Inner Loop - CI/CD Glossary Definition
The inner loop is the tight local edit-build-test cycle a developer runs many times an hour, before code leaves their machine.
The inner loop is the fast, local cycle a developer repeats while coding: edit, build, run, and test on their own machine before sharing changes.
Inner-loop speed dominates day-to-day productivity because it repeats constantly. Slow local builds are a silent, compounding tax.
In CI
Keeping the inner loop fast (fast local tests) reduces reliance on CI for basic feedback, reserving the pipeline for integration-level checks.
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