Skills stripe-testing

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/TerminalSkills/skills

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/TerminalSkills/skills "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/stripe-testing" ~/.claude/skills/terminalskills-skills-stripe-testing && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: skills/stripe-testing/SKILL.md

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references API keys

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source content

Stripe Testing

Overview

This skill helps you test and debug Stripe payment integrations end-to-end. It covers webhook verification, payment flow simulation using Stripe CLI and test mode, charge failure diagnosis, and subscription lifecycle validation.

Instructions

Setting Up the Test Environment

Verify Stripe CLI is installed:
```
stripe --version
```
Check for a test API key in environment variables (
```
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY
```
starting with
```
sk_test_
```
)
If no key is found, instruct the user to set one from the Stripe Dashboard → Developers → API keys

Run

stripe listen --forward-to localhost:<port>/webhooks/stripe

to forward webhooks locally

Debugging Failed Charges

Ask for the payment intent ID or charge ID (starts with
```
pi_
```
or
```
ch_
```
)

Retrieve details:

stripe payment_intents retrieve <id> --api-key $STRIPE_SECRET_KEY

Check the
```
last_payment_error
```
field for the decline reason

Common decline codes and fixes:

```
card_declined
```
→ Use test card
```
4000000000000002
```
to reproduce
```
insufficient_funds
```
→ Test with
```
4000000000009995
```
```
expired_card
```
→ Test with
```
4000000000000069
```
```
incorrect_cvc
```
→ Test with
```
4000000000000127
```

Check the Events tab:

stripe events list --limit 5 --api-key $STRIPE_SECRET_KEY

Testing Webhook Handlers

List registered webhook endpoints:

stripe webhook_endpoints list --api-key $STRIPE_SECRET_KEY

Trigger a specific event:

stripe trigger <event_type>

(e.g.,

stripe trigger payment_intent.succeeded

)

Verify the local server received and processed the event correctly
Check webhook signature verification in the handler code — look for
```
stripe.webhooks.constructEvent()
```

Common webhook events to test:

```
checkout.session.completed
```
```
invoice.payment_succeeded
```
```
invoice.payment_failed
```
```
customer.subscription.updated
```
```
customer.subscription.deleted
```

Validating Subscription Lifecycle

Create a test customer:

stripe customers create --name "Test User" --email test@example.com --api-key $STRIPE_SECRET_KEY

Create a subscription with a test clock for time simulation:

stripe test_clocks create --frozen-time $(date +%s) --api-key $STRIPE_SECRET_KEY

Advance the test clock to simulate billing cycles:

stripe test_clocks advance <clock_id> --frozen-time <future_timestamp> --api-key $STRIPE_SECRET_KEY

Verify subscription status transitions:
```
trialing
```
→
```
active
```
→
```
past_due
```
→
```
canceled
```

Reading Server-Side Logs

Search the application logs for Stripe-related entries (look for
```
stripe
```
,
```
webhook
```
,
```
payment
```
)
Check for HTTP 4xx/5xx responses to Stripe webhook deliveries
Verify idempotency — duplicate webhook deliveries should not create duplicate records

Examples

Example 1: Debug a Failed Checkout

User prompt:

Our checkout is failing for some customers. The last failed payment intent is pi_3OxR2aKX8dVqS71m0abc1234. Can you figure out what's going wrong?

Agent actions:

stripe payment_intents retrieve pi_3OxR2aKX8dVqS71m0abc1234 --api-key $STRIPE_SECRET_KEY

Agent output:

Payment Intent pi_3OxR2aKX8dVqS71m0abc1234:
  Status: requires_payment_method
  Last error: card_declined (generic_decline)
  Amount: $49.00 USD
  Customer: cus_PqR7xYz

Analysis:
1. The card was declined with a generic decline — this means the issuing bank refused it
2. This is NOT a code issue — the customer's bank rejected the charge
3. Your error handling looks correct — the PI moved to requires_payment_method

Recommendations:
- Ensure your frontend shows a clear "card declined" message
- Offer alternative payment methods (Apple Pay, Google Pay, bank transfer)
- Check if you have retry logic for `invoice.payment_failed` webhooks

Example 2: Verify Webhook Handler Works

User prompt:

I just deployed a new webhook handler for subscription cancellations. Can you test it?

Agent actions:

stripe listen --forward-to localhost:3000/api/webhooks/stripe &
stripe trigger customer.subscription.deleted

Agent output:

Webhook forwarding active on localhost:3000/api/webhooks/stripe

Triggered: customer.subscription.deleted
  → Delivered to localhost:3000/api/webhooks/stripe [200 OK] in 145ms

Verified:
✓ Webhook received and acknowledged with 200
✓ Signature verification passed (using whsec_ signing secret)
✓ Event type correctly matched to handler

Next steps:
- Check your database: was the subscription marked as canceled?
- Verify the customer received a cancellation email
- Test edge case: trigger it twice to confirm idempotency

Guidelines

Always use test mode keys (
```
sk_test_
```
) — never use live keys for testing
Use Stripe's built-in test card numbers rather than real card data
Test clocks are essential for subscription testing — they let you fast-forward time
Always verify webhook signature validation is implemented correctly
Check for race conditions: webhooks can arrive before the redirect completes
Monitor the Stripe Dashboard → Developers → Webhooks for delivery failures
Use
```
--api-key
```
flag explicitly rather than relying on environment to avoid mistakes