9 min readOct 15, 2025

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Introduction

This comprehensive guide will walk you through setting up a complete CI/CD pipeline on Windows, from creating your first GitHub repository to automating builds with Jenkins. By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have a fully functional setup where pushing code to GitHub automatically triggers builds in Jenkins.

Part 1: Installing Git on Windows

Step 1: Download Git

1. Visit the official Git website: https://git-scm.com/download/win
2. The download should start automatically. If not, click on the appropriate version (64-bit or 32-bit)
3. Save the installer file to your computer

Step 2: Install Git

1. Run the downloaded .exe file
2. Click Next through the license agreement
3. Choose the installation location (default is usually fine: C:\Program Files\Git)
4. Select components — keep the defaults selected:

• Windows Explorer integration
• Git Bash Here
• Git GUI Here

1. Choose the default editor (select your preferred editor or leave as Vim)
2. Adjust your PATH environment — select “Git from the command line and also from 3rd-party software”
3. Choose HTTPS transport backend — select “Use the OpenSSL library”
4. Configure line ending conversions — select “Checkout Windows-style, commit Unix-style line endings”
5. Configure terminal emulator — select “Use MinTTY”
6. Choose default behavior of git pull - select “Default (fast-forward or merge)”
7. Choose credential helper — select “Git Credential Manager”
8. Enable file system caching — check this option
9. Click Install

Step 3: Verify Installation

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and type:

git --version

You should see output like: git version 2.x.x.windows.x

Step 4: Configure Git

Set up your identity (this will be associated with your commits):

git config --global user.name "Your Name"git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"

Verify your configuration:

git config --list

Part 2: Creating a GitHub Account

Step 1: Sign Up

1. Go to https://github.com
2. Click on Sign Up in the top right corner
3. Enter your email address and click Continue
4. Create a strong password and click Continue
5. Enter a username (this will be your GitHub handle) and click Continue
6. Choose whether you want to receive updates and click Continue
7. Solve the verification puzzle
8. Check your email for the verification code
9. Enter the 6-digit code sent to your email

Step 2: Personalize Your Account

1. Answer the questions about your experience (or skip)
2. Choose the free plan
3. Complete your profile by adding a profile picture and bio (optional)

Part 3: Creating Your First Repository

Step 1: Create a New Repository

1. Log in to your GitHub account
2. Click the + icon in the top right corner
3. Select New repository
4. Fill in the repository details:

• Repository name: my-jenkins-project
• Description: “Testing GitHub and Jenkins integration”
• Visibility: Select Public (this is important for Jenkins integration without authentication)
• DO NOT initialize with README, .gitignore, or license (we’ll add files later)

1. Click Create repository

Step 2: Note Your Repository URL

After creation, you’ll see a page with setup instructions. Copy the repository URL, which looks like:

https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/my-jenkins-project.git

Part 4: Creating a Branch

Step 1: Clone the Repository Locally

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and navigate to where you want to store your project:

cd C:\Users\YourUsername\Documentsgit clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/my-jenkins-project.gitcd my-jenkins-project

Step 2: Create a New Branch

git branch development

Step 3: Switch to the New Branch

git checkout development

Or create and switch in one command:

git checkout -b development

Step 4: Verify Your Current Branch

git branch

The active branch will be marked with an asterisk (*).

Step 5: Push the Branch to GitHub

git push -u origin development

This creates the branch on GitHub and sets up tracking.

Part 5: Creating a Shell Script (.sh File)

Step 1: Create the Script File

In your project directory, create a new file called build.sh:

echo "" > build.sh

Step 2: Edit the Script

Open build.sh with any text editor (Notepad, VS Code, etc.) and add the following content:

#!/bin/bash

echo "=================================="echo "Starting Build Process"echo "=================================="echo "Build Date: $(date)"echo "Build Number: ${BUILD_NUMBER:-Manual}"echo "=================================="echo "Hello from the build script!"echo "This is version 1.0"echo "=================================="echo "Build completed successfully!"echo "=================================="

Note: Even though Windows uses PowerShell/CMD, the .sh file will be executed by Jenkins, which can run bash scripts.

Step 3: Save the File

Save and close the editor.

Part 6: Git Operations — Add, Commit, and Push

Step 1: Check Status

See what files have changed:

git status

You should see build.sh as an untracked file.

Step 2: Add Files to Staging

Add the specific file:

git add build.sh

Or add all changes:

git add .

Step 3: Commit Changes

git commit -m "Add initial build script"

The -m flag adds a commit message describing your changes.

Step 4: Push to GitHub

Push your changes to the remote repository:

git push origin development

This pushes the development branch to GitHub.

