generated: '2026-08-04'
method: searched
source: https://developer.opengov.com/docs/using-test-console
docs:
- https://developer.opengov.com/docs/using-test-console
- https://developer.opengov.com/docs/app-management/api-key
- https://developer.opengov.com/docs/quickstart
summary: >-
  OpenGov ships an in-browser API Test Console on every operation page in the API Catalog, but it does NOT
  ship a sandbox in the usual sense: there is no test-mode key prefix, no separate test tenant a developer
  can self-serve, and no magic test values. The console executes against whatever environment the supplied
  credential belongs to, which for most customers is production — the docs repeat a "Caution: Production
  Environment / all actions are live and may affect real data for your community" warning on the console
  page and on the Permitting & Licensing and Enterprise Asset Management overviews.

console:
  present: true
  name: API Test Console
  location: right sidebar "Test" button on every operation page in https://developer.opengov.com/catalog
  auth_methods:
  - logged-in OpenGov user account (select your email address)
  - stored API keys ("Test Console Keys")
  key_storage: browser Local Storage
  key_types:
  - type: Integration API Key
    fields: [label, API key]
    note: automatically added to Test Console Keys on that device when the integration key is created
  - type: Personal API Key
    fields: [label, API key, username]
  content_type_note: For operations with a request body the Content-Type header must be set explicitly —
    usually application/json or application/vnd.api+json depending on the API.
  limitations:
  - api: opengov:enterprise-asset-management
    working: false
    statement: 'The EAM API is not callable within the API Catalog, an external platform is required for
      testing. The "Test" button in the API reference UI does not work for executing actual API calls
      against the EAM API.'
    workaround: Use the reference UI to build and copy the URL, then call it from an external tool.

test_vs_live:
  separated: false
  test_key_prefix: none published
  live_key_prefix: none published
  self_serve_test_tenant: false
  warning_published: true
  warning_text: Be careful when using the production API! All actions are live and may affect real data for
    your community. Double-check your credentials and endpoints before making changes.

non_production_environments:
  note: >-
    Non-production hosts appear in the published OpenAPI servers[] arrays but are internal OpenGov
    environments, not a developer-accessible sandbox. Recorded because they are published, not because they
    are usable by a third party.
  hosts:
  - https://api.plce.ogstaging.us/plce
  - https://api.bnp.ogintegration.us
  - https://api.vendor.ogstaging.us
  - https://api-vendor.procurement.ogintegration.us
  - https://api-purchase-order.procurement.ogstaging.us
  - https://api-purchase-order.procurement.ogintegration.us
  - https://api-receipts.procurement.ogstaging.us
  - https://api-receipts.procurement.ogintegration.us

test_values:
  cards: none — OpenGov is not a card acquirer
  magic_identifiers: none published
  fixtures: none published
  time_simulation: none published
  dry_run:
    supported: true
    mechanism: '`dryRun: boolean` in the request body of Purchase Order state-transition operations
      (purchaseOrder.submit, approve, reject, issue, cancel, close)'
    source: openapi/opengov-purchase-order-openapi.yml
    note: The closest thing OpenGov publishes to a safe-to-run test path — it validates a transition without
      committing it.

access:
  self_serve: false
  requirement: An OpenGov account in a customer entity, plus the Entity Admin role to create integrations.
  no_account_path: https://opengov.com/contact-us/
  docs: https://developer.opengov.com/docs/granting-developer-access
  note: >-
    A developer who is not already inside an OpenGov customer organization cannot obtain credentials at all —
    the only route is a contact-us sales form. The specs, docs and console UI are fully public; the calls
    are not.

gap: >-
  OpenGov documents production danger loudly but offers no safe place to be dangerous. A self-serve sandbox
  community with seeded record types, or test-mode integration keys that route to ogstaging, would let
  integrators build against Permitting & Licensing without touching a real municipality's permit records.