Glossary · Reliability & operations
Canary Release
A deployment strategy that exposes a new version to a limited slice of traffic or infrastructure before expanding the rollout.
Why it matters
It limits the impact of defects and gives you production evidence before the new model, prompt, agent, or service reaches everyone.
In practice
Route a small eligible cohort to the release, compare quality and operational metrics with the control, and stop or roll back on predefined failures.
Common confusion
A canary release limits exposure; it does not replace pre-deployment tests, approval, or rollback preparation.
Related terms
Sources
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