mp-test-setup

name	mp-test-setup
description	Create test users and add funds to them for Mercado Pago testing. Wraps create_test_user and add_money_test_user from the MCP. Clarifies that credentials come in APP_USR- (Orders API, Checkout Pro, Point, QR) and TEST- (Checkout API, Bricks, Payments API) formats — both are valid and actively issued.
license	Apache-2.0
copyright	Copyright (c) 2026 Mercado Pago (MercadoLibre S.R.L.)
metadata	{"version":"4.2.0","author":"Mercado Pago Developer Experience","category":"development","tags":"mercadopago, testing, test-user, sandbox, credentials"}

mp-test-setup

This skill is the only place test users get created. It exists because the testing model is a frequent source of confusion — there are two distinct types of test credentials with different prefixes.

---

Pre-check — confirm readiness before creating test users

You are at step 4 of 7 in the integration journey: 1. Create app · 2. Get TEST creds · 3. Scaffold · 4. Create test user ← here · 5. E2E · 6. /mp-review · 7. Prod

Before creating test users, confirm the basics via AskUserQuestion (up to 3 questions — skip any already in .mp-integrate-progress.md):

1. Account — Skip if already confirmed in .mp-integrate-progress.md. Otherwise: "Do you have a Mercado Pago developer account?" → Yes / No
2. Credentials — "Do you have your APP_USR- access token?" → Yes / No
3. Credential type — "Are you using TEST credentials — from the {test_tab}?" → Yes, test credentials / No, production credentials / I don't know

• No account → point to the dashboard for the country (Chile: https://www.mercadopago.cl/developers — no .com; others https://www.mercadopago.com.{cc}/developers).

• No credentials → once the MCP is authenticated (Step 0 → State A): (1) call application_list, (2) ask via AskUserQuestion "Which app do you want to use?" listing each app by name, (3) call mcp__plugin_mercadopago_mcp__get_credentials with the chosen application_id, (4) display credentials inline. Never write to file or commit. If MCP is not authenticated, complete Step 0 first.

• Credential type — No, production credentials OR I don't know → show this BLOCKING WARNING and do NOT create a test user:

  ⛔ WARNING — Production credentials detected A real card charge may occur if you test against production. Switch to the {test_tab} tab in the Developer Dashboard first. 👉 https://{DOMAIN}/developers/panel/app → Credentials → {test_tab} tab

  Re-show question 3 until the developer confirms "Yes, test credentials". This gate has no Skip option — do not proceed to Step 2 (test user creation) otherwise.

Unlike mp-integrate, this skill's MCP gate stays hard: creating test users requires authenticated MCP calls, so there is no scaffold-only path here.

---

The current testing model — read first

• Credential prefixes — two distinct types:
  • APP_USR- → test user credentials from create_test_user, production credentials, Orders API, Checkout Pro, Point, QR
  • TEST- → static test credentials from the {test_tab} tab, Checkout API / Bricks / Payments API Both are valid. get_credentials returns the correct format automatically. Never tell a developer to change their prefix.
• Test user credentials use the APP_USR- prefix and run against the production API. A test user has its own balance (loaded via this skill) and behaves like a real account.
• For static test credentials without creating a test user: in the Developer Dashboard, go to your app → Credentials → click the {test_tab} tab.

---

Step 0 — Verify MCP is actually authenticated

ListMcpResourcesTool is unreliable for this MCP (always returns "No resources found"). The bootstrap tools authenticate / complete_authentication are always present and prove nothing.

Check whether mcp__plugin_mercadopago_mcp__application_list is callable AND returns at least one application. If not, call mcp__plugin_mercadopago_mcp__authenticate immediately and show:

To create test users I need access to your Mercado Pago account. Open this link to connect: Connect Mercado Pago When you see "Authentication Successful" in the browser, come back and say anything.

When the user returns, call application_list directly — do NOT call complete_authentication first. Never ask the user to paste the callback URL.

---

Step 1 — Resolve site_id before asking

The MCP does not currently return a site_id (its application_list only returns AppID/AppName/AppDescription, and the OAuth access token that would let us call /users/me is not exposed to the plugin client). Resolve in this order:

1. Use the country the agent already passed as country= — the agent already resolved it (persisted state or wizard).
2. Read .mp-integrate-progress.md at the project root — if a previous run persisted a country, reuse it.
3. Last resort: ask via AskUserQuestion (picker, never a numbered text block). Persist the answer to .mp-integrate-progress.md.

