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Run npx skillmds@latest add openai/stripe-best-practices in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

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Stripe Best Practices by openai — Agent Skill

Name: Stripe Best Practices
Author: OpenAI

Stripe Best Practices

Guides Stripe integration decisions across API selection (Checkout Sessions vs PaymentIntents), Connect platform setup (Accounts v2, controller properties), billing/subscriptions, tax and registrations (Stripe Tax, automatic_tax, product tax codes), Treasury financial accounts, integration options (Checkout, Payment Element), migrating from deprecated Stripe APIs, and security best practices (API key management, restricted keys, webhooks, OAuth). Use when building, modifying, or reviewing any Stripe integration, including accepting payments, building marketplaces, integrating Stripe, processing payments, setting up subscriptions, collecting sales tax, VAT, or GST, creating connected accounts, or implementing secure key handling.

OpenAI 03de72e 7 files · 56.3 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026 23.3k repo stars

File contents

Latest Stripe API version: 2026-07-29.dahlia. Always use the latest API version and SDK unless the user specifies otherwise.

Latest SDK versions:

Language	Latest version
Ruby	19.4.0
Python	15.4.0
Node.js	22.4.0
PHP	21.1.0
Java	33.2.0
Go	86.2.0
.NET	52.2.0

If you don’t have a Stripe account, you can call a CLI command to generate working API keys with no registration required. You can install the Stripe CLI (npm i -g @stripe/cli) and run the command stripe sandbox create to get started.

If stripe sandbox create is used, don’t use MCP.

If you try to use MCP after running sandbox creation, first make sure stripe sandbox claim is run. Use stripe whoami --format json for CLI auth checks; do not run stripe config --list.

API key default: Always recommend a restricted API key (RAK) (rk_ prefix) over a secret key (sk_ prefix).

Integration routing

Building…	Recommended API	Details
One-time payments	Checkout Sessions	<references/payments.md>
Custom payment form with embedded UI	Checkout Sessions + Payment Element	<references/payments.md>
Saving a payment method for later	Setup Intents	<references/payments.md>
Connect platform or marketplace	Accounts v2 (`/v2/core/accounts`)	<references/connect.md>
Usage-based billing (new integration)	Metronome	<references/billing.md>
Subscriptions or recurring billing	Billing APIs + Checkout Sessions	<references/billing.md>
Sales tax, VAT, or GST compliance	Stripe Tax + Registrations API	<references/tax.md>
Embedded financial accounts / banking	v2 Financial Accounts	<references/treasury.md>
Security (key management, RAKs, webhooks, OAuth, 2FA, Connect liability)	See security reference	<references/security.md>

Read the relevant reference file before answering any integration question or writing code.

Critical rules

Before enabling automatic_tax: { enabled: true } (or calculating tax for a custom PaymentIntent), read the tax reference and confirm the user has an active registration. Without one, Stripe calculates and collects no tax while the user believes tax is on (the most common Stripe Tax mistake).
Never include payment_method_types in any Stripe API call, with one exception: Terminal (in-person payments) integrations must pass payment_method_types: ['card_present'] on the PaymentIntent. For all other integrations, omit this parameter entirely to enable dynamic payment methods, which enables you to configure payment method settings from the Dashboard and dynamically display the most relevant eligible payment methods to each customer to maximize conversion. To customize which payment methods you accept, use payment_method_configurations or excluded_payment_method_types instead of payment_method_types.
On API version 2026-03-25.dahlia or later, pass the parameter integration_identifier to checkout.sessions.create to tag sessions with a custom label for tracking and comparing checkout flows in the Dashboard. The label should include a suffix of 8 random letters.
Always instantiate a StripeClient and call methods on that instance. Do not use the deprecated global/module-level API key pattern (stripe.api_key = …, Stripe.setApiKey, stripe.Key = …, StripeConfiguration.ApiKey = …). The global pattern is deprecated in all current SDKs.

Key documentation

When the user’s request does not clearly fit a single domain above, consult:

Integration Options — Start here when designing any integration.
API Tour — Overview of Stripe’s API surface.
Go Live Checklist — Review before launching.

