Setup Sandbox Account

Learn how to setup a sandbox account on ShipBob

Our sandbox accounts allow you to test your integration with realistic, production-like data. Think of it as a practice run - everything works like the real thing, but no actual shipments are made.

Our sandbox accounts are separate environments and data cannot be transferred over to production.

Step 1: Create sandbox account

• Sign up for our Sandbox environment, here.
• Validate your email address to activate your account.

Step 2: Add a test payment method

Add a test payment method so when you create new orders the orders do not go OnHold due to payment failure.

1. Navigate to Finances > Payment Methods in the ShipBob dashboard
2. Click Link Credit Card.
3. Enter the following details:
   • Card Number: 4111 1111 1111 1111
   • CVC: Any 3-digit number
   • Expiration Date: Any future MM/YY
   • Zip Code: Any valid zip code
4. Click Add Credit Card.

Credit card entry form

Step 3: Get API key

ShipBob verifies a user’s request by using a Bearer token in the header. We call this a Personal Access Token.

On the ShipBob dashboard, go to Integrations > API Tokens. Click Generate New Token. Copy this token as we will use in next step.

Step 4: Make your first API request

Use your PAT token to make a request to the GET Channels endpoint. You will need the channel ID to create products, orders and returns with the ShipBob API.

GET https://sandbox-api.shipbob.com/2025-07/channel

Example response

The channel ID to use when creating products, orders and returns would be 100102 since this is the channel that has scopes with _write access.

GET Channel 2.0/channel

[
  {
    "id": 100102,
    "name": "Privileged Access Token Wednesday, September 20, 2025",
    "application_name": "SMA",
    "scopes": [
      "fulfillments_write",
      "webhooks_read",
      "returns_read",
      "orders_read",
      "inventory_write",
      "inventory_read",
      "returns_write",
      "products_read",
      "webhooks_write",
      "receiving_write",
      "receiving_read",
      "channels_read",
      "products_write",
      "locations_read",
      "orders_write",
      "fulfillments_read",
      "locations_write"
    ]
  },
  {
    "id": 100101,
    "name": "ShipBob Default",
    "application_name": "ShipBob",
    "scopes": [
      "webhooks_read",
      "returns_read",
      "orders_read",
      "inventory_read",
      "products_read",
      "receiving_read",
      "channels_read",
      "locations_read",
      "fulfillments_read"
    ]
  }
]

Step 5: Create product

Below is a sample request to create a product:

Make sure to pass the shipbob_channel_id in the header.

POST sandbox-api.shipbob.com/2025-07/product

{
  "name": "Light Roast Coffee",
  "type_id": 1,
  "variants": [
    {
      "name": "Light Roast Coffee",
      "sku": "LIGHT-ROAST",
      "packaging_requirement_id": 1,
      "packaging_material_type_id": 1
    }
  ]
}

Step 6: Create Order

Below is a sample request to create a order:

Make sure to pass the shipbob_channel_id in the header.

POST https://sandbox-api.shipbob.com/2025-07/order

{
  "shipping_method": "Standard",
  "recipient": {
    "name": "John Doe",
    "address": {
      "address1": "100 Nowhere Blvd",
      "address2": "Suite 100",
      "city": "Gotham City",
      "state": "NJ",
      "country": "US",
      "zip_code": "07093"
    },
    "email": "[e-mail]",
    "phone_number": "555-555-5555"
  },
  "products": [
    {
      "reference_id": "LIGHT-ROAST",
      "name": "Light Roast Coffee",
      "quantity": 1,
    }
  ],
  "reference_id": "840343901234", // the reference_id can be the same as the order_number
  "order_number": "1001",
  "type": "DTC",
}

You can also test making this request in our API Playground here.

Step 7: Add inventory

If you want to add test inventory quantities to your products please email [e-mail] with your request and the email tied to your Sandbox account.

Step 8: Add packaging preferences (optional)

Set these up in the ShipBob dashboard under Products > [Your Product] > Packaging Preferences.

If you are using the 1.0/product endpoint you have to do this manually for each product in your sandbox account.

✅ Next Steps

Ready to test fulfillment workflows?

Check out our Sandbox Simulations guide to simulate order shipping and delivery events in your sandbox environment.