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Jenkins

DEVOPSINFRA · APIS
Velocity5.0

Automation server

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Jenkins is shrinking its own war file and rebuilding its UI, one weekly release at a time

release-trainplugin-unbundlingui-refreshsecurity-releaseswar-size
◆Current state
The weekly train is dominated by two long efforts: an incremental redesign of the experimental Manage Jenkins UI, and a deliberate campaign to unbundle plugins from jenkins.war. 2.577 drops bouncycastle, the Command Agent Launcher, JAXB, the SSH server and more, following 2.574's removal of JUnit, Mailer and the matrix plugins. Interleaved security releases ship with no detail beyond a one-line note.
◆Where it's heading
Two releases cutting 20 MB each signal that unbundling is sustained policy, not a one-off — the core is being reduced toward a minimal server with plugins as an explicit choice. The UI work is methodical and unglamorous: scrollable side panels, sticky build bars, standardised dialogs and command palettes. Neither effort is close to finished.
◆Prediction
More bundled plugins will be pulled in coming releases, and the experimental Manage Jenkins UI should keep absorbing pages until it can drop the experimental label.

◆Recent moves

  1. 1d ago

    Jenkins 2.577 unbundles another 20 MB of plugins from the war

    Another 20 MB comes out of jenkins.war as bouncycastle, the SSH server, JAXB and others stop being bundled — upgraders from very old versions must now install them by hand. The UI work continues with an independently scrollable side panel and a sticky build bar.

    View source ↗
  2. 7d ago

    Jenkins 2.576 security release

    The second security-only release published the same day as 2.575, again with no detail beyond the advisory pointer.

    View source ↗
  3. 7d ago

    Jenkins 2.575 security release

    A security-only release with no published detail, one of three such releases in this window.

    View source ↗
  4. 22d ago

    Jenkins 2.574 removes JUnit, Mailer and the matrix plugins from the war

    The first of the two big unbundling releases, cutting over 20 MB and ending automatic installation of five long-bundled plugins. Smaller items trim translation comments and an unused CLI dependency in the same direction.

    View source ↗
  5. 1mo ago

    Jenkins 2.573 refreshes job status icons

    Status icons now reflect only the current job rather than blending in the previous build's result, removing a long-standing source of confusion on the dashboard.

    View source ↗
  6. 1mo ago

    Jenkins 2.572 adds password complexity rules and tightens deserialization

    An extension point for configurable password validation arrives alongside hardening that prohibits deserializing Object fields by default — security groundwork rather than user-facing features.

    View source ↗