Overview
The Grid sandbox environment allows you to test your rewards integration without moving real money or cryptocurrency. All API endpoints work the same way in sandbox as they do in production, but transactions are simulated and you can control test scenarios using special test values.Getting Started with Sandbox
Sandbox Credentials
To use the sandbox environment:- Go to app.lightspark.com, create an account, and generate your sandbox API keys from the dashboard.
- Add your sandbox API token and secret to your environment variables.
- Use the normal production base URL:
https://api.lightspark.com/grid/2025-10-13 - Authenticate using your sandbox token with HTTP Basic Auth
Simulating Money Movements
Funding Platform Internal Accounts
In production, your platform’s internal account is funded by following the payment instructions (bank transfer, wire, etc.). In sandbox, you can instantly add funds to your platform’s internal account using the following endpoint:InternalAccount object with the new balance. You’ll also receive an ACCOUNT_STATUS webhook showing the balance change.
In production, ACH transfers typically take 1-3 business days to settle. In sandbox, funding is instant.
Testing Reward Distributions
Testing Successful Bitcoin Rewards
The standard reward flow works seamlessly in sandbox. First create the destination external account, then create and execute a quote to instantly convert USD to BTC:- The USD is instantly debited from your platform’s internal account
- Bitcoin is “purchased” at a simulated exchange rate
- The Bitcoin is delivered to the Spark wallet address. In sandbox, BTC funds are regtest funds so that they’re compatible with real regtest spark wallets.
- You receive an
OUTGOING_PAYMENTwebhook notification
In sandbox, Bitcoin transfers complete instantly on regtest. In production, Spark wallet transfers typically complete within seconds.
Testing Wallet Address Failures
Use special Spark wallet address patterns to test different failure scenarios. The last 3 digits of the wallet address determine the test behavior:
Example - Testing Wallet Unavailable:
- 002: Insufficient funds (transfer-in will fail)
- 004: Transfer rejected (bank rejects the transfer)
Testing Customer Onboarding
Sandbox KYB Flow
In sandbox, the KYB onboarding process is simplified to always use the/customers endpoint instead of the KYB link flow.
Testing Insufficient Balance
To test insufficient balance scenarios, simply attempt to send more than your platform’s internal account balance:Testing Webhooks
All webhook events fire normally in sandbox. To test your webhook endpoint:- Configure your webhook URL in the dashboard
- Perform actions that trigger webhooks (funding accounts, executing quotes, etc.)
- Receive webhook events at your endpoint
- Verify signature using the sandbox public key
Common Testing Workflows
Complete Reward Distribution Test
Here’s a complete test workflow for distributing a $1.00 Bitcoin reward:-
Fund your platform’s internal account:
-
Create a test customer:
-
Execute a reward quote:
-
Verify completion via webhook (
OUTGOING_PAYMENTevent) -
Check transaction history:
Testing Error Scenarios
Test each failure mode systematically. First create external accounts with test address patterns, then use them in quotes:Global Account magic values
The Grid sandbox accepts a small set of magic values that bypass real auth and credential checks for Global Account flows, so you can exercise the full request shape without standing up Turnkey, WebAuthn, or an OIDC provider. These values are sandbox-only — production enforces real signature verification, WebAuthn assertion, and OIDC nonce binding. A wrong magic value (or any other value) returns401 UNAUTHORIZED with a reason field that names the specific check that failed.
Email OTP code
Pass000000 as the body otp on POST /auth/credentials/{id}/verify when the credential type is EMAIL_OTP. The sandbox skips OTP delivery and accepts this value as a valid response to the issued challenge.
401 UNAUTHORIZED with reason: "Invalid OTP code".
Passkey assertion signature
Passsandbox-valid-passkey-signature as assertion.signature on POST /auth/credentials/{id}/verify when the credential type is PASSKEY. The sandbox accepts the rest of the assertion as-is and skips the WebAuthn signature check.
Passkey reauthentication is a two-step /challenge → /verify flow. The clientPublicKey is sent on /challenge (so Grid can seal the session signing key to your device) — the magic value bypasses the credential check, not the HPKE plumbing, so the public key is still required.
401 UNAUTHORIZED with reason: "Invalid passkey signature".
OAuth (OIDC) token
Passsandbox-valid-oidc-token as the body oidcToken on both POST /auth/credentials (OAUTH create) and POST /auth/credentials/{id}/verify (OAUTH).
401 UNAUTHORIZED with reason: "Invalid OIDC token".
OAUTH create still requires a JWT-shaped token. On the initial
POST /auth/credentials (OAUTH create), the oidcToken must be a structurally valid JWT (header.payload.signature) so Grid can decode the iss claim and resolve the provider name. The literal sandbox-valid-oidc-token works on verify but not on create — for create, sign your own dummy JWT with any payload that includes a recognized iss claim. The sandbox bypasses signature verification, not JWT structure parsing.Wallet signature header
Passsandbox-valid-signature as the Grid-Wallet-Signature HTTP header on any signed-retry flow:
POST /auth/credentials(add-additional-credential signed retry)DELETE /auth/credentials/{id}(revoke credential)DELETE /auth/sessions/{id}(revoke session)POST /internal-accounts/{id}/export(export wallet)POST /quotes/{quoteId}/execute(when source is an embedded wallet)
401 UNAUTHORIZED with reason: "Invalid Grid-Wallet-Signature".
Sandbox Limitations
While sandbox closely mimics production, there are some differences:- Instant settlement: All Bitcoin transfers complete instantly (success cases) or fail immediately (error cases), except timeout scenarios (005)
- Uses Regtest funds: Spark bitcoin funds are regtest funds so that they’re compatible with real regtest spark wallets.
- Simplified KYB: KYB processes are simulated and complete instantly with automatic approval
- Fixed exchange rates: Currency conversion rates may not reflect real-time market rates
Moving to Production
When you’re ready to move to production:- Generate production API tokens in the dashboard
- Swap those credentials for the sandbox credentials in your environment variables
- Remove any sandbox-specific test patterns from your code (magic number wallet addresses)
- Configure production webhook endpoints
- Test with small reward amounts first (1.00)
- Gradually increase volume as you gain confidence
Next Steps
- Review Webhooks for event handling
- Check out the Postman Collection for API examples
- See Platform Configuration for production settings