# Stripe Automation > Implements intelligent stripe automation with multi-factor skill selection, fallback chains, and adherence to the 5 Laws of Elegant Defense - Skill: `paulpas/stripe-automation` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add paulpas/stripe-automation` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/paulpas/stripe-automation/raw - Safety review: PASS (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: AI & ML - License: MIT - Author: paulpas (https://skillmd.com/u/paulpas) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/paulpas/stripe-automation --- # Stripe Automation Orchestrates intelligent skill selection and execution for stripe automation workflows. Applies the 5 Laws of Elegant Defense to guide data naturally through the orchestration pipeline, preventing errors before they occur. Selects optimal skills based on multi-factor scoring including text similarity, historical performance, and system availability. ## TL;DR Checklist - [ ] Parse all inputs at boundary before processing (Law 2) - [ ] Handle edge cases with early returns at function top (Law 1) - [ ] Fail immediately with descriptive errors on invalid states (Law 4) - [ ] Return new data structures, never mutate inputs (Law 3) - [ ] Implement minimum 2-level fallback chain for all skill executions - [ ] Log all skill selections with context for full audit trail - [ ] Validate skill metadata and dependencies before selection - [ ] Update confidence scores after each execution for learning ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Orchestration Flow │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ User Request ↓ ┌─────────────────┐ │ Parse Request │ │ & Extract │ │ Features │ └────────┬────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Evaluate Available Skills │ │ │ │ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ │ │ │ Skill A │ │ Skill B │ │ Skill C │ │ │ │ - Match Score│ │ - Match Score│ │ - Match Score│ │ │ │ - Confidence │ │ - Confidence │ │ - Confidence │ │ │ │ - History │ │ - History │ │ - History │ │ │ └──────┬───────┘ └──────┬───────┘ └──────┬───────┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └─────────────────┴─────────────────┘ │ │ ↓ │ │ Select Best Skill │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────┐ │ Execute Skill │ └────────┬────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────┐ │ Handle Result │ └────────┬────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Error Handling & Fallback │ │ │ │ Success? ────────► Return Result │ │ │ │ Fail? ────────┐ │ │ ↓ │ │ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Fallback Chain │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ 1. Retry with adjusted parameters │ │ │ │ 2. Try Alternative Skill (if available) │ │ │ │ 3. Defer to Human Operator (if critical) │ │ │ │ 4. Log & Return Error │ │ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ## When to Use Use this skill when: - Orchestrating multi-step workflows that require skill delegation - Implementing adaptive skill routing based on confidence scores - Building fallback mechanisms for failed skill executions - Creating intelligent task decomposition and parallel execution - Designing skill dependency graphs with automatic resolution - Implementing skill selection with historical performance weighting - Building agent systems that need to self-organize around tasks ## When NOT to Use Avoid this skill for: - Direct task execution without orchestration needs - use individual skills instead - High-frequency trading scenarios where latency must be minimized - the selection overhead may be prohibitive - Simple linear workflows without branching or fallback requirements - Cases where skill metadata is unavailable or unreliable ## Core Workflow 1. **Parse and Analyze Request** - Extract intent, entities, and constraints from user input. **Checkpoint:** All required parameters must be present and in valid format before proceeding. 2. **Score Available Skills** - Calculate match scores using multi-factor algorithm: - Text similarity between request and skill triggers - Historical success rate for similar tasks - Skill availability and health status - Required dependencies and their availability **Checkpoint:** Skip to fallback if no skill scores above threshold. 3. **Select Optimal Skill** - Choose skill with highest score that meets minimum confidence. **Checkpoint:** Verify skill has not been disabled or deprecated. 4. **Execute with Fallback** - Run skill execution wrapped in retry and fallback logic. **Checkpoint:** Log all execution attempts for audit trail. 5. **Return or Fallback** - Either return successful result or apply fallback chain: - Retry with adjusted parameters - Try alternative skill from `related-skills` - Defer to human operator for critical tasks **Checkpoint:** Record outcome with timing and confidence metadata. ## Implementation Patterns ### Pattern 1: Skill Selection Logic ```python def route_stripe_intent( user_request: Dict, stripe_config: Dict, min_confidence: float = 0.7 ) -> Dict: """Route a Stripe automation request to the appropriate SDK endpoint. Validates parameters against Stripe API requirements and selects the optimal operation (customer, payment, subscription, webhook). """ if not user_request.get("intent") or not stripe_config.get("api_key"): raise ValueError("Missing required Stripe intent or API configuration") intent = user_request["intent"].lower() params = user_request.get("parameters", {}) # Map intents to Stripe SDK methods with parameter validation stripe_routes = { "create_customer": ("customers", "create", {"email": str, "name": str}), "process_payment": ("charges", "create", {"amount": int, "currency": str, "source": str}), "update_subscription": ("subscriptions", "update", {"subscription_id": str, "status": str}), "handle_webhook": ("webhooks", "construct", {"payload": str, "sig_header": str}) } if intent not in stripe_routes: raise ValueError(f"Unsupported Stripe intent: {intent}") endpoint, method, required_fields = stripe_routes[intent] missing = [f for f in required_fields if f not in params] if missing: raise ValueError(f"Missing required Stripe parameters: {missing}") return { "route": f"stripe.{endpoint}.