In software development, a canary release (or canary deployment) refers to the practice of rolling out a new version of software to a small, select group of users before deploying it to the entire user base. The term “canary” comes from the old practice of using canaries in coal mines to detect dangerous gases; if the canary showed signs of distress, miners knew to evacuate. Similarly, in software, the canary release acts as an early warning system to detect issues with new code before it reaches a wider audience.