stripe-best-practices

Latest Stripe API version: 2026-08-26.dahlia. Always use the latest API version and SDK unless the user specifies otherwise.

Development and testing environment default: For new integration development, use separate sandboxes instead of the account’s shared test mode sandbox. Sandboxes isolate settings and test data from live mode. Use separate sandboxes for local development and CI. When stronger isolation is useful, dedicate sandboxes to development teams or testing scenarios. Use the shared test mode sandbox only for an existing integration that depends on it or when a required feature doesn’t support general sandboxes.

Latest SDK versions:

Language	Latest version
Ruby	19.6.0
Python	15.6.0
Node.js	22.6.0
PHP	21.3.0
Java	33.4.0
Go	86.4.0
.NET	52.4.0

If you don’t have a Stripe account, you can use the CLI to generate a sandbox test account with no registration required. Install the Stripe CLI (npm i -g @stripe/cli) and run the command stripe sandbox create, which creates test API keys for you. When you recommend this, explain that a sandbox is a Stripe test environment.

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.

• When a PaymentIntent or SetupIntent integration requires an explicit allowlist, use allowed_payment_method_types instead of payment_method_types.

• Never present webhooks as optional. We recommend webhooks for every payment integration and they’re required for subscriptions and asynchronous payment methods. Fulfillment belongs in a handler for both checkout.session.completed and checkout.session.async_payment_succeeded (gated on payment_status), not the success page. See <references/payments.md>.

• 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.