{"id":49410,"date":"2025-05-21T06:48:37","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T06:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/?p=49410"},"modified":"2026-02-21T07:28:38","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T07:28:38","slug":"rundeck-project-scm-export-and-scm-import","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/rundeck-project-scm-export-and-scm-import\/","title":{"rendered":"Rundeck Project SCM Export and SCM Import"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Rundeck Project SCM Export<\/strong> and SCM Import<\/strong> features are designed to version control your job definitions and project configuration<\/strong>, by integrating Rundeck projects with a source control management system<\/strong> (SCM), typically Git.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

\ud83e\udde0 Why SCM Integration Matters in Rundeck<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you’re managing automation jobs in production, it’s crucial to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Version your job definitions<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Audit who changed what and when<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Sync changes across environments (dev \u2192 staging \u2192 prod)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Enable team collaboration<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Backup and restore project configuration<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    \ud83d\udd01 Rundown of SCM Import vs. Export<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    Feature<\/th>Purpose<\/th>Typical Use<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    SCM Import<\/strong><\/td>Pulls job definitions from a Git repo into Rundeck<\/td>Manage Rundeck from source control<\/td><\/tr>
    SCM Export<\/strong><\/td>Pushes job changes in Rundeck to a Git repo<\/td>Let Rundeck act as the source of truth<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    \ud83d\udd3d SCM Import Plugin<\/strong> (Git \u2192 Rundeck)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    \u2705 Use Case<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • You store Rundeck jobs in Git<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Rundeck automatically imports<\/strong> the latest changes from the repository<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Useful in CI\/CD pipelines<\/strong> or for managing jobs as code<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      \ud83d\udd27 Behavior<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      • When jobs are added\/updated in Git \u2192 Rundeck pulls and reflects those changes<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Can be set to auto-import<\/strong> or manual pull<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Requires correct YAML\/XML format in the repo<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n

        \ud83d\udd3c SCM Export Plugin<\/strong> (Rundeck \u2192 Git)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
        \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        \u2705 Use Case<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • You create or modify jobs within Rundeck GUI<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • You want those changes committed to Git<\/strong> for versioning<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Useful for auditing<\/strong>, backups<\/strong>, and collaboration<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          \ud83d\udd27 Behavior<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          • Rundeck tracks changes to jobs<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Changes can be auto-committed<\/strong> or reviewed before commit<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Commit messages and author info can be customized<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
            \n\n\n\n

            \ud83d\udd01 Typical Workflow in a Team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
              \n
            1. Developer edits a job<\/strong> in the Rundeck GUI<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            2. SCM Export<\/strong> pushes that change to Git (like jobs\/web-server.yaml<\/code>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            3. Another team member updates the same file in Git<\/strong> (e.g., via PR)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            4. SCM Import<\/strong> detects the change and pulls it back<\/strong> into Rundeck<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

              This ensures bi-directional sync<\/strong> between Git and Rundeck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \n\n\n\n

              \ud83d\udd27 How to Enable<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                \n
              1. Go to:
                Project Settings \u2192 SCM \u2192 Export\/Import<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
              2. Choose:\n
                  \n
                • SCM Type: Git<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Storage: local Git repo or SSH\/HTTPS remote<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Configure:\n
                    \n
                  • Repo URL<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Branch<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • File format: YAML, XML<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Auto-import\/export options<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                    \n\n\n\n

                    \ud83d\udce6 File Structure in Git Repo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                    A typical exported repo looks like:<\/p>\n\n\n

                    jobs\/\n\u251c\u2500\u2500 job-1.yaml\n\u251c\u2500\u2500 job-2.yaml\nscm-status.json\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
                      \n
                    • Each job gets its own file<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • Metadata like UUID and project name are retained<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                      \n\n\n\n
                      \u2705 Benefits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                      Benefit<\/th>Description<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
                      \ud83d\udd53 Versioning<\/strong><\/td>Track every change to a job with Git history<\/td><\/tr>
                      \ud83d\udc65 Team collaboration<\/strong><\/td>Manage jobs via pull requests and reviews<\/td><\/tr>
                      \u267b\ufe0f Sync across environments<\/strong><\/td>Use Git to promote jobs across dev \u2192 prod<\/td><\/tr>
                      \ud83d\udd10 Auditability<\/strong><\/td>Know who changed what and when<\/td><\/tr>
                      \ud83d\udce6 Backup & Restore<\/strong><\/td>Git becomes a resilient backup of job configs<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                      \n\n\n\n
                      \u26a0\ufe0f Things to Keep in Mind<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                        \n
                      • Jobs must have unique UUIDs<\/strong> to prevent duplication<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Conflicts between Git and GUI may occur (manual resolution needed)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • You may need to ignore scm-status.json<\/code><\/strong> in .gitignore<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Secure Git access (SSH keys or HTTPS tokens) must be configured properly<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                        \n\n\n\n
                        <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
                        The Rundeck Project SCM Export and SCM Import features are designed to version control your job definitions and project configuration, by integrating Rundeck projects with a source control management system… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49410"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58980,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49410\/revisions\/58980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}