How to install a plugin in Jenkins manually

Question

Installing a plugin from the Update center results in:

Checking internet connectivity Failed to connect to http://www.google.com/. Perhaps you need

Answer 1

In my case, I needed to install a plugin to an offline build server that's running a Windows Server (version won't matter here). I already installed Jenkins on my laptop to test out changes in advance and it is running on localhost:8080 as a windows service.

So if you are willing to take the time to setup Jenkins on a machine with Internet connection and carry these changes to the offline server Jenkins (it works, confirmed by me!), these are steps you could follow:

• Jenkins on my laptop: Open up Jenkins, http://localhost:8080
• Navigator: Manage Jenkins | Download plugin without install option
• Windows Explorer: Copy the downloaded plugin file that is located at "c:\program files (x86)\Jenkins\plugins" folder (i.e. role-strategy.jpi)
• Paste it into a shared folder in the offline server
• Stop the Jenkins Service (Offline Server Jenkins) through Component Services, Jenkins Service
• Copy the plugin file (i.e. role-strategy.jpi) into "c:\program files (x86)\Jenkins\plugins" folder on the (Offline Jenkins) server
• Restart Jenkins and voila! It should be installed.