generated: '2026-08-02'
method: searched
source: https://zero.tidbcloud.com/ , https://play.tidbcloud.com/ , https://docs.pingcap.com/tidbcloud/tidb-cloud-quickstart/
note: PingCAP does not ship a test/live key split or magic test values in the payments sense. Its sandbox story
  is free and disposable real infrastructure. No credential or test value is invented here; only what the provider
  publishes is recorded.
environments:
- name: TiDB Cloud Zero
  url: https://zero.tidbcloud.com/
  kind: ephemeral database, no sign-up
  auth: none — the provisioning API is unauthenticated
  api: openapi/pingcap-tidb-cloud-zero-v1alpha1-openapi-original.json
  base_url: https://zero.tidbapi.com/v1alpha1
  provision: POST /instances
  returns:
  - id
  - name
  - connection.host
  - connection.port
  - connection.username
  - connection.password
  - expiresAt
  - remainingDatabaseQuota
  lifetime: auto-expires after 30 days unless claimed into a TiDB Cloud Starter instance
  tls: 'required — connect with --ssl-mode=REQUIRED or ssl: true'
  agent_skill: skills/pingcap-agent-rules-tidb-cloud-zero.md
- name: TiDB Playground
  url: https://play.tidbcloud.com/
  kind: hosted browser playground
  auth: none — no registration required
  note: Run SQL against a pre-loaded TiDB instance directly in the browser.
- name: TiDB Cloud Starter free tier
  url: https://tidbcloud.com/free-trial
  kind: free managed instance on a real account
  auth: TiDB Cloud account; API access via an organization API key
  note: The zero-cost entry point for exercising the v1beta1 Starter/Essential API end to end.
- name: tiup playground
  url: https://docs.pingcap.com/tidb/stable/quick-start-with-tidb/
  kind: local single-machine TiDB cluster
  command: tiup playground
  note: Local self-managed sandbox for the open-source database and its HTTP/DM APIs.
branching:
  feature: database branches
  docs: https://docs.pingcap.com/tidbcloud/branch-overview/
  api: BranchService_CreateBranch / BranchService_ResetBranch on the Starter and Essential API
  note: Branches give a production-shaped, isolated copy of a database for CI and preview environments — the closest
    thing TiDB Cloud has to a fixture/reset primitive.
test_values: []