Environments
sslcertificates.io is a production platform with two customer execution environments: Test and Live. Environment is selected by API key and dashboard mode, not by a second hostname.
The platform is production
sslcertificates.io is a live customer service. Test and Live describe the effects of your operations, not product maturity. There is no sandbox platform and no separate API host. Both environments use https://sslcertificates.io/api/v1.
Test mode
New organizations start in Test. A Test API key (sk_test_…) creates and reads only Test resources. Let’s Encrypt Test uses the official Staging directory. Staging certificates are real ACME certificates that are not publicly trusted.
Live mode
Live mode performs real production operations. A Live API key (sk_live_…) creates and reads only Live resources. Let’s Encrypt Live uses the official Production directory and issues publicly trusted certificates. The first Owner or Admin switch explains this once and is remembered.
Environment is inferred from the API key
Do not send environment=live in JSON to upgrade a Test key. A mismatch returns 422 ENVIRONMENT_MISMATCH. Cross-environment reads return 404 and do not leak that the other resource exists.
Test is not “no side effects”
Test isolates sslcertificates.io inventory. Third-party APIs may still be real. A Test Cloudflare or Route 53 connection can create real DNS records in the zone you configure. Deployment targets must also be Test; a Test certificate is not silently installed on a Live host.
Related
Quickstart /docs/quickstart. Let’s Encrypt /docs/integrations/certificate-authorities/lets-encrypt. Rate limits /docs/integrations/certificate-authorities/lets-encrypt/rate-limits.