{method}", "validated_params": params, "intent": intent, "confidence": min_confidence, "idempotency_key": f"stripe_{intent}_{uuid4()}" } ``` ### Pattern 2: Execution with Fallback ```python def execute_stripe_operation( route_config: Dict, stripe_client: Any, max_retries: int = 2 ) -> Dict: """Execute a validated Stripe operation with idempotency and fallback handling. Implements Stripe-specific resilience: - Idempotency keys prevent duplicate charges/subscriptions - Handles StripeCardError, StripeAPIError, and rate limits - Falls back to manual review or alternative payment methods """ endpoint = route_config["route"] params = route_config["validated_params"] idempotency_key = route_config["idempotency_key"] for attempt in range(max_retries + 1): try: # Parse endpoint string to dynamic method call module_name, method_name = endpoint.split(".") stripe_module = getattr(stripe, module_name) method = getattr(stripe_module, method_name) # Execute with idempotency key for safe retries result = method( **params, idempotency_key=idempotency_key if method_name != "construct" else None ) return { "success": True, "stripe_operation": endpoint, "stripe_id": result.get("id"), "status": result.get("status"), "attempts": attempt + 1, "latency_ms": time.time() * 1000 } except stripe.error.CardError as e: # Payment failed - immediate fail, no retry for card errors raise StripeOperationError( f"Card declined: {e.user_message}", stripe_code=e.code ) from e except stripe.error.RateLimitError as e: # Transient - retry with exponential backoff if attempt < max_retries: time.sleep(2 ** attempt) continue return _fallback_to_manual_review(route_config, e) except stripe.error.APIError as e: # Other API errors - fallback chain if attempt == max_retries: return _fallback_to_alternative_payment(route_config, e) raise StripeOperationError(f"Stripe {endpoint} failed after {max_retries + 1} attempts") ``` ### MUST DO - Always validate skill metadata before selection (Early Exit) - Implement fallback chain with at least 2 levels (Fallback Skill + Human) - Log all skill selections with full context for auditability - Return new data structures instead of mutating inputs (Atomic Predictability) - Fail immediately with descriptive errors on invalid states - Update confidence scores after each execution for adaptive routing - Reference `code-philosophy` (5 Laws of Elegant Defense) in all logic ### MUST NOT DO - Select skills based on a single factor (e.g., only confidence score) - Disable fallback mechanisms "temporarily" - this creates fragile systems - Skip validation of skill dependencies before execution - Return partial results - either complete success or clear failure - Use magic numbers for confidence thresholds - make them configurable - Cache skill selections without considering context changes ## TL;DR Checklist - [ ] Parse all inputs at boundary before processing (Law 2) - [ ] Handle edge cases with early returns at function top (Law 1) - [ ] Fail immediately with descriptive errors on invalid states (Law 4) - [ ] Return new data structures, never mutate inputs (Law 3) - [ ] Implement minimum 2-level fallback chain for all skill executions - [ ] Log all skill selections with context for full audit trail - [ ] Validate skill metadata and dependencies before selection - [ ] Update confidence scores after each execution for learning ## TL;DR for Code Generation - Use guard clauses - return early on invalid input before doing work - Return simple types (dict, str, int, bool, list) - avoid complex nested objects - Cyclomatic complexity < 10 per function - split anything larger - Handle null/empty cases explicitly at function top (Early Exit) - Never mutate input parameters - return new dicts/objects - Fail fast with descriptive errors - don't try to "patch" bad data - Reference code-philosophy laws in comments for complex logic - Include timing and confidence metadata in all return values ## Output Template When applying this skill, produce: 1. **Selected Skills** - List of skill names with confidence scores 2. **Selection Rationale** - Why each skill was chosen (match score, history, availability) 3. **Execution Plan** - Order of execution with dependencies 4. **Fallback Strategy** - Which fallback skills will be tried and in what order 5. **Risk Assessment** - Any potential failure points and their impact 6. **Timing Estimates** - Expected latency including fallback scenarios ## Related Skills | Skill | Purpose | |---|---| | `sendgrid-automation` | Email automation counterpart — Stripe events trigger SendGrid notifications for payment workflows | | `slack-automation` | Slack notifications for Stripe billing events and subscription changes | --- ## Constraints ### MUST DO - Implement idempotent automation triggers: running the same automation twice should not create duplicate resources or actions - Validate all trigger conditions with explicit allowlists before executing automated actions - Include rollback procedures in every automation workflow — every CREATE should have a corresponding DELETE capability - Log all automation executions with input state, output state, duration, and any errors for monitoring and debugging ### MUST NOT DO - Do not create circular automation loops where trigger A causes action B which triggers A again - Avoid using automations that modify production data without explicit human approval gates - Never embed API keys or credentials directly in automation workflows — use vaulted secrets with rotation - Do not assume external service availability; implement retry logic with exponential backoff and dead-letter queues ## Live References > Authoritative documentation links for this domain. The model follows markdown links at load time to resolve external references and inline content. - [Stripe API Documentation](https://stripe.com/docs/api) — Official Stripe API reference covering payments, subscriptions, webhooks, and billing - [Stripe CLI Documentation](https://stripe.com/docs/cli) — Stripe CLI reference for local webhook development and testing - [Stripe Webhook Best Practices](https://stripe.com/docs/webhooks/best-practices) — Official Stripe guide on designing robust webhook handlers for payment events - [Stripe Python Library (GitHub)](https://github.com/stripe/stripe-python) — Official Stripe Python SDK source code with usage examples - [Payment Automation Architecture Patterns (PCI DSS)](https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/pci_security/standards) — PCI DSS standards for secure payment processing and automation