Manage plugins removed from the CloudBees Assurance Program

2 minute read

When a CloudBees plugin is removed from the CloudBees Assurance Program (CAP), it becomes a Tier 3 plugin. Tier 3 plugins are not verified by CloudBees and receive only commercially-reasonable support, which does not include bug or security fixes, new features, or verified compatibility and upgrades. These plugins should be used with caution, as their stability is unknown, and they are not covered by the CloudBees Support SLA. For more information, refer to CloudBees plugin support policies and Find the CloudBees support tier for a plugin on Plugin Manager.

CloudBees recommends evaluating alternative solutions or replacement plugins for critical use cases. If you choose to continue using a Tier 3 plugin, add it to a plugin catalog and monitor its stability closely. For guidance on alternatives or plugin management, contact CloudBees Support.

Update CasC bundles

If you are using Configuration as Code (CasC) to manage plugins in your controllers and operations center instances, you can manage non-CAP plugins in your CasC bundles. For more information, refer to the Plugin management with CasC.

Remove non-CAP plugins from CasC bundles

If you prefer to use only CAP-verified plugins in your CasC bundles, you can remove non-CAP plugins from your bundles.

To remove non-CAP plugins from your CasC bundles:

  1. Review your plugins.yaml file to identify any plugins that are not part of CAP.

  2. To prevent potential startup failures due to unresolved plugin dependencies, you must identify all plugins in your CasC bundle that depend on the removed plugin. Check for dependencies before removing plugins, using one or more of the following methods:

  3. If dependent plugins are found:

    1. Remove or upgrade those plugins to versions that do not require the removed plugin.

    2. If you must keep the dependent plugins, explicitly add the non-CAP plugin to your controller plugin catalog, understanding the support and risk implications.

  4. Remove these non-CAP plugins from the plugins.yaml file and any related configuration sections.

  5. Provision a new controller with the updated CasC bundle to validate that all dependencies are resolved and the controller starts successfully. This step ensures your bundle changes will not cause startup failures due to unresolved plugin dependencies.

  6. Redeploy your updated CasC bundle to all affected controllers and operations center instances.

This approach helps maintain a stable and fully supported environment.

Uninstall the plugin

If you no longer need a plugin that has been removed from the CAP, you should uninstall it to maintain a secure and supported environment. For more information, refer to Uninstall plugins from CloudBees CI.

To determine if a plugin is used, you can generate a plugin usage report. For more information, refer to How to determine if a plugin is in use.