What is a Salesforce Sandbox?

A Salesforce Sandbox is a copy of your production environment, designed for safe development, testing, and training. Its key advantage lies in enabling you to build, experiment, and validate changes – without impacting live data or users.

It’s an essential part of the agent and application development lifecycle, helping teams ensure quality and stability before deploying updates to production. Learn what a sandbox is, why it matters, the different types available, and how to choose and manage the right one for your organization.

Before diving into how Salesforce Sandboxes work, it helps to get familiar with a few key concepts. These terms will come up often as you explore your sandbox options.

• Metadata: Configuration elements like custom objects, fields, validation rules, Flows, and Apex code. Sandboxes always include metadata from the production org.
• Data storage: The capacity for storing records (e.g., leads, opportunities, custom object entries). Limited by sandbox type.
• File storage: Separate from data storage, it refers to files such as documents and attachments.
• Sandbox type: The four sandbox types (Developer, Developer Pro, Partial Copy, and Full) each serve different needs and have different storage and refresh capabilities.
• Refresh interval: The minimum amount of time required between refreshing a sandbox to sync it with the latest production data and metadata.
• Sandbox template: A filter used to define which data should be included in a Partial or Full Copy sandbox, useful for targeted testing.
• Production environment: Your active, customer-facing Salesforce org where live data and users operate.
• Deployment: The process of moving changes from a sandbox to the production org, typically using tools like Change Sets or DevOps Center.

Think of a Salesforce Sandbox as your testing ground. It’s an isolated staging environment where you can safely develop new features, test updates, train users, or troubleshoot bugs without touching your production data.

Each Salesforce Sandbox is a replica of your production environment’s metadata, and some even include data depending on the sandbox type. That means you can explore new functionality and conduct implementations such as Agentforce or Data Cloud in a space that feels just like the real thing, minus the risks.

Teams across your organization can benefit from sandboxes, such as:

• Admins can try out updates to flows, page layouts, and permission sets
• Developers can build and test Apex code, APIs, and Lightning components
• Non-technical users can validate complex configurations or test third-party integrations

By isolating changes in a sandbox, you reduce the chance of errors reaching your live apps. This improves deployment quality and avoids system downtime. For example, if you’re updating a critical Flow that routes high-value leads, you can initially test in a Full sandbox to make sure every branch works exactly as expected before rolling it out to your sales team.

Discover more on how Salesforce Sandboxes support safe testing and customization.

A Salesforce Sandbox gives you the freedom to experiment and train quickly without concerns about disrupting business operations. That flexibility is crucial when your CRM is the backbone of your busines. From launching new features to fixing bugs or onboarding users, a sandbox creates a safe space to explore changes before they go live.

Here are a few reasons you might rely on sandboxes throughout the development lifecycle:

• Safer development and testing: You can build and test new features without risking live data or disrupting users. For example, updating your lead assignment rules in a sandbox helps avoid accidental rerouting in production. Salesforce offers tools like DevOps Center to manage every stage of the development in one centralized location.
• Streamlined deployments: Sandboxes support a smoother release process by letting you identify issues earlier. A simple layout change might seem safe, but without testing, it could clash with other customizations. Salesforce CLI also makes it easier to manage development workflows and automate builds, helping you move from sandbox to production more efficiently.
• Training and onboarding: New team members can learn Salesforce workflows and test scenarios without impacting business operations.
• Regulatory compliance: Using sandboxes with Data Mask & Seed helps accelerate development cycles and keep sensitive information protected during testing. Masking helps teams use realistic (but non-sensitive) data in environments like Partial Copy and Full sandboxes.

Salesforce offers four types of sandboxes, each tailored to different development and testing needs. From quick, lightweight experiments to full-scale replication of your production org, the right sandbox helps your team build faster and smarter. Here’s a quick breakdown of the sandbox types and how they compare:

Each sandbox inherits metadata from production, but only Partial Copy and Full Copy include data. The more complex and data-dependent your testing needs, the more likely you’ll benefit from a Partial or Full Copy Sandbox. Let’s take a closer look at each type.

The Developer Sandbox is the simplest option, ideal for testing out ideas quickly. It includes a full copy of your production org’s metadata (like objects, fields, and automation) but involves no data. That makes it fast to create and perfect for low-risk experimentation.

Use this type of sandbox when you are:

• Building or testing a new Flow or validation rule
• Exploring Apex code changes
• Customizing page layouts or permission sets

Because it refreshes once per day, you can easily pull in the latest configurations from production without waiting long. Think of it as your personal playground for feature development.

A Developer Pro Sandbox is similar to the Developer version but with more room to work. It still includes only metadata from production but offers higher storage limits, making it better suited for more advanced dev and QA tasks that require generated or seeded data.

Use a Developer Pro Sandbox when:

• You need more space for test records and files
• You’re developing and running unit tests at scale
• You want to simulate user scenarios with seeded sample data

With the same daily refresh interval as the Developer Sandbox, Developer Pro gives you more breathing room while keeping the environment lightweight and quick to spin up.

