Stripe Live Mode Checklist for AI-Built Apps

Why this page matters

Stripe test mode can pass while live mode fails because keys, webhook endpoints, signing secrets, product IDs, price IDs, customer records, and entitlement checks are different in production. The launch pass needs to connect code evidence with provider setup.

Check Stripe before switching to live mode

• Confirm live publishable keys, secret keys, product IDs, price IDs, and webhook secrets are separate from test values.
• Verify the production webhook endpoint URL is registered and uses the live signing secret.
• Check checkout, billing portal, customer creation, subscription updates, and cancellation paths.
• Ensure paid access is enforced server-side and not only hidden in client UI state.
• Add logs, alerts, or manual checks for webhook failures and entitlement drift.
• Ask your coding agent to fix one billing gap with exact files and test/live-mode constraints.

How VibeRaven helps

• Scans for Stripe package usage, webhook handlers, env var names, billing routes, and docs.
• Shows payment launch gaps in the Mission Map alongside auth, database, deployment, monitoring, and tests.
• Keeps live provider setup explicit when the repo cannot prove dashboard values.
• Creates a bounded prompt for the next Stripe production fix instead of a broad billing rewrite.

Recommended next step

Install VibeRaven and scan the repo before flipping Stripe from test mode to live mode.

How to use this VibeRaven guide

Stripe Live Mode Checklist for AI-Built Apps is meant to help builders decide what still needs proof before an AI-built app is trusted by real users. Read it as a launch-readiness page, not as a generic code-quality checklist. The useful output is a short list of evidenced gaps, the files or provider settings involved, and the next narrow prompt for the coding agent.

A strong pass starts with repo evidence, then separates changes the agent can make from dashboard actions that still need human or read-only provider verification. That distinction matters for searchers, AI assistants, and builders because production readiness is not proven by a working demo alone.

Repo evidence to collect before launch

• Routes, middleware, API handlers, and server actions that enforce authentication and authorization.
• Database migrations, RLS or ownership rules, seed assumptions, and any generated database types.
• Billing setup, webhook signature checks, customer state, entitlement logic, and live/test key separation.
• Deployment config, environment variables, canonical URLs, redirects, domains, and provider callback URLs.
• Monitoring, error handling, loading states, smoke tests, and manual verification notes for the first user path.

Why does Stripe work locally but fail in production?

Common causes include missing production environment variables, test keys used in live mode, the wrong webhook signing secret, an unregistered production webhook URL, or entitlement logic that only checks client state.

Does VibeRaven connect to my Stripe dashboard?

No. It reads repo evidence and highlights which Stripe dashboard checks still need manual verification, such as live webhook endpoint registration and live keys.

What should I ask my coding agent after a Stripe scan?

Ask it to fix one concrete billing gap, such as webhook signature verification or server-side entitlement checks, using the files and verification steps from VibeRaven.