continuous integration
compound.compound. a way of working on software where developers add their code to a shared project many times a day. Each time code is added, an automatic system tests it to make sure nothing is broken.
compound. a software development practice where members of a team integrate their work frequently, usually daily, leading to multiple integrations per day. Each integration is verified by an automated build and automated tests to detect integration errors as quickly as possible.
Our team uses continuous integration to catch bugs early in the project.
By implementing continuous integration, the startup reduced the time spent on manual testing and improved the stability of their weekly releases.
The transition to continuous integration required a cultural shift toward smaller, more frequent commits and a robust suite of automated unit tests to ensure the integrity of the main branch.
A compound of the adjective continuous and the noun integration. The term was popularised by Grady Booch in 1991 and later adopted as a core practice of Extreme Programming.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Often abbreviated as CI; frequently paired with 'continuous delivery' or 'continuous deployment' (CD).
Last updated July 22, 2026