Partial Copy Sandboxes contain metadata and a sample of production data based on a custom template. They’re ideal when testing requires realistic data, but not your entire dataset.

Use a Partial Copy Sandbox when:

• You’re conducting user acceptance testing (UAT)
• Validating new integrations or workflows
• Troubleshooting with near-real scenarios

With a five-day refresh interval and moderate storage limits, Partial Copy Sandboxes are a strong middle ground. You get access to realistic conditions without the time and resource demands of a Full Copy Sandbox.

Learn more about sandbox types and templates.

A Full Copy Sandbox is the most comprehensive option. It includes everything: metadata, full production data, and all related files. This gives you a complete replica of your live environment.

A Full Copy Sandbox is the go-to for:

• Final testing before go-live
• Performance and load testing
• Validating integrations, automations, or compliance processes

Because of the depth of data and complexity, Full Copy Sandboxes can only be refreshed every 29 days. But they offer the highest confidence when simulating real-world conditions. When accuracy matters most (such as deploying a major feature release or troubleshooting a critical system behavior), a Full Copy Sandbox offers the most reliable environment to work in.

The right Salesforce Sandbox depends on what you’re trying to build or test. Some projects need just the metadata, while others require full production data and extensive storage. Choosing the right sandbox helps you move faster while avoiding bottlenecks in your development lifecycle.

Here are some criteria to help you choose when to use sandboxes:

• Use a Developer Sandbox if you only need to test configuration or code without sample records.
• Go with a Developer Pro Sandbox if you plan to generate or seed test data and need more storage.
• Choose a Partial Copy Sandbox for testing with real production records, especially for user flows or integration validation.
• Opt for a Full Copy Sandbox if your testing depends on having a complete, real-world data set.

• If you only need occasional updates and want fast refreshes, Developer and Partial Copy Sandboxes offer more flexibility.
• For more complete and consistent test cycles, especially after large releases, Full Copy Sandboxes are best. Just note that they have a 29-day refresh interval.

Review sandbox licenses and storage limits by type.

• For small updates or configuration tweaks, a Developer Sandbox does the job.
• Mid-level projects involving more data or team collaboration may benefit from a Developer Pro or Partial Copy Sandbox.
• For major releases or systems, a Full Copy Sandbox helps reduce risk before going live.

Once you’ve chosen the right sandbox type, it’s time to put it to work. From creation to refresh and deployment, sandboxes are designed to support your full development workflow on Salesforce Platform.

To create a sandbox, head to Setup in your production org and search for Sandboxes. From there, you can click New Sandbox, give it a name, and choose the type that fits your needs.

If you're creating a Partial Copy or Full Sandbox, you’ll also have the option to apply a sandbox template. This is a powerful feature that lets you include only the data you need for testing.

Pro tip: Give your sandbox a clear, purposeful name (e.g., UAT_Portal2025) to help team members identify its role quickly.

Learn more about how to create a sandbox.

Refreshing a sandbox means syncing it with the latest production metadata and, if applicable, the most recent data. To refresh, go to Setup > Sandboxes, select the sandbox you want to update, and click Refresh.

Each sandbox type has a built-in refresh interval:

• Developer and Developer Pro: once per day
• Partial Copy: every 5 days
• Full Copy: every 29 days

After refreshing, you’ll typically choose to activate the new version or keep the current one until you're ready to switch.

Once your changes are tested and validated, you can move them into your production environment. Salesforce provides multiple deployment options depending on your workflow.

• Change Sets: Ideal for declarative changes like page layouts, profiles, and custom objects. You can upload a change set from your sandbox and deploy it into production.
• DevOps Center: For more advanced use cases, DevOps Center supports version control and automated deployments across multiple sandboxes and orgs.
• Scratch Orgs: For pro-code development, Scratch Orgs offer granular control over your deployment process.
• Unlocked Packages: If you’re managing modular applications, packaging helps group metadata and deploy consistently.

These tools help you move changes with confidence and track deployments across your team. And if your sandbox includes sensitive data, tools like Salesforce Shield can help enforce data encryption and compliance protections.

Salesforce Sandboxes give you the flexibility to build, test, and train without disrupting your business. But the real power comes from how easily they fit into your broader development strategy on Salesforce Platform.

With built-in tools for version control and deployment, Salesforce Platform helps you manage multiple sandboxes, standardize release processes, and reduce risks across every stage of your application lifecycle. Whether you're using DevOps Center, Change Sets, or Scratch Orgs, you can coordinate work across teams and environments without losing speed or control.

You can also take advantage of features like:

• Automated sandbox refreshes and naming conventions
• Built-in data protection with Salesforce Shield
• Flexible sandbox templates for more targeted testing
• Centralized governance and auditability across orgs

By using sandboxes effectively, you’re creating a system for innovation that grows with your business. Learn more about Salesforce Platform and see how you can get more out of every sandbox.