Print Git Branch Name in Jenkins Pipeline

If you’re setting up a Jenkins pipeline, you may need to know how to print the Git branch name. Being able to see the branch name can be very useful in a Jenkins pipeline as it allows you to do specific tasks based on the branch. In this post, we’ll provide a detailed guide on how to print the Git branch name in a Jenkins pipeline, including code snippets and examples.

Printing the Default Git Branch Name

To print the default Git branch name, you can use the following code:

scm.branches[0].name

This will print the branch name, such as */staging.

Printing the Actual Git Branch Name

If you want to print the actual Git branch name, you can use the following code:

scm.branches[0].name.split("/")[1]

This will print the branch name, such as staging. The split() function is used to split the string into an array, and the [1] specifies that we want to access the second element of the array (the actual branch name).

Assigning the Git Branch Name to a Variable

You may also want to assign the Git branch name to a variable. This can be done with the following code:

def branchName = scm.branches[0].name.split("/")[1]

Using the Git Branch Name in a Jenkins Pipeline

Now that we have covered the basics of printing and assigning the Git branch name in a Jenkins pipeline, let us look at a few examples of how this can be used.

Performing Different Tasks Based on the Branch Name

One potential use case is to perform different tasks based on the branch name. For instance, you may have a staging branch and a production branch, and you want to deploy to different environments based on the branch. You can use an if statement to check the branch name and execute different steps accordingly:

if (branchName == 'staging') {
  // deploy to staging environment
} else if (branchName == 'production') {
  // deploy to production environment
}

Sending Notifications Based on the Branch Name

Another use case is to send notifications based on the branch name. Let’s say you have a slack integration set up for your Jenkins pipeline, and you want to send a notification to a specific channel based on the branch. You can use a switch statement to send the notification to the appropriate channel:

switch (branchName) {
  case 'staging':
    // send notification to staging channel
    break;
  case 'production':
    // send notification to production channel
    break;
  default:
    // send notification to default channel
}

Conclusion

As you can see, being able to print and use the Git branch name in a Jenkins pipeline can be very useful in various scenarios. By following the steps and examples in this guide, you should now have a good understanding of how to print and use the Git branch name in your Jenkins pipeline.