Test mode

Use an rs_test_ key to run posts through every check without publishing or using uploads, and the sandbox network to rehearse results and failures.

A test key starts with rs_test_ instead of rs_live_. Posts made with it go through every check a live post gets, then stop short of the network: nothing is published, and nothing counts against your monthly uploads. Use it while you build, in CI, and in staging.

Create one in the dashboard under Developers → API keys, choosing a test key. It works with the same base URL, SDKs and workspace as your live keys.

curl -X POST https://api.reelspan.com/v1/posts/text \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $REELSPAN_TEST_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"user": "my-brand", "platform": ["x", "linkedin"], "title": "Only a test"}'

import { Reelspan } from 'reelspan';

const reelspan = new Reelspan({ apiKey: process.env.REELSPAN_TEST_KEY });
const post = await reelspan.posts.text({ user: 'my-brand', platforms: ['x', 'linkedin'], title: 'Only a test' });

import os
from reelspan import Reelspan

reelspan = Reelspan(api_key=os.environ["REELSPAN_TEST_KEY"])
post = reelspan.posts.text("my-brand", ["x", "linkedin"], "Only a test")

What a test post does

Everything up to the moment of publishing is real:

Your fields are validated, media is uploaded or downloaded and checked for type and size against your plan, and network rules that run before publishing apply (for example YouTube needs a title, Pinterest a board).
The profile must exist and the key must be allowed to use it.
Each network must have an account connected to the profile and in good standing, as for a live post. A network with no account is skipped with profile_platform_mapping_invalid, exactly as it would be live.
Scheduling, the queue and repeats work: a scheduled test post waits for its time, then is simulated.

Then, instead of sending it to the network, Reelspan marks each network as published:

{
  "success": true,
  "request_id": "9b1f6c2e8a3d4f50b7e1c9a2d6f3e8b1",
  "results": {
    "x": { "success": true, "url": null, "post_id": "test_post_…", "test": true, "message": "Test mode: not sent to the network" },
    "linkedin": { "success": true, "url": null, "post_id": "test_post_…", "test": true, "message": "Test mode: not sent to the network" }
  }
}

url is null and post_id starts with test_, because no real post exists.
Post status for the request includes "test": true.
The post appears in your history and dashboard like any other, and upload_completed webhooks are sent for it, so you can test your webhook handler end to end.
No upload is counted, so test posts work past the Free plan's monthly limit. Cancelling a scheduled test post refunds nothing because nothing was taken.

What is not simulated

A test post stops before anything network-specific happens, so it can't tell you whether the network would accept the post. These are only found out by a live post:

the network's own limits on size, length, duration and format, and any processing errors;
whether the connected account's token still works (Reelspan only checks the account is marked active);
network options such as a TikTok privacy level the account can't use;
first comments, which are never sent.

The sandbox network

sandbox is a pretend network that needs no connected account. Add it to platform[] on video, photo or text posts. It reads the media like a real network would and "publishes" at once.

curl -X POST https://api.reelspan.com/v1/posts/video \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $REELSPAN_TEST_KEY" \
  -F "user=my-brand" \
  -F "platform[]=sandbox" \
  -F "title=Pipeline check" \
  -F "[email protected]"

With a test key, a sandbox post is simulated like any other network: url is null, and nothing counts.

With a live key, the sandbox runs for real, and these fields let you rehearse outcomes:

Field	Effect
(none)	Succeeds with a URL like `https://sandbox.reelspan.com/p/…`, plus `bytes_received`, `caption` and, for photos, `photos_received` in its result.
`sandbox_fail=true`	Fails for good with `error_code: sandbox_rejected`. Use it to test your failure handling and Retry.
`sandbox_fail=retryable`	Fails with a temporary error (`sandbox_unavailable`), which Reelspan retries automatically before reporting it as failed.
`sandbox_delay_ms`	Waits this long (up to 120,000 ms) before finishing, to test async posts and polling.

A sandbox post made with a live key counts as an upload against your plan, like any other network. Use a test key when you only want to check the request.

Limits

A workspace can send 500 test posts a day (each request counts once, whatever the number of networks). The count resets at midnight UTC. Past it, test posts get 429 with error_code: TEST_LIMIT.
Test keys share the workspace's rate limit with its live keys.
A test key only changes how posts are published. Every other call it makes is real: creating or deleting a profile, connecting an account, setting a webhook or using AI caption credits works exactly as with a live key.
Dashboard sessions and MCP clients signed in with OAuth always post live.

Something unclear or missing? Write to [email protected] and we’ll fix the page.