JFMIG-82 - Remove data-transfer plugin dependency from transfer-files; deprecate transfer-plugin-install

.github/workflows/transferTests.yml

@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Run transfer tests
         if: matrix.os.name != 'macos'
         run: >-
-          go test -v github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli --timeout 0 --test.transfer --test.installDataTransferPlugin
+          go test -v github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli --timeout 0 --test.transfer
           --jfrog.url=${{ env.JFROG_TESTS_URL || 'http://127.0.0.1:8082' }}
           --jfrog.adminToken=${{ env.JFROG_TESTS_LOCAL_ACCESS_TOKEN }}
           --jfrog.targetUrl=${{ secrets.PLATFORM_URL }}
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Run transfer tests
         run: >-
-          go test -v github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli --timeout 0 --test.transfer --test.installDataTransferPlugin
+          go test -v github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli --timeout 0 --test.transfer
           --jfrog.targetUrl=${{ secrets.PLATFORM_URL }}
           --jfrog.targetAdminToken=${{ secrets.PLATFORM_ADMIN_TOKEN }}
           --jfrog.home=${{ runner.temp }}

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -279,7 +279,6 @@ The Transfer tests execute `transfer-files` commands between a local Artifactory
 | `-jfrog.targetUrl`                 | JFrog target platform URL.                                                                                                       |
 | `-jfrog.targetAdminToken`          | JFrog target platform admin token.                                                                                               |
 | `-jfrog.jfrogHome`                 | The JFrog home directory of the local Artifactory installation.                                                                  |
-| `-jfrog.installDataTransferPlugin` | Set this flag to `true` if you want the test to automatically install the data-transfer plugin in the source Artifactory server. |
 
 To run Transfer tests, execute the following command:
 

artifactory/cli.go

@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli/utils/accesstoken"
 
-	"github.com/jfrog/gofrog/version"
-	"github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-core/v2/artifactory/commands/transferinstall"
 	"github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli/docs/artifactory/transferplugininstall"
 
 	"github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-artifactory/artifactory/commands/generic"
@@ -557,6 +555,7 @@ func GetCommands() []cli.Command {
 			BashComplete: corecommon.CreateBashCompletionFunc(),
 			Action:       dataTransferPluginInstallCmd,
 			Category:     transferCategory,
+			Hidden:       true,
 		},
 	})
 }
@@ -1245,38 +1244,10 @@ func buildTransferConfigMergeResult(csvPath string, originalErr error) transferC
 	}
 }
 
-func dataTransferPluginInstallCmd(c *cli.Context) error {
-	// Get the Artifactory serverID from the argument or use default if not exists
-	serverID := ""
-	if c.NArg() > 1 {
-		return cliutils.WrongNumberOfArgumentsHandler(c)
-	} else if c.NArg() == 1 {
-		serverID = c.Args()[0]
-	}
-	serverDetails, err := coreConfig.GetSpecificConfig(serverID, true, true)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	installCmd := transferinstall.NewInstallDataTransferCommand(serverDetails)
-	// Optional flags
-	versionToInstall := c.String(cliutils.Version)
-	if versionToInstall != "" {
-		installCmd.SetInstallVersion(version.NewVersion(versionToInstall))
-	}
-	sourceFilesPath := c.String(cliutils.InstallPluginSrcDir)
-	if sourceFilesPath != "" {
-		installCmd.SetLocalPluginFiles(sourceFilesPath)
-	}
-
-	if versionToInstall != "" && sourceFilesPath != "" {
-		return cliutils.PrintHelpAndReturnError("Only version or dir is allowed, not both.", c)
-	}
-
-	homePath := c.String(cliutils.InstallPluginHomeDir)
-	if homePath != "" {
-		installCmd.SetJFrogHomePath(homePath)
-	}
-	return commands.Exec(installCmd)
+func dataTransferPluginInstallCmd(_ *cli.Context) error {
+	log.Warn("The 'transfer-plugin-install' command is deprecated and no longer installs the data-transfer user plugin. " +
+		"'jf rt transfer-files' does not require the plugin on the source Artifactory. This command will be removed in a future release.")
+	return nil
 }
 
 func transferFilesCmd(c *cli.Context) error {

artifactory/cli_test.go

@@ -222,6 +222,28 @@ func newTransferFilesFormatContext(formatVal string) *cli.Context {
 	return cli.NewContext(app, fs, nil)
 }
 
