stripe

Stripe Knowledge Base

Unified reference for Stripe integrations. Content is split across references/ (topic-specific patterns) and scripts/ (ready-to-run helpers).

When to load which reference

• Any Stripe API work -> start with references/api-cheatsheet.md and references/stripe.md
• TypeScript / Next.js integration (Route Handlers, Server Actions) -> references/typescript-nextjs.md
• Embedded Checkout (React mount instead of redirect) -> references/embedded-checkout.md
• Webhooks in production (signature, idempotency, event catalog) -> references/webhooks-production.md
• Usage-based billing / metered pricing -> references/billing-meters.md (legacy usage_type=metered was removed in 2025-03-31.basil)
• Feature gating from Stripe products -> references/entitlements.md
• LLM agents calling Stripe (OpenAI Agents SDK / Vercel AI / LangChain / CrewAI / MCP) -> references/stripe-agent-toolkit.md
• Simulating subscription lifecycle in tests -> references/test-clocks.md
• PCI DSS 4.0 / 4.0.1 compliance (SAQ-A, SAQ-A-EP) -> references/pci-dss-4-checklist.md
• Subscription lifecycle -> references/subscription-patterns.md, references/usage-revenue-modeling.md
• Checkout conversion optimization -> references/checkout-optimization.md
• Pricing strategy and tier design -> references/pricing-patterns.md
• Firebase + Stripe integration -> references/firebase-integration.md
• Stripe-idiomatic patterns (reusable code) -> references/stripe-patterns.md
• Cost analysis / unit economics -> references/cost-analysis.md

Reference style note: the newer references (billing-meters, entitlements, webhooks-production, typescript-nextjs, embedded-checkout, stripe-agent-toolkit, test-clocks, pci-dss-4-checklist) intentionally link to official Stripe docs for canonical code samples instead of mirroring them locally. Local content is limited to non-obvious gotchas and decision criteria.

Scripts

Ready-to-run Python helpers (adapt to your project; require STRIPE_SECRET_KEY env var):

• scripts/setup_products.py -- bootstrap Products and Prices for a new project
• scripts/stripe_utils.py -- shared utility functions used by the other scripts
• scripts/sync_subscriptions.py -- reconcile local DB vs Stripe subscription state
• scripts/webhook_handler.py -- signature-verified webhook receiver template with idempotency
• scripts/webhook_audit.py -- report gaps between configured webhook endpoints and the must-have event catalog
• scripts/simulate_subscription.py -- walk a test-clock subscription through trial end, renewal, failed payment, and recovery

All scripts live at ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/stripe/scripts/<name>.py. Agents should reference them by that path.

API version notes

Stripe's current version (May 2026) is 2026-05-27.dahlia. Versions follow the pattern YYYY-MM-DD.<release> where the release name (acacia, basil, dahlia, ...) signals major-release boundaries. Monthly point releases are backwards-compatible within a release name.

Pin an explicit version in all server-side code:

import stripe
stripe.api_version = "2026-05-27.dahlia"

const stripe = new Stripe(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY!, {
  apiVersion: '2026-05-27.dahlia',
});

The modern Node and Python SDKs bake a default API version into each SDK release, so the SDK itself pins requests unless you override. Prefer explicit pinning on the constructor anyway -- it's the one line that documents which version your integration was written against.

Breaking changes to know about:

• 2025-03-31.basil removed the legacy usage records API (SubscriptionItem.create_usage_record and bare usage_type=metered prices). All metered prices must now be backed by a Meter. See billing-meters.md.
• subscription.current_period_end moved to subscription.items.data[0].current_period_end. If your code reads the top-level field, you'll break on any modern version.

Dashboard -> Workbench shows your account's default version. Account defaults lag major releases; never rely on the default -- pin explicitly.

Webhook reliability checklist

• Verify signature with stripe.Webhook.construct_event on every event
• Use the raw body, not re-serialized JSON
• Idempotency: deduplicate by event.id (Stripe retries within a 3-day window)
• Always respond 2xx within 10 seconds; defer heavy work to a queue
• Replay past events via stripe events resend during development
• Test signature failures -- attackers spoof webhooks

See references/webhooks-production.md for the full treatment (event catalog by use-case, multi-environment strategy, audit checklist) and scripts/webhook_handler.py for a working implementation.

Common pitfalls

• Using subscription.current_period_end at top level -- it moved to subscription.items.data[0].current_period_end in newer API versions; verify against your pinned version
• Caching customer.default_source -- deprecated in favor of invoice_settings.default_payment_method
• Treating price.id as the product identifier -- price.id changes on any price update; use product.id for stable references
• Forgetting automatic_payment_methods: { enabled: true } on Payment Intents -- customers get a default payment-method list that often excludes wallets and BNPL
• Still calling SubscriptionItem.create_usage_record -- removed in API 2025-03-31.basil. Migrate to stripe.billing.MeterEvent.create (see references/billing-meters.md).
• Rolling your own plan.features map when your billing lives in Stripe -- use Stripe Entitlements and cache via the entitlements.active_entitlement_summary.updated webhook (see references/entitlements.md).

Integration

• Pricing, tier design, revenue projections -> revenue-optimizer agent (same plugin)
• API implementation, webhooks, Connect, subscriptions -> stripe-integrator agent (same plugin)
• Webhook audit (Stripe account + codebase) -> stripe-webhooks-auditor agent + /stripe:audit-webhooks command
• GDPR / PCI posture around payment data -> business:privacy-doc-generator
• Cross-platform token/auth handling in a payment flow -> platform-engineering:platform-reviewer