# Sandbox overview

Two completely separated worlds: live and test.


The Southbill sandbox is a **full test environment**, not a simulator. A test key talks to a real payment processor in test mode: real checkout pages, real 3-D Secure, real webhooks — only no money moves.

## Two separated worlds

| | Live | Sandbox |
|---|---|---|
| Key prefix | `sk_live_…` | `sk_test_…` |
| Account | your verified account | an auto-created test account |
| Data | live tables | separate sandbox storage |
| Money | real | none |
| Fees / payouts | yes | never |
| Verification (KYC) emails | yes | never |

There is **no fallback** between the two. A test key can never read, write or refund live data, and a live key never touches sandbox data.

## Getting a sandbox

1. Open **Dashboard → Developers → Sandbox**.
2. Click **Create sandbox account**. Your test account is created and verified instantly — no second onboarding.
3. Click **Create test key**. Test keys start with `sk_test_` and stay visible: you can reveal and copy them any time.

Test keys do **not** count against the API key limit of your plan.

## Base URL and auth

```
https://api.southbill.com/v1
Authorization: Bearer sk_test_…
```

Everything else — paths, request bodies, errors, idempotency, pagination — is identical to live. Switching to production is only a key change.

## Data lifetime

Sandbox records expire **30 days** after creation and are deleted automatically. You can also wipe everything from the Sandbox tab.