From sandbox to production

A plan with a sandbox runs a partner through a review pipeline before production. The partner builds against sandbox credentials, submits the subscription for review, your team approves it under Consumers, Pipeline, and production credentials unlock. The phases are Sandbox, In Review, and Production.

What are the phases of the pipeline?

A sandbox subscription holds one pipeline phase at a time. The subscription page shows a three-step stepper, and a submission that is turned down is marked on the review step.

When your team requests changes, the subscription returns to Sandbox and is flagged Changes Requested, with your reviewer's notes shown to the partner.

How does a partner get started in the sandbox?

A sandbox subscription opens on the sandbox lane. The partner creates sandbox credentials, can generate a first access token, reviews the sandbox test data, and builds against the sandbox endpoints.

1. The partner opens the subscription and finds the Sandbox Credentials card.
2. They create the credentials. The card shows the full values once, with a warning to save them. For OAuth2 client credentials, Generate Token fetches an access token while the new values are on screen.
3. They open View Test Data to see the Sandbox Test Data the provider configured.
4. They build and test, using the sandbox documentation on the subscription's API Reference tab. See Trying endpoints in the explorer.

When the plan points its sandbox at a mocking server instead of a sandbox definition, the card also shows the Mocking Server URL.

The Production Credentials card stays locked through the sandbox and review phases. It explains that production credentials become available once an API provider has reviewed and approved the request.

What is sandbox test data?

Sandbox test data is a read-only set of custom properties the provider configures on the sandbox. The partner opens the Sandbox Test Data view to read them while testing.

Each entry shows a type, a name, a description, and a value. The view is read-only, so the partner copies the values they need. Without any, it reads "No test data configured."

How does a partner submit for review?

Once sandbox credentials exist, Submit for Review becomes available. If the plan defines a submission form, the partner completes it first. If not, the submission goes straight through. Either way the subscription moves to In Review.

1. With the subscription in Sandbox, the partner clicks Submit for Review.
2. If the plan has a submission form, a multi-step form opens, Step 1 of n, ending in a review step before the partner submits.
3. The subscription moves to In Review, and the button reads Submitted for Review.

Submitting needs sandbox credentials and an active subscription. A subscription with no sandbox credentials cannot be submitted for review.

How does your team review a submission?

In the dashboard, under Consumers, Pipeline. Pipeline lists every sandbox subscription by phase. You open a submission in review, read what the partner submitted, add notes, and approve, request changes, or reject it.

1. Go to Consumers, Pipeline. It appears when your Apiable plan includes the sandbox and partner pipeline.
2. Use the Kanban board, grouped by phase, or the Table view. Filter by product, plan, integration type, or team, and search by company.
3. Click a card, or Review in the table, to open Review Submission. It shows the subscription, company, team, contact, email, submission date, product, plan, and the fields the partner submitted.
4. For a submission In Review, type any notes for the partner in Notes, then choose an action.

When a partner submits, Apiable emails the plan's approval group, or your Default Approval Group when the plan has none. Pipeline itself does not check approval groups: anyone who can open Pipeline in your dashboard can act on a submission. See Approval groups.

How does a partner reach production?

After your team approves, the subscription enters the Production phase. On a free plan, the production credential card unlocks at once. On a paid plan, the partner completes checkout first.

1. Your team approves the submission. The subscription moves to Production.
2. On a paid plan, the subscription is Pending Payment. The partner clicks Checkout on the subscription and pays. The credential cards are hidden until payment is confirmed.
3. The production card reads Your integration has been approved! Create production credentials to get started.
4. The partner creates production credentials. The full values are shown once.

See API credentials for the credential types and for Regenerate and Rotate Secret, which apply to both the sandbox and production credentials.

Troubleshooting

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