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Every API key belongs to one app and one mode, and the mode decides who your agent can reach.

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Rules

  • Nothing in test mode reaches a real contact unless that person joined the sandbox through your app. Build and test freely.
  • The modes never mix. Every object has livemode. A test key cannot see live data or use a live sender (403 permission), and webhook endpoints receive only their own mode’s events.
  • A key is shown once, when it is issued, and stored only as a hash. Get a test key with no account in one call (curl -X POST https://api.flow.engineer/v1/sandbox/keys, or npx @flow-engineer/messaging init); signed in, you make live keys (fk_live_...) in the dashboard for your own Telegram bot (iMessage lines are arranged with the Flow team; WhatsApp is not available yet). Signed-in people create and revoke keys in the dashboard; otherwise ask the Flow team to revoke a key if it leaks.
  • Test mode has a sandbox allowance. Without an account: 1 contact, 50 messages in total, and the key expires after 7 days (api_key.expires_at). Signed in with GitHub: 3 contacts, 100 messages each, no expiry, one allowance per person shared by all their apps. It covers the Telegram sandbox (and WhatsApp when its sandbox opens), not iMessage, and counts only messages your agent sends. GET /v1/app returns what is left (allowance). See Keys and sign-in.
  • Keep live keys on your server. Never ship a key in a web page or a mobile app.

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Going from test to live

Your code does not change. Connect your own Telegram bot (or have the Flow team connect an iMessage line), switch FLOW_MESSAGING_KEY to a live key, and register your webhook endpoint again with the live key. See Going live.