Build Change Investigator

A Jenkins plugin that helps answer: “What changed between the last successful build and the failed build, and which changes are most likely related?”

Compare the failed build with the last known good. Extract the exact failure signal and rank relevant code/config changes using deterministic evidence. Optional AI can interpret the evidence; it is not required.

Install from Jenkins

V3 dependency regression with last-good, first-bad and current builds, exact failure, and ranked changes

Dependency regression: a narrowed change window, stage-aware ranking, and native Build History.

Why it is different

Logs, error summaries, and generic AI explanations describe a failure. Build Change Investigator connects it to what changed:

Last known good → changes introduced → first bad → current failure → exact evidence → what to check next.

The core investigation works without asking AI to guess a root cause. Observed facts, deterministic correlations, and optional AI interpretation stay distinct. Weak evidence is reported as such.

How it works

  1. A build fails, becomes unstable, or is aborted.
  2. The plugin finds the last successful build.
  3. It collects SCM changes and relevant failure evidence.
  4. It ranks changes overlapping the failing file, module, or stage.
  5. It shows the investigation on the Jenkins build page.

When retained history is sufficient, it identifies a verified first-bad build and narrows the change window. Missing evidence stays explicit.

What you get

  • Exact failure signals: compiler diagnostics, exceptions, and failing tests.
  • Last-good → first-bad → current investigation flow.
  • Stage-aware change ranking, with the full retained change set available.
  • Build-to-build comparison within the same job.
  • Similar past failure context.
  • Copy investigation with evidence and suggested checks.
  • Optional AI interpretation, separate from observed facts.
  • Native Jenkins Build History and light/dark layouts that adapt to narrower screens.

Screenshots

Real V3 runtime captures using synthetic demo data.

Stage-aware ranking of 20 changed files in a real V3 investigation

Relevant changes ranked by failure and stage evidence.

Compilation failure

Exact compiler error and matching changed source file

See the unresolved symbol, source location, and first diff to inspect.

Build-to-build comparison

Selected baseline and target builds with their changes and failure evidence

Choose a comparison window using the same investigation view.

Optional AI interpretation · dark mode

Completed AI interpretation beside deterministic evidence in Jenkins dark mode

Evidence references and recommended checks remain separate from observed facts.

Install

Open Manage Jenkins → Plugins → Available plugins, search for Build Change Investigator, and install it. Restart Jenkins if requested. Official plugin page.

Use

No Jenkinsfile changes are required. After a new build finishes as FAILURE, UNSTABLE, or ABORTED, open it and select Build Change Investigation. The deterministic investigation is available immediately; full Console Output remains accessible.

If AI is configured, an authorized user can click Run AI Analysis. Page loads never trigger AI calls.

Optional AI

AI is optional; regression investigation works without it. Supported providers are OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, AWS Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, Google Gemini, Ollama, and OpenAI-compatible endpoints. Configure a provider under Manage Jenkins → System → Build Change Investigator. API keys use Jenkins Credentials; Bedrock also supports the AWS default credential chain.

Requirements

  • Jenkins 2.541.3 or newer.
  • Java 17, 21, or a newer runtime supported by your Jenkins version.
  • SCM change information for the richest investigation experience.

Security

Deterministic investigation runs locally in Jenkins. AI is explicitly triggered, credentials use Jenkins Credentials, and submitted evidence is bounded with best-effort secret redaction. See the security policy.

Jenkins plugin page · GitHub repository · Issues