# Creating a Project
source: https://developer.mastercard.com/mdes-pre-digitization/documentation/tutorial-and-guides/create-project/index.md

## Overview {#overview}

This tutorials walks you through the step-by-step guidance on creating a project, configuring the required credentials to test the API in the MTF environment. Completing these steps will ensure that your project is ready to move to the Production environment.

This tutorial guides you to:

* How to create a new project
* How to get access to the MTF environment
* How to obtain the keys required for testing in the MTF environment
* How to test the API in the MTF environment

## Sign up for a Mastercard Developers Account {#sign-up-for-a-mastercard-developers-account}

1. Create a [Mastercard Developers account](https://developer.mastercard.com/dashboard)
2. Activate your account by selecting the activation link sent to your email address

## Creating a new API project {#creating-a-new-api-project}

1. To start, log in to your Mastercard Developers account and go to the [Projects](https://developer.mastercard.com/dashboard) page. Click the **Create new project** button in the top right corner.
2. Enter a relevant **Project name**.
3. If you are an issuer creating the project for your own CID, click **No**.
4. If you are a processor or a service provider creating this project for an issuer or a different CID, click **Yes** .
   1. Provide the **Client company name**.
   2. Provide the **Client legal business address** . ![Creating a new API project](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/mdes-pre-digitization/documentation/tutorial-and-guides/images1/pre-diz-sandbox-create-project.png "Creating a new API project")

## Select API service {#select-api-service}

1. From the dropdown list, select **MDES Pre-digitization**.
2. Click **Proceed**.

## Select Test Environment {#select-test-environment}

Note: Please ignore the Mock option, as the MDES Pre-digitization API does not support the Mock test environment.

1. Select the MTF - the interactive Member Test facility (MTF) environment for a pre-production integration and testing option. ![Select Environment](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/mdes-pre-digitization/documentation/tutorial-and-guides/images1/pre-diz-sandbox-select-service.png)
2. Click **Proceed**.

## Legal Agreements {#legal-agreements}

1. Accept the MDES product legal agreement and Mastercard privacy notice. ![Agree to the Mastercard MDES API Terms](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/mdes-pre-digitization/documentation/tutorial-and-guides/images1/pre-diz-sandbox-legal-agreement.png)
2. Click **Proceed**.

## Project Credentials {#project-credentials}

Note: Please ignore the OAuth information. The MDES Pre-digitization API service supports MTLS.

1. Enter **Key alias** and **Keystore password** . A key alias is a label for a specific key within a keystore. Ensure that you make a note of the key alias and the keystore password as you will need this information when you send the API request to Mastercard. ![Add consumer key alias and password](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/mdes-pre-digitization/documentation/tutorial-and-guides/images1/pre-diz-sandbox-project-credentials.png "Add consumer key alias and password") Note: If you are using a CSR to generate the project keys, click **Skip this step** , and continue with the project creation. Refer to [Adding Keys and CSR](https://developer.mastercard.com/mdes-pre-digitization/documentation/tutorial-and-guides/addkey/index.md) for details.
2. Click **Proceed**.

## Additional Credentials {#additional-credentials}

This section is to configure the data-level encryption and decryption keys. MDES Pre-digitization API uses [Mastercard encryption](https://developer.mastercard.com/platform/documentation/security-and-authentication/securing-sensitive-data-using-payload-encryption/).

1. Provide **Key alias** and **Keystore password** for Mastercard Encryption Key. ![Add additional credentials](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/mdes-pre-digitization/documentation/tutorial-and-guides/images1/pre-diz-sandbox-additional-credentials.png "additional credentials")
2. Click **Create Project**.

## Download Project Keys {#download-project-keys}

1. To download the key information, click **Download key file** . The key file has the following information:
   ![Generating MTF credentials](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/mdes-pre-digitization/documentation/tutorial-and-guides/images1/pre-diz-sandbox-creating-your-project.png "Generating MTF credentials")

   * The OAuth Signing key - P12 file Note: Please ignore the OAuth information. The MDES Pre-digitization API service supports MTLS.
   * The client encryption key - pem file - Issuer will use public key to encrypt data in the response.
   * The Mastercard encryption key - P12 file - The issuer will use this to decrypt the data encrypted by Mastercard in the payload.
2. To see the project details, click **Open project**

## Ready to Test in MTF {#ready-to-test-in-mtf}

You now have everything you need to start sending MDES Pre-digitization API requests to the MTF environment.

1. From the Mastercard Developers project summary page, navigate to the Summary section. ![Sandbox Client ID](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/mdes-pre-digitization/documentation/tutorial-and-guides/images1/pre-diz-sandboxclientid.png "Sandbox Client ID")
2. Copy the Sandbox client ID and provide it to your CIS IM.
3. After you are onboarded to MTF, you are ready to test in the MTF environment.

Note: After you finish testing in MTF, you are ready to move to [Production](https://developer.mastercard.com/mdes-pre-digitization/documentation/tutorial-and-guides/prod-create-project/index.md)