Plugin Dependency Calculator
Map out dependency count and version conflicts across installed Jenkins plugins.
About Plugin Dependency Calculator
Every Jenkins plugin an administrator installs directly can pull in a chain of transitive plugin dependencies, so the real plugin count managed by the controller is almost always larger than what was explicitly chosen. The update risk score combines three signals — how large a share of the installed base is outdated, how much dependency sprawl transitive plugins add relative to direct installs, and how deep the dependency chains run — since deeper, more sprawling, more outdated plugin graphs are harder to safely update without breaking compatibility somewhere in the chain.
Formula
riskScore = outdatedPercent × 0.5 + transitiveRatio × 10 + avgDepth × 5
- O
- Outdated plugins count
- N
- Total plugins (direct + transitive)
- T
- Transitive plugin dependencies
- D
- Direct plugins installed
- d
- Average dependency depth
- R
- Update risk score
Worked example
With the default values below, Plugin Dependency Calculator returns Total Plugins (Direct + Transitive) of 65. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Direct Plugins Installedaccepts 0–10,000 plugins
- 25 plugins
- Transitive Plugin Dependenciesaccepts 0–100,000 plugins
- 40 plugins
- Outdated Pluginsaccepts 0–100,000 plugins
- 8 plugins
- Average Dependency Depthaccepts 0–20 levels
- 2.5 levels
Results
- Total Plugins (Direct + Transitive)
- 65 plugins
- Update Risk Score
- 34.7
- Risk Tier
- moderate
- Outdated Plugin Share
- 12.3%
Step by step
- 1Total plugins = direct + transitive= 65 plugins
- 2Outdated share= 12.3%
- 3Update risk score= 34.7 (moderate)
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 1 decimal place, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do transitive dependencies increase update risk?
Updating a direct plugin can force version bumps in its transitive dependencies, which may themselves be depended on by other, unrelated direct plugins — deep and sprawling dependency graphs increase the chance that a single update triggers a cascade of version conflicts across seemingly unrelated plugins.
How can I reduce Jenkins plugin update risk?
Regularly audit and remove unused direct plugins (which also removes their transitive dependencies if nothing else needs them), keep plugins updated incrementally rather than batching many major updates at once, and test plugin updates in a staging controller before applying to production.
Does the Jenkins Plugin Manager show transitive dependencies?
Yes — the 'Advanced' tab of Manage Plugins and the plugin installation manager show a dependency graph, and `jenkins-cli` / the Plugin Installation Manager Tool can list the full resolved dependency tree for a given plugin set.