summary.en.md

How to Setup a Stripe Webhook in PHP to Automate Payments

• Platform: YouTube
• Channel/Creator: BluerSky TV
• Duration: 00:13:58
• Release Date: Sep 29, 2022
• Video Link: Watch on YouTube

Disclaimer: This is a personal summary and interpretation based on a YouTube video. It is not official material and not endorsed by the original creator. All rights remain with the respective creators.

This document summarizes the key takeaways from the video. I highly recommend watching the full video for visual context and coding demonstrations.

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Why Use a Custom Stripe Webhook?

Stripe Checkout is great, but the default success page is very limited. A webhook lets you run your own code the moment a payment succeeds — send custom emails, create accounts, grant access to a Telegram group, add users to a course platform, send WhatsApp confirmations, update your own database… basically anything you want.

The video shows a real-world example: when someone pays €15 for access to a private Telegram club, the webhook catches the payment and automatically sends the buyer the invitation links.

Ask AI: Stripe Webhooks for Custom Payment Automation

Creating the Webhook Endpoint in Stripe Dashboard

1. Log into your Stripe dashboard (live mode is fine — no need for test keys).
2. Go to Developers → Webhooks → “Add endpoint”.
3. Enter your public URL, e.g. https://yourdomain.com/stripe_webhooks.php
4. Choose the events you care about (the video uses checkout.session.completed).
5. Save — Stripe will immediately shows you the recommended PHP code and gives you the signing secret (whsec_…).

You can do all of this directly in production. No separate test environment is required.

Ask AI: Adding a Webhook Endpoint in Stripe Dashboard

Installing the Official Stripe PHP Library

You need the Stripe PHP library and Composer.

composer require stripe/stripe-php

This creates a vendor/ folder with autoload.php.
If Composer isn’t installed on your server yet (common on fresh Ubuntu VPS), just follow the official Composer installer — it’s a few commands and you’re done.

Once installed, every PHP file that uses Stripe simply starts with:

require_once 'vendor/autoload.php';

Ask AI: Installing stripe/stripe-php with Composer

The Webhook Handler (stripe_webhooks.php)

Stripe already gives you almost the complete, secure code when you create the endpoint. You just copy-paste and extend it.

Here is the real-world version the presenter ended up with (slightly cleaned for readability):

<?php
require_once 'vendor/autoload.php';

$stripe = new \Stripe\StripeClient('sk_live_************************');
$endpoint_secret = 'whsec_************************';

$payload = @file_get_contents('php://input');
$sig_header = $_SERVER['HTTP_STRIPE_SIGNATURE'];
$event = null;

try {
    $event = \Stripe\Webhook::constructEvent($payload, $sig_header, $endpoint_secret);
} catch(\UnexpectedValueException $e) {
    // Invalid payload
    http_response_code(400);
    exit();
} catch(\Stripe\Exception\SignatureVerificationException $e) {
    // Invalid signature
    http_response_code(400);
    exit();
}

// Handle the event
if ($event->type == 'checkout.session.completed') {
    $session = $event->data->object;

    $payment_id = $session->id;
    $amount_total = $session->amount_total / 100; // Stripe sends cents → convert to euros/dollars
    $email = $session->customer_details->email;
    $phone = $session->customer_details->phone ?? '';

    // Optional: log everything for debugging
    file_put_contents('stripe.log', date('Y-m-d H:i:s') . ' ' . print_r($session, true) . PHP_EOL, FILE_APPEND);

    // ── Your custom logic starts here ─────────────────────
    // Example 1: send mail directly
    // mail($email, 'Thank you!', 'Your access links: …');

    // Example 2 (what the video does): forward to your own confirmation script
    $confirm_url = 'https://yourdomain.com/stripe_confirmation.php';
    $post_data = http_build_query([
        'email' => $email,
        'amount' => $amount_total,
        'payment_id' => $payment_id
    ]);

    $ch = curl_init($confirm_url);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $post_data);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
    curl_exec($ch);
    curl_close($ch);
    // ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
}

http_response_code(200); // Stripe needs 2xx response

That’s literally it — less than 100 lines for full automation.

Ask AI: Full Stripe Webhook Handler Example in PHP

Testing & Debugging (Even in Production)

You don’t need test mode or the Stripe CLI for basic testing.

1. Make one real purchase (or buy your own product — Stripe lets you refund instantly).
2. Go to the webhook in Stripe dashboard → you’ll see the delivered event.
3. Click “Resend” as many times as you want — it will hit your endpoint again with the exact same payload.
4. Check your stripe.log file or database to see exactly what arrived.

This trick lets you iterate 50–100 times in minutes without waiting for new customers.

Ask AI: Testing Stripe Webhooks in Production

What You Can Automate (Ideas from the Video)

• Send beautifully formatted confirmation emails
• Create user accounts automatically
• Add buyer to Telegram/Discord/group chats
• Grant course/platform access
• Send SMS/WhatsApp notifications
• Insert order into your own database
• Trigger Zapier/Make.com webhooks
• Anything PHP can do

All with just a few lines inside the checkout.session.completed block.

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About the summarizer

I'm Ali Sol, a Backend Developer. Learn more:

• Website: alisol.ir
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alisolphp