How to restore deleted job in Jenkins

Prerequisites

• Job Configuration History plugin should be installed in Jenkins.

References

• How to install plugins in Jenkins

Restore deleted Jobs

Lets delete a job first

Go to Jenkins Homepage/Dashboard → click on Job Config History

Click on Show deleted jobs only and click on restore icon next to the Job name

Now Job is restored but not enabled to run the pipeline

Click on Enable to enable the restored job

Now pipeline is fully enabled and we can run the pipeline now.

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Important Tips

Tip

Plugin Requirement: This feature is NOT available in Jenkins out-of-the-box. You MUST install the "Job Configuration History" plugin. Without it, once a job is deleted, it's gone for good (unless you have backups).

Note

Config History: This plugin also tracks changes to job configurations. If you break a build by changing a setting, you can revert to the previous working configuration using the same plugin.

🧠 Quick Quiz — Restoring Jobs

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Can you restore a deleted Jenkins job by default without any plugins?

Yes, there is a "Trash" bin in Jenkins.

No, you need a plugin like "Job Configuration History" or a filesystem backup.

Yes, but only within 24 hours.

Yes, only if you are an administrator.

By default, deleting a job in Jenkins removes its configuration xml file from the disk immediately. Plugins or backups are required to recover it.