FEATURES · TEST MODE
A full sandbox, built in.
E-signature test mode in one line: a test key signs watermarked documents and emails only you. Nothing a test key does counts toward a limit, and you can sign a test document yourself with one call.
On every plan, including Free
TEST MODE
Nothing reaches a real inbox. Documents are marked TEST.
What test mode is
Practice runs that behave like the real thing.
Test keys
A key that starts dsk_test_ only does practice runs.
Watermarked
Every test document carries a TEST watermark so nobody mistakes it for a real agreement.
Mail only to you
Test emails go only to you, never to the signer you named.
What stays the same
Same events, same webhooks.
Same API
A test key calls the same operations as a live key.
Same events
Test documents emit the same events, signed the same way, to your webhook.
Not counted
Test documents are left out of usage and billing.
On your laptop
Listen to real events without opening a port.
- listen
- docustay listen forwards signed webhook events to your local server.
- send --test
- Sends a practice document and prints its id.
What it is good for
Check the whole flow before anything real goes out.
Your template
See that fields land where you expect and that each seat is named the way your code names it.
Your webhook receiver
Prove that it verifies a delivery, ignores repeats and answers fast, with real signed events.
Your embedded page
Check that your page handles the form's events, and that your own screens show a finished document.
Why it matters
A practice run should look like a practice run.
Because a test document is emailed only to you, you can send one to a made-up person and read the whole email yourself. It carries a TEST watermark and a [TEST] subject, so nobody mistakes it for a real agreement, and it is left out of usage and billing, so you can practise as much as you like.
When you are ready, switch to a live key, or turn the workspace's test setting off, and the same code sends real documents.
Three ways in
Pick how you switch it on.
1 / 3
A test key
Use an API key that starts dsk_test_ and everything it sends is a practice run.
2 / 3
A send option
Send with test set to true from the app's own send step, for one document.
3 / 3
A workspace setting
Turn on Settings, Documents, Test mode and everything the workspace sends is a practice run until you turn it off.
Test and live
What differs between a test document and a live one.
| Test document | Live document | |
|---|---|---|
| Email goes to | Only the person who sent it, with [TEST] in the subject | The people you named |
| Pages carry | A TEST watermark | No watermark |
| Usage and billing | Left out | Counted |
| A signature | Records nothing as a real signature event | A real signature event |
| Events and webhooks | The same events, signed the same way | The same events |
| Plan needed | Any, including Free | Any |
A practice send
Send a test document in your language.
Every sample below was run against the API's own rules before it was published.
import { Docustay } from "@docustay2026/sdk";
const docustay = new Docustay(process.env.DOCUSTAY_API_KEY, process.env.DOCUSTAY_URL ? { baseUrl: process.env.DOCUSTAY_URL } : {});
const doc = await docustay.sendDocument({
templateId: process.env.DOCUSTAY_TEMPLATE_ID,
parties: [{ seat: "signer_1", name: "Rosa Alvarez", email: "rosa@example.com" }],
});
console.log(doc.id, doc.state);With a test key the document is emailed only to you, so you can name a made-up person and still see the whole flow.
Webhooks
Prove your receiver without a real signature.
Test documents fire the same webhooks as live ones. From your laptop, listen forwards real, signed events to your own server, and trigger asks for a sample of any topic.
- Listen prints the secret to use and forwards each event.
- Verify checks one signature by hand when you give it the three headers and the exact body.
Honest limits
What test mode does, and what it does not.
- Whole flowCheck your template, your webhook receiver and your embedded events
- As often as you likePractice runs never count toward a limit
- Same shapeA send answers in the same shape as a live send
- PaymentsIt does not test payments against real cards
- Real signersIt never emails the person you named
- Live proofA test signature is not a real signature event
Questions
Quick answers.
Is test mode on Free?
Yes. It is on every plan.
Can a test document be sent to a real person?
No. A test key emails only you.
How do I test webhooks?
Use the command line's listen command, or point a test key's webhook at a request catcher.
Does a test signature count as a real one?
No. Signing a test document records nothing as a real signature event, and the document is marked as a practice run on its pages and in the API.
Can I test payments?
Not against real cards. Test mode does not take payments.
Where do I see a document's test flag?
In the API the document carries test: true, and the app marks it with a Test chip and a banner on the signing page.