Issue
I'm moving a Jenkins from 'traditional' to JCasC. We have a quite complex setup already, and I am wondering if there is a way to migrate somehow the current configuration without a need of going through settings and code it in .yaml?
btw. I'm not sure about installing JCasC plugin on prod to see the configuration... Am I wrong?
Thanks!
Solution
Make sure to have read the Getting Started and other docs.
Create new instance (you can do this onto your desktop/laptop) and copy over all the configuration, config.xml,*.xml, secrets and keys, but NO jobs into the new instance. See what to backup.
Add an entry to start in quiet mode by adding Jenkins.instance.doQuietDown()
You might want/need to change the url and port config too.depending on host. Mind you, you can do this all onto your desktop/laptop
Copy the plugins as well. Add the config as code plugin.
Startup the new instance, export the CasC config and review. The export is a starting point so fill in any missing gaps, etc. For example, since you did not copy jobs over, folders and views will not be created. Some plugin configs are.also not yet implemented.
Stop Jenkins, delete all the config (except the secret key). Put the JCasC config in place and start up. Compare the new configs to what you backed up/copied over. Repeat until they match. Now you should have a config that matches Prod.
Now you can install JCasc in Prod. The plugin does nothing until configured. But do a similar backup/compare of Prod config, before and after the config, just in case something changed in the intervening period
Of course, now you need to mke sure any changes are now only done via JCasC and not the UI, or you are out of sync again. See blog and JEP.
Answered By - Ian W
Answer Checked By - Robin (JavaFixing Admin)
