Where Is the Jenkins Home Folder?
Where Jenkins keeps JENKINS_HOME with jobs, plugins, secrets, and config.xml files.
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Jenkins funnels everything into JENKINS_HOME: jobs, plugins, users, secrets, fingerprints, and a constellation of config.xml files. Package installs default to /var/lib/jenkins on Linux; user-run controllers use ~/.jenkins.
Set the env var before first launch to relocate; moving afterward needs a stopped service and a full copy. Secrets and credentials travel inside the tree, so guard the backup like production data.
Where Jenkins stores this, by platform
/var/lib/jenkins/
Jobs, plugins, users, secrets, config.xml files. Package default /var/lib/jenkins; user runs use ~/.jenkins. Stop the service before copying; match versions across the move.
Frequently asked questions
How do I migrate a Jenkins controller?
Stop the service, copy the whole JENKINS_HOME (jobs/, plugins/, users/, secrets/, config.xml files) to the new host with matching version, then start. ThinBackup plugin automates the same tree. Never mix versions across the copy.
Jobs versus workspaces: what to back up?
Jobs live in jobs/<name>/ with builds/ and config.xml inside each. Workspace data sits separately and is disposable. Back up jobs plus the root config.xml files; skip workspaces to save space.
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