jenkinsci/jenkins · error · AbortException

{} has no SCM trigger, but checkSCM was specified

Error message

{} has no SCM trigger, but checkSCM was specified

What it means

Thrown as an AbortException when --scm (checkSCM) is specified but the job does not have an SCMTriggerItem (SCMTriggerItem.SCMTriggerItems.asSCMTriggerItem(job) returns null). The --scm flag tells the build command to only proceed if there are SCM changes, but this requires the job to have SCM integration.

Source

Thrown at core/src/main/java/hudson/cli/BuildCommand.java:148

            for (ParameterDefinition pd : pdp.getParameterDefinitions()) {
                if (parameters.containsKey(pd.getName()))
                    continue;

                // not passed in use default
                ParameterValue defaultValue = pd.getDefaultParameterValue();
                if (defaultValue == null) {
                    throw new CmdLineException(null, String.format("No default value for the parameter '%s'.", pd.getName()));
                }
                values.add(defaultValue);
            }

            a = new ParametersAction(values);
        }

        if (checkSCM) {
            SCMTriggerItem item = SCMTriggerItem.SCMTriggerItems.asSCMTriggerItem(job);
            if (item == null)
                throw new AbortException(job.getFullDisplayName() + " has no SCM trigger, but checkSCM was specified");
            // preemptively check for a polling veto
            if (SCMDecisionHandler.firstShouldPollVeto(job) != null) {
                return 0;
            }
            if (!item.poll(new StreamTaskListener(stdout, getClientCharset())).hasChanges())
                return 0;
        }

        if (!job.isBuildable()) {
            String msg = Messages.BuildCommand_CLICause_CannotBuildUnknownReasons(job.getFullDisplayName());
            if (job instanceof ParameterizedJobMixIn.ParameterizedJob && ((ParameterizedJobMixIn.ParameterizedJob) job).isDisabled()) {
                msg = Messages.BuildCommand_CLICause_CannotBuildDisabled(job.getFullDisplayName());
            } else if (job.isHoldOffBuildUntilSave()) {
                msg = Messages.BuildCommand_CLICause_CannotBuildConfigNotSaved(job.getFullDisplayName());
            }
            throw new IllegalStateException(msg);
        }

View on GitHub (pinned to 2e228ff40b)

Solutions

1. Configure SCM on the job: in job configuration, set up Source Code Management (Git, SVN, etc.).
2. Remove the --scm flag from the CLI command if SCM checking is not needed.
3. For Pipeline jobs, ensure the pipeline definition references an SCM source (e.g., Pipeline script from SCM).

// Check SCM support before using --scm
SCMTriggerItem item = SCMTriggerItem.SCMTriggerItems.asSCMTriggerItem(job);
if (item == null && checkSCM) {
    throw new AbortException(job.getFullDisplayName() + " has no SCM trigger. Configure SCM or remove the --scm flag.");
}

public static boolean hasSCMTrigger(Job<?, ?> job) {
    return SCMTriggerItem.SCMTriggerItems.asSCMTriggerItem(job) != null;
}

try {
    // build command run()
} catch (AbortException e) {
    if (e.getMessage().contains("has no SCM trigger")) {
        stderr.println(e.getMessage());
        return 1;
    }
    throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: checkSCM is true (from CLI --scm/-f flag), but asSCMTriggerItem(job) returns null — the job has no SCM trigger configuration or is not an SCM-backed job type.

Common situations: Using --scm on a freestyle job with no Source Code Management section configured; using --scm on a job type that does not support SCM (e.g., some custom job types); Pipeline job without SCM polling configured.

Related errors

• {} is not parameterized but the -p option was specified.
• Cannot build {0} for unknown reasons.
• Cannot build {0} because it is disabled.
• Cannot build {0} because its configuration has not been save
• Could not get TcpSlaveAgentListener host name

AI-assisted analysis of jenkinsci/jenkins@2e228ff40b (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2a00048e26cd0c8a. Report an issue: GitHub.