Jenkins is the most widely adopted open-source automation server for continuous integration and continuous delivery, powering build and deployment pipelines for over a million active users worldwide. Originally released in 2011 as a fork of Hudson, Jenkins provides a flexible, extensible platform for automating virtually any aspect of the software development lifecycle. It supports Pipeline-as-Code through Jenkinsfiles written in a Groovy-based DSL, allowing teams to version-control their entire build and deployment process.
Jenkins boasts an ecosystem of over 1,000 plugins that integrate with practically every tool in the DevOps toolchain, from Git and Docker to Kubernetes, Slack, and Jira. It supports distributed builds across multiple machines and platforms, matrix configurations for testing across different environments, and conditional pipeline stages based on parameters or branch names. Jenkins can be deployed on-premises, in the cloud, or as a managed service, giving organizations complete control over their CI/CD infrastructure and data.
Jenkins serves organizations of all sizes, from small open-source projects to large enterprises with complex, regulated deployment requirements. It holds approximately 44% of the CI/CD market share and has the largest community of any CI/CD tool, providing extensive documentation, tutorials, and community support. While newer cloud-native alternatives offer simpler setup experiences, Jenkins remains the preferred choice for teams that need maximum customization, self-hosted infrastructure, and integration with legacy systems.