What does "flaky" mean in programming?
flaky is one of the most common terms in software development. This guide explains what it means, how it is used in practice, and why it matters, with real examples from the developer world.
Definition
Describes a test (or system) that produces inconsistent results — passing sometimes and failing other times without any code change. Flaky tests are a common CI/CD headache: they erode trust in the test suite and slow down deployments. Root causes include timing dependencies, shared state, and external service calls.
Example
"This test is flaky — it passes locally but fails in CI about 30% of the time. We need to investigate the timing dependency."
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