The Playground is a browser-based testing environment where you can simulate SMS messaging scenarios without sending real messages or incurring charges. It allows you to test both inbound and outbound message flows, validate webhook configurations, and debug your integration logic in real-time.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.buildwithchirp.com/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
The Playground works exclusively with test applications and is completely free to use.
What You Can Do
The Playground supports SMS messaging with the following capabilities:- Send test messages as a user to your application (inbound)
- Send test messages from your application to simulated users (outbound)
- View all messages in real-time
- Test webhook delivery and payloads
- Debug integration logic
User and System Phone Numbers
The Playground simulates messaging scenarios using two types of phone numbers:System Phone Numbers
System Phone Numbers
Simulate messages from your application to external users (outbound messages). Use this to test:
- Sending notifications
- Alert systems
- Two-way conversations
User Phone Numbers
User Phone Numbers
Simulate messages from external users to your application (inbound messages). Use this to test:
- Webhook handling for incoming messages
- Auto-reply logic
- Message processing workflows
Simulating inbound messages from code
Want to drive the same simulation from a script or test suite instead of the browser? Use the Playground inbound API:POST /v1/playground/sms/inboundPOST /v1/playground/whatsapp/inbound
sk_test_app_*) and queue an inbound message that flows through the same processor as a real provider webhook. See Simulating Inbound Messages.
Managing Playground phone numbers from code
Listing and allocating the system / user phone numbers used in the Playground is exposed via two parallel API surfaces. Choose the one that matches who is calling:App-key surface
Path prefix:
/v1/playground/...Auth: test app key (sk_test_app_*)Use when: driving the Playground from your own application or a test script — the target app is implicit from the key.Admin / session surface
Path prefix:
/v1/organization/playground/...Auth: admin key (sk_admin_*) or a user sessionUse when: operating across apps (e.g. the dashboard, internal tools). Pass the target app via the x-app-id header.| Method | Path (app surface) | Path (admin surface) | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
GET | /v1/playground/phone-numbers/system | /v1/organization/playground/phone-numbers/system | List system (outbound) numbers linked to the test app. |
POST | /v1/playground/phone-numbers/system | /v1/organization/playground/phone-numbers/system | Purchase a new system number for the test app. |
GET | /v1/playground/phone-numbers/user | /v1/organization/playground/phone-numbers/user | List user (inbound) numbers already used in simulations. |
POST | /v1/playground/phone-numbers/user | /v1/organization/playground/phone-numbers/user | Generate a fresh user number to simulate a new sender. |
/whatsapp/phone-numbers/... in both surfaces.
Playground operations always target your test app, even if you pass a production app ID. Chirp resolves the linked test app automatically.
App-key example
List system WhatsApp numbers (app key)
Admin-key example
List system WhatsApp numbers (admin key)
200 OK
Moving to Production
To use your integration in production, replace your test API key (sk_test_app_*) with your live API key (sk_live_app_*). No other changes are required.