Going live

Going live is a deliberate switch, not a flag flip. Everything you built in sandbox stays the same; you add the live resources the virtual path did not need, then swap the key.

Prove the loop in sandbox. Send → follow the webhook to a terminal state → reconcile against the wallet, all with a sk_test_ key. Handle failures, duplicate events, and timeouts.
Register live sender IDs. For each country you send SMS to (GH, NG), register a sender ID and wait for it to become active. Approval is a manual carrier/regulator review with no fixed turnaround — start early.
Verify live email domains. Publish SPF, DKIM, and DMARC and verify the domain before using a live from — see Domains & DNS.
Fund the wallet in the correct currency. Live sends fail closed when funds cannot be reserved.
Create a live webhook endpoint and store its signing secret in your secret manager. Live and sandbox endpoints are separate.
Confirm consent handling. Ensure your promotional audience opted in, and that your transactional and promotional traffic use the right message class.
Swap the key. Replace sk_test_ with sk_live_ in your server secret manager. The SDK picks up the live environment from the prefix — no code change.
Do a controlled first send to a consenting recipient and reconcile the delivery, the terminal webhook, and the wallet ledger entry before you ramp volume.

What changes, what does not

Stays the same	Becomes required live
Your code, keys aside	A funded wallet in the right currency
Definitions and their keys	An `active` sender ID per country (SMS)
Idempotency and webhook logic	A verified sending domain (email)
Cost and rendering behaviour	Real consent and quiet-hours compliance