generated: '2026-08-04'
method: searched
source: >-
  https://support.cordial.com/hc/en-us/articles/24971200437645-Test-messages,
  openapi/_original/cordial-v2-openapi-original.json,
  https://api.cordial.io/docs/v2/

separate_environment: false
test_credentials: false
test_mode_keys: false

note: >-
  Cordial publishes NO sandbox account, no test/live key separation, no test-mode prefix, and no
  fixture or magic-value system. There are no test contacts, no simulator identifiers, and no test
  clock. What it does publish is in-product test-send tooling that operates against LIVE account data.
  This is recorded honestly rather than as a sandbox: an integrator cannot exercise Cordial's write
  surface without touching a real account and real contacts.

warning_from_provider: >-
  The hosted Swagger console states that authenticating with an account API key and making calls
  "will directly affect your production" account — the provider's own words on the v1 console.

what_exists:
- name: Test message sends
  type: in-product
  docs: https://support.cordial.com/hc/en-us/articles/24971200437645-Test-messages
  operations: [sendTestSingleBatch]
  path: PUT /v2/batchmessages/{id}/sendtest
  description: >-
    Sends a batch message to a nominated test recipient rather than the message's audience. The
    message and the contacts involved are real; only the audience is narrowed.

- name: Draft sends
  type: in-product
  operations: [sentDraftMessage]
  path: POST /v2/automationtemplates/{key}/senddraft
  description: Sends the DRAFT (unpublished) version of an automation template, so an unpublished change can be exercised without publishing it.

- name: Render preview without sending
  type: in-product
  operations: [renderPreviewSingleBatch, renderPreviewAutomationtemplate, renderPublishedAutomationtemplate]
  paths:
  - GET /v2/batchmessages/{id}/renderedwip/{contactID}
  - GET /v2/automationtemplates/{key}/renderdraft/{contactID}
  - GET /v2/automationtemplates/{key}/renderpublished/{contactID}
  description: >-
    Renders message content for a specified real contact and returns it WITHOUT sending. The closest
    thing Cordial has to a dry run, and the safest way to validate personalization logic.

- name: Audience count without saving
  type: in-product
  operations: [audiencecount]
  path: POST /v2/audiencecount
  description: Evaluates an ad-hoc audience rule set and returns the count without persisting an audience. Non-destructive by construction.

- name: Hosted Swagger console
  type: interactive
  url: https://api.cordial.io/docs/v2/
  description: >-
    A custom Swagger UI 5.x build with an API-key box in the header that applies HTTP Basic
    preauthorization. Calls execute against the live account. Also available for v1 at
    https://api.cordial.io/docs/v1/.
  note: Counts as an interactive console, not a sandbox.

- name: Inbox placement tests
  type: in-product
  docs: https://support.cordial.com/hc/en-us/articles/115008406788-Send-inbox-placement-tests
  description: Deliverability seed-list testing, not an API sandbox.

- name: CLI dry affordances
  type: tooling
  description: '`cosdk --json` for machine-readable output and `--yes` to skip write confirmations — implying interactive confirmation on writes by default. `--verbose` logs HTTP request/response for debugging.'

not_published:
  test_api_keys: 'No test-mode key, no key prefix distinguishing test from live.'
  sandbox_account: 'No self-serve sandbox or developer account. Access requires a sales conversation (https://cordial.com/contact-us/).'
  magic_values: 'No magic email addresses, phone numbers or identifiers that simulate bounces, failures or opt-outs.'
  test_clock: 'No time simulation for testing scheduled sends, quiet hours or frequency caps.'
  fixtures: 'No fixture or seed-data tooling.'
  event_triggers: 'No way to synthetically fire a system event (open, click, bounce) for webhook testing.'

impact: >-
  The absence of an event-trigger facility is the sharpest practical gap: Cordial documents 41 system
  events and a configurable webhook surface, but gives an integrator no supported way to make one fire
  on demand. Testing a webhook consumer means sending real mail to a real contact and waiting for a
  real open.

x-evidence:
  fetched: '2026-08-04'
  probes:
  - {url: 'https://api.cordial.io/docs/v2/', http_status: 200, note: 'Swagger UI shell with live-account auth box.'}
  - {url: 'https://api.cordial.io/docs/v1/api-docs.php', http_status: 200, note: 'info.description warns calls "will directly affect your production" account.'}
  spec_scan: 'No parameter, path or securityDefinition in either document references a test/sandbox mode.'