Stripe Documentation

Checkout Quickstart Fresh ​

Build a working Stripe Checkout integration with Node.js. Customers click a button on your site and are redirected to a Stripe-hosted payment page.

1. Install the Stripe library ​

bash
npm install --save stripe

2. Create a server ​

javascript
// server.js
const express = require('express');
const stripe = require('stripe')(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY);

const app = express();
app.use(express.static('public'));
app.use(express.json());

// Create Checkout Session
app.post('/create-checkout-session', async (req, res) => {
  const session = await stripe.checkout.sessions.create({
    payment_method_types: ['card'],
    line_items: [
      {
        price_data: {
          currency: 'usd',
          product_data: {
            name: 'Stubborn Attachments',
            images: [], // no external images
          },
          unit_amount: 2000,
        },
        quantity: 1,
      },
    ],
    mode: 'payment',
    success_url: `${req.headers.origin}/success.html?session_id={CHECKOUT_SESSION_ID}`,
    cancel_url: `${req.headers.origin}/cancel.html`,
  });

  res.redirect(303, session.url);
});

app.listen(4242, () => console.log('Running on http://localhost:4242'));

3. Create the frontend ​

html
<!-- public/index.html -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>Buy cool new product</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Stubborn Attachments</h1>
  <p>$20.00</p>
  <form action="/create-checkout-session" method="POST">
    <button type="submit">Checkout</button>
  </form>
</body>
</html>

4. Create success and cancel pages ​

html
<!-- public/success.html -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
  <h1>Thanks for your order!</h1>
  <p>Payment successful. We'll send a confirmation email shortly.</p>
</body>
</html>
html
<!-- public/cancel.html -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
  <h1>Order canceled</h1>
  <p>Come back when you're ready.</p>
</body>
</html>

5. Set environment variables ​

bash
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_test_YOUR_TEST_KEY

6. Run the server ​

bash
node server.js

Visit http://localhost:4242 and click Checkout. Use card 4242 4242 4242 4242 to complete a test payment.

7. Handle fulfillment with webhooks ​

Don't rely on the redirect URL alone — customers may close the tab. Listen for the webhook:

javascript
// Add webhook handler to server.js
app.post('/webhook', express.raw({ type: 'application/json' }), async (req, res) => {
  let event;

  try {
    event = stripe.webhooks.constructEvent(
      req.body,
      req.headers['stripe-signature'],
      process.env.STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET
    );
  } catch (err) {
    return res.status(400).send(`Webhook Error: ${err.message}`);
  }

  if (event.type === 'checkout.session.completed') {
    const session = event.data.object;
    console.log('Payment succeeded for session:', session.id);
    // Fulfill the order here
  }

  res.json({ received: true });
});

8. Test webhooks locally ​

bash
stripe listen --forward-to localhost:4242/webhook

Then trigger a test event:

bash
stripe trigger checkout.session.completed

Using existing prices ​

If you have products and prices defined in the Dashboard:

javascript
const session = await stripe.checkout.sessions.create({
  line_items: [
    { price: 'price_1ExistingPriceId', quantity: 1 },
  ],
  mode: 'payment',
  success_url: 'https://example.com/success',
  cancel_url: 'https://example.com/cancel',
});

Next steps ​

Stripe API Reference - Self-contained docs reference, refreshed 2026-05-18