Docker Pipeline Plugin: Uncertain Agent Provisioning on Low Traffic Jenkins

Goal

Reduce idle infrastructure costs for a sporadic Jenkins workload by using the Docker Pipeline plugin to spin up temporary agents only when builds run.

Constraints & Uncertainty

• Choosing the underlying Docker host—local Docker daemon, Docker Swarm cluster, or Kubernetes—affects scalability, isolation, and operational overhead.
• The plugin does not automatically prune unused containers in all Jenkins versions, potentially leaving orphaned containers that consume disk space.
• Container resource limits and cleanup policies must be configured explicitly to avoid performance regressions or cost overruns.

Unresolved Questions

1. Which Docker host type (local, Swarm, or Kubernetes) provides the optimal balance of cost savings, isolation, and ease of maintenance for a low‑traffic Jenkins environment?
2. What configuration or post‑build steps are required to reliably prune or remove idle containers across all supported Jenkins versions?
3. How do resource limits specified in the Docker Pipeline configuration impact build execution time versus cost in this on‑demand agent model?