+func TestTransferPluginInstallIsHiddenAndDeprecated(t *testing.T) {
+	var found bool
+	for _, cmd := range GetCommands() {
+		if cmd.Name != "transfer-plugin-install" {
+			continue
+		}
+		found = true
+		assert.True(t, cmd.Hidden)
+		assert.Contains(t, cmd.Usage, "[DEPRECATED]")
+	}
+	assert.True(t, found, "transfer-plugin-install command should remain registered to inform users that the plugin is no longer required")
+}
+
+func TestTransferPluginInstallOnlyWarns(t *testing.T) {
+	// A non-existent server ID and conflicting flags would fail if the command still attempted an installation.
+	set := flag.NewFlagSet("transfer-plugin-install", flag.ContinueOnError)
+	set.String(cliutils.Version, "", "")
+	set.String(cliutils.InstallPluginSrcDir, "", "")
+	require.NoError(t, set.Parse([]string{"--version=1.0.0", "--dir=/non/existent", "no-such-server-id", "extra-arg"}))
+	assert.NoError(t, dataTransferPluginInstallCmd(cli.NewContext(nil, set, nil)))
+}
+
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // GetOutputFormat (transfer-files) tests
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

docs/artifactory/transferfiles/help.go

@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ When to use:
 Prerequisites:
 - Both source and target server IDs configured with admin tokens.
 - 'jf rt transfer-config' (or transfer-config-merge) already run so repos exist on the target.
-- 'jf rt transfer-plugin-install' installed on the source server's primary node.
 - 'jf rt transfer-settings' tuned for throughput.
 
 Common patterns:
@@ -33,12 +32,12 @@ Common patterns:
   $ jf rt transfer-files source-prod target-cloud --status   # check progress
 
 Gotchas:
-- Requires the data-transfer plugin on the source (install via 'jf rt transfer-plugin-install').
+- Does not require the data-transfer user plugin on the source; 'jf rt transfer-plugin-install' is deprecated.
 - Long-running; expect hours-to-days for large stores. Run inside a long-lived session (nohup, tmux, screen).
 - Throughput is governed by 'jf rt transfer-settings'; defaults are conservative.
 - Idempotent on file content but not on repo property changes; re-running after a target-side delete causes redelivery.
 
-Related: jf rt transfer-config, jf rt transfer-settings, jf rt transfer-plugin-install
+Related: jf rt transfer-config, jf rt transfer-settings
 
 QA:
 Q: What's the JFrog CLI command to transfer the configuration from my artifactory to the target artifactory?

docs/artifactory/transferplugininstall/help.go

@@ -3,38 +3,27 @@ package transferplugininstall
 var Usage = []string{"rt transfer-plugin-install <server-id> [command options]"}
 
 func GetDescription() string {
-	return "Download and install the data-transfer user plugin on the primary node of Artifactory, which is running on this local machine."
+	return "[DEPRECATED] This command no longer installs the data-transfer user plugin and only prints a deprecation warning. 'jf rt transfer-files' does not require the plugin."
 }
 
 func GetArguments() string {
 	return `	server-id
-		The ID of the source server, on which the plugin should be installed.`
+		Ignored.`
 }
 
 func GetAIDescription() string {
-	return `Download the data-transfer Artifactory user plugin and install it on the primary node of the source Artifactory. Required as a one-time prep before 'jf rt transfer-files'. The plugin handles the actual byte streaming on the server side.
+	return `[DEPRECATED] Informational command only. It no longer downloads or installs the data-transfer Artifactory user plugin; it only prints a deprecation warning and exits successfully. 'jf rt transfer-files' does not require the plugin on the source server. The command will be removed in a future release.
 
