Smoke Test
Updated 2026-08-13
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
A software testing practice named after hardware bring-up, where a new board is powered on to see whether it literally smokes. In software, a smoke test exercises only the most critical end-to-end paths to confirm that the system starts, connects, and performs basic operations. The qualification is deliberate shallowness: it is designed to fail fast on fatal defects, not to establish correctness. A passing smoke test authorizes deeper testing, while a failing one stops the pipeline immediately.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Gate design: define the smallest set of checks that proves the build is worth deeper testing. - CI entry: run the smoke suite first so broken builds waste no compute. - Triage aid: treat a smoke failure as a fatal signal rather than a minor bug.
Anchor fast decisions
Most catastrophic failures are visible in the first seconds of use, so a tiny suite touching startup and core connectivity catches the majority of blocking defects at negligible cost. Because the check is cheap it can run on every commit, and because it is coarse it never delays the pipeline the way a full regression suite would.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_testing_(softwareverified
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