Git Branching strategy for devops

Estimated time to read: 2 minutes

In my daily interaction with DevOps engineers, I have the same discussion about the different branching strategies.

I can tell you that Trunk-Based Development is indeed favoured by many DevOps and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) teams. Trunk-Based Development is the practice for developers to work on the same 'main' branch or trunk of code and commit often - daily - their work to it. That means that they work only on short-lived branches. This preference stems from the fact that Trunk-Based Development promotes practices that align well with the goals and principles of DevOps and SRE.

Here are some reasons why DevOps and SRE teams often prefer Trunk-Based Development:

Continuous Integration Trunk-Based Development encourages continuous integration, which is a key DevOps practice. By committing code frequently and directly to the main branch, developers can quickly identify and resolve integration issues, reducing the time it takes to move from development to production.

Rapid Feedback Trunk-Based Development promotes a rapid feedback loop between development, testing, and deployment. This approach aligns with the DevOps and SRE principles of iterating quickly and continuously improving the system.

Simplified Branch Management Trunk-Based Development simplifies branch management by minimising the number of long-lived branches. This streamlined approach makes it easier to maintain and manage the codebase, reducing the overhead associated with managing multiple branches and merges.

Reduced Merge Conflicts By encouraging frequent commits and merges, Trunk-Based Development helps reduce the likelihood of merge conflicts. This can lead to more efficient collaboration and smoother deployments, both of which are important to DevOps and SRE teams.

Faster Deployment Trunk-Based Development supports continuous deployment, another key DevOps practice. By continuously integrating and deploying code to production, teams can rapidly deliver new features and improvements to users.

While many DevOps and SRE teams do prefer Trunk Based Development, it is essential to consider the specific needs and goals of your team and project before selecting a branching strategy. Different teams and projects may have different requirements, and the best branching strategy will depend on these factors. It's always a good idea to evaluate the pros and cons of each strategy and choose the one that best aligns with your team's needs and goals.