> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.usecleff.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Environments

> Sandbox and production run in parallel, fully isolated, selected by the credential. Never by a parameter.

Every Business operates in two parallel environments simultaneously:

* **Sandbox**: provider calls are routed to mock implementations. No money
  moves, no fees accrue. Open to every Business from the moment its email is
  verified.
* **Production**: provider calls are real and money moves. Unlocked only once
  the Business's verification (KYB) is approved. See [Go live](/go-live).

Both environments hold the same kinds of data (beneficiaries, bank accounts,
payouts, webhook subscriptions, reports) as two disjoint sets. Nothing you
create in sandbox exists in production, and vice versa.

## The credential selects the environment

There is no environment parameter anywhere in the API. The environment comes
from the credential making the call:

```
ck_sandbox_a3f9bc12_<secret>      →  every call reads and writes sandbox data
ck_production_a3f9bc12_<secret>   →  every call reads and writes production data
```

A key is bound to one Business and one environment at issuance. A sandbox key
cannot read or modify production rows; a cross-environment (or cross-tenant)
fetch returns `404`, because the row is simply not visible to that credential.
The same rule applies to dashboard sessions, which carry an environment toggle.

This design removes an entire class of integration bug: there is no request
that accidentally targets the wrong environment, because the environment is
not writable per request.

## What sandbox is for

Sandbox is a full copy of the platform against fake providers. The complete
payout loop works (funding, beneficiary registration, approval, dispatch,
disbursement confirmation, webhooks, reporting), with the sandbox provider
confirming disbursements so payouts reach terminal states. Two things differ
from production by design:

* The sandbox wallet holds test money: it is provisioned when your business
  profile is completed, and
  [`POST /v1/business/funding-account/sandbox-balance`](/api-reference/funding-sandbox-balance)
  sets it to whatever you like. That endpoint is rejected outside sandbox.
* Beneficiary-facing emails sent from sandbox carry a sandbox banner.

Build and test your whole integration in sandbox first; going live is then a
credential swap plus a real funding path, not a rewrite.