 When to use:
-- One-time setup on the source server before starting a self-hosted-to-cloud migration.
-
-Prerequisites:
-- Must be run on the same host as the source Artifactory's primary node (or with filesystem access to its etc/artifactory/plugins/ directory).
-- Admin privileges on the source server.
-- The source server ID is configured locally.
-
-Common patterns:
-  $ jf rt transfer-plugin-install source-prod
-  $ jf rt transfer-plugin-install source-prod --dir=/opt/jfrog/artifactory/var/etc/artifactory/plugins
+- Do not use. Run 'jf rt transfer-files' directly.
 
 Gotchas:
-- Must run as the user that owns the Artifactory installation; otherwise the file write fails.
-- The plugin requires a Groovy plugins admin restart (or wait for the scheduled reload).
-- This command only targets self-hosted instances; cloud-hosted sources need a different transfer mechanism.
+- All arguments and flags (--version, --dir, --home-dir) are accepted but ignored.
 
 Related: jf rt transfer-files, jf rt transfer-settings
 
 QA:
-Q: What's the JFrog CLI command to install the data-transfer user plugin in the primary node of the source instance?
-A: jf rt transfer-plugin-install source-server
+Q: Do I need to install the data-transfer user plugin before running 'jf rt transfer-files'?
+A: No. The plugin is no longer required, and 'jf rt transfer-plugin-install' is deprecated and does nothing.
 `
 }

go.mod

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/jfrog/gofrog v1.7.7
 	github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-application v1.0.2-0.20260917110731-d7783acedd8c
 	github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-artifactory v0.8.1-0.20261103060251-30c80a7deec4
-	github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-core/v2 v2.60.1-0.20261102064148-e4c77ed13cc6
+	github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-core/v2 v2.60.1-0.20261104085101-89d932ea6d45
 	github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-evidence v0.11.1-0.20261102090321-5b0bce39abfe
 	github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-platform-services v1.10.1-0.20261030162302-b4948e3a2cb1
 	github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-security v1.41.2

go.sum

@@ -404,8 +404,8 @@ github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-application v1.0.2-0.20260917110731-d7783acedd8c h1:B
 github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-application v1.0.2-0.20260917110731-d7783acedd8c/go.mod h1:RHjDVsgfIE+6N49R1t1nBjbK2Je4VTN7CQm9OlwtFnQ=
 github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-artifactory v0.8.1-0.20261103060251-30c80a7deec4 h1:Z4WqOlZZe3NA02ekqFrbSNlO8hkdGPHn/PuWq1sb+CA=
 github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-artifactory v0.8.1-0.20261103060251-30c80a7deec4/go.mod h1:94/aLloMSK6avu4umcJS3DJ6IuGM5K10PwZ6kDqgzSo=
-github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-core/v2 v2.60.1-0.20261102064148-e4c77ed13cc6 h1:7Jdj+FiaMN5jiQ94+Xlehf9OSLqSbAqAvO44XB9d7E4=
-github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-core/v2 v2.60.1-0.20261102064148-e4c77ed13cc6/go.mod h1:dxy3GflCOX9kGxcdEkCXWhV+EMUAGBWO+CY5fGjWcCQ=
+github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-core/v2 v2.60.1-0.20261104085101-89d932ea6d45 h1:1FDVeHvnUQJEww5HE23JA/7aiSVuEzET/WNkJiy6u64=
+github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-core/v2 v2.60.1-0.20261104085101-89d932ea6d45/go.mod h1:dxy3GflCOX9kGxcdEkCXWhV+EMUAGBWO+CY5fGjWcCQ=
 github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-evidence v0.11.1-0.20261102090321-5b0bce39abfe h1:BRaNdb6JIdGqGa79XwxIsZHDmZ26pQ5V1cPJ7zYLJoM=
 github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-evidence v0.11.1-0.20261102090321-5b0bce39abfe/go.mod h1:4OGLCLQjdHg9PpjFkxvn8bGflOZGEJsoBHAGys7gUio=
 github.com/jfrog/jfrog-cli-platform-services v1.10.1-0.20261030162302-b4948e3a2cb1 h1:1NA6meQs1Nbe7B1AKcvLdX+hKpxyWVe+cNpTDJznZcs=

