Sandbox Environment
Before going live with your Biteship integration, you should thoroughly test your implementation in our sandbox environment. This guide explains how to use the sandbox effectively.
About the Sandbox
The sandbox environment is a safe testing space that mimics our production environment. It allows you to:
- Test API integrations without creating real shipments
- Validate your implementation logic
- Simulate various shipping scenarios
- Test error handling
Getting Started
- Sign up for a Biteship account at our registration page
- Navigate to the API section in your dashboard
- Activate the sandbox environment by clicking the "Mode Testing" toggle in the sidebar
- Generate a sandbox API key
- Use this key for all your test API calls
Sandbox vs Production
Key differences between sandbox and production environments for Core API:
| Feature | Sandbox | Production |
|---|---|---|
| Maps API | Paid* | Paid |
| Rates API | Paid* | Paid |
| Order API | Simulated | Real shipments |
| Tracking API | Paid* | Paid |
*Since Maps, Rates and Tracking are GET methods, we provide them a real data in sandbox environment, therefore it is considered as paid usage. Our team can provide you a free up to 5.000 requests for sandbox key for testing purpose. Please contact our support for more information.
Testing Guidelines
Test All API Endpoints
- Rate calculations
- Order creation
- Tracking
- Label generation
Simulate Edge Cases
- Invalid addresses
- Out-of-range weights
- Missing required fields
- Error responses
Verify Integration Logic
- Rate display
- Order flow
- Error handling
- User notifications
Moving to Production
Once you've completed thorough testing:
- Ensure all test cases pass
- Document any issues found and resolved
- Review integration best practices
- Follow the API Activation process
Best Practices
- Keep sandbox API keys separate from production
- Test with realistic data scenarios
- Implement proper error handling
- Monitor API response times
- Document all test cases and results
Support
Need help with sandbox testing? Contact our support team:
- Email: [email protected]
- Dashboard: Submit a ticket
- Available: Monday-Sunday, 09:00-18:00 local time