Managing Build Timeouts in Jenkins

Managing Build Timeouts in Jenkins

3 July 2024 Stephan Petzl Leave a comment QA

When working with Jenkins, managing build times is crucial for maintaining an efficient and responsive CI/CD pipeline. Long-running builds can indicate underlying issues and can delay the delivery process. In this article, we will explore how to automatically fail a build if it exceeds a specified duration, using a plugin available for Jenkins.

Why Manage Build Timeouts?

Build timeouts are essential for several reasons:

  • Resource Management: Long-running builds consume valuable resources that could be better utilized elsewhere.
  • Early Detection of Issues: Excessive build times can indicate problems in the codebase, such as inefficient algorithms or dependencies.
  • Maintaining Pipeline Efficiency: Ensuring builds complete within a reasonable time frame keeps the CI/CD pipeline running smoothly.

Solution: Using the Build Timeout Plugin

Jenkins offers a Build Timeout Plugin that allows you to automatically abort a build if it exceeds a specified duration. This plugin is highly effective in managing build times and ensuring that your pipeline remains efficient.

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Install the Plugin: Navigate to Manage Jenkins > Manage Plugins, search for Build Timeout Plugin, and install it.
  2. Configure the Plugin: In your Jenkins job configuration, scroll to the Build Environment section and check the Abort the build if it’s stuck option.
  3. Set Timeout Strategy: Choose a timeout strategy that fits your needs. You can set an absolute timeout (e.g., 5 minutes) or a relative timeout (e.g., 10% more than the average of the last 5 builds).
  4. Save Configuration: Save the job configuration and run a build to ensure the timeout settings are applied correctly.

Alternative Approaches

If your workflow steps are primarily scripts, you can implement a code timeout within your scripts. However, this approach requires more manual effort and maintenance compared to using the Build Timeout Plugin.

Enhancing Your Testing with Repeato

While managing build timeouts is critical, ensuring the quality of your mobile applications is equally important. Repeato is a no-code test automation tool for iOS and Android that simplifies the creation, execution, and maintenance of automated tests.

Repeato leverages computer vision and AI to provide fast, reliable test automation, making it an excellent choice for quality assurance teams. With its intuitive interface, you can quickly set up and run tests without writing a single line of code, ensuring your applications meet the highest standards of quality.

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