How to create a test store to work with the API?

Question

I want to work with the API to make a proof of concept. The older version so Magento used to have a test store that could be made for free and run for 30 days. Is there something similar for Magento 2? I want to work out all the major pieces prior to going back to the client and I would like to be able to do it for cheap or free.

Ideally it would have few products that I could fake orders and fake order updates. I could try the different ways of authentication to see which works best for my system. Basically go through the big pieces so I can get a real estimate on what needs to get done.

Answer 1

You can set up a local Magento 2 and install the sample data module. That should solve your issue. If you don't want to set up a web server, PHP and DB locally, you might be interested in the Magento 2 Dev Box.

All information I mentioned can be found in the Magento 2 DevDocs