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What is Continuous Integration?

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Continuous integration is a DevOps software development practice where developers regularly merge their code changes into a central repository, after which automated builds and tests are run. Continuous integration most often refers to the build or integration stage of the software release process and entails both an automation component (e.g. a CI or build service) and a cultural component (e.g. learning to integrate frequently). The key goals of continuous integration are to find and address bugs quicker, improve software quality, and reduce the time it takes to validate and release new software updates.","itemMediaAltText":"Missing alt text value"},"metadata":{"tags":[]}},{"fields":{"patternHeading":"Overview","patternBoolean2":"false","id":"ams#long-form-contentc2#pattern-data"},"metadata":{"tags":[{"name":"pattern-data","description":"Default pattern data","id":"ams#long-form-contentc2#pattern-data","namespaceId":"long-form-content"}]}}]},"metadata":{"auth":{},"testAttributes":{}},"context":{"page":{},"contentType":null,"environment":{"stage":"prod","region":"us-west-2"},"sdkVersion":"2.0.9"},"refMap":{"manifest.js":"3081bcaae1","rt-long-form-content.rtl.css":"0f8f9f4b6a","rt-long-form-content.js":"2ca0aa42ce","rt-long-form-content.css":"4ad36121e7","rt-long-form-content.css.js":"d3ac381808","rt-long-form-content.rtl.css.js":"8229b060e0"},"settings":{"templateMappings":{"dark":"patternBoolean2","patternHeading":"patternHeading","patternSubheading":"patternSubheading","heading":"itemHeading","mediaAltText":"itemMediaAltText","mediaUrl":"itemMediaURL","hyperlinkText":"itemCTALabel","hyperlinkUrl":"itemCTAURL","bodyContent":"itemLongLoc","videoThumbnailUrl":"itemMediaURL2","videoOverlayTitle":"itemMediaAltText2","videoPlayButtonText":"itemTextLoc2"}}}

In the past, developers on a team might work in isolation for an extended period of time and only merge their changes to the master branch once their work was completed. This made merging code changes difficult and time-consuming, and also resulted in bugs accumulating for a long time without correction. These factors made it harder to deliver updates to customers quickly.","itemMediaAltText":"Missing alt text value"},"metadata":{"tags":[]}},{"fields":{"patternHeading":"Why is Continuous Integration Needed?","patternBoolean2":"false","id":"ams#long-form-contentc2#pattern-data"},"metadata":{"tags":[{"name":"pattern-data","description":"Default pattern data","id":"ams#long-form-contentc2#pattern-data","namespaceId":"long-form-content"}]}}]},"metadata":{"auth":{},"testAttributes":{}},"context":{"page":{},"contentType":null,"environment":{"stage":"prod","region":"us-west-2"},"sdkVersion":"2.0.9"},"refMap":{"manifest.js":"3081bcaae1","rt-long-form-content.rtl.css":"0f8f9f4b6a","rt-long-form-content.js":"2ca0aa42ce","rt-long-form-content.css":"4ad36121e7","rt-long-form-content.css.js":"d3ac381808","rt-long-form-content.rtl.css.js":"8229b060e0"},"settings":{"templateMappings":{"dark":"patternBoolean2","patternHeading":"patternHeading","patternSubheading":"patternSubheading","heading":"itemHeading","mediaAltText":"itemMediaAltText","mediaUrl":"itemMediaURL","hyperlinkText":"itemCTALabel","hyperlinkUrl":"itemCTAURL","bodyContent":"itemLongLoc","videoThumbnailUrl":"itemMediaURL2","videoOverlayTitle":"itemMediaAltText2","videoPlayButtonText":"itemTextLoc2"}}}

Why is Continuous Integration Needed?

In the past, developers on a team might work in isolation for an extended period of time and only merge their changes to the master branch once their work was completed. This made merging code changes difficult and time-consuming, and also resulted in bugs accumulating for a long time without correction. These factors made it harder to deliver updates to customers quickly.

Continuous Integration Benefits

Continuous integration helps your team be more productive by freeing developers from manual tasks and encouraging behaviors that help reduce the number of errors and bugs released to customers.
With more frequent testing, your team can discover and address bugs earlier before they grow into larger problems later.
Continuous integration helps your team deliver updates to their customers faster and more frequently.