Introduction

Rundeck is a powerful automation platform that helps teams schedule, execute, and manage operational tasks efficiently. In many environments, administrators need to back up jobs, migrate them between development, testing, and production, or share automation workflows across teams. Rundeck simplifies this process by providing built-in job export and import functionality. This guide explains how to export and import Rundeck jobs using both the web interface and the Rundeck CLI.

Exporting a Job

Step 1: Log in to Rundeck

Log in to your Rundeck web interface and select the appropriate project.

Step 2: Open the Job

Navigate to:

Jobs → Select the Job

Click the job you want to export.

Step 3: Export the Job

Click the More Actions (⋮) menu and select:

Export Definition

Rundeck allows exporting in different formats such as:

  • YAML (Recommended)
  • XML

YAML is preferred because it is human-readable and works well with version control systems like Git.

Example exported YAML:

- defaultTab: nodes
  description: Sample backup job
  executionEnabled: true
  id: 12345678-abcd-1234-abcd-1234567890ab
  loglevel: INFO
  name: Database Backup
  nodeFilterEditable: false
  scheduleEnabled: true
  sequence:
    commands:
      - exec: /opt/scripts/backup.sh
    keepgoing: false
    strategy: node-first

Save the exported file to your local system.

Importing a Job

Step 1: Open the Target Project

Log in to the Rundeck server where you want to import the job.

Select the destination project.

Step 2: Import Job Definition

Navigate to:

Jobs → Upload Job Definition

Browse and select the exported YAML or XML file.

Step 3: Configure Import Options

During import, Rundeck provides several options:

  • Preserve UUID
  • Update Existing Job
  • Skip Duplicates
  • Rename if Duplicate

Choose the option that best suits your environment.

Step 4: Complete the Import

Click Import.

If successful, Rundeck displays a confirmation message and the job appears in the Jobs list.

Export and Import Using the CLI

You can also manage jobs using the Rundeck CLI.

Export a Job

rd jobs list export \
  --project MyProject \
  --file jobs.yaml

Import a Job

rd jobs load \
  --project MyProject \
  --file jobs.yaml

This approach is useful for automation pipelines and Infrastructure as Code workflows.

Conclusion

Exporting and importing jobs in Rundeck is a straightforward process that helps with backup, migration, collaboration, and disaster recovery. By using YAML exports and maintaining them in a version control system, teams can manage automation jobs more effectively and ensure consistency across multiple environments.

Whether you’re migrating jobs between servers or maintaining a backup strategy, mastering Rundeck’s export and import functionality is an essential skill for DevOps and system administrators.

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