Smoke Testing vs. Sanity Testing

Smoke and sanity testing are two distinct software testing methodologies often confused due to their overlapping purposes. Smoke testing, also known as confidence testing, verifies the essential functionalities of a new software build to ensure the system is stable enough for further testing. It is typically automated and integrated into CI/CD pipelines. In contrast, sanity testing is a more focused approach performed on an already validated build to ensure specific changes or bug fixes work as intended without introducing new issues, often done manually. Both testing methods serve complementary roles in the software development lifecycle: smoke testing acts as an initial checkpoint for build stability, while sanity testing confirms the reliability of recent changes. Despite their differences, they can be effectively combined to enhance a project's testing strategy, with smoke testing generally preceding sanity testing to establish a build's stability before more detailed evaluations.