Quick Start — Developer Journey
This guide walks you through the complete end-to-end journey on the Digital Infrastructure Sandbox (DIS) Developer Portal, from discovery to a production-ready application.
Step 1 — Access the portal and sign in
Navigate to the DIS Developer Portal and authenticate using a federated identity (GitHub ID, Google ID, or your organisational SSO). Upon successful sign-in you are taken to the Developer Dashboard.
If you do not have an account, click Register on the landing page. No credit card is required — the Free Tier is available immediately.
Step 2 — Developer Dashboard
The dashboard is your central hub. It shows:
- A summary of available APIs across DPI building blocks
- Your current sandbox usage and API Points balance
- Applications you have registered
- Recent platform notifications and incident alerts
Step 3 — Explore APIs in the API Catalog
Navigate to API Catalog in the left menu. APIs are grouped by DPI building block (Identity, Payments, National Data Exchange, Verifiable Credentials, Digital Signatures).
Each API card shows:
- Name, status badge, and data classification (Public / Confidential / Restricted)
- Short description and available endpoints
- Version number, endpoint count, and performance metrics (latency, uptime)
- View Documentation action button
Use the search bar to filter by name or description, and the category filters to narrow by DPI component.
Step 4 — View API details
Click View Documentation on any API card to open the detail page. You will find:
| Tab | Content |
|---|---|
| Overview | Description, publisher, authentication method, status |
| API Documentation | Full OpenAPI spec — endpoints, request/response schemas, code examples |
| API Endpoints | Structured table of all endpoints with HTTP method and status badges |
Use the version switcher at the top of the page to navigate between all published versions of the API.
Step 5 — Test in the Playground
Open Playground from the left navigation, or use Go to Playground on an application card after you register an app.
The playground:
- Runs against synthetic data — no real citizen data is used or stored
- Mirrors production API behaviour
- Lets you try live calls with your sandbox credentials
- Includes test scenarios covering success paths, errors, consent issues, rate limits, and 404s where available
See the full API Catalog walkthrough → in the User Guide for step-by-step instructions.
Step 6 — Create an application
Navigate to My Applications → Create Application.
- Complete Application details (name, platform, description).
- Select at least one API version, then configure webhook (optional), IP whitelist (required), and data residency.
- Review and register — the portal shows your sandbox API key once; copy and store it securely.
See Managing My Applications → in the User Guide for the full walkthrough.
Step 7 — Build and self-test
From My Applications, open Go to Playground for your app and integrate the sandbox APIs into your codebase. Use the built-in tools to:
- Test end-to-end user journeys
- Validate error handling for edge cases and error responses
- Confirm credentials, IP whitelist, and subscribed API versions work as expected
Step 8 — Monitor usage
Navigate to Metrics (or View Metrics on an application card) to monitor API consumption in real time:
- Total API calls, successful requests, failed requests
- Average response time and latency per API
- Hourly traffic distribution — identify peak usage times
- Error breakdown by type
Step 9 — Manage your subscription
Navigate to Subscription to review your current tier and API Points balance.
| Tier | Best for |
|---|---|
| Free | Exploration, prototypes, learning |
| Extended Sandbox | MVPs, hackathons, pilots |
| Pre-Production / Partner | Near-production testing, SLA requirements |
Optional — Connect an AI assistant
Once you have a portal account (and an application, if you want seed-data tools), you can connect Cursor, Claude, VS Code, or another MCP client. Your assistant can then search the catalogue and inspect your apps without leaving the editor.
See Connect with MCP →.