Stripe Integration

Stripe Integration

Master Stripe payment processing integration for robust, PCI-compliant payment flows including checkout, subscriptions, webhooks, and refunds.

Do not use this skill when

• The task is unrelated to stripe integration
• You need a different domain or tool outside this scope

Instructions

• Clarify goals, constraints, and required inputs.
• Apply relevant best practices and validate outcomes.
• Provide actionable steps and verification.
• If detailed examples are required, open resources/implementation-playbook.md.

Use this skill when

• Implementing payment processing in web/mobile applications
• Setting up subscription billing systems
• Handling one-time payments and recurring charges
• Processing refunds and disputes
• Managing customer payment methods
• Implementing SCA (Strong Customer Authentication) for European payments
• Building marketplace payment flows with Stripe Connect

Core Concepts

1. Payment Flows

Checkout Session (Hosted)

• Stripe-hosted payment page
• Minimal PCI compliance burden
• Fastest implementation
• Supports one-time and recurring payments

Payment Intents (Custom UI)

• Full control over payment UI
• Requires Stripe.js for PCI compliance
• More complex implementation
• Better customization options

Setup Intents (Save Payment Methods)

• Collect payment method without charging
• Used for subscriptions and future payments
• Requires customer confirmation

2. Webhooks

Critical Events:

• payment_intent.succeeded: Payment completed
• payment_intent.payment_failed: Payment failed
• customer.subscription.updated: Subscription changed
• customer.subscription.deleted: Subscription canceled
• charge.refunded: Refund processed
• invoice.payment_succeeded: Subscription payment successful

3. Subscriptions

Components:

• Product: What you're selling
• Price: How much and how often
• Subscription: Customer's recurring payment
• Invoice: Generated for each billing cycle

4. Customer Management

• Create and manage customer records
• Store multiple payment methods
• Track customer metadata
• Manage billing details

Quick Start

import stripe

stripe.api_key = "sk_test_..."

# Create a checkout session
session = stripe.checkout.Session.create(
    payment_method_types=['card'],
    line_items=[{
        'price_data': {
            'currency': 'usd',
            'product_data': {
                'name': 'Premium Subscription',
            },
            'unit_amount': 2000,  # $20.00
            'recurring': {
                'interval': 'month',
            },
        },
        'quantity': 1,
    }],
    mode='subscription',
    success_url='https://yourdomain.com/success?session_id={CHECKOUT_SESSION_ID}',
    cancel_url='https://yourdomain.com/cancel',
)

# Redirect user to session.url
print(session.url)

Pattern 3: Subscription Creation

def create_subscription(customer_id, price_id):
    """Create a subscription for a customer."""
    try:
        subscription = stripe.Subscription.create(
            customer=customer_id,
            items=[{'price': price_id}],
            payment_behavior='default_incomplete',
            payment_settings={'save_default_payment_method': 'on_subscription'},
            expand=['latest_invoice.payment_intent'],
        )

        return {
            'subscription_id': subscription.id,
            'client_secret': subscription.latest_invoice.payment_intent.client_secret
        }
    except stripe.error.StripeError as e:
        print(f"Subscription creation failed: {e}")
        raise

Pattern 4: Customer Portal

def create_customer_portal_session(customer_id):
    """Create a portal session for customers to manage subscriptions."""
    session = stripe.billing_portal.Session.create(
        customer=customer_id,
        return_url='https://yourdomain.com/account',
    )
    return session.url  # Redirect customer here

Webhook Handling

Resources

• references/checkout-flows.md: Detailed checkout implementation
• references/webhook-handling.md: Webhook security and processing
• references/subscription-management.md: Subscription lifecycle
• references/customer-management.md: Customer and payment method handling
• references/invoice-generation.md: Invoicing and billing
• assets/stripe-client.py: Production-ready Stripe client wrapper
• assets/webhook-handler.py: Complete webhook processor
• assets/checkout-config.json: Checkout configuration templates

Best Practices

1. Always Use Webhooks: Don't rely solely on client-side confirmation
2. Idempotency: Handle webhook events idempotently
3. Error Handling: Gracefully handle all Stripe errors
4. Test Mode: Thoroughly test with test keys before production
5. Metadata: Use metadata to link Stripe objects to your database
6. Monitoring: Track payment success rates and errors
7. PCI Compliance: Never handle raw card data on your server
8. SCA Ready: Implement 3D Secure for European payments

Common Pitfalls

• Not Verifying Webhooks: Always verify webhook signatures
• Missing Webhook Events: Handle all relevant webhook events
• Hardcoded Amounts: Use cents/smallest currency unit
• No Retry Logic: Implement retries for API calls
• Ignoring Test Mode: Test all edge cases with test cards

Full Specification

Complete details, decision trees, protocols, and implementation specs: references/full-details.md