generated: '2026-08-30'
method: searched
source: https://ahasend.com/docs/send-api/sandbox
sources:
  - https://ahasend.com/docs/send-api/sandbox.md
  - https://ahasend.com/docs/smtp/sandbox.md
  - https://ahasend.com/docs/smtp/special-headers.md
  - https://ahasend.com/docs/cli/webhook-testing.md
provider: AhaSend
providerId: ahasend
description: >-
  AhaSend's sandbox mode — a full dry run of the send pipeline that validates, parses and fires
  every webhook but stops before delivery. Available on every plan, including Free, and never
  charged against the monthly email allowance.
available: true
cost: free — sandbox sends do not consume email credits on any plan
covers: [api-v2, smtp]
modes:
  - id: dedicated-sandbox-credential
    description: >-
      Create an API v2 credential in Sandbox mode. Every send made with it is simulated, which
      makes accidental production sends from a test environment structurally impossible.
  - id: switchable-credential-mode
    description: >-
      Flip an existing API v2 credential between Production and Sandbox in the dashboard. Takes
      effect immediately.
  - id: per-request-parameter
    description: >-
      Send `"sandbox": true` in the message body with a production credential. The parameter wins
      over the credential's own mode.
    request_field: sandbox
    request_field_type: boolean
  - id: smtp
    description: >-
      The same simulation is available over the SMTP relay, driven by SMTP credentials created in
      sandbox mode and by AhaSend's special email headers.
outcome_simulation:
  parameter: sandbox_result
  applies_to: API v2 message requests
  values:
    - value: deliver
      simulates: Successful delivery (default)
    - value: bounce
      simulates: Hard bounce
    - value: defer
      simulates: Temporary delivery deferral
    - value: fail
      simulates: Permanent delivery failure
    - value: suppress
      simulates: Blocked by the suppression list
  note: >-
    Each simulated outcome fires the matching webhook events, so a consumer can exercise a whole
    event-handling pipeline without sending mail.
what_happens:
  - Message is validated and parsed exactly as in production
  - Webhooks fire, including representative `delivery_attempt` details
  - Message appears in dashboard delivery logs
  - No SMTP delivery is attempted
  - No credit is consumed
fidelity_caveats:
  - >-
    Delivery-attempt diagnostics are synthetic because no destination mail server was contacted;
    AhaSend states a sandbox classification may not agree with the sample SMTP code or response
    text it carries.
test_values:
  test_cards: null
  test_accounts: null
  note: >-
    Nothing to fabricate here — AhaSend publishes no fixture credentials, magic addresses or test
    tokens. Sandbox works against the caller's own verified domain and any recipient address,
    because nothing is delivered. No published test value is recorded because none exists.
key_prefixes:
  live: aha-sk-
  test: aha-sk-
  note: >-
    Sandbox and production keys share the aha-sk- prefix; the mode is a property of the credential
    in the dashboard, not something visible in the key string. An agent cannot tell a sandbox key
    from a live key by inspection — worth knowing before wiring a key into an automated flow.
time_simulation:
  supported: false
  note: No test clock. Scheduled sends are real-time (schedule.first_attempt within 7 days).
local_tooling:
  - name: CLI webhook listener
    description: Stream live webhook events to localhost during development.
    docs: https://ahasend.com/docs/cli/webhook-testing.md
  - name: CLI route listener
    description: Stream inbound routed messages to a local handler.
    docs: https://ahasend.com/docs/cli/route-testing.md
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com