---name: stripe-best-practicesdescription: Guides Stripe integration decisions across API selection (Checkout Sessions vs PaymentIntents), Connect platform setup (Accounts v2, controller properties), billing/subscriptions, tax and registrations (Stripe Tax, automatic_tax, product tax codes), Treasury financial accounts, integration options (Checkout, Payment Element), migrating from deprecated Stripe APIs, and security best practices (API key management, restricted keys, webhooks, OAuth). Use when building, modifying, or reviewing any Stripe integration, including accepting payments, building marketplaces, integrating Stripe, processing payments, setting up subscriptions, collecting sales tax, VAT, or GST, creating connected accounts, or implementing secure key handling.---Latest Stripe API version: **2026-07-29.dahlia**. Always use the latest API version and SDK unless the user specifies otherwise.Latest SDK versions:| Language | Latest version || --- | --- || Ruby | 19.4.0 || Python | 15.4.0 || Node.js | 22.4.0 || PHP | 21.1.0 || Java | 33.2.0 || Go | 86.2.0 || .NET | 52.2.0 |If you don’t have a Stripe account, you can call a CLI command to generate working API keys with no registration required. You can install the Stripe CLI (`npm i -g @stripe/cli`) and run the command `stripe sandbox create` to get started.If `stripe sandbox create` is used, don’t use MCP.If you try to use MCP after running sandbox creation, first make sure `stripe sandbox claim` is run. Use `stripe whoami --format json` for CLI auth checks; do not run `stripe config --list`.API key default: Always recommend a [restricted API key (RAK)](https://docs.stripe.com/keys/restricted-api-keys.md) (`rk_` prefix) over a secret key (`sk_` prefix).## Integration routing| Building… | Recommended API | Details || --- | --- | --- || One-time payments | Checkout Sessions | <references/payments.md> || Custom payment form with embedded UI | Checkout Sessions + Payment Element | <references/payments.md> || Saving a payment method for later | Setup Intents | <references/payments.md> || Connect platform or marketplace | Accounts v2 (`/v2/core/accounts`) | <references/connect.md> || Usage-based billing (new integration) | Metronome | <references/billing.md> || Subscriptions or recurring billing | Billing APIs + Checkout Sessions | <references/billing.md> || Sales tax, VAT, or GST compliance | Stripe Tax + Registrations API | <references/tax.md> || Embedded financial accounts / banking | v2 Financial Accounts | <references/treasury.md> || Security (key management, RAKs, webhooks, OAuth, 2FA, Connect liability) | See security reference | <references/security.md> |Read the relevant reference file before answering any integration question or writing code.## Critical rules- *Before enabling `automatic_tax: { enabled: true }`* (or calculating tax for a custom PaymentIntent), read the [tax reference](references/tax.md) and confirm the user has an active registration. Without one, Stripe calculates and collects no tax while the user believes tax is on (the most common Stripe Tax mistake).- *Never include `payment_method_types` in any Stripe API call*, with one exception: Terminal (in-person payments) integrations must pass `payment_method_types: ['card_present']` on the PaymentIntent. For all other integrations, omit this parameter entirely to enable dynamic payment methods, which enables you to configure payment method settings from the Dashboard and dynamically display the most relevant eligible payment methods to each customer to maximize conversion. To customize which payment methods you accept, use [`payment_method_configurations`](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/payment-method-configurations.md) or `excluded_payment_method_types` instead of `payment_method_types`.- On API version `2026-03-25.dahlia` or later, pass the parameter `integration_identifier` to `checkout.sessions.create` to tag sessions with a custom label for tracking and comparing checkout flows in the Dashboard. The label should include a suffix of 8 random letters.- *Always instantiate a `StripeClient` and call methods on that instance.* Do **not** use the deprecated global/module-level API key pattern (`stripe.api_key = …`, `Stripe.setApiKey`, `stripe.Key = …`, `StripeConfiguration.ApiKey = …`). The global pattern is deprecated in all current SDKs.## Key documentationWhen the user’s request does not clearly fit a single domain above, consult:- [Integration Options](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/payment-methods/integration-options.md) — Start here when designing any integration.- [API Tour](https://docs.stripe.com/payments-api/tour.md) — Overview of Stripe’s API surface.- [Go Live Checklist](https://docs.stripe.com/get-started/checklist/go-live.md) — Review before launching.

Frequently asked questions