Unexpected delays and significant merge conflicts can jeopardize the timely release of software and, ultimately, affect business outcomes. These challenges drive many CTOs to seek effective ways to streamline and speed up their development processes. If you're facing similar issues, trunk-based development could be the solution you need – offering a more efficient, reliable approach to software delivery.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Trunk-based development is an advanced branching model that supports rapid, reliable software delivery. By consolidating code changes into a single, shared branch (or "trunk"), teams can reduce merge conflicts, streamline continuous integration (CI), and improve overall code quality.
In this article, we’ll explore:
For many CTOs, dealing with failed releases and missed deadlines has become a frustrating reality. Long development cycles, delayed features, and complex merges often lead to integration conflicts and miscommunication among team members – obstacles that disrupt progress and put timely releases at risk. When each day is filled with these challenges, it’s easy to feel like you’re constantly playing catch-up, trying to resolve issues that slow down your team’s momentum.
Sound familiar? You’re not alone. These bottlenecks are common pain points in software development, and they drive many tech leaders to seek solutions that streamline workflows and get products to market faster.
That’s where Trunk-Based Development (TBD) comes in. This streamlined approach to version control has become a go-to for teams looking to improve their software delivery process and cut down on delays. By focusing on a single, stable main branch, TBD makes it easier to minimize integration conflicts, reduce technical debt, and enable rapid, reliable releases.
With TBD, you’ll be able to adopt a continuous integration mindset, where code changes are smaller, frequent, and easier to manage. The benefits are substantial: fewer last-minute surprises, minimized technical debt, and a stronger alignment across teams. It’s a practice that sets a foundation for agility and speed, allowing you to deliver new features and improvements to your users with greater confidence.
And the results? Many teams find that TBD reduces their release cycle times, allowing them to get products to market sooner, iterate quickly, and respond to customer feedback in real time. This approach doesn’t just solve problems; it empowers your team to achieve more, all while making the development process less stressful and more sustainable in the long run.
By adopting trunk-based development, you’re not only removing bottlenecks but also positioning your team for continuous innovation and growth – so you can bring impactful products to market, faster and more reliably than ever.
Now, without further ado, let's dive into the details.
Trunk-Based Development (TBD) is a powerful approach to version control designed to enhance the speed, safety, and efficiency of software releases. By emphasizing continuous integration and frequent collaboration, TBD aligns seamlessly with Agile and DevOps practices, making it ideal for teams aiming to accelerate their deployment cycles and improve code quality.
At its core, Trunk-Based Development revolves around a single, shared branch – known as the “trunk” – where developers commit code changes frequently. Unlike traditional branching strategies that rely on long-lived feature branches, TBD encourages developers to integrate small, incremental changes directly into the trunk. This minimizes the risk of complex merge conflicts and allows for rapid feedback, as code is constantly tested and reviewed in smaller, manageable segments.
In a typical TBD workflow, release branches are created as snapshots when code is ready to be deployed. These branches are usually short-lived and promptly merged back into the trunk after release, maintaining the trunk as the single source of truth. This process keeps the codebase stable and reduces the accumulation of technical debt.
In scenarios where teams release multiple times a day, the need for release branches diminishes; changes are often pushed directly to the trunk and deployed immediately, ensuring that the main branch is always in a deployable state.
While TBD primarily focuses on developing new features in the trunk, there are cases where bug fixes might need to be cherry-picked and applied to active release branches. However, such situations are less common, as the philosophy of TBD emphasizes proactive integration of fixes into the main branch, further supporting the rapid iteration and continuous improvement cycle.
Managing and refactoring code accumulated from long-lived branches can be costly and time-consuming. In turn, Trunk Based Development is a methodology that minimizes technical debt through continuous integration and smaller, more manageable code updates.
Merging smaller and more frequent code changes is what sets TBD apart from feature branching (also known as Feature-Based Deployment) where code updates are not that numerous and regular. Also, they are usually larger than in the case of Trunk Based Development.
On top of that, in the case of TBD, all software engineers work on the same codebase in real time, and such collaboration enables tracking changes, testing, and prompt reactions whenever necessary. In turn, feature-based development assumes that particular teams work in isolation on separate branches – and it may take a lot of time before they make their code updates a part of the main repository.
TBD is designed for speed and agility, where developers commit directly to a single main branch, supporting continuous integration and rapid deployment. Gitflow, on the other hand, is a more structured branching model suited for projects with planned release cycles. It relies on multiple long-lived branches (such as master, develop, and feature branches), providing a more detailed workflow for feature development, releases, and hotfixes. Both approaches have their advantages and are used in different development contexts.
There are plenty of reasons why successful companies choose Trunk-Based Development (TBD). One of the biggest advantages of this approach is that it reduces the complexity of merges, keeping code up-to-date and streamlined. With fewer development lines and smaller, frequent merges, teams can avoid the headaches of massive integration events.
And adopting this approach has further advantages, such as:
The latter benefit comes from encouraging frequent integration and continuous delivery, which help CTOs ensure smoother and more predictable software development cycles. By working from the same codebase, developers can collaborate more effectively, creating a unified, streamlined workflow.
With all code changes immediately visible in the main trunk, subsequent steps—like testing and deployment—become faster and easier. This real-time collaboration makes it simpler to catch and resolve issues early, resulting in a more agile and efficient development process.
Helping achieve Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) is one of the major advantages of adopting the TBD approach. What's more, Trunk-Based Development can even be called a key enabler of CI and thus CD.TBD makes performing Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery easier because it streamlines merging and integration phases. Merging small, frequent code changes to a shared main branch (or a „trunk”) and avoiding many concurrent long-living branches is what Trunk Based Development is all about.TBD has even more advantages when it's paired and automated with CI/CD practices. Some of these benefits include:
CI tools integrate code changes to the trunk automatically. But before they do, automated tests check on each commit to make sure these updates won't harm the common codebase all the team members work on.
