Final component of the Continuous Integration and Deployment process using Capistrano and Jenkins, is …Jenkins. Jenkins is an open source Continuous Integration services tool, that allows users to define a set of tasks to be run either manually, or triggered by 3rd party applications.

This page presents how to integrate Jenkins and Capistrano 3; in order to trigger Capistrano recipes defined here. The assumptions are that Capistrano and Jenkins are installed on the same server, and recipes are stored in a  git repository outside the application repository.

Prepare Jenkins for Git based deployment

Prior to creating jobs, a few settings must be applied to Jenkins, for cloning a Git repository.

Step 1: Open the Plugin Manager page, in Jenkins:

Click Manage Jenkins, on the left hand-side menu, followed by Manage Plugins on the center view.

Step 2: Select the Git plugins:

Click Available tab, and select the following:

Step 3: Install:

Click Install without Restart at the bottom of the page:

Create a Jenkins Staging deploy job

This job facilitates deployment of code.

Step 1: Create a New Item:

Navigate back to the main Jenkins page, and click Item, on the left hand-side menu.

Step 2: Fill in the form, as per below, and click Ok:

Start editing this job:

Step 1: Configure source code management, to fetch the Capistrano Recipe repository:

NOTE: Add repository credentials, by clicking Add, below Credentials.

Step 2: Add a build step, to trigger the Capistrano deploy task:

Scroll at the bottom of the page, and select the following:

Input:

cd $WORKSPACE/citest/ && cap staging deploy

In the following field:

Step 4: Click Save.

Test your Staging deployment job:

By clicking back to Dashboard, you show now see the newly created job:

NOTE: The image above depicts a last successful build, with a couple of failed builds. A new task would not the display the two icons, and time indicators.

Click staging-deploy, followed by Build Now. Progress can be checked here:

Console output can be viewed by clicking the link on the image above, followed by Console Output.

Create a Jenkins Staging test job

This job facilitates deployment, and execution of tests.

Once a task has been created, it can be cloned and parameters changed. 

Click New Item, and select the following:

Click OK, and add edit the shell command to execute:

cd $WORKSPACE/citest/ && cap staging deploy:test

Click save.

Create a Jenkins Staging rollback job

This facilitates the rollback of deployed code.

Similarly to above, clone a job into staging-rollback, and add the following code:

cd $WORKSPACE/citest/ && cap staging deploy:rollback

Create Jenkins Production deploy and rollback jobs

This shows how to replicate the staging deployment jobs for a production environment.

Repeat the clone process, for task production-deploy and production-rollback, and add one line for each:

cd $WORKSPACE/citest/ && cap production deploy

cd $WORKSPACE/citest/ && cap production deploy:rollback

Optional: Create a Jenkins Production / Staging application restart job

Optionally, you can create jobs for restarting applications on production and staging environments.

Clone your production deploy job, and add the following:

cd $WORKSPACE/citest/ && cap production deploy:restart