jenkinsci/jenkins · error · IllegalArgumentException

No such job '

Error message

No such job '

What it means

`DeleteJobCommand.run()` looks up each job via `jenkins.getItemByFullName(job_s)`; if null it throws IllegalArgumentException 'No such job '<job_s>''. When a single job is passed the exception propagates directly (the loop's rethrow on hs.size()==1); when multiple jobs are passed the per-job error is printed to stderr and a summary AbortException follows.

Source

Thrown at core/src/main/java/hudson/cli/DeleteJobCommand.java:69

        return Messages.DeleteJobCommand_ShortDescription();
    }

    @Override
    protected int run() throws Exception {

        boolean errorOccurred = false;
        final Jenkins jenkins = Jenkins.get();

        final HashSet<String> hs = new HashSet<>(jobs);

        for (String job_s : hs) {
            AbstractItem job;

            try {
                job = (AbstractItem) jenkins.getItemByFullName(job_s);

                if (job == null) {
                    throw new IllegalArgumentException("No such job '" + job_s + "'");
                }

                job.checkPermission(Item.DELETE);
                job.delete();
            } catch (Exception e) {
                if (hs.size() == 1) {
                    throw e;
                }

                final String errorMsg = job_s + ": " + e.getMessage();
                stderr.println(errorMsg);
                errorOccurred = true;
                continue;
            }
        }

        if (errorOccurred) {
            throw new AbortException(CLI_LISTPARAM_SUMMARY_ERROR_TEXT);

View on GitHub (pinned to 2e228ff40b)

Solutions

1. Verify the exact full name (including folder path) of the job, e.g. via the Jenkins UI or `java -jar jenkins-cli.jar list-jobs` / get-job.
2. For nested jobs, use the full path 'folder/job'.
3. Make deletion idempotent in scripts: check existence before deleting, or treat 'no such job' as success.

Example fix

// before:
//   java -jar jenkins-cli.jar delete-job typoJob
//   -> IllegalArgumentException: No such job 'typoJob'
//
// after: confirm the real name (and folder path) first
//   java -jar jenkins-cli.jar list-jobs
//   java -jar jenkins-cli.jar delete-job folder/realJob

// Verify job exists (full name incl. folder path) before delete-job
if (jenkins.getItemByFullName(jobName) == null) {
    throw new IllegalArgumentException("No such job '" + jobName + "'");
}
// For idempotent deletion, treat 'no such job' as success instead of failing.

When it happens

Trigger: Running `java -jar jenkins-cli.jar delete-job <name>` where no item with full name <name> exists. With multiple jobs, the missing ones appear as stderr lines then the summary error (CLI_LISTPARAM_SUMMARY_ERROR_TEXT).

Common situations: Typo in the job name; job already deleted; wrong folder path for a nested job; race where the job was removed between listing and deletion.

Related errors

• Job ' already exists
• Unknown ItemGroup
• Can't create job from CLI in
• Job ' already exists
• Unknown ItemGroup

AI-assisted analysis of jenkinsci/jenkins@2e228ff40b (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3d2cf91c978a35c9. Report an issue: GitHub.