Webhooks: payment status is decided on the server

Lesson objective

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to have a server function built that receives Stripe webhooks, verifies their signature, ignores duplicates and keeps the subscription status up to date in the database, then test it (payment, duplicate, cancellation through the customer portal) with the Stripe dashboard or the Stripe CLI.

Where it fits

Take a Stripe payment, in test mode

How do I charge for a subscription, and know for sure who has paid?

Lessons in this module

1. Open a Stripe Checkout payment from the server
2. Webhooks: payment status is decided on the server (this lesson)

What you will learn in the course

This lesson is part of the course Add a database, authentication and payments to your app

• Decide what stays in the browser and what must move to the server, and choose a back-end platform that fits your app, your budget and your data.
• Manage environment variables and secrets (public VITE_ variables, secret keys on the server only, .env files kept out of Git, rotation after a leak).
• Have the agent design a data model and its migrations, then check that data is actually stored and linked to the right user.
• Write, have written and test Row Level Security rules that guarantee each user only accesses their own data and that plan limits are enforced in the database.
• Add sign-up, sign-in, sign-out and password reset, and verify the flows, email confirmation and redirect URLs.
• Integrate Stripe Checkout in test mode (product, price, session created on the server, test cards) without exposing the secret key.
• Hold payment status on the server with signed, deduplicated Stripe webhooks, tested with the Stripe CLI or the Dashboard.
• Apply GDPR basics (information, account deletion, processors) and a go-live checklist before taking real payments.

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