How to Download, Install, Configure, and Start Jenkins on CentOS

Prerequisites

Jenkins requires JDK 1.8 or later; install JDK 1.8 before proceeding.

Download Jenkins RPM

Official download page: https://jenkins.io/zh/download/. If the site is unreachable, use the Tsinghua mirror https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/jenkins/redhat-stable/ and select the RPM under the redhat‑stable category for CentOS 6.

Install the RPM

Upload the RPM file to a directory on the CentOS host, then run: rpm -ivh jenkins-2.277.3noarch.rpm Replace the version string with the actual file name.

Configure Jenkins

Edit /etc/sysconfig/jenkins to change the service user to root and set the HTTP port to 8888 (e.g., JENKINS_PORT=8888) to avoid conflicts with other services.

Start the service

service jenkins start

Initial access

Open a browser at http://HOST_IP:8888. The first launch asks for the initial admin password.

Retrieve the password with:

cat /var/lib/jenkins/secrets/initialAdminPassword

Complete the setup

Enter the retrieved password, proceed to the custom Jenkins setup screen, and install plugins. The default plugin selection may be empty; plugin downloads can be slow, and a mirror can be configured later.

Create an administrator user, save the configuration, and the Jenkins dashboard becomes available.