# Test mode

> Build and test your integration on simulated calls: test keys, test numbers, what is simulated, what test mode shares with live mode, and its limits.

A test key (`mv_test_sk_…`) runs the same API on **simulated calls**. Calls go to a virtual carrier instead of the phone network; speech recognition, the language model and the voice are simulated; and nothing is billed. Use test mode to build your integration and to test it, in CI too, without a phone line and without AI spend. When it works, a live key (`mv_live_sk_…`) runs the same code on real calls.

Create a test key in **Developers › API keys** with **Mode** set to **Test** (see [authentication](https://docs.morevoice.ai/get-started/authentication/#create-a-key)).

> **Switched on per organisation during the beta**
>
> Until test mode is on for your organisation, the dashboard says so and test keys answer `403` with the code [`test_mode_disabled`](https://docs.morevoice.ai/guides/errors-and-limits/#test-mode-disabled).

## What test mode does differently

| | Live mode | Test mode |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Calls | Real calls over your SIP connections | A virtual carrier with [test numbers](#test-numbers); no phone network is ever reached |
| Speech recognition, AI model, voice | The real providers | Simulated; the post-call summary and quality score are fixed stand-ins |
| Billing | Rated and billed | Never billed |
| Calls, campaigns, contacts, events, webhook endpoints | Live objects (`"livemode": true`) | Separate test objects (`"livemode": false`): each mode sees only its own |
| Assistants, flows, inbound routes, queues, knowledge base | Shared by both modes | Shared by both modes |
| SIP connections, the do-not-call list, consents | Available | Live only. Test keys can read the do-not-call list and consents; anything else answers `403` with the code [`live_only`](https://docs.morevoice.ai/guides/errors-and-limits/#live-only) |
| Webhooks | Sent to live endpoints | Sent to test endpoints only |
| Limits | Your plan's | Fewer calls at once and per day, and half the request rate |

Every object of the API has a `livemode` field, so you can always tell which mode it belongs to. A test key can't touch a live object, nor a live key a test one: that answers `403` with the code [`livemode_mismatch`](https://docs.morevoice.ai/guides/errors-and-limits/#livemode-mismatch).

## Test numbers

In test mode every call goes to the virtual carrier. These numbers make it behave like the real world, so you can test every path of your code:

| Number | What happens |
| --- | --- |
| `+972500000001` | Answers. A simulated caller talks for a few turns, then hangs up. |
| `+972500000002` | Busy. The call ends without being answered. |
| `+972500000003` | An answering machine answers (`answered_by: "machine"`). |
| `+972500000004` | On the do-not-call list: the request is refused before anything is dialled, with a `compliance_error`. |
| `+972500000005` | Rings with no answer for 30 seconds. |
| `+972500000006` | The carrier fails. |
| Any other number | Answers, like `+972500000001`. |

The same behaviours answer on `+15005550001` to `+15005550006` if you prefer North American numbers. On `+972500000003`, answering-machine detection runs even when your call or assistant has it off, so `answered_by` is always set; with `amd.on_machine: "leave_message"` the assistant leaves its message after the beep.

To test inbound calls, create a sandbox number (`POST /v1/phone_numbers` with a test key, pointing at your assistant) and have a simulated caller dial it with `POST /v1/test_helpers/inbound_calls`. `POST /v1/test_helpers/events` sends a sample event to your test-mode webhook endpoints.

The caller's lines come from a script and the assistant's from a simulated model, so a test call reads like a test, not like a real conversation. The [quickstart](https://docs.morevoice.ai/get-started/quickstart/) places one.

> **Caution:** Test numbers exist only in test mode. A live key dials them like any other number.

## Webhooks in test mode

Test-mode events (a test call ended, a test campaign finished) go only to webhook endpoints created with a test key, so your tests never reach production systems. Create a separate endpoint for your test environment, and check `livemode` on every event you receive.

## Limits

Test mode has its own, smaller limits: fewer calls in progress at once, a cap on test calls per 24 hours, and half the request rate of your plan. The numbers per plan are in [errors, rate limits and concurrency](https://docs.morevoice.ai/guides/errors-and-limits/#limits-per-plan).

## Go live

1. Create a live key (`mv_live_sk_…`) the same way, with **Mode** on **Live**, and keep it on your server only.
2. Connect a phone line: [phone numbers and SIP](https://docs.morevoice.ai/guides/phone-numbers-and-sip/).
3. Read [compliance](https://docs.morevoice.ai/guides/compliance/) before you call customers: §30A consent for marketing, the do-not-call lists, and calling hours around Shabbat and holidays.
4. Recreate the live objects your code expects (webhook endpoints, campaigns): test objects never become live ones.