Dynamically Fill Jenkins Choice Parameter With Git Branches In a Specified Repo

Question

I have a parameterized Jenkins job which requires the input of a specific Git branch in a specific Git repo. Currently this parameter is a string parameter.

Is there any way to make this parameter a choice parameter and dynamically fill the drop down list with the Git branches? I don't want to require someone to maintain this choice parameter by manually configuring the drop down every time a new branch is created.

Answer 1

I tried a couple of answers mentioned in this link, but couldn't figure out how to tell Jenkins about the user-selected branch. As mentioned in my previous comment in above thread, I had left the branch selector field empty.

But, during further investigations, I found another way to do the same thing - https://wiki.jenkins-ci.org/display/JENKINS/Git+Parameter+Plugin I found this method was a lot simpler, and had less things to configure!

Here's what I configured -

1. Installed the git parameter plugin
2. Checked the 'This build is parameterized' and added a 'Git parameter'

3. Added the following values:

4. Then in the git SCM section of the job I added the same value mentioned in the 'Name' section, as if it were an environment variable. (If you read the help for this git parameter plugin carefully, you will realize this)

After this I just ran the build, chose my branch(Jenkins checks out this branch before building) and it completed the build successfully, AND by choosing the branch that I had specified.

Answer 2

Extended Choice Parameter plugin will allow you to read the choices from a file.

Of course, now you have another problem: how to make sure the file is up-to-date (that can be done with a post-commit hook) and propagated to all the users (that can be done by placing it on a shared file server). But there may be better solutions.