# Kohsuke Kawaguchi

> computer programmer, creator of Jenkins software

**Wikidata**: [Q24572259](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q24572259)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohsuke_Kawaguchi)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/kohsuke-kawaguchi

## Summary
Kohsuke Kawaguchi is a Japanese computer programmer renowned for creating Jenkins, a foundational open-source automation server. His work revolutionized continuous integration and delivery practices in software development while establishing him as a pivotal figure in the DevOps ecosystem.

## Biography
- Born: 1977 in Bunkyō-ku, Tokyo, Japan  
- Nationality: Japan  
- Known for: Creator of Jenkins software  
- Employer(s): CloudBees, Sun Microsystems  
- Field(s): Programmer  

## Contributions
Kohsuke Kawaguchi is best known for creating Jenkins (originally Hudson), an open-source automation server that became the industry standard for continuous integration and delivery. While employed at Sun Microsystems, he developed the platform to automate software building, testing, and deployment processes. Jenkins gained widespread adoption through its plugin ecosystem, enabling diverse integrations for development workflows. For his impact on open-source development, Kawaguchi received the O'Reilly Open Source Award in 2011. His work transformed modern DevOps practices, making automated deployment accessible to development teams globally and forming the backbone of countless CI/CD pipelines.

## FAQs
### Q: What is Kohsuke Kawaguchi known for?  
A: He is a Japanese computer programmer famous for creating Jenkins, an open-source automation server that revolutionized continuous integration and delivery.

### Q: Where did Kohsuke Kawaguchi work?  
A: He was employed by Sun Microsystems and CloudBees, where he developed Jenkins during his tenure at Sun Microsystems.

### Q: What award did Kohsuke Kawaguchi receive?  
A: He received the O'Reilly Open Source Award in 2011 for his contributions to the Jenkins project and open-source community.

### Q: What is Kohsuke Kawaguchi's nationality?  
A: He is Japanese, born in Bunkyō-ku, Tokyo, Japan in 1977.

## Why They Matter
Kawaguchi’s creation of Jenkins fundamentally reshaped software engineering by democratizing continuous integration. The platform lowered barriers to automation, enabling teams of all sizes to implement reliable deployment pipelines. His leadership at Sun Microsystems and subsequent role at CloudBees accelerated Jenkins’ enterprise adoption, influencing modern DevOps methodologies. Without his work, the automation landscape would lack a unified, extensible tool, slowing the transition toward agile and cloud-native development practices.

## Notable For
- Creator of Jenkins (originally Hudson), the world’s most widely used open-source automation server  
- Recipient of the O'Reilly Open Source Award (2011) for contributions to software automation  
- Former core developer at Sun Microsystems where Jenkins was initially created  
- Key advocate for open-source DevOps practices through extensive community engagement  
- Pioneer in enabling continuous integration/delivery pipelines through plugin architecture  

## Body
### Early Life
- Born in 1977 in Bunkyō-ku, Tokyo, Japan  
- Holds Japanese citizenship  
- Native speaker of Japanese; fluent in English  

### Career
- Employed by Sun Microsystems (where Jenkins was created)  
- Currently employed by CloudBees  
- Role: Computer programmer specializing in automation tools  

### Open Source Impact
- Created Jenkins (formerly Hudson) at Sun Microsystems  
- Established Jenkins as the dominant CI/CD platform with 150K+ active installations  
- Received the O'Reilly Open Source Award in 2011 for Jenkins development  
- Maintains active GitHub presence (@kohsuke) with public contributions  

### Personal Details
- Resides in San Jose, California, United States  
- Social media: Twitter (@kohsukekawa), Facebook (kohsukekawa)  
- Website: https://kohsuke.org/  
- Email: mailto:kk@kohsuke.org

## References

1. [Contributor Spotlight](https://contributors.jenkins.io/pages/contributors/kohsuke-kawaguchi/)
2. [O’Reilly Open Source Award 2011](https://kohsuke.org/2011/07/28/oreilly-open-source-award-2011/)
3. [川口 耕介. University of Tokyo](https://www.is.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ob/overseas.html)
4. [Source](https://github.com/kohsuke)
5. [Source](https://kohsuke.org/about/pgp/)