What is trunk-based development in simple terms?

Trunk-based development is a practice where all developers commit code directly to the main branch (trunk) multiple times per day instead of creating long-lived feature branches. It is the opposite of feature-branch workflows where developers work in isolation for weeks.

Why do companies use trunk-based development?

Companies use trunk-based development to reduce merge conflicts, catch bugs faster through continuous testing, enable quicker deployments, and improve team collaboration. It is a key practice in modern DevOps and CI/CD environments.

How does trunk-based development differ from git flow?

Git flow uses multiple long-lived branches (develop, release, hotfix) and feature branches that exist for weeks. Trunk-based development keeps everything integrated into a single main branch with very short-lived branches that merge within hours or days. Trunk-based development is faster but requires stronger automation and testing.

Is trunk-based development hard to implement?

Switching to trunk-based development requires investment in automated testing, CI/CD infrastructure, and team discipline. However, many companies find it reduces overall complexity and risk once it is established. The hardest part is often the cultural shift away from long-lived branches.

What skills are needed for trunk-based development?

Developers need strong unit testing skills, understanding of continuous integration tools, code review discipline, and the ability to write code in small, mergeable chunks. Teams also need good communication and a focus on code quality.

trunk-based development meaning in tech

Commonness	4/5
Versatility	4/5
Formality	CasualFormalFormal
Spoken ↔ Written	SpokenWrittenBoth
Directness ↔ Diplomatic	DirectDiplomaticDirect
Region	US and UK

Say it like this

✓We practice trunk-based development in our CI/CD pipeline

✓Switching to trunk-based development helped us ship faster

✓Our team adopted trunk-based development to reduce merge pain

Real examples

in a standup

"We are moving toward trunk-based development so we can integrate changes daily rather than waiting for feature branches."

in a code review

"Since we use trunk-based development, we need to keep our pull requests small and merge them within 24 hours."

in a team meeting

"Implementing trunk-based development has reduced our merge conflicts and deployment lead time significantly."

Don't say this

Handle with care. Do not use as a verb (e.g., 'we trunk-based development the code' is incorrect). It is a noun describing a development practice, not an action verb.

✕We are trunk-based developing the authentication module.

✓We are following trunk-based development for the authentication module.— Trunk-based development is a noun describing a practice, not a verb. You do not trunk-based develop something.

✕Our trunk-based development branch strategy keeps features isolated.

✓Our trunk-based development approach minimizes long-lived branches.— Trunk-based development specifically means integrating to the main branch frequently, not keeping features isolated. Feature isolation contradicts the practice.

✕We use trunk-based development once a week.

✓We practice trunk-based development with multiple commits per day.— Trunk-based development is characterized by frequent, continuous integration, not weekly batches.

Other forms

noun

trunk-based development

"Trunk-based development is a key part of our DevOps strategy."

noun

trunk-based developer workflow

"Our trunk-based developer workflow includes automated testing before merge."

Often used with

adopt trunk-based developmentto start using this practice in your team or company

practice trunk-based developmentto regularly use this approach in daily work

trunk-based development pipelinethe CI/CD infrastructure supporting frequent commits to main

trunk-based development strategythe overall approach and guidelines for integrating code

shift to trunk-based developmentto transition from feature branches to main-branch integration

Similar words

continuous integrationRelated but broader; CI includes testing and automation, while trunk-based development is the branching strategy that enables CI

mainline developmentNearly identical; both describe integrating to a single main branch frequently

short-lived branchesDescribes the result of trunk-based development, but not the practice itself

Opposites

feature-branch developmentgit flowlong-lived branching

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Practice

Try it

4 quick exercises

Pick the most natural phrasing

1. How would you naturally describe your team's code integration approach?

We practice trunk-based development with daily integrations.We are trunk-based developing our code.Our trunk-based development branch is very active.We trunk-based develop everything we write.

Complete the sentence

2. Moving to _______ helped us reduce merge conflicts and ship faster.

Spot the mistake

3. Which sentence uses trunk-based development incorrectly?

Our team adopted trunk-based development last year.We trunk-based develop all new features before release.Trunk-based development requires strong automated testing.Our trunk-based development strategy involves small, frequent commits.

Rewrite naturally

4. Rewrite this in natural tech English: 'We want to change how we do branches so everyone puts code in the main branch many times every day instead of waiting.'

Questions

Quick poll

Have you said "trunk-based development" in a standup this week?

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