Core concepts
You don't need a real family, and you shouldn't wait on a human, to build your integration. A test credential gives you a sandbox elder that auto-approves and accepts files without ever running extraction or touching real records.
Test mode isn't a flag you pass — it's the credential you use, the same way a test key works in a payments API. When we onboard you, we can issue a test credential alongside your live one. They're separate keys, and the boundary between them is structural, not a matter of you remembering to set the right field:
There's one, and it's always:
sandbox.test.elder@care.elderella.comUse it everywhere a real elder's address would go while you're on a test credential.
In production a human approves your connection, which makes it awkward to test the request → approval → send loop. So in the sandbox, test connections auto-approve after about 30 seconds — no caregiver, no waiting on anyone. Request the connection, poll (or wait for the connection.approved webhook), and it flips to approved on its own.
A test file returns a receipt and moves received → processed exactly like a real one, so your polling and status handling get a faithful rehearsal. The difference is entirely behind the curtain: no extraction runs, nothing is written to a real elder's records, and no protected data is ever involved. It's a faithful shape with an inert core.
When your integration works against the sandbox, switch your test credential for your live one and use a real elder's address. The calls are identical — same endpoints, same shapes, same status flow. Nothing about your code changes except which key you authenticate with and which address you send to.