Continuous Integration (CI) is a software development practice where developers integrate code into a shared repository frequently, preferably daily or multiple times per day. Each integration is verified by an automated build and test process to detect errors early. CI can significantly reduce integration problems and allow software to be developed more rapidly. CI practices include automating builds and tests, integrating frequently in small batches, treating failures as priority issues, and making current successful builds easily available. Open source tools like CruiseControl can help implement CI processes.