Google leverages Trunk-based development (TBD) to keep its vast codebase stable and deployable at all times. By merging small, frequent changes directly into the trunk, Google enables fast and reliable releases, minimizing merge conflicts and allowing continuous integration to keep pace with rapid development.
Facebook also relies on TBD to maintain continuous integration and quick deployments. Teams make small, targeted commits to the mainline, which is tested automatically. This approach lets Facebook enhance its platform continually and experiment with new features without disrupting production.
Atlassian uses TBD to streamline workflows and reduce technical debt. By minimizing long-lived branches, Atlassian’s teams can avoid complex merges and focus on agile releases that align with customer needs. They prioritize feature toggles, enabling them to roll out updates incrementally and adjust features based on real-time feedback.
There are some things to think about and prepare beforehand. You have to make sure that a CI system and a version control system will be available for your team, and that a code review process and automated testing procedures have been implemented. Of course, all development work needs to be moved to a single repository and developers have to be taught to make regular code updates. This move requires a major culture change within the organization which may be hard to achieve in the beginning. To make these changes smooth and easier to handle, it may be necessary to hire an experienced advisor in this regard.
To successfully implement TBD, there are several steps to take:
Now, let's analyze that in more detail.
Implementing Trunk-Based Development effectively relies on a well-configured version control system and continuous integration (CI) setup. These tools are needed for managing the frequent merges and testing required in TBD.
Automated testing is critical in TBD. Every commit to the trunk should trigger a suite of tests (unit tests, integration tests, etc.) to ensure the stability of the codebase. Implement a structured code review process to maintain code quality and to provide feedback on every merge. These practices help catch bugs early and maintain a high standard of code quality.
Centralize your development work by moving all code into a single repository. This allows developers to collaborate easily and ensures that everyone is working from the same source of truth. Working in a unified environment prevents siloed work, which is a common issue in feature-branch workflows.
To align with TBD principles, developers need to adopt a habit of making small, regular updates to the trunk. This requires a shift in how teams approach development, moving away from long-term, isolated feature work. Encourage your team to commit code frequently to avoid large, complex merges down the line.
Implementing TBD involves more than just changing processes; it requires a cultural shift within your organization. Developers need to be comfortable with frequent collaboration and sharing their work regularly. This might involve some initial challenges, especially for teams used to feature branching. Providing training and resources to guide developers through this transition is essential.
With frequent commits to a single mainline, even minor issues can disrupt the entire codebase. To manage this, a strong CI/CD pipeline with automated tests—covering unit, integration, and end-to-end tests—is essential. Teams should enforce policies requiring every commit to pass automated tests before merging. Flaky tests or gaps in test coverage can quickly lead to a non-deployable trunk, so maintaining high test quality and fast feedback cycles is critical.
TBD relies heavily on automated testing, making it essential to have thorough test coverage. Gaps in test coverage increase the likelihood of undetected issues being merged into the trunk, leading to instability. Teams must invest in robust test suites and automated build systems that catch failures immediately. Additionally, test speed and reliability are key factors, as slow or inconsistent tests can bottleneck the integration process.
Feature toggles allow unfinished work to be committed safely, but managing toggles becomes complex as they accumulate. Each feature flag represents conditional code paths, which, if left unchecked, can clutter the codebase and introduce bugs. To reduce this complexity, teams need a process to clean up old toggles and monitor active ones closely. Using a dedicated feature management tool like LaunchDarkly can help streamline this process and reduce technical debt.
TBD requires all team members to work from the same codebase and commit frequently, increasing the need for real-time collaboration. Teams need clear protocols for code reviews, rapid feedback, and conflict resolution to maintain alignment. Tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams, paired with code review platforms such as GitHub or GitLab, are essential for ensuring continuous communication, but the team’s culture must also support regular interactions and fast response times.
As teams grow, the volume of commits to the trunk increases, which can amplify conflicts and integration issues. Large teams may need to split into smaller, focused groups with dedicated responsibilities to avoid bottlenecks. Advanced CI/CD systems with parallelized test and build capabilities are crucial to handle the higher volume of changes efficiently and keep the trunk stable. Implementing branch protections, automated rollbacks, and monitoring tools like Datadog or New Relic helps ensure rapid issue detection and minimizes downtime.
Trunk-based development (TBD) is an ideal strategy for teams aiming to accelerate development and maintain high code quality. By streamlining collaboration and promoting continuous integration, TBD enables rapid, reliable software releases that can help you stay ahead of the competition. This approach reduces merge conflicts, minimizes technical debt, and keeps the codebase always ready for deployment.
With TBD, you can achieve faster time-to-market, cut costs, and improve overall organizational performance. It’s no wonder that companies like Facebook, Microsoft, and Google have embraced TBD as a core part of their development process.
Looking for a reliable way to boost your release efficiency and eliminate merge conflicts? Consider making TBD part of your DevOps lifecycle.
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Software development enthusiast with 7 years of professional experience in the tech industry. Experienced in outsourcing market analysis, with a special focus on nearshoring. In the meantime, our expert in explaining tech, business, and digital topics in an accessible way. Writer and translator after hours.
With over 12 years of professional experience in the tech industry. Technology passionate, geek, and the co-founder of Brainhub. Combines his tech expertise with business knowledge.
Software development enthusiast with 7 years of professional experience in the tech industry. Experienced in outsourcing market analysis, with a special focus on nearshoring. In the meantime, our expert in explaining tech, business, and digital topics in an accessible way. Writer and translator after hours.
With over 12 years of professional experience in the tech industry. Technology passionate, geek, and the co-founder of Brainhub. Combines his tech expertise with business knowledge.
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