Cashfree

Source — verified from live official docs

• API Reference: https://www.cashfree.com/docs/api-reference/payments/latest/overview
• Latest version: v2025-01-01 (v5) — always use this for new integrations
• Official Python SDK: pip install cashfree-pg
• Dev Studio (interactive test): https://www.cashfree.com/devstudio/preview/pg/web/checkout

Bundled Files

Environments & Base URLs

Always develop in sandbox. Test cards/UPI provided at: https://www.cashfree.com/docs/api-reference/payments/data-to-test-integration

Step 0 — Get Credentials

1. Sign up at https://merchant.cashfree.com/merchants/signup
2. Dashboard → Developers → API Keys
3. Switch to Test Mode → generate test keys
4. You get two values:
   • x-client-id (App ID)
   • x-client-secret (Secret Key)

export CASHFREE_APP_ID="your_app_id"
export CASHFREE_SECRET_KEY="your_secret_key"
export CASHFREE_ENV="TEST"   # or "PRODUCTION"

Authentication

Every request needs two headers — no Bearer token, no expiry:

headers = {
    "x-client-id":     "your_app_id",
    "x-client-secret": "your_secret_key",
    "x-api-version":   "2025-01-01",
    "Content-Type":    "application/json"
}

Unlike Shiprocket/Razorpay there is no token to refresh — credentials go directly in every request.

Core Flow

1. Create Order   →  POST /orders                  (server-side, get payment_session_id)
2. Show Checkout  →  cashfree.js SDK               (client-side, customer pays)
3. Verify Payment →  GET  /orders/{order_id}        (server-side, confirm status)
4. Webhook        →  POST your endpoint             (async payment notifications)
5. Refund if need →  POST /orders/{order_id}/refunds

1. Create Order

POST https://sandbox.cashfree.com/pg/orders

import requests, os

BASE = "https://sandbox.cashfree.com/pg"   # switch to api.cashfree.com/pg for prod
HEADERS = {
    "x-client-id":     os.environ["CASHFREE_APP_ID"],
    "x-client-secret": os.environ["CASHFREE_SECRET_KEY"],
    "x-api-version":   "2025-01-01",
    "Content-Type":    "application/json"
}

order_data = {
    "order_id":       "order_001",       # your unique ID (optional — auto-generated if omitted)
    "order_amount":   499.00,            # in rupees, up to 2 decimal places
    "order_currency": "INR",
    "customer_details": {
        "customer_id":    "cust_001",    # your internal customer ID
        "customer_name":  "Priya Patel",
        "customer_email": "priya@example.com",
        "customer_phone": "9876543210"   # 10 digits, no +91
    },
    "order_meta": {
        "return_url":  "https://yourapp.com/payment/return?order_id={order_id}",
        "notify_url":  "https://yourapp.com/webhook/cashfree"  # webhook endpoint
    },
    "order_note": "Payment for March subscription"
}

res = requests.post(f"{BASE}/orders", json=order_data, headers=HEADERS)
data = res.json()

order_id          = data["order_id"]           # "order_001"
payment_session_id = data["payment_session_id"] # pass this to frontend SDK
cf_order_id       = data["cf_order_id"]         # Cashfree's internal ID
print(f"Order: {order_id} | Session: {payment_session_id[:20]}...")

2. Frontend Checkout (JS SDK)

Pass payment_session_id from Step 1 to the browser:

<script src="https://sdk.cashfree.com/js/v3/cashfree.js"></script>
<script>
const cashfree = Cashfree({ mode: "sandbox" });  // "production" in live

function pay() {
    cashfree.checkout({
        paymentSessionId: "SESSION_ID_FROM_BACKEND",
        redirectTarget: "_self"   // redirect on same page
    });
}
</script>
<button ₹499</button>

After payment, user is redirected to return_url with order_id as query param.

3. Fetch Order Status (Verify Payment)

GET https://sandbox.cashfree.com/pg/orders/{order_id}

res = requests.get(f"{BASE}/orders/{order_id}", headers=HEADERS)
order = res.json()

status = order["order_status"]   # "PAID" | "ACTIVE" | "EXPIRED"
print(f"Order {order_id}: {status}")

# Get payment details
payments_res = requests.get(f"{BASE}/orders/{order_id}/payments", headers=HEADERS)
payments = payments_res.json()
for p in payments:
    print(f"  Payment: {p['cf_payment_id']} | {p['payment_status']} | ₹{p['order_amount']}")

Order statuses

4. Webhook — Verify & Handle

Set your notify_url when creating the order. Cashfree POSTs to it on every payment event.

import hmac, hashlib, base64

def verify_cashfree_webhook(timestamp: str, signature: str,
                             raw_body: bytes, secret: str) -> bool:
    """Verify Cashfree webhook signature."""
    message = timestamp + raw_body.decode()
    computed = base64.b64encode(
        hmac.new(secret.encode(), message.encode(), hashlib.sha256).digest()
    ).decode()
    return hmac.compare_digest(computed, signature)

# Flask example
from flask import Flask, request, jsonify
app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route("/webhook/cashfree", methods=["POST"])
def cashfree_webhook():
    ts  = request.headers.get("x-webhook-timestamp")
    sig = request.headers.get("x-webhook-signature")

    if not verify_cashfree_webhook(ts, sig, request.data,
                                   os.environ["CASHFREE_SECRET_KEY"]):
        return "Invalid signature", 400

    event = request.json
    event_type = event["type"]   # e.g. "PAYMENT_SUCCESS_WEBHOOK"

    if event_type == "PAYMENT_SUCCESS_WEBHOOK":
        order_id   = event["data"]["order"]["order_id"]
        payment_id = event["data"]["payment"]["cf_payment_id"]
        amount     = event["data"]["payment"]["payment_amount"]
        # fulfill order here

    return jsonify({"status": "ok"}), 200

Key webhook event types

5. Refunds

POST https://sandbox.cashfree.com/pg/orders/{order_id}/refunds

refund_data = {
    "refund_amount": 499.00,          # partial or full
    "refund_id":     "refund_001",    # your unique refund ID
    "refund_note":   "Customer request"
}

res = requests.post(f"{BASE}/orders/{order_id}/refunds",
                    json=refund_data, headers=HEADERS)
refund = res.json()
print(f"Refund status: {refund['refund_status']}")  # PENDING → SUCCESS

# Fetch refund status
res = requests.get(f"{BASE}/orders/{order_id}/refunds/{refund_id}",
                   headers=HEADERS)

Refund statuses

6. Payment Links (no checkout integration needed)

POST https://sandbox.cashfree.com/pg/links

link_data = {
    "link_id":             "link_001",       # your unique ID
    "link_amount":         999.00,
    "link_currency":       "INR",
    "link_purpose":        "Course fee",
    "customer_details": {
        "customer_name":   "Rahul Sharma",
        "customer_phone":  "9876543210",
        "customer_email":  "rahul@example.com"
    },
    "link_notify": {
        "send_sms":   True,
        "send_email": True
    },
    "link_expiry_time":    "2025-05-01 23:59:59",  # optional
    "link_partial_payments": False
}

res = requests.post(f"{BASE}/links", json=link_data, headers=HEADERS)
link = res.json()
print(f"Payment link: {link['link_url']}")   # share this with customer

Test Credentials (Sandbox only)

Full test data: https://www.cashfree.com/docs/api-reference/payments/data-to-test-integration

Important Rules