> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.skillsdb.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Testing Your Integration

> Develop against staging with a staging-tenant key — there is no separate test mode

<Info>
  **Quick Summary:** There is no test mode and no test-key prefix. Develop against the staging server with a key created in a staging tenant, prove the connection with `/ping`, and hold write scopes back until you need them.
</Info>

## One key format, two environments

Every key uses the same `sdb_live_` prefix — a key is "test" or "production" only by virtue of **which tenant issued it**. A key issued in a production tenant performs real operations on real data; nothing about the key stops you.

The safe setup is a dedicated staging tenant: ask your SkillsDB contact for one, then create an API key there under **Settings → API Credentials** exactly as you would in production. The staging server is part of the [OpenAPI document](/api-docs/rest/client-libraries):

```bash theme={null}
curl https://staging.skillsdbnext.com/api/v1/ping \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sdb_live_YOUR_KEY_HERE"
```

`/ping` needs a valid key but no scope — it is the first call to make in any new environment.

## Habits that pay off

* **Start with read-only scopes.** Grant `careers:read`, `people:read` and friends while you develop; add `:write` scopes only when you start writing. `:write` never implies `:read`, so nothing is lost by starting narrow.
* **Send [Idempotency-Key](/api-docs/rest/idempotency) from day one.** Retry behavior is part of your integration, not a production afterthought.
* **Build against the `RateLimit-*` headers** now, while [limits](/api-docs/rest/rate-limits) are measured but not enforced.

<Warning>
  **Warning:** Staging sends real email. A write that produces notifications — assigning a career, granting a learning — will email the affected people in the staging tenant. Seed staging with addresses you control, not your workforce's.
</Warning>