Admin · For Admins
Sandboxes
Build and Test Without Touching Production
Build and test in a copy of your org's setup, then move finished work to production: what a sandbox copies, signing in, what it may send, deploying back, limits, and how it compares with Salesforce.
About & Business Case #
"We changed a validation rule on a Friday and nobody could save a lead all weekend." #
Every change made straight in production is tested on real users. A sandbox is a separate org that holds a copy of your setup: the same objects, fields, layouts, rules and automation, but none of your records. You build and test there, show it to the people who asked for it, and only then move it into production.
It works like a Salesforce Developer sandbox. Each sandbox is its own org, with its own users and records, so nothing you do in it can change production, and nothing in production changes it.
Who can use it
Admins. Setup → Sandboxes is only shown to admins, and each sandbox has its own admin: you.
Implementation #
What a sandbox copies #
| Copied | Not copied |
|---|---|
| Objects and fields (standard and custom) | Records (leads, contacts, deals, cases…) and their files |
| Page layouts and record types | Custom apps and tabs (the standard apps are there) |
| Validation rules and workflow rules | Reports, dashboards and list views |
| Custom Classes and SmartLite Components | Approval processes and sharing rules |
| The standard setup every org starts with: standard objects, profiles, permission sets, apps | Changes you made to profiles and permission sets; email templates |
| Users other than you; webhooks; email and messaging settings |
What is copied is exactly what Deployment exports, so a sandbox and an exported package always agree.
A copy, not a link
A sandbox is copied once, when you create it. Later changes in production don't flow into it, and its changes don't flow back on their own: you move them with Deployment (build 3).
1 Create a sandbox #
2 Sign in to the sandbox #
priya in a sandbox named UAT signs in as priya.uat. Usernames are unique across SmartLite, so if one is taken a number is added.What a sandbox may send #
A sandbox has production's workflow rules. Without a guard, a copied rule could email a real customer or post to a real system the moment a tester saves a record. So a new sandbox sends system email only, like a Salesforce sandbox's "Email deliverability: System email only".
| Sent from a sandbox | Held back (on System email only) |
|---|---|
| Activation emails, invitations, password resets | Workflow emails (Email Alert, Send Email) |
| Emails sent from a record, campaigns, scheduled reports | |
| SMS and WhatsApp | |
| Webhooks, including a workflow rule's webhook action |
Held back means:
- A workflow rule still runs; its email, message or webhook step is skipped with the note skipped — this sandbox only sends system email in Setup → Debug Logs, and the record saves normally.
- A webhook delivery is recorded as Not sent: this sandbox only sends system email… in the webhook's delivery log.
- Sending an email from a record, or a campaign, stops with that same message.
Testing messages
To test emails or webhooks, an admin in the sandbox can go to Setup → Sandboxes → Outgoing messages and choose Everything. Point the rules at test addresses first, and switch back when you're done. Production orgs always send everything; only a sandbox can hold messages back.
3 Move finished work to production #
Whole setup, not single changes
The package carries the sandbox's whole setup, not just what you changed. Picking individual changes, and a side-by-side diff, are planned. Until then, Validate is your preview.
4 Delete a sandbox #
How to Use #
Limits and good to know #
| Availability | Sandboxes are in beta. They aren't part of the Trial plan, and on a paid plan SmartLite Support turns them on for your organization: raise a support case (the ? at the top of the page) to ask. Until then Setup → Sandboxes says why they aren't available. |
| How many | As many as Support turned on for your organization (the page shows n of m sandboxes). Sandboxes still being copied count. Delete one to make room. |
| Sandboxes of sandboxes | Not possible: a sandbox can't create sandboxes. |
| Plan and billing | A sandbox follows its production org's plan: same limits, same trial or subscription. It isn't billed separately, and Platform Admin lists it as a sandbox, not as a customer. |
| Refresh | Not yet: to start again from production's current setup, delete the sandbox and create a new one. |
| Records | A sandbox starts empty. Add test records by hand or import a CSV (Import / Export trail). |
Compared with Salesforce #
| Salesforce | SmartLite |
|---|---|
| Setup → Sandboxes: create, delete, see status | Setup → Sandboxes: create, delete, resend activation |
| Developer sandbox (setup only) | Yes: every SmartLite sandbox is this kind |
| Partial / Full Copy (with records) | Not yet |
| Refresh from production | Not yet: delete and create again |
| Email deliverability: System email only | Outgoing messages: System email only (the default) |
Sandbox username user@x.com.sandbox | Sandbox username user.sandboxname |
| Change sets / deploy | Deployment: export, Validate, import (whole setup) |
| Everything metadata is copied | Objects, fields, layouts, rules, record types, classes and components (not yet: reports, approvals, sharing, custom apps) |
Day-to-day: admins making changes #
- Create a sandbox for the piece of work, or reuse one.
- Build it there, with a few test records.
- Ask the people who requested it to try it in the sandbox (invite them).
- Export, Validate and Import into production.
- Delete the sandbox, or keep it for the next change.
Questions #
Can I copy my records into a sandbox?
Not yet. A sandbox gets your setup only. Add test records yourself, or import a CSV of sample data.
Will my workflow rules email customers from the sandbox?
No, not while Outgoing messages is on System email only, which is how every sandbox starts. The rule runs and notes that the email was skipped.
I never got the activation email.
In production, go to Setup → Sandboxes and click Resend email on the sandbox's row. Check that your email address in your user profile is right.
Can production users see the sandbox?
No. It's a separate org: only users you invite into the sandbox can sign in to it.
What happens to the sandbox if production is suspended?
It follows production's plan, so it is limited the same way.
Does importing the package delete things in production?
No. Import creates, and with Overwrite updates; it never deletes objects, fields or rules that are only in production.
My report (or approval process) isn't in the sandbox.
Reports, dashboards, approval processes, sharing rules and custom apps aren't copied yet. Recreate the ones you need to test in the sandbox.