Software engineering has changed dramatically over the last decade. What once worked for slow, carefully planned release cycles doesn’t always work for today’s fast-moving development teams. Companies now deploy multiple times per day, features roll out gradually through experimentation, and code integration happens continuously instead of once every few weeks. To keep up with this pace, teams have been adopting trunk based development, a workflow centered on simplicity, constant integration, and shared responsibility.
While traditional models like GitFlow had their golden era, trunk-based development now plays a central role in DevOps, microservices, and continuous delivery pipelines. In this guide, we explore not only what trunk-based development is, but why it works, how teams use it, and how it compares to GitFlow in real engineering environments. This is not a theoretical overview — this is the kind of explanation you’d hear from a senior engineer mentoring junior developers or planning team-wide workflow changes.
Let’s break it down clearly and practically.
What Is Trunk Based Development?
In simple terms, trunk based development is a version control strategy where all developers work directly on a single shared branch (often called trunk, main, or master). Instead of long-lived branches, the workflow emphasizes small, quick, and frequent updates.
But defining it that way doesn’t capture what makes it powerful. The philosophy behind this development is rooted in a few core ideas:
1. Continuous Integration, Not Occasional Integration
Developers merge tiny increments — sometimes multiple times a day — keeping the trunk constantly updated. No one waits weeks to merge large, risky changes.
2. Small Steps = Small Problems
A tiny commit is easier to test, review, rollback, or fix. Larger branches often hide unexpected conflicts or design mistakes that only surface later.
3. The Trunk Is Always Deployable
In trunk based development, the main branch is stable at all times. A build is expected to pass automated tests on every commit. If it breaks, the team fixes it immediately.
4. Features Are Built in Slices, Not Monoliths
Work is broken into thin vertical slices. When a slice isn’t ready to show users, developers simply hide it behind a feature toggle, letting them integrate safely without exposing unfinished features.
5. Developers Don’t Work in Isolation
The workflow encourages frequent interaction — code reviews, pair programming, shared ownership, and alignment.
In practice, trunk based development feels less like working on long-term islands and more like working shoulder-to-shoulder with the team, even when everyone is remote.
This approach pairs naturally with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and fast release cycles — which explains why it has become a preferred model in high-performing engineering teams.
Trunk Based Development
Trunk-based development, beyond being a workflow, is also a mindset. It represents a shift toward transparency and collective responsibility. Unlike older branching models where developers disappear into week-long feature branches, trunk-based development discourages long silences.
Here’s how the workflow typically unfolds inside real software teams:
Developers Commit Early and Often
A feature in progress may lead to tens of small commits, each one tested and validated through CI.
Branches Are Short-Lived — Hours, Not Weeks
If a branch exists at all, it normally lives for a very short time. Many teams even eliminate them entirely and commit straight to trunk.
Reviews Happen Quickly
Small changes make code review fast and productive. Reviewers can understand context without reading thousands of lines.
No Developer Gets “Surprised” by Changes
Because everyone sees changes almost immediately via shared trunk updates, the team rarely gets blindsided by large merges, unexpected architecture changes, or incompatible features.
Release Timing Is Flexible
Instead of planning a huge batch release, features go live as soon as they’re ready — sometimes multiple times daily.
This constant motion may feel uncomfortable to teams used to longer branches, but once adopted, it dramatically reduces merge friction, improves visibility, and builds a healthier engineering rhythm.
Trunk Base Development
Sometimes misspelled or referred to informally as trunk base development, the concept remains the same. What matters most is the principle, not the spelling: everyone works toward the same source of truth, updating it in near real time.
A few important traits of effective trunk-based development teams include:
1. Strong Automated Testing Culture
Without reliable tests, frequent commits to trunk would be dangerous. Teams that adopt this model invest early in automated testing, including unit tests, integration tests, and regression checks.
2. Confidence in Rollbacks
Deployments become lightweight when developers know they can rollback quickly. Trunk-based environments often use blue-green deployments or feature flag rollbacks.
3. Feature Toggles as a Core Tool
Teams hide unfinished work using toggles instead of branches. This prevents half-finished code from breaking user-facing functionality.
4. Shared Coding Standards
Working closely on the same branch encourages teams to maintain cleaner, more consistent code.
5. Strong CI/CD Infrastructure
A build pipeline that takes forever breaks the momentum. High-performing teams treat fast, automated testing as a first-class ingredient.
In essence, trunk-based development isn’t just a branch model — it’s a disciplined engineering lifestyle.
