How to fix Jenkins java.lang.IllegalStateException: An attempt to save the global configuration was made before it was loaded

Question

I upgraded from jenkins 2.219 to 2.272 (latest version as of this writing) and now getting the stack trace below when Jenkins starts.

Jenkins docs says that this happens due to the Configuration as Code plugin and to set the jvm args as -Dio.jenkins.plugins.casc.ConfigurationAsCode.initialDelay=9000. The docs also say to increment the value until the error goes away but so far I'm at 480000 and still getting the error. I also don't see that I have the Configuration as Code plugin installed anyway.

How can this be fixed?

java.lang.IllegalStateException: An attempt to save the global configuration was made before it was loaded
    at jenkins.model.Jenkins.save(Jenkins.java:3379)
    at jenkins.model.Jenkins.saveQuietly(Jenkins.java:3398)
    at jenkins.model.Jenkins.setSecurityRealm(Jenkins.java:2637)
    at jenkins.model.Jenkins$16.run(Jenkins.java:3342)
    at org.jvnet.hudson.reactor.TaskGraphBuilder$TaskImpl.run(TaskGraphBuilder.java:169)
    at org.jvnet.hudson.reactor.Reactor.runTask(Reactor.java:296)
    at jenkins.model.Jenkins$5.runTask(Jenkins.java:1129)
    at org.jvnet.hudson.reactor.Reactor$2.run(Reactor.java:214)
    at org.jvnet.hudson.reactor.Reactor$Node.run(Reactor.java:117)
    at jenkins.security.ImpersonatingExecutorService$1.run(ImpersonatingExecutorService.java:68)
    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1142)
    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:617)
    at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:745)
Caused: org.jvnet.hudson.reactor.ReactorException
    at org.jvnet.hudson.reactor.Reactor.execute(Reactor.java:282)
    at jenkins.InitReactorRunner.run(InitReactorRunner.java:50)
    at jenkins.model.Jenkins.executeReactor(Jenkins.java:1162)
    at jenkins.model.Jenkins.<init>(Jenkins.java:962)
    at hudson.model.Hudson.<init>(Hudson.java:85)
    at hudson.model.Hudson.<init>(Hudson.java:81)
    at hudson.WebAppMain$3.run(WebAppMain.java:295)
Caused: hudson.util.HudsonFailedToLoad
    at hudson.WebAppMain$3.run(WebAppMain.java:312)

Answer 1

For anyone having this issue, yes downgrading to https://get.jenkins.io/war-stable/2.263.1/ first is required. Then restart the service, then upgrade all of your plugins, then try the LTS upgrade again, at least for me it worked just fine.

More details about the issue here: https://www.jenkins.io/doc/upgrade-guide/2.204/

SEVERE jenkins.InitReactorRunner$1#onTaskFailed: Failed ConfigurationAsCode.init java.lang.IllegalStateException: An attempt to save the global configuration was made before it was loaded If you encounter this, you can tell the plugin to delay configuration for an amount of time to give Jenkins time to load the global configuration before the configuration is applied by the plugin.

To enable this set the io.jenkins.plugins.casc.ConfigurationAsCode.initialDelay system property to a number of milliseconds to delay the initialisation. The required value will be dependant on aspects of your system (cpu/disk) and configuration, and how it can be found is mostly a trial and error. A suggestion would be to start with 5000 (5 Seconds) and then increment by 2000 (2 seconds) until you no longer exhibit the issue and finally add 1000 (1 second) for some extra safety. For example, to delay the configuration by 9 seconds you would use something like the following command java -Dio.jenkins.plugins.casc.ConfigurationAsCode.initialDelay=9000 -jar jenkins.war. Exactly how and where you specify this option depends on the installation method used to install Jenkins

However for me the workaround didnt work without first downgrading, upgrading all plugins, then finally upgrading the core again.

Answer 2

I faced the same issue. I have downloaded the jenkins.war , the earlier version (2.263.1) from https://www.jenkins.io/download/ . Stopped the jenkins and replaced the war with my install directory(C:\Program Files\Jenkins). And started the jenkins.This works like a charm.