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wtf is description-setter-plugin?

jdamick/description-setter-plugin — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-08-07 · repo last pushed 2015-04-03

JavaAudience · ops devopsComplexity · 2/5DormantSetup · moderate

TL;DR

A Jenkins plugin that automatically updates each build's description on the dashboard by extracting relevant text like ticket numbers or version info from the build's output logs.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Updates build descriptions
      Extracts text from logs
      Shows ticket numbers
    Use cases
      Identify failed runs quickly
      Scan build history easily
      Link builds to tickets
    Audience
      Development teams
      CI infrastructure managers
    Tech stack
      Java
      Jenkins plugin architecture

Code map

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Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Display ticket or issue numbers next to build numbers on the Jenkins dashboard.

REASON 2

Help teams quickly scan build history and spot failed runs without clicking into each one.

REASON 3

Show version numbers or keywords directly in the build title for easier identification.

What's in the stack?

JavaJenkins

How it stacks up

jdamick/description-setter-plugin0verflowme/intech-solabhishek-kumar09/configurate
LanguageJavaJavaJava
Last pushed2015-04-032022-11-162020-09-30
MaintenanceDormantDormantDormant
Setup difficultymoderatehardeasy
Complexity2/51/52/5
Audienceops devopsdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires a running Jenkins instance and knowledge of regular expressions to configure log extraction rules.

The README does not specify a license, so usage terms are unknown.

Wtf does this do

The description-setter plugin is a tool for Jenkins, which is a popular system that automates software building and testing. When developers push new code, Jenkins runs a series of automated steps to make sure everything works. This plugin helps make those automated runs easier to tell apart by automatically updating the short text description shown for each build on the Jenkins dashboard. In practice, this means instead of seeing a long, confusing list of builds identified only by incrementing numbers, you can see meaningful context right on the main screen. For example, if a build is tied to a specific project ticket or a particular version number, the plugin can grab that information from the build's output logs and display it directly next to the build number. It helps teams spot exactly which code change or feature corresponds to which automated run at a single glance. This tool is primarily used by software development teams and the people who manage their automated testing infrastructure. If a team runs dozens or hundreds of builds a day, finding a specific failed run in a wall of numbers can be frustrating. By pulling a relevant keyword, issue number, or status directly into the build's title, anyone on the team can quickly scan the history, find the exact run they care about, and see what went wrong without needing to click into each one individually. The project's README doesn't go into detail on the specific configuration steps or exactly how to format the rules for extracting text from the logs. However, as an open-source extension written in Java, it relies on the standard plugin architecture of its parent automation system. It acts as a simple but highly practical bridge between the raw text generated during a code check and the user interface the development team relies on every day.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Help me configure the description-setter-plugin in Jenkins to extract a JIRA ticket number like PROJ-123 from my build logs and display it as the build description.
Prompt 2
Write a regular expression I can use with the Jenkins description-setter-plugin to pull a version number from my build output and set it as the build description.
Prompt 3
Show me how to install the description-setter-plugin in Jenkins and configure it to set the build description from a specific line in the build log.

Frequently asked questions

wtf is description-setter-plugin?

A Jenkins plugin that automatically updates each build's description on the dashboard by extracting relevant text like ticket numbers or version info from the build's output logs.

What language is description-setter-plugin written in?

Mainly Java. The stack also includes Java, Jenkins.

Is description-setter-plugin actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2015-04-03).

What license does description-setter-plugin use?

The README does not specify a license, so usage terms are unknown.

How hard is description-setter-plugin to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is description-setter-plugin for?

Mainly ops devops.

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