# Getting Credentials
source: https://developer.mastercard.com/merchant-match-tool/documentation/tutorials-and-guides/getting-credentials-tutorial/index.md

*ESTIMATED TIME TO COMPLETE THIS TUTORIAL: 10 MINUTES*

This guide walks through the steps required to create a new Merchant Match Tool (MMT) API project and how to gain access to the Sandbox environment.

Please note that the data returned in the Sandbox environment is placeholder data. While the data types reflect what will be returned in a production request, the underlying matching algorithm is not accessed. Thus, responses in the sandbox environment may change between requests.

APIs used in this tutorial
Merchant Match Tool API [View Documentation](https://developer.mastercard.com/merchant-match-tool/documentation/index.md)

### Create a project {#create-a-project}

![credentials](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/merchant-match-tool/uploads/gettingcreds.png)

To begin you should go to your dashboard, you can do this by click on the [My Projects](https://developer.mastercard.com/dashboard) option in the menu. You can then create a new Project by clicking the "Create New Project" button, in the upper right portion of the screen.

### Add Merchant Match Tool to your project {#add-merchant-match-tool-to-your-project}

First you need to pick your API.

![addmmt](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/merchant-match-tool/uploads/addmmt.png)

* From the dropdown list select the Merchant Match Tool API
* Click the Continue

### Name your project {#name-your-project}

Next we need to give the project a name.

![project](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/merchant-match-tool/uploads/configuremmt.png)

* Enter a descriptive name for your project and click the Create My Project button.
* You can optionally choose to invite other people to your project by selecting Invite Members. Invited members will have full access to the project

### Sandbox OAUTH Credentials {#sandbox-oauth-credentials}

When the project is successfully created the Sandbox .P12 access credentials will be available for download.

![steps](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/merchant-match-tool/uploads/authsteps.png)

* Click Download PKCS#12 Keystore to download a zip file containing the .p12 file required for OAuth authentication in Sandbox.
* Click Continue
* Make a note of the keystore password and key alias shown on the screen. The keystore password is used in conjunction with the .p12 file and Client ID for OAuth authentication
* Click Confirm and Continue to complete the Sandbox Setup process

Note: Mastercard APIs use OAuth 1.0a with a request body hash as the security standard. The PKCS#12 keystore contains the private key used for signing requests. The key downloaded from our portal will have been generated inside your browser and will not be stored by Mastercard Developers. The public key matching the generated private key will be uploaded to Mastercard Developers for signature verification purposes as part of the process. Make sure to keep this file in a secure place.

### Next steps {#next-steps}

Once you have access to Sandbox you should check out the following resources:

* [API Reference](https://developer.mastercard.com/merchant-match-tool/documentation/api-reference/index.md)
* [Connect using Open API](https://developer.mastercard.com/merchant-match-tool/documentation/tutorials-and-guides/connect-using-api-tutorial/index.md)
* [Move to Production](https://developer.mastercard.com/merchant-match-tool/documentation/tutorials-and-guides/moving-to-production-tutorial/index.md)