Step 5: Verify on GitHub

Go to your GitHub repository in a browser and switch to the development branch using the branch dropdown. You should see your build.sh file.

Part 7: Git Pull Operations

Pulling Changes from Remote

When others make changes or you make changes from another location, you’ll need to pull updates:

git pull origin development

This fetches and merges changes from the remote development branch.

Best Practice Workflow

Before making changes, always pull first:

git pull origin development# Make your changesgit add .git commit -m "Your commit message"git push origin development

Part 8: Installing and Setting Up Jenkins on Windows

Step 1: Download Jenkins

1. Visit https://www.jenkins.io/download/
2. Download the Windows installer (.msi file)
3. Alternatively, download the Generic Java package (.war) if you prefer

Step 2: Install Jenkins

Using the Windows Installer:

1. Run the downloaded .msi file
2. Follow the installation wizard
3. Jenkins will install as a Windows service
4. Default port is 8080

Using the WAR file:

1. Ensure Java is installed (download from https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads/))
2. Open Command Prompt
3. Navigate to where you saved jenkins.war
4. Run:

java -jar jenkins.war

Step 3: Access Jenkins

1. Open a web browser
2. Go to [http://localhost:8080](http://localhost:8080)
3. You’ll see the “Unlock Jenkins” page

Step 4: Unlock Jenkins

1. The installer will show you a path to the initial admin password, typically:(C:\Program Files\Jenkins\secrets\initialAdminPassword)
2. Open this file with Notepad
3. Copy the password and paste it into the web interface
4. Click Continue

Step 5: Install Plugins

1. Choose Install suggested plugins
2. Wait for the installation to complete (this may take several minutes)

Step 6: Create First Admin User

1. Fill in the form with your details:

• Username
• Password
• Full name
• Email address

Click Save and Continue

Step 7: Configure Instance

1. Keep the default Jenkins URL (http://localhost:8080)
2. Click Save and Finish
3. Click Start using Jenkins

Part 9: Installing Required Jenkins Plugins

Step 1: Access Plugin Manager

1. From the Jenkins dashboard, click Manage Jenkins
2. Click Manage Plugins
3. Click the Available plugins tab

Step 2: Install Git Plugin

1. In the search box, type Git Plugin
2. Check the box next to Git Plugin (it might already be installed)
3. Also search for and install:

• GitHub Plugin
• Git Client Plugin

Step 3: Install Plugins

1. Click Install without restart (or Download now and install after restart)
2. Wait for installation to complete

Part 10: Configuring Git in Jenkins

Step 1: Configure Git Path

1. Go to Manage Jenkins → Global Tool Configuration
2. Scroll down to Git section
3. Click Add Git
4. Name: Default
5. Path to Git executable: C:\Program Files\Git\bin\git.exe
6. Click Save

Part 11: Linking GitHub and Jenkins

Since your repository is public, you don’t need to set up credentials. Jenkins can access public repositories directly.

Verification

1. Make sure your repository is set to Public on GitHub:

• Go to your repository
• Click Settings
• Scroll to the bottom
• Under Danger Zone, verify visibility is “Public”

Part 12: Creating a Freestyle Job in Jenkins

Step 1: Create New Job

1. From Jenkins dashboard, click New Item
2. Enter job name: GitHub-Build-Job
3. Select Freestyle project
4. Click OK

Step 2: Configure Source Code Management

1. In the Source Code Management section, select Git
2. In Repository URL, paste your GitHub repository URL:

https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/my-jenkins-project.git

Credentials: Leave as **— none **— (since the repo is public)

Branch Specifier: Change from */master to */development

Step 3: Build Triggers

Do NOT check any build triggers since you want to build manually or trigger manually.

Step 4: Configure Build Steps

1. Scroll down to Build Steps section
2. Click Add build step
3. Select Execute Windows batch command
4. In the command box, enter:

@echo offecho Running build script...type build.shecho.echo ================================echo Executing script contents:echo ================================bash build.sh

Alternative if Git Bash is in PATH:

"C:\Program Files\Git\bin\bash.exe" build.sh

Step 5: Save Configuration

Click Save at the bottom of the page.

Part 13: Testing the Pipeline

Step 1: Initial Build

1. On your job page, click Build Now
2. You’ll see a build appear in the Build History
3. Click on the build number (e.g., #1)
4. Click Console Output
5. You should see the output from your build.sh script

Step 2: Make Changes and Push

1. Open build.sh on your local machine
2. Modify the script (e.g., change the version number):

#!/bin/bash

echo "=================================="echo "Starting Build Process"echo "=================================="echo "Build Date: $(date)"echo "Build Number: ${BUILD_NUMBER:-Manual}"echo "=================================="echo "Hello from the build script!"echo "This is version 2.0 - NEW UPDATE!"echo "=================================="echo "Build completed successfully!"echo "=================================="

1. Save the file
2. Commit and push:

git add build.shgit commit -m "Update build script to version 2.0"git push origin development

Step 3: Trigger New Build in Jenkins

1. Go back to Jenkins
2. Click on your job GitHub-Build-Job
3. Click Build Now
4. Click on the new build number
5. Click Console Output
6. You should see the NEW output with “version 2.0 — NEW UPDATE!”

