Cloud mocks and sandboxes

There are two connected but distinct workflows: saving a project's authored mock configuration and provisioning a managed sandbox from an immutable release. axiom deploy mock-server performs the first operation; it does not by itself prove a Cloud Run environment is ready.

Save mock configuration

From a linked project directory:

axiom deploy mock-server axiom.acore

The CLI evaluates the local Acore module, renders the result to JSON, and sends that configuration to the linked Cloud project. It fails when the file cannot be evaluated, the directory is not linked, the account is unauthorized, or the service rejects the configuration.

The current command evaluates with its local project evaluator. Treat imported or amended code according to the Backend extraction boundary before running it.

Consume locally

axiom serve --port 8080

When no local file is supplied, the connected serve path can obtain saved mock configuration for the linked project. The Cloud mock endpoint supports ETag validation, so an unchanged response can be reused without transferring the body again. Keep a local contract available in CI when you need a completely offline, deterministic test.

Provision a managed environment

Use the dashboard's sandbox controls after the matching release is verified. Provisioning is asynchronous. Wait for the durable environment state to become ready before giving its endpoint to a consumer or queueing a sandbox-backed test.

An empty mock document is valid but does not fabricate successful behavior for undeclared scenarios. A route without authored behavior can return an explicit not-implemented response.

Security checklist

• use synthetic data only;
• never put provider, database, or production user credentials in the mock;
• require the sandbox key for routes, health controls, reset, and API docs;
• redact the key from screenshots, shell history, logs, and test artifacts;
• verify reset restores declared initial state; and
• confirm expiry/deletion removes the provider resource before treating the environment as gone.