Set Up Stripe on Django
Integrating Stripe directly into Django gives you maximum control over your checkout flow. This guide walks you through a professional, "clean" setup using the Stripe CLI to handle local testing and webhooks.
Integrating Stripe directly into Django gives you maximum control over your checkout flow. This guide walks you through a professional, "clean" setup using the Stripe CLI to handle local testing and webhooks.
Phase 1: Local Environment & CLI
1. Install Stripe CLI
On Windows (PowerShell):
`winget install --id Stripe.StripeCLI
`
On macOS (Homebrew):
`brew install stripe/stripe-cli/stripe
`
2. Pair Your Account
Link your local machine to your Stripe Sandbox:
`stripe login
`
3. Install Python Library
Install the official Stripe library in your virtual environment:
`pip install stripe python-dotenv
`
Phase 2: Django Configuration
4. Set Your API Keys
Add these to your .env file from the Stripe Dashboard:
`
STRIPE_PUBLIC_KEY=pk_test_...
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_test_...
`
5. Import Keys into Settings
Update your settings.py to load the environment variables:
`
import os
STRIPE_PUBLIC_KEY = os.getenv('STRIPE_PUBLIC_KEY')
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY = os.getenv('STRIPE_SECRET_KEY')
STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET = os.getenv('STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET')
`
6. Sync Your Catalog
Run your custom management command to pull Products and Prices from Stripe into your local database:
`python manage.py sync_stripe_catalog
`
Phase 3: Webhook Setup
7. Start the Webhook Listener
Create a secure tunnel from Stripe to your local server:
`stripe listen --forward-to localhost:8000/payments/webhook/
`
8. Update the Webhook Secret
Copy the "Signing Secret" (whsec_...) from the terminal output of the previous step and add it to your .env file.
9. Create the Webhook View
Build a Django view using @csrf_exempt that uses stripe.Webhook.construct_event to verify incoming signals.
Phase 4: Running & Testing
10. Launch the Servers
Keep the 'stripe listen' command running in one terminal, and start your Django server in another:
`python manage.py runserver
`
11. Trigger a Clean Test Event
Test the connection by creating a real, deletable customer object instead of a guest record:
`stripe trigger customer.created
`
12. Final Verification
Check your listener terminal for a "200 OK" response. This confirms your tunnel, secret, and Django view logic are all working together.