Environments & Base URLs

Bead offers two runtime environments—Sandbox and Production—so you can develop safely and then move to live traffic with a simple base-URL switch.

Environment
Purpose
REST API base URL
OAuth token URL*
Notes

Sandbox

Functional testing, staging data, integration QA

https://api.test.devs.beadpay.io

https://identity.test.devs.beadpay.io/oauth/token

Lower rate limits; crypto endpoints settle to testnets; data wiped every 30 days.

Production

Live merchant traffic, real settlement

https://api.beadpay.io

https://identity.beadpay.io/oauth/token

Full monitoring & alerting; irreversible monetary movement.

*OAuth URLs assume you are using the client-credentials flow described in the Authentication guide.

Switching environments

  1. Point your OAuth client at the matching token URL (sandbox vs. prod).

  2. Change the API host in your HTTP client.

  3. Keep all paths (/Merchants/..., /Locations/..., etc.) identical—no version suffixes or query toggles required.

# Sandbox example
export BEAD_API=https://api.test.devs.beadpay.io
export TOKEN_URL=https://identity.test.devs.beadpay.io/oauth/token

# Production example
# export BEAD_API=https://api.beadpay.io
# export TOKEN_URL=https://identity.beadpay.io/oauth/token

All SDK samples in this guide default to Sandbox. Replace the host strings to go live.

TLS & firewall rules

  • Only HTTPS (TCP 443) is accepted; plain HTTP is rejected.

  • Certificates use RSA-2048 and modern ciphersuites; minimum TLS 1.2.

  • Outbound webhook IP ranges are published in the Webhook Event Reference page.

Environment-specific differences

Area
Sandbox
Production

Rate limits

2× higher burst allowance for fast QA

Stricter; can be raised per contract

Tender types

Includes test-only crypto networks

Mainnet and real card rails only

Data retention

Auto-purged after 180 days

Full audit history

Refer to each endpoint’s detail page for any additional caveats.

Next steps

  • Obtain separate OAuth credentials for each environment.

  • Whitelist the production IP ranges in your firewall before go-live.

  • Review the Rate Limits & Throttling page to verify your integration handles 429 responses gracefully.

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