TIELECBlog
    Back to list
    Jenkins Start, Stop, and Restart Cheat Sheet
    CI/CD
    PRThis article contains advertisements

    Jenkins Start, Stop, and Restart Cheat Sheet

    (Updated: 1/31/2026)
    25 min read
    Jenkins
    Build
    Deployment

    Introduction

    Hello, I'm Yuto Takashi from TIELEC Inc. In this article, I'll introduce how to start, stop, and restart Jenkins, a popular CI/CD tool.

    Since starting, stopping, and restarting Jenkins are not frequent operations, it's easy to forget how to do them. Additionally, there are multiple methods, and it can be confusing to know which operation to use in which situation.

    This article organizes these Jenkins start, stop, and restart methods. If you're struggling with Jenkins operations, please read this article.

    [Updated January 2026] Added information about the latest authentication methods (API tokens) and systemd.

    Summary of Jenkins Start, Stop, and Restart Methods

    Jenkins start, stop, and restart methods are classified into the following patterns:

    • Operations on Jenkins Environment
      • Directly operate Jenkins installed on Linux or Windows.
    • Operations via Jenkins UI
      • Perform operations by logging into Jenkins.
    • Remote Operations of Jenkins
      • Operate remotely via API or CLI.

    Additionally, there are multiple modes for stopping and restarting Jenkins. This article covers this information.

    Stop and Restart Modes

    There are six modes for stopping and restarting Jenkins:

    • exit (shutdown) - Stops Jenkins.
    • safeExit (safeShutdown) - Puts Jenkins into Quiet mode, waits for existing builds to complete, then shuts down Jenkins.
    • quietDown - Puts Jenkins into Quiet mode in preparation for restart. In this mode, Jenkins does not start any builds.
    • cancelQuietDown - Cancels "quietDown".
    • restart - Restarts Jenkins.
    • safeRestart - Puts Jenkins into Quiet mode, waits for existing builds to complete, then restarts Jenkins.

    About Authentication Methods (Important)

    There have been important security changes regarding authentication methods when remotely operating Jenkins.

    Using API Tokens (Recommended)

    Writing passwords directly in commands is deprecated. Using API tokens is strongly recommended for the following reasons:

    • Risk of passwords remaining in command history
    • Risk of damage escalation due to password reuse
    • Issues from a security audit perspective

    How to Obtain API Tokens

    1. Log in to Jenkins
    2. Click your username in the upper right corner
    3. Click "Configure"
    4. In the "API Token" section, click "Add new Token"
    5. Enter a token name and click "Generate"
    6. Copy the generated token (it will only be displayed once, so be careful)

    Types of Authentication Methods

    When using Jenkins CLI or API, the following authentication methods are available:

    1. Specify API token directly

    -auth USERNAME:API_TOKEN

    2. Use environment variables

    export JENKINS_USER_ID=username
export JENKINS_API_TOKEN=your_api_token

    3. SSH public key authentication (disabled by default, requires configuration)

    This article uses API tokens in the following command examples.

    Start, Stop, and Restart Execution Patterns

    Operations on Jenkins Environment

    Unix-based Environments

    For environments like Ubuntu or Fedora, you can operate as follows.

    Note: Starting with Jenkins 2.335 and 2.332.1, the package is configured with systemd (migrated from the older System V init).

    These operations forcibly stop, start, or restart Jenkins. If you want to wait for currently running Jenkins jobs to complete, use quietDown or safeRestart via URL or API as described later.

    start
    sudo systemctl start jenkins
    stop
    sudo systemctl stop jenkins
    restart
    sudo systemctl restart jenkins
    status (check status)
    sudo systemctl status jenkins

    You can check if Jenkins is running normally.

    Troubleshooting

    To check logs:

    sudo journalctl -u jenkins.service

    To monitor logs in real-time:

    sudo journalctl -u jenkins.service -f

    Windows Environment

    If you have Jenkins set up on a Windows server, there are two ways:

    1. If Jenkins is registered as a Windows service, you can operate it there.
    2. You can also operate from the command line with the following commands.
    stop
    C:\Program Files (x86)\Jenkins>jenkins.exe stop
    start
    C:\Program Files (x86)\Jenkins>jenkins.exe start
    restart
    C:\Program Files (x86)\Jenkins>jenkins.exe restart

    Operations via Jenkins UI

    You can stop or restart by logging into Jenkins as an administrator and accessing URLs.

    exit
    http://<jenkins.server>/exit
    safe exit
    http://<jenkins.server>/safeExit
    quiet down
    http://<jenkins.server>/quietDown
    cancel quiet down
    http://<jenkins.server>/cancelQuietDown
    restart
    http://<jenkins.server>/restart
    safe restart
    http://<jenkins.server>/safeRestart
    Screens During Stop/Start

    enter image description here

    When you open the URL, a screen like the above will appear. Click Yes to send a request to Jenkins.

    enter image description here

    If a screen like the above appears, click Retry using Post to send a request to Jenkins.

    enter image description here

    During shutdown, it will be displayed on the screen like this.

    enter image description here

    After executing restart, wait on this screen for a while. The screen will reload after the restart is complete.