Why Teams Choose Trunk Based Development
The reasons companies switch to trunk-based development can be summed up in one theme: speed without chaos. Many businesses today cannot afford slow feedback cycles. Bugs found late cost more; long merges slow teams; delayed releases reduce competitiveness.
Here’s why trunk-based development fits modern product teams:
1. Drastically Reduces Merge Conflicts
Because developers integrate constantly, conflicts remain small and manageable.
2. Encourages Clear, Maintainable Code
When developers ship small increments, they naturally write code that’s easier to understand and debug.
3. Supports Continuous Delivery
New features can be deployed as soon as they’re ready — something GitFlow complexity often makes difficult.
4. Improves Developer Morale
Few things drain engineers like merging a branch that’s been alive for a month.
Trunk-based development eliminates that pain.
5. Makes Releases Predictable, Not Stressful
When trunk is always stable, releases no longer feel like “events.” They feel routine.
This is why companies such as Google, Facebook, Netflix, and Amazon champion trunk-based workflows across massive codebases.
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Trunk Based Development vs GitFlow
This is the comparison developers discuss most frequently. Both workflows have their place, but their philosophies and outcomes differ significantly.
Here is a deeper, more human explanation:
Branching Model Differences
Trunk-Based Development
- One main branch
- Optional, extremely short-lived feature branches
- Continuous integration mindset
- Focus on speed, collaboration, and immediate visibility
GitFlow
- Multiple structured branches (develop, feature, release, hotfix)
- Designed in an era of slower release cycles
- Encourages longer-lived feature branches
- Suitable for teams with strict release management processes
GitFlow is like planning a movie production with many stages and checkpoints.
Trunk-based development is more like a newsroom publishing new content constantly.
Release Cycle Differences
Trunk-Based Development:
Deploy anytime. Even multiple times per day. Code is always in a releasable state.
GitFlow:
Releases happen in organized batches.
This approach makes sense for industries that require heavy approvals or versioning.
Risk Management Differences
GitFlow relies on controlled branching to reduce risk, but in practice, the branches themselves often become risk points because they diverge so much from trunk.
Trunk-based development reduces risk through:
- Short feedback loops
- Fast CI cycles
- Strong automated testing
- Small, digestible changes
It’s easier to break a bone jumping off a roof than stepping off a curb. Trunk-based development prefers curbs.
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Team Dynamics Differences
GitFlow encourages parallel but isolated work. Developers may go days without interacting deeply with the main codebase.
Trunk-based development encourages:
- Constant communication
- Fast reviews
- Early problem detection
- Shared ownership
Teams that thrive on collaboration tend to favor trunk over GitFlow.
When GitFlow Still Makes Sense
While trunk-based development is often ideal for fast shipping, GitFlow remains practical when:
- The organization releases infrequently
- Each release must be heavily audited
- The product lifecycle requires formal versioning
- Regulatory restrictions exist
- Multiple long-lived versions must be maintained simultaneously
GitFlow is not “wrong” — it’s just more complex than many modern teams need.
Which Should You Choose?
A simple rule of thumb:
- If you release daily or weekly, choose trunk based development.
- If you release monthly, quarterly, or annually, GitFlow can work.
- If your team struggles with unreviewed long branches, trunk-based development brings relief.
- If your team has compliance-heavy release steps, GitFlow may be more appropriate.
There’s no universal answer — but the industry trend strongly favors trunk-based workflows.
Final Thoughts
In a world where software must evolve constantly, this development has become an essential technique for teams that value speed, quality, and collaboration. It encourages developers to work in smaller slices, integrate continuously, and rely on strong automation rather than rigid branching structures.
Whether you are exploring what is trunk based development, trying to correct old habits of long-lived branches, or comparing trunk based development vs GitFlow, the key idea remains:
keep code moving, keep teams aligned, and keep the trunk stable.
For modern engineering culture — DevOps, cloud systems, microservices, agile delivery — trunk-based development isn’t just a workflow. It’s a foundation for sustainable, high-velocity software development.
FAQs
A: It’s a workflow where all developers work on a single main branch and merge small changes frequently instead of keeping long-lived branches.
A: Because it reduces merge conflicts, speeds up delivery, and keeps the codebase stable through continuous integration.
A: For fast-moving teams and CI/CD environments, yes. GitFlow works better for slow, scheduled releases or strict versioning.
A: By using automated tests, CI pipelines, and feature flags to hide unfinished work.
A: Absolutely. Many big companies like Google and Meta use it because it scales well with good automation.
A: Yes, but they are very short-lived—usually hours or a day—not weeks.
A: Strong CI/CD tools (like Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI), feature flag systems, and code review workflows.