Create custom Builder

How to create a custom Builder for Jenkins X using static master
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In Jenkins X, using the deprecated static master installation type, it is possible to create your custom Builders (aka POD templates) or overwrite existing ones. To do so, you need to base your Docker image on this builder-base image. This image contain a number of pre-installed tools which get constantly updated and published to Docker Hub.

Create a custom Builder from scratch

Builder image

First you need to create a docker image for your builder. For instance a starting Dockerfile can look like this:

FROM jenkinsxio/builder-base:latest

# Install your tools and libraries
RUN yum install -y gcc openssl-devel

CMD ["gcc"]

Now you can build the image and publish it to your registry:

export BUILDER_IMAGE=<YOUR_REGISTRY>/<YOUR_BUILDER_IMAGE>:<VERSION>
docker build -t ${BUILDER_IMAGE} .
docker push ${BUILDER_IMAGE}

Do not worry, you do not have to run these steps manually every time when a new image needs to be built. Jenkins X can manage this for you. You just need to push your Dockerfile in a repository similar with this one. Adjust the Jenkinsfile according with your organization and application name, and then import the repository into your Jenkins X platform with:

jx import --url <REPOSITORY_URL>

From now on, every time you push a change, Jenkins X will build and publish automatically the image.

Install the Builder

You can now install your builder either when you install Jenkins X or upgrade it.

Create a myvalues.yaml file in your ~/.jx/ folder with the following content:

jenkins:
  Agent:
    PodTemplates:
      MyBuilder:
        Name: mybuilder
        Label: jenkins-mybuilder
        volumes:
        - type: Secret
          secretName: jenkins-docker-cfg
          mountPath: /home/jenkins/.docker
        EnvVars:
          JENKINS_URL: http://jenkins:8080
          GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL: jenkins-x@googlegroups.com
          GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL: jenkins-x@googlegroups.com
          GIT_AUTHOR_NAME: jenkins-x-bot
          GIT_COMMITTER_NAME: jenkins-x-bot
          XDG_CONFIG_HOME: /home/jenkins
          DOCKER_CONFIG: /home/jenkins/.docker/
        ServiceAccount: jenkins
        Containers:
          Jnlp:
            Image: jenkinsci/jnlp-slave:3.14-1
            RequestCpu: "100m"
            RequestMemory: "128Mi"
            Args: '${computer.jnlpmac} ${computer.name}'
          Dlang:
            Image: <YOUR_BUILDER_IMAGE>
            Privileged: true
            RequestCpu: "400m"
            RequestMemory: "512Mi"
            LimitCpu: "1"
            LimitMemory: "1024Mi"
            Command: "/bin/sh -c"
            Args: "cat"
            Tty: true

Replace the builder name and image accordingly.

You can proceed now with the Jenkins X installation, the builder will be automatically added to the platform.

Use the Builder

Now that your builder was installed in Jenkins, you can easily reference it in a Jenkinsfile:

pipeline {
    agent {
        label "jenkins-mybuilder"
    }
    stages {
      stage('Build') {
        when {
          branch 'master'
        }
        steps {
          container('mybuilder') {
              // your steps
          }
        }
      }
    }
    post {
        always {
            cleanWs()
        }
    }
}

Overwrite existing Builders

Jenkins X comes with a number of pre-installed builders which you can overwrite if required during installation or upgrade.

You just need to build your custom image either based on the builder-base image or the builder image you want to overwrite. See more details above.

Then you can create a myvalues.yaml file in your ~/.jx/ folder with the following content:

jenkins:
  Agent:
    PodTemplates:
      Maven:
        Containers:
          Maven:
            Image: <YOUR_REGISTRY>/<YOUR_MAVEN_BUILDER_IMAGE>:<VERSION>
      Nodejs:
        Containers:
          Nodejs:
            Image: <YOUR_REGISTRY>/<YOUR_NODEJS_BUILDER_IMAGE>:<VERSION>
      Go:
        Containers:
          Go:
            Image: <YOUR_REGISTRY>/<YOUR_GO_BUILDER_IMAGE>:<VERSION>

You can proceed now with the Jenkins X installation, the builder will be added automatically to the platform.


Last modified May 3, 2020: fix: Update reate-custom-builder.md and move it to the deprecated section (50b8d9414b)