transfer_test.go

@@ -65,13 +65,6 @@ func initTransferTest(t *testing.T) func() {
 		t.Skip("Skipping transfer test. To run transfer test add the '-test.transfer=true' option.")
 	}
 	oldHomeDir, newHomeDir := prepareHomeDir(t)
-	if *tests.InstallDataTransferPlugin {
-		if *tests.JfrogHome != "" {
-			coreutils.ExitOnErr(artifactoryCli.WithoutCredentials().Exec("transfer-plugin-install", inttestutils.SourceServerId, "--home-dir="+*tests.JfrogHome))
-		} else {
-			coreutils.ExitOnErr(artifactoryCli.WithoutCredentials().Exec("transfer-plugin-install", inttestutils.SourceServerId))
-		}
-	}
 
 	// Delete the target server if exist
 	targetConfig, err := commands.GetConfig(inttestutils.TargetServerId, false)
@@ -83,9 +76,6 @@ func initTransferTest(t *testing.T) func() {
 	err = coretests.NewJfrogCli(execMain, "jfrog config", "--access-token="+*tests.JfrogTargetAccessToken).Exec("add", inttestutils.TargetServerId, "--interactive=false", "--url="+*tests.JfrogTargetUrl)
 	assert.NoError(t, err)
 
-	if *tests.InstallDataTransferPlugin {
-		assert.NoError(t, artifactoryCli.WithoutCredentials().Exec("curl", "-XPOST", "/api/plugins/reload"))
-	}
 	return func() {
 		cleanArtifactory()
 		inttestutils.CleanTargetRepos(targetArtifactoryCli)

utils/cliutils/commandsflags.go

@@ -1969,15 +1969,15 @@ var flagsMap = map[string]cli.Flag{
 	},
 	installPluginVersion: cli.StringFlag{
 		Name:  Version,
-		Usage: "[Default: latest] The plugin version to download and install.` `",
+		Usage: "[DEPRECATED] Ignored.` `",
 	},
 	InstallPluginSrcDir: cli.StringFlag{
 		Name:  InstallPluginSrcDir,
-		Usage: "[Optional] The local directory that contains the plugin files to install.` `",
+		Usage: "[DEPRECATED] Ignored.` `",
 	},
 	InstallPluginHomeDir: cli.StringFlag{
 		Name:  InstallPluginHomeDir,
-		Usage: "[Default: /opt/jfrog] The local JFrog home directory to install the plugin in.` `",
+		Usage: "[DEPRECATED] Ignored.` `",
 	},
 	PreChecks: cli.BoolFlag{
 		Name:  PreChecks,

utils/tests/utils.go

@@ -43,59 +43,58 @@ import (
 )
 
