Sandbox Mode

What’s available

sandbox.demo: a fixed demo channel you can subscribe to at any time.

metar.forecast.basic.<icao>: real basic-tier model forecasts, available on Sandbox and up.

Measured weather stays out of reach: metar.obs.* and metar.atis.* both respond with a permission_denied error on a Sandbox key, since sandbox shows what a model expects, not what a station recorded.

Sending a test alert

The Send test alert button on the Billing page in the portal publishes a fixed demo observation to your live connections.

{
    "type": "publication",
    "channel": "sandbox.demo",
    "data": {
          "station": "DEMO",
          "temp_c": "21.50",
          "report_time": "2026-07-12T16:34:15Z",
          "raw": "METAR DEMO 011200Z 24008KT CAVOK 21/12 Q1018 NOSIG",
          "dewp_c": "12",
          "wdir": 240,
          "wspd_kt": 8,
          "visib_m": 9999,
          "cavok": true,
          "altim_hpa": 1018
    }
}

The data object has the same shape as a live observation, so a parser built against sandbox data runs unchanged in production. report_time is stamped fresh on every alert, which is useful for testing deduplication logic.

Test alerts are rate-limited to one every 5 seconds, up to 200 per day.

Upgrading

Moving to Starter or Pro switches your existing keys to live data automatically. There is no need to reissue keys or change your reconnect logic; the next message you receive will simply come from the new plan’s channels.

Next: Channels Overview

See every channel namespace and how last-value replay works.

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Data Channels

Protocol Reference

Guides & Examples

Resources

What’s available

Sending a test alert

Upgrading

Next: Channels Overview

​What’s available

​Sending a test alert

​Upgrading

Next: Channels Overview

What’s available

Sending a test alert

Upgrading