Environments

API Endpoints

Lithic provides two environments for development and production use:

Environment	Base URL	Description
Sandbox	`https://sandbox.lithic.com/v1`	Use this environment for testing and development. No real money or card transactions occur here.
Production	`https://api.lithic.com/v1`	Use this environment for live card programs with real transactions and financial activity.

Authentication

All API requests must include your API key in the Authorization header using HTTP Basic Authentication:

Authorization: Basic {api_key}

You can also pass the API key directly as the username with no password:

curl https://sandbox.lithic.com/v1/cards \
  -u {your_api_key}:

Or include the full Authorization header:

curl https://sandbox.lithic.com/v1/cards \
  -H "Authorization: {your_api_key}"

Sandbox Fair Use Policy

Sandbox is intended for exploration and integration development — it is not for load testing or automated testing at scale.

Lithic actively monitors sandbox usage. Accounts that exhibit patterns inconsistent with legitimate development — such as sustained high-volume traffic that impacts other users — are subject to enforcement action without prior notice, up to and including immediate API key revocation and account deactivation.

To unlock full functionality and move to production, contact Sales.