    Remote Operations of Jenkins

    Security Warning: The following examples use API tokens. In actual operation, store them in environment variables or use credential files.

    RemoteAPI (wget)

    To stop using the wget command, use the following.

    Note: Specify your username for <user> and the obtained API token for <api-token>.

    exit
    wget --user=<user> --password=<api-token> --post-data='' http://<jenkins.server>/exit
    safe exit
    wget --user=<user> --password=<api-token> --post-data='' http://<jenkins.server>/safeExit
    quiet down
    wget --user=<user> --password=<api-token> --post-data='' http://<jenkins.server>/quietDown
    cancel quiet down
    wget --user=<user> --password=<api-token> --post-data='' http://<jenkins.server>/cancelQuietDown
    restart
    wget --user=<user> --password=<api-token> --post-data='' http://<jenkins.server>/restart
    safe restart
    wget --user=<user> --password=<api-token> --post-data='' http://<jenkins.server>/safeRestart

    RemoteAPI (curl)

    To stop using the curl command (recommended), use the following.

    exit
    curl -X POST -u <user>:<api-token> http://<jenkins.server>/exit
    safe exit
    curl -X POST -u <user>:<api-token> http://<jenkins.server>/safeExit
    quiet down
    curl -X POST -u <user>:<api-token> http://<jenkins.server>/quietDown
    cancel quiet down
    curl -X POST -u <user>:<api-token> http://<jenkins.server>/cancelQuietDown
    restart
    curl -X POST -u <user>:<api-token> http://<jenkins.server>/restart
    safe restart
    curl -X POST -u <user>:<api-token> http://<jenkins.server>/safeRestart

    Jenkins CLI

    You can do the same using Jenkins CLI.

    Authentication Method 1: Using -auth parameter

    java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://<jenkins-server>/ -auth <user>:<api-token> <command>

    Authentication Method 2: Using environment variables

    export JENKINS_USER_ID=<user>
export JENKINS_API_TOKEN=<api-token>
java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://<jenkins-server>/ <command>
    exit
    java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://<jenkins-server>/ -auth <user>:<api-token> shutdown
    safe exit
    java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://<jenkins-server>/ -auth <user>:<api-token> safe-shutdown
    quiet down
    java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://<jenkins-server>/ -auth <user>:<api-token> quiet-down
    cancel quiet down
    java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://<jenkins-server>/ -auth <user>:<api-token> cancel-quiet-down
    restart
    java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://<jenkins-server>/ -auth <user>:<api-token> restart
    safe restart
    java -jar jenkins-cli.jar -s http://<jenkins-server>/ -auth <user>:<api-token> safe-restart

    Summary

    Let me summarize the content again.

    Jenkins start, stop, and restart methods are classified into the following patterns:

    • Operations on Jenkins Environment
      • Directly operate Jenkins installed on Linux or Windows.
      • On Linux, use systemd (systemctl).
    • Operations via Jenkins UI
      • Perform operations by logging into Jenkins.
    • Remote Operations of Jenkins
      • Operate remotely via API or CLI.
      • Use API tokens (passwords are deprecated).

    Additionally, there are normal mode and safe mode for stopping and restarting Jenkins, so use them appropriately depending on the situation.

    Security Points:

    • Do not write passwords directly in commands
    • Use API tokens
    • Manage tokens with environment variables or credential files

    References

    Recommended Books

    About This Space
    Takashi Yuto

    Takashi Yuto

    TIELEC Representative

    A working engineer with HR expertise. Combining both perspectives to serve as your thought-organizing sparring partner.

    DevLoop Runner

    Grow as an AI-Collaborative Engineer

    A visible AI collaboration environment — from issue design to review — that evolves how you think.

    Learn more

    About Dialogue Sessions

    Thought organization through conversation

    Was this article helpful?

    Coffee cup

    If this article helped you organize your thoughts

    a coffee-sized support would be much appreciated.

    ※ This is separate from tipping, but—

    If you'd like to organize similar themes in your own context, I also offer dialogue sessions as a form of thought organization.

    → About Dialogue Sessions

    Recommended for you