Trunk-based development in Git - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is trunk-based development?

Trunk-based development is a way to work on code where everyone adds their changes directly to one main branch called the trunk or main branch. This helps keep the code simple and up to date.

beginner

Why do teams prefer trunk-based development?

Teams like trunk-based development because it reduces conflicts, makes testing easier, and helps deliver new features faster by keeping all work in one main branch.

intermediate

What is a short-lived feature branch in trunk-based development?

A short-lived feature branch is a small branch created for a quick change or feature. It is merged back into the trunk quickly to avoid long delays and conflicts.

intermediate

How does continuous integration relate to trunk-based development?

Continuous integration means automatically testing and merging code often. It works well with trunk-based development because changes are small and frequent, making problems easier to find and fix.

beginner

What is a common risk if trunk-based development is not followed properly?

If trunk-based development is not followed, big conflicts can happen, code can break often, and it becomes hard to deliver updates quickly.

In trunk-based development, where do developers usually commit their changes?

A Directly to the main trunk branch

B To long-lived feature branches

C Only to release branches

D To personal forks only

In trunk-based development, developers commit directly to the main trunk branch or very short-lived branches merged quickly.

What is a key benefit of trunk-based development?

A Uses many long-lived branches

B Avoids merge conflicts by merging often

C Requires no testing

D Keeps features hidden for months

Merging often in trunk-based development helps avoid big merge conflicts.

Which practice supports trunk-based development best?

A No code reviews

B Manual testing after release

C Continuous integration with automated tests

D Working in isolation for weeks

Continuous integration with automated tests helps catch problems early in trunk-based development.

How long should feature branches be kept in trunk-based development?

A Several months

B Only after release

C Never merged

D Very short-lived, merged quickly

Feature branches should be short-lived and merged quickly to keep the trunk updated.

What happens if many developers work on long-lived branches instead of trunk?

A More merge conflicts and delays

B Faster delivery

C Simpler codebase

D No need for testing

Long-lived branches increase merge conflicts and slow down delivery.

Explain trunk-based development and why it helps teams deliver software faster.

Think about how working together on one main branch can make things simpler.

Describe how continuous integration supports trunk-based development.

Consider how testing often helps keep the main branch healthy.