How to Set Up Jenkins with GitHub on CentOS 7: A Step‑by‑Step Guide

Environment

CentOS 7.4

JDK 1.8

Installation Steps

Install JDK

Install Jenkins

Configure Jenkins–GitHub integration

Create and configure a Jenkins job

Install JDK

Download JDK 8 from Oracle, extract the archive, and set the required environment variables.

cd /usr/local/src
wget <em>your_download_url</em>
 tar -zxvf jdk-8u91-linux-x64.tar.gz

# Add to /etc/profile
JAVA_HOME=/usr/local/tools/jdk1.8.0_144
JRE_HOME=$JAVA_HOME/jre
PATH=$PATH:$JAVA_HOME/bin:$JRE_HOME/bin
CLASSPATH=:$JAVA_HOME/lib/dt.jar:$JAVA_HOME/lib/tools.jar:$JRE_HOME/lib/dt.jar
export JAVA_HOME JRE_HOME PATH CLASSPATH

source /etc/profile
java -version

Install Jenkins

Enable the fastest‑mirror plugin, add the Jenkins repository, import the GPG key, and install Jenkins.

# Install fastest‑mirror
yum install yum-fastestmirror -y

# Add Jenkins repository
sudo wget -O /etc/yum.repos.d/jenkins.repo http://jenkins-ci.org/redhat/jenkins.repo

# Import GPG key
sudo rpm --import http://pkg.jenkins-ci.org/redhat/jenkins-ci.org.key

# Install Jenkins
yum install jenkins -y

Start Jenkins and optionally change the default port (8080) by editing /etc/sysconfig/jenkins.

service jenkins start
vim /etc/sysconfig/jenkins   # modify JENKINS_PORT if needed
service jenkins restart

Jenkins and GitHub configuration

Initialize Jenkins by opening http://<em>your_ip</em>:8080, retrieve the initial admin password from /var/lib/jenkins/secrets/initialAdminPassword, install suggested plugins, and create an admin account.

Generate a Personal Access Token on GitHub (Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens) and copy it.

Configure a webhook in the GitHub repository: Settings → Webhooks → Add webhook, set the payload URL to http://<em>jenkins_ip</em>:8080/github-webhook/, content type application/json, and enable the push event.

In Jenkins, add a GitHub server:

Navigate to “Manage Jenkins” → “Configure System”.

Under “GitHub”, click “Add GitHub Server”.

API URL: https://api.github.com.

Add the GitHub token as a “Secret Text”.

Create and configure a Jenkins job

From the Jenkins dashboard click “New Item”, select “Freestyle project”, and give it a name.

In “Source Code Management” choose “Git” and enter the repository URL.

Enable “GitHub hook trigger for GITScm” under “Build Triggers”.

Add build steps (e.g., shell commands) to compile, test, or package the project.

When saved, Jenkins clones the repository into /var/lib/jenkins/workspace/ and executes the defined script.

Notes

Ensure any required global scripts are symlinked into /usr/bin so Jenkins can invoke them.

If a custom port is used, update the webhook payload URL accordingly.