generated: '2026-07-20'
method: searched
source: https://docs.prolific.com/api-reference/testing.md + https://docs.prolific.com/documentation/core-concepts/testing-study-set-up.md
summary: >-
  Prolific has no test-vs-live key separation and no synthetic test-payment values — a single
  production API token and base URL are used everywhere. Testing is done with dedicated test
  studies and test participants that do not recruit or charge for real participant work.
test_mode:
  key_separation: none      # one token, no test/live prefix
  base_url: https://api.prolific.com   # same host for testing
mechanisms:
- name: test study
  operation: openapi/prolific-openapi-original.yml#create-test-study      # POST /api/v1/studies/{id}/test-study
  description: Create a test copy of a study to preview and validate the participant experience without live recruitment.
- name: test participant for researcher
  operation: openapi/prolific-openapi-original.yml#create-test-participant-for-researcher  # POST /api/v1/researchers/participants/
  description: Create a test participant so a researcher can run through their own study end-to-end.
caution: >-
  Publishing a real (non-test) study spends real money — participants can start immediately and
  you are charged. The official MCP server flags publish_study as a real-spend action. Never treat
  the production endpoints as a sandbox.
test_values: none   # provider publishes no magic test cards/tokens/identifiers