approach-trunk-based-development-for-agent-first-workflows

name	Approach: Trunk-Based Development for Agent-First Workflows
description	Trunk-based development (TBD) is a branching strategy where all developers (agents and humans) commit frequently to a single shared branch (`main`), with short-lived feature branches (<24 hours) us...
version	1.0.0
type	approach
category	operational-pattern

Approach: Trunk-Based Development for Agent-First Workflows

Trunk-based development (TBD) is a branching strategy where all developers (agents and humans) commit frequently to a single shared branch (main), with short-lived feature branches (<24 hours) us...

Instructions

Trunk-based development (TBD) is a branching strategy where all developers (agents and humans) commit frequently to a single shared branch (main), with short-lived feature branches (<24 hours) used only for coordinated changes. This approach minimizes merge conflicts, accelerates feedback, and aligns naturally with agent task completion patterns.

Key principles:

1. Single source of truth: main branch is always deployable
2. Small, frequent commits: Multiple commits per day
3. Short-lived branches: Maximum 24 hours, prefer <4 hours
4. Continuous validation: Every commit runs tests and checks
5. Feature flags: Hide incomplete work, don't hold it in branches
6. Rapid revert: Fix or rollback within 15 minutes of failure

When to use trunk-based development:

• ✅ Async multi-agent orchestration (this repository)
• ✅ Rapid iteration with frequent small changes
• ✅ Strong test coverage and automated validation
• ✅ Team comfortable with continuous integration discipline

When to avoid:

• ❌ Large, risky changes without adequate test coverage
• ❌ Teams without automated validation infrastructure
• ❌ Work requiring extended isolation (>24h)

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