Requires
- uvx on PATH
- A Jenkins server you can reach (--jenkins-url)
CONTEXT COST
Light Standing cost
Rated by the size of the 33 tool definitions that ride along on every turn, not by how many there are
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
This one is configured rather than run — your client needs the configuration block, not a command.
Server setup
JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp-jenkins": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"mcp-jenkins",
"--jenkins-url=<YOUR_JENKINS_URL>",
"--jenkins-username=<YOUR_JENKINS_USERNAME>",
"--jenkins-password=<YOUR_JENKINS_PASSWORD>"
]
}
}
}<YOUR_JENKINS_URL> is the address of your Jenkins, <YOUR_JENKINS_USERNAME> your Jenkins user, and <YOUR_JENKINS_PASSWORD> that user's password or API token. Add --read-only to the args to run it in read-only mode.