 var (
-	JfrogUrl                  *string
-	JfrogUser                 *string
-	JfrogPassword             *string
-	JfrogSshKeyPath           *string
-	JfrogSshPassphrase        *string
-	JfrogAccessToken          *string
-	JfrogTargetUrl            *string
-	JfrogTargetAccessToken    *string
-	JfrogHome                 *string
-	TestArtifactoryProject    *bool
-	TestArtifactory           *bool
-	TestArtifactoryProxy      *bool
-	TestDistribution          *bool
-	TestDocker                *bool
-	TestPodman                *bool
-	TestDockerScan            *bool
-	ContainerRegistry         *string
-	TestGo                    *bool
-	TestNpm                   *bool
-	TestPnpm                  *bool
-	TestGradle                *bool
-	TestMaven                 *bool
-	TestNuget                 *bool
-	TestChoco                 *bool
-	TestPSResource            *bool
-	TestPip                   *bool
-	TestPipenv                *bool
-	TestPoetry                *bool
-	TestUv                    *bool
-	TestNix                   *bool
-	TestCargo                 *bool
-	TestAlpine                *bool
-	TestRuby                  *bool
-	TestApt                   *bool
-	TestAgentPlugins          *bool
-	TestAgentSkills           *bool
-	TestApm                   *bool
-	TestConan                 *bool
-	TestHelm                  *bool
-	TestHuggingFace           *bool
-	TestPlugins               *bool
-	TestXray                  *bool
-	TestAccess                *bool
-	TestTransfer              *bool
-	TestLifecycle             *bool
-	TestEvidence              *bool
-	TestApi                   *bool
-	TestGhostFrog             *bool
-	TestIde                   *bool
-	HideUnitTestLog           *bool
-	ciRunId                   *string
-	InstallDataTransferPlugin *bool
-	timestampAdded            bool
+	JfrogUrl               *string
+	JfrogUser              *string
+	JfrogPassword          *string
+	JfrogSshKeyPath        *string
+	JfrogSshPassphrase     *string
+	JfrogAccessToken       *string
+	JfrogTargetUrl         *string
+	JfrogTargetAccessToken *string
+	JfrogHome              *string
+	TestArtifactoryProject *bool
+	TestArtifactory        *bool
+	TestArtifactoryProxy   *bool
+	TestDistribution       *bool
+	TestDocker             *bool
+	TestPodman             *bool
+	TestDockerScan         *bool
+	ContainerRegistry      *string
+	TestGo                 *bool
+	TestNpm                *bool
+	TestPnpm               *bool
+	TestGradle             *bool
+	TestMaven              *bool
+	TestNuget              *bool
+	TestChoco              *bool
+	TestPSResource         *bool
+	TestPip                *bool
+	TestPipenv             *bool
+	TestPoetry             *bool
+	TestUv                 *bool
+	TestNix                *bool
+	TestCargo              *bool
+	TestAlpine             *bool
+	TestRuby               *bool
+	TestApt                *bool
+	TestAgentPlugins       *bool
+	TestAgentSkills        *bool
+	TestApm                *bool
+	TestConan              *bool
+	TestHelm               *bool
+	TestHuggingFace        *bool
+	TestPlugins            *bool
+	TestXray               *bool
+	TestAccess             *bool
+	TestTransfer           *bool
+	TestLifecycle          *bool
+	TestEvidence           *bool
+	TestApi                *bool
+	TestGhostFrog          *bool
+	TestIde                *bool
+	HideUnitTestLog        *bool
+	ciRunId                *string
+	timestampAdded         bool
 )
 
 // nonProjectKeyCharsRegex matches any character that isn't allowed in an Artifactory
@@ -171,8 +170,9 @@ func init() {
 	TestIde = flag.Bool("test.ide", false, "Test IDE (VS Code / Cursor / Windsurf / Kiro / JetBrains) setup commands")
 	ContainerRegistry = flag.String("test.containerRegistry", "localhost:8082", "Container registry")
 	HideUnitTestLog = flag.Bool("test.hideUnitTestLog", false, "Hide unit tests logs and print it in a file")
-	InstallDataTransferPlugin = flag.Bool("test.installDataTransferPlugin", false, "Install data-transfer plugin on the source Artifactory server")
 	ciRunId = flag.String("ci.runId", "", "A unique identifier used as a suffix to create repositories and builds in the tests")
+	// Deprecated: ignored, kept so existing pipelines don't fail on an unknown flag.
+	_ = flag.Bool("test.installDataTransferPlugin", false, "[DEPRECATED] Ignored")
 }
 
 func CleanFileSystem() {