👉 Continuous integration (CI) is a software development practice where developers frequently merge their code changes into a central repository, followed by automated builds and tests. This process helps identify and resolve integration issues early, ensuring that the codebase remains stable and functional. By continuously integrating and testing, teams can detect bugs and errors sooner, reduce the risk of conflicts when merging, and improve overall code quality and reliability. CI also facilitates more efficient collaboration among team members, as it provides immediate feedback on the impact of their changes, streamlining the development cycle and accelerating the delivery of software updates.