Deploy Jenkins on Kubernetes with Helm: A Step‑by‑Step Guide

Download Jenkins Chart

Add the official Jenkins Helm repo, pull the chart version 5.8.37 and push it to a private OCI registry.

$ helm repo add jenkinsci https://charts.jenkins.io --force-update
$ helm pull jenkinsci/jenkins --version 5.8.37
$ helm push jenkins-5.8.37.tgz oci://core.jiaxzeng.com/plugins

Pull Official Images

Retrieve required Docker images, retag them to the private registry, and push.

sudo docker pull jenkins/inbound-agent:3307.v632ed11b_3a_c7-2
sudo docker tag jenkins/inbound-agent:3307.v632ed11b_3a_c7-2 core.jiaxzeng.com/library/jenkins/inbound-agent:3307.v632ed11b_3a_c7-2
sudo docker push core.jiaxzeng.com/library/jenkins/inbound-agent:3307.v632ed11b_3a_c7-2

sudo docker pull docker.io/kiwigrid/k8s-sidecar:1.30.3
sudo docker tag docker.io/kiwigrid/k8s-sidecar:1.30.3 core.jiaxzeng.com/library/jenkins/k8s-sidecar:1.30.3
sudo docker push core.jiaxzeng.com/library/jenkins/k8s-sidecar:1.30.3

sudo docker pull docker.io/jenkins/jenkins:2.492.3-jdk21
sudo docker tag docker.io/jenkins/jenkins:2.492.3-jdk21 core.jiaxzeng.com/library/jenkins/jenkins:2.492.3-jdk21
sudo docker push core.jiaxzeng.com/library/jenkins/jenkins:2.492.3-jdk21

sudo docker pull docker.io/bats/bats:1.11.1
sudo docker tag docker.io/bats/bats:1.11.1 core.jiaxzeng.com/library/jenkins/bats:1.11.1
sudo docker push core.jiaxzeng.com/library/jenkins/bats:1.11.1

Configure Jenkins Values

Create a jenkins-values.yaml file with overrides, controller image registry, sidecar settings, plugins, ingress, persistence, and Java options as shown.

fullnameOverride: jenkins
controller:
  image:
    registry: core.jiaxzeng.com
    repository: library/jenkins/jenkins
  sidecars:
    configAutoReload:
      enabled: true
      image:
        registry: core.jiaxzeng.com
        repository: library/jenkins/k8s-sidecar
installPlugins:
  installLatestPlugins: false
ingress:
  enabled: true
  apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
  annotations:
    cert-manager.io/cluster-issuer: ca-cluster-issuer
  ingressClassName: nginx
  hostName: jenkins.jiaxzeng.com
  tls:
    - secretName: jenkins.jiaxzeng.com-tls
  hosts:
    - jenkins.jiaxzeng.com
javaOpts: "-Djava.awt.headless=true -Dhudson.model.DownloadService.noSignatureCheck=true"
persistence:
  enabled: true
  storageClass: ceph-fs-storage
  accessMode: ReadWriteMany
  size: 8Gi

Deploy Jenkins

Install the chart in the jenkins namespace using the prepared values file.

$ helm -n jenkins install jenkins --create-namespace -f /etc/kubernetes/addons/jenkins-values.yaml /etc/kubernetes/addons/jenkins

After deployment, retrieve the admin password and access the UI at https://jenkins.jiaxzeng.com.

Verification

Check resources with kubectl -n jenkins get sts,pod,service,pvc,ingress and confirm the Jenkins UI loads correctly.

Conclusion

The guide demonstrates how Helm simplifies Jenkins deployment on Kubernetes, improving efficiency and easing future upgrades.