What is Smoke Testing in Software Development?

Smoke testing is a crucial yet often overlooked step in software development. It helps ensure build stability and prevents wasted time on broken deployments. This article explains what smoke testing is, when to use it, and includes practical examples

Definition: What is Smoke Testing?

Smoke testing is a high-level type of software testing conducted to determine whether the most important functions of an application are working properly. It’s often called a “build verification test”, as it ensures that the build is stable enough for further, more detailed testing

The name is an analogy borrowed from hardware testing: “When you turn on a new piece of hardware for the first time, you watch for smoke. If you see smoke, you know something is seriously wrong and you don’t need to proceed with more detailed testing.”

If the smoke test fails – testing stops until the build is fixed

Key Characteristics of Smoke Testing

The primary functions of quality assurance include:

• Shallow and wide: It checks broad functionality, not deep edge cases
• Fast feedback: Typically takes minutes
• Automated or manual: Can be scripted or run by QA/testers
• Blocking: Failing smoke tests usually block further QA or deployment. If the build passes the smoke test, it moves on to more rigorous testing phases (like Regression, Integration, or System Testing). If it fails, the build is rejected and sent back to the development team

When Should You Run Smoke Tests in Your CI/CD Pipeline?

Smoke testing is typically done at the initial stages of testing, right after a new build is deployed. Common scenarios include:

• After daily CI/CD build is complete
• Before a new release is tested in QA
• Before pushing to staging or production
• After hotfixes or patches are applied
• After major merges or pull requests

Real-World Smoke Testing Examples for Web and SaaS Apps

Here are some real-world examples:

Web Application Example

SaaS Platform Example

If your team pushes a new build to QA:

• Can a new user be created?
• Can data be saved and retrieved from the database?
• Are background jobs running (e.g., email delivery)?
• Can payments be initiated (sandbox/stubbed)?

   

If any of these fail – deeper testing is postponed

Manual vs Automated Smoke Testing

Tools like Jinn Jenkins, GitHub Actions, CircleCI, and GitLab CI can automate smoke test suites to run on every commit or deployment

Smoke Testing vs Sanity vs Regression Testing: Key Differences

Why It matters

Smoke testing saves time and prevents headaches. By catching obvious issues early, teams avoid the trap of wasting hours on debugging a broken build or running full regression suites on an unstable application

It’s a small investment with big ROI – especially in modern CI/CD pipelines where speed and quality must go hand-in-hand

Tools to Capture Bugs During Smoke Testing

Jinn

Features:

• Automatic bug capture with screenshots, screen recordings, console logs, and DOM snapshots.

• One-click bug reports enriched with technical context (steps, environment, system info).

• Instant collaboration with in-app comments, chat, and voting on issues.

• Integrates with Jira, Trello, Asana, Slack, Sentry, and more.

• “Rewind” mode to replay what happened before a bug appeared.
  

Best For: QA teams and product squads that want to spot bugs instantly during smoke testing, share context without manual effort, and fix issues faster

Testomat

Features:

• Real-time dashboards for instant test results and bug tracking

• Integrates with GitHub, Jira, and Slack for seamless bug reporting

• Supports both manual and automated smoke tests, with one-click reruns for failed cases

Best For: Teams needing fast feedback and CI/CD integration 7

BrowserStack

Features:

• Cloud-based testing on real devices and browsers

• Captures screenshots, videos, and logs automatically when tests fail

• Integrates with Jira, GitHub, and Slack for bug tracking

Best For: Cross-browser and cross-device smoke testing with detailed bug evidence

Jira

Features:

• Highly customizable bug tracking templates and workflows

• Integrates with smoke testing tools like Testomat.io, Zephyr, and Xray

• Provides real-time collaboration and detailed issue histories

Best For: Teams already using Atlassian products for end-to-end traceability

GitHub Issues

Features:

• Tight integration with GitHub repositories and CI/CD pipelines

• Supports labels, milestones, and automated issue creation from test failures

• Collaborative environment for developers and testers

Best For: Development teams using GitHub for version control

Final Thoughts on the Role of Smoke Testing in QA

Smoke testing is not about finding every bug, but about ensuring basic application health. It’s the first line of defense in your QA strategy and plays a vital role in maintaining rapid, safe development cycles

If you’re not running smoke tests on every build – it’s time to start