Going live

Publish a version, rehearse it on staging, and connect a short code.

Going live has three steps, shown under Versions in the dock.

Publish version
Try on staging
Go live

Try 2026-09-19-1.0 on staging first

Its own dial-in URL for your aggregator's test code. No effect on real callers.

Send 2026-09-19-1.0 to staging

Versions always shows the one next step. Here a version is published, and staging is next.

1. Publish a version

Publishing freezes the draft as a numbered version. It only publishes once its checks and scenarios pass, so a broken flow can never go out. You keep editing the draft afterwards; published versions do not change.

An earlier version can be restored as the draft at any time.

2. Rehearse on staging

Staging is a safe rehearsal. It has its own address for your aggregator's test code, with no effect on real callers. Editors can deploy to staging.

3. Put it live

Live is what real callers reach. Only an admin or an owner can put a version live, and the editor asks you to confirm, because it changes what callers on the short code get from that moment.

Connecting a short code

A short code such as *384# comes from an aggregator or a mobile network. Every time someone dials it, they pass the call to an address you give them, often called the callback URL.

Each environment has its own address. It stays the same for whatever you deploy there later, so you only paste it once. The environment's page lets you copy it and check that it answers: the editor dials it the way an aggregator would and shows the first screen a caller gets. Nothing reaches real callers.

Africa's Talking

Create a USSD channel, choose a code such as a shared code with an extension like *384*1#, and set the address as the channel's callback URL. Use the sandbox app for staging and your live app for callers. Africa's Talking waits about 10 seconds for each answer and ends a session after about 3 minutes without input.

MTN

MTN sets this up per contract. Give them the address and ask for GET requests with sessionid, msisdn, input and isnewrequest. Confirm with MTN how your contract marks the end of a session, since that differs between markets.

You do not need a code to start

You can design and test a whole flow without one. A shared code from an aggregator is usually quickest; a dedicated code needs an operator's approval and often takes several weeks, so ask early.