What Is a Sandbox in Salesforce?
A sandbox is a copy of your Salesforce org used for development, testing, and training, isolated from production data and users.
Updated 2026-09-09
A sandbox is a copy of your Salesforce org used for development, testing, and training, isolated from production data and users.
In more detail
Sandbox types differ by what they copy and how often they can be refreshed: Developer and Developer Pro copy configuration only, Partial Copy includes a data sample, and Full Copy includes production data.
Sandbox usernames are suffixed with the sandbox name, and email deliverability is restricted by default so testing does not reach real customers.
Why it matters for admins
- Any change with a blast radius - a mass update, a new validation rule, a deployment - belongs in a sandbox first.
- Refresh intervals are part of release planning: a Full Copy sandbox cannot be refreshed on demand.
- Full Copy sandboxes hold real customer data, so they need the same access discipline as production.
Frequently asked questions
- Does a sandbox count against my production storage?
- No, sandboxes have their own storage allocation, which varies by sandbox type and edition.
- Why do sandbox emails not arrive?
- Email deliverability defaults to System email only in new sandboxes. An administrator changes it in Setup, deliberately, when testing requires it.
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Related reading
- Admin How-ToHow to Check Salesforce Org LimitsCheck Salesforce org limits - API calls, data storage, file storage, and daily email - from Setup, the limits API, and the browser, before you hit them.
- Admin How-ToHow to Create and Deploy a Salesforce Change SetStep by step: create an outbound change set, upload it, and deploy it as an inbound change set - plus the deployment connection you need between orgs before any of it works.
- Admin How-ToHow to Mass Update Salesforce Records SafelyA safe procedure for mass updating Salesforce records: scope with SOQL, snapshot before, batch the import, and verify after - with the automation traps to check first.