How to Pass Data Between Stages in a Jenkins Pipeline

By Daniel Zoghalchali·Latchkey

Jenkins carries values between stages via env, and files between stages or agents via stash/unstash.

Assign to env.NAME (or a script-scoped Groovy variable) to share a value across stages on the same run. To move files across stages or agents, stash then unstash.

Share a value and a file

The build stage sets an env value and stashes the artifact; the deploy stage reads both.

Jenkinsfile

pipeline {
  agent any
  stages {
    stage('Build') {
      steps {
        script {
          env.APP_VERSION = sh(script: 'node -p "require(\'./package.json\').version"', returnStdout: true).trim()
        }
        sh 'npm ci && npm run build'
        stash name: 'dist', includes: 'dist/**'
      }
    }
    stage('Deploy') {
      steps {
        unstash 'dist'
        sh './deploy.sh "$APP_VERSION" dist/'
      }
    }
  }
}

Gotchas

Set env.NAME inside a script {} block for a computed value; a plain environment {} entry is evaluated once up front.
stash/unstash move files within a single build across stages/agents - they are not a cross-build cache.
Large stashes are slow; stash only what the downstream stage needs.

Verify it actually works

Validate the pipeline definition against the running controller before committing. Jenkins parses declarative pipelines strictly, and a syntax error surfaces as a failed build rather than a clear parse message.

Terminal

# validate a Jenkinsfile against the live controller
curl -X POST -F "jenkinsfile=<Jenkinsfile" \
  https://your-jenkins/pipeline-model-converter/validate

# replay a build with modified script to test a change without committing
# Build page -> Replay -> edit -> Run

Agent and workspace assumptions that break in CI

An agent label that matches no online agent leaves the build queued indefinitely rather than failing.
Workspaces are reused between builds by default, so stale files from a previous run can mask or cause failures. Use cleanWs() or a fresh workspace when correctness matters.
Tools resolved from the controller PATH are not necessarily on the agent PATH. Declare them in a tools block or install them in the pipeline.
Credentials bound with withCredentials are masked in logs but still visible to any process you launch; avoid passing them as command-line arguments.

Frequently asked questions

How do I pass Data Between Stages in a Jenkins Pipeline?

Assign to env.NAME (or a script-scoped Groovy variable) to share a value across stages on the same run. To move files across stages or agents, stash then unstash.

Share a value and a file?