Sandbox Testing

All zDirect Platform APIs support sandbox requests.

Sandbox testing is essential to preventing mistakes that can cause serious problems for your business. We strongly recommend all developers use the sandbox environment to verify your code before making calls in the production environment.

zDirect APIs in the sandbox environment respond as closely to production calls as possible, but in some cases it is not possible to respond in exactly the same way. For example, data written to most sandbox APIs is not persisted or propagated.

For more information on the specific sandbox behavior of each API, see the Overview page of each API in the API Reference. The Overview pages describe sandbox behavior as well as information on rate limiting and client scope access requirements.

Making Sandbox Calls

To make calls to the sandbox environment:

  1. Set your application to sandbox mode in the zDirect Portal, and
  2. Use the base URL api-sandbox.merchants.zalando.com for all sandbox requests.

Warning

If you send a call to the production environment using an app configured for sandbox mode, you will receive an HTTP 403 "Access Forbidden" response.

Setting your App to Sandbox or Production Mode

All apps may be configured to sandbox mode or production mode in the zDirect Portal. All apps are set to sandbox mode by default when they are first created.

To set your app to sandbox or production mode, or to check which mode it is in:

  1. Navigate to the Applications section of the zDirect Portal.
  2. Click on the app you wish to configure. You will see a prominent message on the top of the page telling you if the app is set to sandbox mode or production mode.
  3. Select Activate Sandbox Mode to set the app to sandbox mode, or
  4. Select Deactivate Sandbox Mode to set the app to production mode.
  5. After switching to Production mode, please make sure to request a new access token. Not doing so will result in a 403 Forbidden error.

Warning

If you set an app in production to sandbox mode, it will lose connection to live data and ongoing business processes may be interrupted. Use with caution.

Sandbox and Production Environments

Environment Base URL Description
Production https://api.merchants.zalando.com Production environment; cannot be accessed by sandbox clients.
Sandbox https://api-sandbox.merchants.zalando.com Testing environment; accessible to sandbox and production clients.

The production environment is only available after the Go Live stage of integration.

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