smoke testing
Basic functionality check
Smoke testing is a quick preliminary check to verify that basic functions work before proceeding with more thorough testing.
The term originated in electronics and plumbing—if you power up a circuit or pressurize pipes and smoke appears, something's wrong.
In software development, a smoke test confirms that a new build doesn't fail immediately: We run smoke tests after every deployment.
The goal is catching obvious failures early, not comprehensive validation.
- sanity checkVerification of basic soundness
- bugsSmall crawling creatures
- trial runPreliminary test attempt
- dry runPractice session beforehand
- first passInitial attempt at something
preliminary · quick and dirty · validation · verification · baseline · integrity · quality assurance · evaluation · error handling · leak detection · plumbing · chimney sweep · fire alarm · minimalism · debugging · debugging
- testingexamine, check, assess, evaluate, verify
- QA testingQA, quality assurance, playtesting, testers, bug tracking
- software testingclosed beta, open beta, playtesting, assertion, assert
- plumbingpipes, valves, fittings, faucets, drains
- DevOpsdeployment, pipeline, rollout, containers, automation
- sewer servicesleak detection