Sandboxes

A sandbox is a copy of your account where admins can test configuration changes, like role-based security, lead routing, or workflow automation, without touching production data.

ℹ️ Sandboxes require an Enterprise plan. The feature is available on Enterprise plans across Insightly CRM, Marketing, and Service.

On this page:

• How sandboxes work
• Logging in
• Sandbox status
• Limits
• What doesn’t come with your sandbox
• Creating and deleting a sandbox
• Common questions

How sandboxes work

Creating a sandbox copies your account, including its System Settings, metadata, custom fields and objects, permissions, workflow rules, and lead assignment rules, along with a portion of your record data. Only one sandbox can be created or processed at a time; additional sandboxes queue until the one ahead of them finishes.

All users are copied into a new sandbox automatically. SAML and OAuth SSO aren’t supported inside a sandbox, so SSO users need an admin to set them up with a standard login to access it.

Logging in

Sandbox login uses your normal email plus a period and the sandbox name, for example john@example.com.doe for a sandbox named “doe.” Your password is the same as your main account. You can’t be logged into your main account and a sandbox account at the same time.

Sandbox status

A banner reading “Sandbox” appears whenever you’re logged into a sandbox, so it’s clear at a glance which environment you’re in.

Limits

• One sandbox included by default; additional sandboxes must be purchased.
• 5,000 record limit per sandbox.
• 500 MB storage limit per sandbox.
• 10 records per object are copied over from the source account, with no guarantee that linked records for those objects come along with them.

Once you’ve hit your sandbox limit, the New Sandbox button disables with a message that you’ve reached your instance’s maximum. Delete an existing sandbox to free up a slot, or contact your customer representative to purchase an additional one.

What doesn’t come with your sandbox

• AppConnect and other external integrations
• Sending Marketing emails
• SAML and SCIM settings
• Lambda functions (though you can create new ones inside the sandbox itself)
• Billing information or the ability to change your sandbox’s plan
• Notifications for copied-over users, since their copied email addresses (with the sandbox name appended) aren’t valid for delivery. Newly created users with real email addresses inside the sandbox can still receive notifications.

Web to Lead and Web to Contact are copied over but disabled by default; you can turn them on inside the sandbox.

Creating and deleting a sandbox

Create

1. Go to System Settings > Sandboxes and click New Sandbox.
2. Enter a Sandbox Name: letters, numbers, and hyphens only, no spaces, minimum 5 characters.
3. Enter a description.
4. Choose a Sandbox Type. A Test sandbox replicates up to 10 records per object and expires one year after creation.
5. Click Create Sandbox.

Delete

1. Go to System Settings > Sandboxes.
2. Click the three-dot menu on the sandbox you want to remove and select Delete Sandbox. This option is only available when the sandbox is in Ready status.
3. Confirm on the warning screen. Deletion removes all record data, system settings, and configuration in that sandbox for every user, and cannot be undone.

Common questions

A few additional questions from the FAQ that don’t fit neatly above:

• Can I log in with Google credentials?
  No, sandbox login requires a regular username and password; make sure at least one active user has standard login credentials before creating a sandbox.
• Can I add a product I don’t have on my main account (like Service) to my sandbox?
  No.
• How many sandbox creation jobs run at once, account-wide?
  Only one, across the entire Insightly platform, not just your account.