Installing Jenkins — Docker Setup

Enough theory. Let us get Jenkins running on your machine. The easiest way is Docker — one command and you have a full Jenkins server. No Java installation, no path variables, no headaches.

Option 1: Docker (Recommended)

If you have Docker installed, this is a 2-minute setup. If you do not have Docker, install Docker Desktop first.

# Pull the official Jenkins LTS image and run it
docker run -d \
  --name jenkins \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  -p 50000:50000 \
  -v jenkins_home:/var/jenkins_home \
  jenkins/jenkins:lts

# Wait 30 seconds for Jenkins to start, then get the initial password
docker exec jenkins cat /var/jenkins_home/secrets/initialAdminPassword

What Each Flag Does

1. -d — Run in background (detached mode). Jenkins runs silently.
2. --name jenkins — Name the container "jenkins" so you can refer to it easily.
3. -p 8080:8080 — Map port 8080. You will access Jenkins at http://localhost:8080.
4. -p 50000:50000 — Port for agent communication. Needed when you add remote agents.
5. -v jenkins_home:/var/jenkins_home — Persist data. Even if you delete the container, your jobs and configs survive.

Option 2: Direct Download (No Docker)

# Prerequisites: Java 17+ must be installed
java -version

# Download Jenkins WAR from https://www.jenkins.io/download/
# Run it directly
java -jar jenkins.war --httpPort=8080

# Jenkins prints the initial admin password in the terminal
# Look for a line like:
# Jenkins initial setup is required. An admin user has been created...
# Password: 4a8b2c3d4e5f6g7h

First Login — Setup Wizard

Complete the Setup Wizard

1. Open http://localhost:8080 in your browser.
2. Paste the initial admin password you copied from the terminal.
3. Click "Install suggested plugins" — this installs Git, Maven, and 20+ essential plugins. Wait 3-5 minutes.
4. Create your admin user — enter username, password, full name, and email.
5. Set the Jenkins URL to http://localhost:8080 (default is fine for local).
6. Click "Start using Jenkins" — you are in!

Install Essential Plugins

The suggested plugins cover basics. But for Selenium test automation, you need a few more. Go to Manage Jenkins > Plugins > Available plugins and install:

• Maven Integration — Run Maven goals directly.
• TestNG Results — Parse and display TestNG reports in Jenkins.
• Allure Jenkins Plugin — Generate and serve Allure reports.
• Email Extension Plugin — Send rich HTML emails on failure.
• Slack Notification — Post build results to Slack (optional).

Configure Global Tools

Go to Manage Jenkins > Tools. This is where you tell Jenkins where Java and Maven live.

Configure JDK and Maven

1. JDK — Click "Add JDK." Name it "JDK-17." Either check "Install automatically" or point to your local JAVA_HOME path.
2. Maven — Click "Add Maven." Name it "Maven-3.9." Check "Install automatically" and select version 3.9.x. Jenkins downloads it for you.
3. Git — Usually auto-detected. If not, set the path to your git executable.
4. Allure Commandline — Click "Add Allure Commandline." Name it "Allure." Check "Install automatically."