Trunk-Based Development and Continuous Integration
Explore trunk-based development as a lightweight alternative to branch-heavy models, and learn how short-lived branches and feature flags enable true continuous integration for teams.
What Is Trunk-Based Development?
Trunk-based development (TBD) is a workflow where all developers integrate into a single shared branch (the trunk, usually main) very frequently, ideally several times a day.
It minimizes long-lived branches and the painful merges they create.
Why Frequent Integration Wins
The longer a branch lives, the more it diverges from trunk and the harder the eventual merge. TBD flips this: by merging tiny changes constantly, conflicts stay small and integration pain nearly disappears.
- Faster feedback
- Fewer merge conflicts
- Always-releasable trunk
All lessons in this course
- Git Flow vs. GitHub Flow
- GitLab Flow and Release Management
- Feature Branching and Hotfixes
- Trunk-Based Development and Continuous Integration