generated: '2026-08-13'
method: searched
source: https://developers.klaviyo.com/en/docs/create_a_test_account

model: separate-test-account
model_detail: >-
  Klaviyo has NO test-mode key prefix and NO parallel sandbox host. There is one API
  surface (https://a.klaviyo.com) and one key format; isolation is achieved by creating
  a SECOND Klaviyo account and flagging it as a test account. This is materially
  different from a Stripe-style test/live key split — nothing in a request or a key
  tells you which environment you are in, so an agent cannot detect test-vs-live from
  the credential.

test_vs_live_separation:
  key_prefix_differs: false
  host_differs: false
  mode_parameter: false
  detection: >-
    The only way to confirm you are calling a test account is to check which account the
    key belongs to (GET /api/accounts). Klaviyo's own docs make this the first
    troubleshooting step: "If you are using a sandbox account, first check the key is
    associated with your sandbox account."

setup:
  docs: https://developers.klaviyo.com/en/docs/create_a_test_account
  steps:
    - >-
      The account owner signs up for an additional free Klaviyo account using the SAME
      email address and password as the production account but a DIFFERENT company name
      (Klaviyo links the two by the shared credentials).
    - >-
      Convert it: account selector (bottom left) > Settings > Account > Testing >
      "Convert to test account".
    - >-
      A converted test account has the same features and functionality as production,
      with minor visual differences to signal it is a test account.
  cost: free
  api_key: A test account issues its own private API key; there is no shared key.

test_data:
  tool: Sample Data Generation Tool
  docs: https://developers.klaviyo.com/en/v1-2/docs/generate-sample-data
  generates:
    - Klaviyo data (profiles, events)
    - Custom ecommerce integration data
    - Catalog data
  note: Populates a test/sandbox account with data so flows, segments and reports have something to act on.

magic_values:
  published: false
  detail: >-
    Klaviyo publishes NO magic test identifiers — no reserved test email addresses, no
    reserved phone numbers, no simulator values that force a bounce, a delivery failure
    or a specific event outcome. Nothing of that shape was found on the testing docs as
    of 2026-08-13, and none is invented here. Deliverability and SMS behaviour must be
    exercised against real addresses/numbers in a test account.

time_simulation:
  supported: false
  detail: >-
    No test clocks or time-travel tooling. Flow timing, delays and scheduled sends run
    on wall-clock time in a test account exactly as in production. The 2026-07-15
    Events API `backfill` flag lets you write historical events WITHOUT triggering
    flows, which is a migration/replay affordance rather than a time simulator.

webhook_testing:
  detail: >-
    Webhooks are configured per account (POST /api/webhooks), so a test account gets its
    own subscriptions pointed at whatever endpoint you choose. Klaviyo publishes no
    webhook event-trigger/replay tool and no CLI forwarder.

related_safety_controls:
  - control: MCP read-only mode
    detail: >-
      The hosted MCP server accepts ?read-only=true and the local stdio server accepts
      READ_ONLY=true, disabling all write tools. This is the closest thing Klaviyo ships
      to a safe-by-default agent sandbox, and it is the recommended way to point an
      agent at a production account without risk of writes.
    source: https://developers.klaviyo.com/en/docs/klaviyo_mcp_server

x-evidence:
  - {fetched: '2026-08-13', url: 'https://developers.klaviyo.com/en/docs/create_a_test_account', http_status: 200}
  - {fetched: '2026-08-13', url: 'https://developers.klaviyo.com/en/docs/klaviyo_mcp_server', http_status: 200}