Article · 30 min read

Continuous Integration

Martin Fowler · martinfowler.com Free Intermediate

Once a second person is committing, the first real risk is two branches drifting apart, and this essay explains the one habit that prevents it: integrate to a shared main every day with automated checks. It is arguably the single highest value practice to adopt at the first hire. Read it to understand why short lived branches and a green build matter more than elaborate approval flows.

• Merge to a shared main at least daily to avoid painful integrations
• Every integration should trigger an automated build and tests
• Keep the build green so main is always safe to ship