stripe-projects

---
name: stripe-projects
description: >
license: MIT
---

## Stripe Projects — Service Provisioning

Provision third-party services (databases, auth, hosting, analytics, caching, AI, observability) and retrieve API keys/tokens using the Stripe Projects CLI plugin.

## Workflow

### Step 1: Ensure Stripe CLI + Projects Plugin

Check if the Stripe CLI is available:

```bash
which stripe && stripe --version
```

If not installed or below version 1.40.0:

- **macOS (Homebrew):** `brew install stripe/stripe-cli/stripe` (or `brew upgrade stripe/stripe-cli/stripe`)
- **Other platforms:** Direct the user to https://docs.stripe.com/stripe-cli/install for up-to-date instructions.

Then ensure the Projects plugin is installed:

```bash
stripe plugin install projects
```

### Step 2: Search the Catalog

Confirm the requested provider/service exists:

```bash
stripe projects search <query> --json
```

If `result_count` is 0, inform the user the service was not found and stop.

If the user’s request is vague (for example, “I need a database”), browse the catalog to suggest options:

```bash
stripe projects catalog --json
```

### Step 3: Initialize a Project

Check if a project is already initialized:

```bash
stripe projects status --json
```

If not initialized, run a preflight check first to reveal all blockers at once:

```bash
stripe projects init --preflight --json
```

If all preflight checks pass, or the only failure is `TOS_ACCEPTANCE_REQUIRED`, proceed:

```bash
stripe projects init --accept-tos --yes
```

If any check fails with `BROWSER_AUTH_REQUIRED`, `PROJECTS_SESSION_UNUSABLE`, or `ACCOUNT_NOT_ELIGIBLE`, stop here. Report that check’s message and remedy to the user verbatim and let them resolve it — clearing these requires a browser sign-in or a Dashboard visit you cannot perform. Do not run `stripe projects init` yourself and do not re-run the preflight: neither clears the blocker for you, since only the user can complete a browser sign-in or a Dashboard step.

Follow the remedy the failing check prints rather than assuming `stripe login` is the fix. If a Stripe CLI session already exists, `stripe login` reports that you are already logged in and exits 0 without changing anything — an exit code of 0 from a login command does not mean the blocker cleared.

**Important:** `stripe projects init` installs the `stripe-projects-cli` skill locally at `.claude/skills/stripe-projects-cli`. This skill contains the full post-init command reference.

### Step 4: Hand Off to stripe-projects-cli

Verify the skill was installed:

```bash
test -f .claude/skills/stripe-projects-cli/SKILL.md && echo "OK" || echo "MISSING"
```

If `MISSING`: re-run `stripe projects init --accept-tos --yes` **once** — the skill is bundled with the Projects plugin and installed during init. If the file is still missing after that single retry, or if init exits non-zero, report init’s error message to the user and stop. Do not keep re-running init.

If `OK`: use the locally-installed `stripe-projects-cli` skill (invoke using the Skill tool with name `stripe-projects-cli`) to continue the workflow — adding services, managing credentials, and configuring the project.

### Step 5: Summarize and Suggest

After a successful service addition, provide output in this format:

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Provider | `<provider name>` |
| Service | `<service type>` |
| Tier | `<tier>` |
| Env vars | `<variable names only — never values>` |

Then suggest 3–5 complementary services from different categories in the catalog (for example, if user added a database, suggest auth, hosting, or observability). Only reference services that actually appear in `stripe projects catalog --json` output — never fabricate commands or provider names.

## CLI as Source of Truth

The CLI manages all state under `.projects/` and generates `.env` files. Don’t hand-edit these files. If you need to inspect project state, use the appropriate CLI command:

| Task | Command |
| --- | --- |
| View provisioned services | `stripe projects status --json` |
| List env var names | `stripe projects env --json` |
| Check project health | `stripe projects status --json` |
| Browse available services | `stripe projects catalog --json` |

Only inspect `.projects/` or `.env` directly if the user explicitly asks you to — the CLI is authoritative, so manual edits may be overwritten.

## Project Variables

Use project variables when the user wants to store an environment variable that doesn’t come from a provisioned provider resource, such as an app URL, feature flag, or self-managed API key.

Create or update a project variable for the active environment:

```bash
stripe projects variables set <name> --env-key <ENV_KEY> --value <value>
```

A successful `variables set` syncs the active environment output file immediately. If the user doesn’t provide the value, run the command without `--value` only in interactive mode so the CLI can prompt securely. Never print secret values in your response.

Bind an existing project variable to the active environment:

```bash
stripe projects env add <name> --variable --env-key <ENV_KEY>
```

Remove a variable binding from the active environment without deleting the stored variable:

```bash
stripe projects env remove <name> --variable
```

List and delete project variables:

```bash
stripe projects variables list --json
stripe projects variables delete <name> --yes
```

## Error Handling

| Error code | Cause | Recovery |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `BROWSER_AUTH_REQUIRED` | No Stripe session and browser sign-in needed | Tell the user to run `stripe projects init` themselves, in a terminal where they can finish the browser sign-in — you cannot fix this, and re-running it yourself will not clear it |
| `PROJECTS_SESSION_UNUSABLE` | A Stripe CLI session exists, but Projects cannot read live-mode credentials from it | Report the message and remedy verbatim and stop. Do NOT retry, and do NOT run `stripe login` — it reports you are already logged in and exits 0 |
| `ACCOUNT_NOT_ELIGIBLE` | Account not onboarded for Projects | Tell the user to run `stripe projects switch-account` to choose an account, or continue setup for this account; report the remedy the CLI printed and stop |
| `TOS_ACCEPTANCE_REQUIRED` | Developer or provider terms not accepted | Re-run with `--accept-tos` |
| `PROVIDER_NOT_LINKED` | Provider requires OAuth linking | Run `stripe projects link <provider>` — may open a browser |
| `PLAN_REQUIRED` | Deployable needs a plan provisioned first | Provision the plan listed in the error, then retry |
| `UNKNOWN_ERROR` | Unexpected failure | Show the full error message to the user and suggest running with `--debug` for diagnostics |
| Service not in catalog | Query returned 0 results | Inform user; suggest `stripe projects catalog --json` to browse alternatives |
| CLI not found | Stripe CLI not installed | Install using Homebrew (macOS) or follow https://docs.stripe.com/stripe-cli/install |