Do not grep the repo for currency_id/site_id literals or locale strings — they're unreliable on a clean repo and waste tokens.

Step 2 — Create a test user

Call mcp__plugin_mercadopago_mcp__create_test_user with:

Param	Required	Values
site_id	yes	MLA (Argentina), MLB (Brazil), MLM (Mexico), MLC (Chile), MCO (Colombia), MPE (Peru), MLU (Uruguay)
description	yes	Free text identifying the user (e.g., "buyer for checkout-pro tests")
profile	yes	seller or buyer — pick the role you need to simulate
amount	optional	Initial balance in the country's currency

The tool returns the user id, email, password, and APP_USR- credentials.

⚠️ Critical distinction — two types of credentials:

• Test user email + password → use to log in at the checkout page as the buyer/seller during testing. NOT for your .env.
• Test user APP_USR- credentials → the test user's own API credentials. Used only if you need to make API calls AS that test user (e.g., marketplace seller OAuth flows). NOT your app's MP_ACCESS_TOKEN.
• Your app's MP_ACCESS_TOKEN → comes from DevPanel → your app → {test_tab} tab. This is what goes in your .env. Created by mp-integrate, NOT by create_test_user.

If the developer needs both sides of a transaction (typical for marketplace, subscriptions, P2P), create one seller and one buyer.

---

Step 3 — Load funds (when needed)

Call mcp__plugin_mercadopago_mcp__add_money_test_user with:

Param	Required
test_user_id	yes — the id returned by create_test_user
amount	yes — number in the user's currency

Country-specific limits apply. If the call fails with a limit error, ask for a smaller amount and retry once.

---

Step 4 — Test cards

For card testing, do not invent card numbers.

1. First, read ~/.claude/plugins/cache/claude-plugins-official/mercadopago/{version}/skills/mp-integrate/references/products.md — it has curated, version-pinned test cards for AR, BR, MX, CO, CL (numbers, CVV, expiry, and the APRO/OTHE/FUND/… status-code table). For these five countries, no MCP call is needed.
2. Only if the country is not listed there (e.g. PE, UY), fall back to MCP search_documentation with "test cards {country}" (e.g., "test cards peru").

---

Step 5 — Hand the credentials to the developer

Output template:

## Test user created

**Country**: {country}
**Profile**: {seller | buyer}
**User id**: {id}
**Initial balance**: {amount} {currency}

### 🔑 Login credentials (to simulate the buyer/seller at checkout)

Use these to **log in at the Mercado Pago checkout page** during a test purchase:

- **Email**: {email}
- **Password**: {password}

> These are NOT your MP_ACCESS_TOKEN. Do NOT put these in your `.env`.

---

### 📋 Your app's test credentials (for your `.env`)

These come from **DevPanel → your app → {test_tab} tab** — NOT from the test user.

MP_ACCESS_TOKEN=APP_USR-... ← your app's test access token (from DevPanel) MP_PUBLIC_KEY=APP_USR-... ← your app's test public key (from DevPanel)

> Both types of credentials use the `APP_USR-` prefix — what matters is WHERE they come from:
> - Your `.env`: from DevPanel → your app → {test_tab} tab
> - Checkout login: the test user's email + password above

### Next steps
- Use the test user **email + password** to log in at the checkout when making a test purchase.
- Use your app's **MP_ACCESS_TOKEN** (from DevPanel) in your backend to create orders/payments.
- For card payments, use the test cards in `references/products.md`.
- Smoke test with `mp-webhooks` → trigger a real test payment to fire the webhook.
- Run `mp-review` after a successful test payment.

---

Gotchas

• Test user credentials look identical to production credentials. If a .env file leaks, both buyer and seller balances are exposed.
• The test user's email/password are valid logins on mercadopago.com.{tld} — the developer can sign in to inspect movements.
• A test user belongs to the country specified by site_id; trying to use Argentine test credentials against the Brazilian site fails silently with a not_found payment.
• Adding money has per-country daily limits. If you hit them, create a fresh test user instead of bumping limits.

---

What this skill does NOT do

• It does not issue real production credentials. Those come from the Developer Dashboard.
• It does not validate webhooks (use mp-webhooks) or scaffold integration code (use mp-integrate).