Step 4: Verify Changes

Each time you:

1. Modify build.sh
2. Commit and push to GitHub
3. Build in Jenkins

The console output will reflect your latest changes!

Part 14: Understanding the Console Output

What to Look For

When you check the console output in Jenkins, you’ll see:

1. Git operations: Jenkins pulling the latest code from your repository
2. Build execution: Your script running
3. Script output: Everything echoed from your build.sh file
4. Build result: Success or failure status

Example Console Output

Started by user adminRunning as SYSTEMBuilding in workspace C:\ProgramData\Jenkins\.jenkins\workspace\GitHub-Build-JobThe recommended git tool is: NONEusing credential noneCloning the remote Git repositoryCloning repository https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/my-jenkins-project.git > git init C:\ProgramData\Jenkins\.jenkins\workspace\GitHub-Build-Job > git fetch --tags --force --progress -- https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/my-jenkins-project.git +refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/* > git config remote.origin.url https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/my-jenkins-project.git > git config --add remote.origin.fetch +refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/* > git rev-parse refs/remotes/origin/development^{commit}Checking out Revision abc123... (refs/remotes/origin/development) > git config core.sparsecheckout > git checkout -f abc123...Commit message: "Update build script to version 2.0"[GitHub-Build-Job] $ cmd /c call C:\Users\ADMINI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\jenkins123.bat

C:\ProgramData\Jenkins\.jenkins\workspace\GitHub-Build-Job>@echo offC:\ProgramData\Jenkins\.jenkins\workspace\GitHub-Build-Job>echo Running build script...Running build script...==================================Starting Build Process==================================Build Date: Wed Oct 15 10:30:45 2025Build Number: 2==================================Hello from the build script!This is version 2.0 - NEW UPDATE!==================================Build completed successfully!==================================Finished: SUCCESS

Part 15: Common Workflows and Tips

Making Updates

1. Edit locally:

cd my-jenkins-project # Edit your files

Check what changed:

• git status git diff

Stage and commit:

• git add . git commit -m "Descriptive message about changes"

Push to GitHub:

• git push origin development

Build in Jenkins: Click “Build Now” and check console output

Switching Between Branches

# View all branchesgit branch -a

# Switch to a different branchgit checkout branch-name# Create and switch to new branchgit checkout -b new-feature-branch

Pulling Latest Changes

# Update your local repositorygit pull origin development

Viewing Commit History

git log# or for a compact viewgit log --oneline

Part 16: Troubleshooting

Git Issues

Problem: Git commands not recognized

• Solution: Ensure Git is added to PATH during installation. Restart Command Prompt after installation.

Problem: Permission denied when pushing

• Solution: Check your Git credentials. Run git config --list to verify.

Jenkins Issues

Problem: Cannot access Jenkins at localhost:8080

• Solution: Check if Jenkins service is running. Go to Services (services.msc) and look for Jenkins.

Problem: Build fails with “git command not found”

• Solution: Configure Git path in Jenkins: Manage Jenkins → Global Tool Configuration → Git

Problem: Script doesn’t execute

• Solution: Verify the bash path in your build step. Use full path: "C:\Program Files\Git\bin\bash.exe"

GitHub Issues

Problem: Cannot push to repository

• Solution: Verify repository URL and that you have permissions. Use git remote -v to check configured remotes.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve successfully:

✅ Installed Git on Windows ✅ Created a GitHub account and repository ✅ Created and managed branches ✅ Created and edited shell scripts ✅ Performed Git operations (add, commit, push, pull) ✅ Installed and configured Jenkins ✅ Linked GitHub with Jenkins ✅ Created a Freestyle job without triggers ✅ Built your project and viewed console output

Every time you push changes to your development branch and manually trigger a build in Jenkins, you’ll see the updated output in the console. This forms the foundation of CI/CD practices!

Next Steps

To enhance your setup, consider:

1. Merging to Main: Learn to merge your development branch to main
2. Webhooks: Set up automatic builds when you push (requires webhook configuration)
3. Pipeline Jobs: Explore Jenkins Pipeline for more complex workflows
4. Notifications: Configure email or Slack notifications for build results
5. Testing: Add automated tests to your build process

Happy coding and building! 🚀