Sandboxes are created and refreshed from Setup in the production org, by an admin with the Manage Sandbox permission. Here is the path to create one.
- Open Sandboxes in Setup
In your production org, go to Setup and enter Sandboxes in the Quick Find box. Open the Sandboxes page to see your existing sandboxes and your remaining allotment by type.
- Start a new sandbox
Click New Sandbox. Give it a name (keep it short, since the name becomes part of the org login) and a description that states its purpose, such as INT or UAT.
- Choose the type
Select Developer, Developer Pro, Partial Copy, or Full based on the work. Partial Copy and Full also let you attach a sandbox template to control which objects and data are copied.
- Create and wait
Submit the request. Salesforce queues the copy, and the time to finish depends on the type and how much data is involved. You get an email when the sandbox is ready to log in.
A short identifier appended to your org login. Plan it around a naming convention like DEV, INT, UAT, or STAGE.
Developer or Developer Pro for metadata-only work, Partial Copy for sample data, Full for a complete production copy.
For Partial Copy and Full, an optional template that selects which objects and records are copied so you control size and scope.
An optional post-copy Apex class that runs after creation or refresh, useful for masking data or resetting environment-specific settings.
- Refresh is destructive. Anything built in the sandbox since the last refresh is lost, so deploy or back it up first.
- Refresh intervals are minimums: 1 day for Developer and Developer Pro, 5 days for Partial Copy, 29 days for Full.
- Full sandboxes are costly and limited in number, so reserve them for UAT, performance testing, and training.
- Sandbox copies are not instant. Full sandboxes in particular can take hours, so plan creation ahead of any deadline.