Organising parallel work.
WHAT A BRANCH IS FOR
Isolating work in progress from what is released.
WHAT SHORT-LIVED BRANCHES PROVIDE
Small changes, integrated frequently, with few conflicts.
WHY THAT MATTERS
Conflicts grow with divergence and with time.
WHAT TRUNK-BASED DEVELOPMENT IS
Everyone integrating to one main branch frequently, with incomplete work hidden behind flags.
WHAT IT REQUIRES
Strong automated testing The ability to hide incomplete features
WHAT IT PROVIDES
Minimal conflicts, and continuous integration in the real sense.
WHAT LONGER-LIVED BRANCH MODELS PROVIDE
Separation of development, release preparation and fixes.
WHAT THEY COST
Divergence, conflicts, and delayed integration.
WHAT SUITS MOST TEAMS
A protected main branch, with short-lived branches for each piece of work, merged within days.
WHAT TO PROTECT
The main branch, requiring review and passing checks.
WHAT TO AVOID
Branches living for weeks Branches nobody can merge Several long-lived branches diverging
WHAT TO DELETE
Branches once merged.
