The API Reference playground carries both: pick the environment from the server dropdown above any endpoint.
A sandbox key only ever resolves inside the sandbox lane. There is no path from a vxn_test_sk_ key to production data, and no path from a vxn_sk_ key to sandbox data.
Sandbox
Key prefix
vxn_test_sk_. Requests only ever reach sandbox data, no
matter which endpoint you call.Production
Key prefix
vxn_sk_. Requests only ever reach production data, no
matter which endpoint you call.The two environments
Because the key prefix differs, you can tell at a glance which environment a key belongs to, including in your own configuration and logs. A key is only ever valid in the environment that issued it.
Getting sandbox access
Sandbox access is provisioned per partner. Contact us and we will create a sandbox organization for you and issue avxn_test_sk_ key. The key is what grants access; without one the sandbox host will not authenticate you. Dashboard keys (vxn_sk_) are production keys and do not work in the sandbox.
Your production keys stay where they are, at Dashboard → Settings → Developer.
Working in the sandbox
The sandbox works like production, which is the point: what you see while building is what you get in production. Effects are real within the sandbox, so a stamp award moves a sandbox balance, a delivery sends the email, and a pass pushes to a wallet. That makes a few habits worth adopting from the start.1
Send side effects to yourself
When you exercise a flow that emails, texts or pushes a pass, use your own
address, phone or device as the recipient. You see exactly what a customer
would receive.
2
Tag the data your tests create
Pass a recognizable
external_id (for example qa-run-4821-cus-1) on the
customers and transactions your tests create, so you can find them later and
so a re-run never double-creates.3
Scope each key to what it needs
Give a key only the scopes it uses. Each endpoint page in the API reference
names the scope it needs. This is good practice in both environments.
4
Point webhooks at an endpoint you control
Register a webhook endpoint on a tunnel or a test
receiver, verify the signature, and watch real events arrive. Delivery,
signing and retries behave the same in both environments.
Idempotency
Every mutating call accepts anIdempotency-Key. Reusing the same key on a retry returns the original result instead of performing the operation twice, so a network retry of a stamp award never awards twice. Wire it in from the start and it protects you in both environments. See Idempotency.
Going live
1
Swap the base URL
Point your client at the production base URL.
2
Swap the key
Replace your
vxn_test_sk_ key with a production vxn_sk_ key from the
dashboard.3
Re-create what production needs
Sandbox data stays in the sandbox. Create your production cards and webhook
endpoints the same way your integration created them in the sandbox. Set up
locations in the dashboard.