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.
82
86%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
89%
2.69xAverage score across 2 eval scenarios
Advisory
Suggest reviewing before use
Latest Stripe API version: 2026-06-24.dahlia. Always use the latest API version and SDK unless the user specifies otherwise.
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.
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_typesin any Stripe API call, with one exception: Terminal (in-person payments) integrations must passpayment_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, usepayment_method_configurationsorexcluded_payment_method_typesinstead ofpayment_method_types. -
On API version
2026-03-25.dahliaor later, pass the parameterintegration_identifiertocheckout.sessions.createto 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.
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.