What you can check before you submit, and what you cannot.
Be clear about what testing means here. You can validate a manifest completely, in your browser, right now. You cannot test a renderer, because the renderer is not yours — every tile is drawn by first-party code inside the HEXR app.
So "testing your tile" means confirming that your declaration is well formed and that the tile type you chose behaves the way you expect. It does not mean running your own code, because there is none to run.
A sandbox hex is an ordinary hex you hold, used as a rehearsal space. Claim one the normal way — by standing in it — and add your tile type there. Nothing about it is special except that you have decided it is scratch.
There is no simulated hex and no way to skip physical presence. Presence is the one thing the platform will not let anybody fake, and a developer convenience that bypassed it would be the largest hole we could possibly cut.
| Check | How |
|---|---|
| The manifest is well formed | The validator. Fix every error it lists. |
| You declared the least you need | Remove a capability and see whether the tile still does its job. If it does, leave it removed. |
| Placement is right | Add the tile to the kind of hex you intend. If it does not appear, your placement gates say something you did not mean. |
| The name reads well small | Tiles are small. A name that needs 40 characters usually needs a rethink. |
If every automated check passes, no reviewer sees it at all — it is approved and becomes current immediately. If any check fails, a person sees your manifest exactly as you submitted it, the list of checks with the reason each one failed, and your stated reason for each capability.
The manifest is stored byte for byte as you sent it. What gets reviewed is what you submitted, not a cleaned-up copy of it.
Write one or two sentences saying why you need each capability. A missing justification is a flag, not a rejection: it routes your submission to a person rather than refusing it. Say what the capability is for, not what it is.