What is the philosophy of Trunk-Based Development?

The philosophy of Trunk-Based Development (TBD) is the idea of constant, early integration, where the team merges changes as often as possible instead of postponing it "for later."

Put simply: "Integrate early, integrate often."

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#The key philosophical idea

Instead of the approach:

"First we work on a feature in a separate branch for a long time, then we merge it"

TBD says:

"Small changes should reach the shared branch constantly"

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#The main principles of Trunk-Based Development

#1. Minimal branching

• one main branch: main / trunk
• no long-lived feature branches
• any branches are very short-lived (hours, at most a day or two)

Fewer divergences and conflicts.

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#2. Small, frequent changes

• commits are small
• PRs are small
• changes are easy to review and roll back

Problems are found earlier and more easily.

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#3. Early integration instead of late merge

• code is integrated immediately
• conflicts are caught quickly
• the team always works with up-to-date code

There is no "merge hell at the end."

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#4. A stable trunk

• main must always be in a working state
• breaking the trunk is a serious problem
• CI and tests are mandatory

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#5. Feature flags instead of long branches

• unfinished functionality is hidden behind flags
• code can be in main, but disabled
• the release is not blocked by features

Speed without risk.

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#What Trunk-Based Development values most

• fast feedback
• continuous integration
• simplicity
• fast delivery of changes
• minimal risk of large integrations

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#The anti-idea (what TBD opposes)

• long-lived feature branches
• rare, large merges
• last-minute integration
• large releases full of surprises

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#Short phrasing for an interview

The philosophy of Trunk-Based Development is constant, early integration of small changes into one main branch, to minimize conflicts, speed up feedback, and increase the stability of development.