Live and test environments
What distinguishes a test key from a live key, what happens to orders sent with a test key, and how to develop without creating data.
Two kinds of keys
Every access has an environment, chosen by the shop operator when the access is created:
| Environment | Key starts with |
|---|---|
| Live | omn_live_ |
| Test | omn_test_ |
The environment is fixed for the lifetime of the access. Renewing a key keeps it. Changing live to test in a key, or the other way round, makes the key invalid (401).
GET /ping shows the environment of the key you are using in client.environment.
Same shop, same address
A test key works against the same shop and the same base URL as a live key, for example https://shop.example.com/api/v1. Each shop has its own address. If the operator gives you access to a separate test shop, that shop has its own address and issues its own keys.
What a test key changes
Orders sent with a test key are real orders in the shop. They are created like any other order, and the order history notes that the order came in through a test access. Everything that normally follows an order also runs: stock is reserved, and the shop’s usual processes (for example the order confirmation) start.
Customers created or matched through a test key are real customers as well.
Agree with the operator on how test orders are handled, for example a dedicated test customer and cancelling test orders after each test run.
Developing without creating data
To check your payloads while you build the integration, use POST /orders/validate. It runs the same checks as creating an order but creates nothing: no order, no customer, no stock reservation. See Validate an order.
A practical sequence:
- Develop against
POST /orders/validateuntil your payloads pass. - Send a few orders with a test key and check them together with the operator.
- Switch to the live key. See the Go-live checklist.
Keeping keys apart
Store test and live keys separately, for example in different environment variables or secret entries, and make sure your production system can only read the live key. Log client.environment from GET /ping at startup so you can see which key a deployment is using.