Tutorial: Get Started with FastStripe

Prerequisites

Before starting this tutorial, you’ll need:

• Python 3.9 or higher installed
• A Stripe account (sign up at stripe.com)
• Your Stripe test API keys from the Stripe Dashboard

Why FastStripe?

FastStripe offers several advantages over the official Stripe Python SDK:

• Self-documenting: See all available parameters with descriptions in your IDE
• Simplified workflows: High-level methods for common payment patterns
• Lightweight: Minimal dependencies (just fastcore)
• Consistent API: HTTP verb-based methods (post, get) with full parameter visibility

Step 1: Installation

First, install FastStripe using pip:

pip install faststripe

Or install the latest development version:

pip install git+https://github.com/AnswerDotAI/faststripe.git

Versioning

FastStripe versions follow Stripe’s API versioning scheme (e.g., 2025.05.28.x). Each FastStripe release is pinned to a specific Stripe API version, ensuring:

• Stability: Your code won’t break when Stripe updates their API
• Predictability: Same behavior across all environments
• Compatibility: Choose the Stripe API version that works for your application

When you install FastStripe, you get a specific snapshot of the Stripe API that’s been tested and validated. The minor version represents non-breaking changes we add such as better higher-level APIs.

Step 2: Set up your API key

For this tutorial, you’ll use your Stripe test API key. Create a .env file in your project directory:

echo "STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_test_your_test_key_here" > .env

Then load it in your Python environment:

Step 3: Initialize FastStripe

Now let’s import FastStripe and initialize it with your API key:

from faststripe.core import StripeApi

import os

# Initialize with your API key from environment
sapi = StripeApi(os.environ['STRIPE_SECRET_KEY'])

# Create a customer
customer = sapi.customers.post(email='user@example.com', name='John Doe')
print(customer.id, customer.email)

cus_ScUPG9yb5cPV6G user@example.com

Self-Documenting API

One of FastStripe’s key advantages is that all methods include parameter documentation directly in your IDE. You can see what parameters are available without checking external docs:

# Explore available methods and their parameters
sapi.customers.post?

Signature:     
sapi.customers.post(
    address: object = None,
    balance: int = None,
    cash_balance: dict = None,
    description: str = None,
    email: str = None,
    ...

It also supports tab completion when filling in parameters!

High-Level Convenience Methods

FastStripe includes simplified methods for common payment workflows:

# Create a one-time payment checkout session
checkout = sapi.one_time_payment(
    product_name='My Product',
    amount_cents=2000,  # $20.00
    success_url='https://localhost:8000/success',
    cancel_url='https://localhost:8000/cancel'
)
print(f"Payment URL: {checkout.url[:64]}...")

Payment URL: https://billing.answer.ai/c/pay/cs_test_a107uQXcqI6W9iD09wOmVinc...

# Create a subscription checkout session
subscription = sapi.subscription(
    product_name='Monthly Plan',
    amount_cents=999,  # $9.99/month
    success_url='https://localhost:8000/success',
    cancel_url='https://localhost:8000/cancel',
    customer_email=customer.email
)
print(f"Subscription URL: {subscription.url[:64]}...")

Subscription URL: https://billing.answer.ai/c/pay/cs_test_a1O4fjw1mgs11zkLGgHZTp6T...

Complete API Coverage

FastStripe provides access to the entire Stripe API through organized resource groups:

# Access any Stripe resource with consistent patterns
product = sapi.products.post(name='New Product')
print(f"Created product: {product.name} with ID: {product.id}")

Created product: New Product with ID: prod_ScUPzNzla8KDC6

# Fetch existing resources
customers = sapi.customers.get(limit=3)
print(f"Found {len(customers.data)} customers")

Found 3 customers

# All responses are AttrDict objects for easy dot notation access
payment_intent = sapi.payment.intents_post(amount=1000, currency='usd')
print(f"Payment intent status: {payment_intent.status}, amount: ${payment_intent.amount/100}")

Payment intent status: requires_payment_method, amount: $10.0

Pagination Support

FastStripe includes built-in utilities for handling paginated API responses, making it easy to work with large requests.

from faststripe.page import paged, pages


for p in paged(sapi.customers.get, limit=5): break
print(f"Got {len(p.data)} customers")
print(f"Has more pages: {p.has_more}")

Got 5 customers
Has more pages: True

sapi.products

• products.get(active: ‘str’, created: ‘str’, ending_before: ‘str’, expand: ‘str’, ids: ‘str’, limit: ‘str’, shippable: ‘str’, starting_after: ‘str’, url: ‘str’): List all products
• products.post(active: bool = None, default_price_data: dict = None, description: str = None, expand: list = None, id: str = None, images: list = None, marketing_features: list = None, metadata: dict = None, name: str = None, package_dimensions: dict = None, shippable: bool = None, statement_descriptor: str = None, tax_code: str = None, unit_label: str = None, url: str = None): Create a product
• products.search_get(expand: ‘str’, limit: ‘str’, page: ‘str’, query: ‘str’): Search products
• products.id_delete(id): Delete a product
• products.id_get(id, expand: ‘str’): Retrieve a product
• products.id_post(id, active: bool = None, default_price: str = None, description: object = None, expand: list = None, images: object = None, marketing_features: object = None, metadata: object = None, name: str = None, package_dimensions: object = None, shippable: bool = None, statement_descriptor: str = None, tax_code: object = None, unit_label: object = None, url: object = None): Update a product
• products.product_features_get(product, ending_before: ‘str’, expand: ‘str’, limit: ‘str’, starting_after: ‘str’): List all features attached to a product
• products.product_features_post(product, entitlement_feature: str = None, expand: list = None): Attach a feature to a product
• products.product_features_id_delete(product, id): Remove a feature from a product
• products.product_features_id_get(product, id, expand: ‘str’): Retrieve a product_feature

products = pages(sapi.products.get, limit=10)
len(products), products[0]

(
    650,
    {
        'id': 'prod_ScUPzNzla8KDC6',
        'object': 'product',
        'active': True,
        'attributes': [],
        'created': 1751657895,
        'default_price': None,
        'description': None,
        'images': [],
        'livemode': False,
        'marketing_features': [],
        'metadata': {},
        'name': 'New Product',
        'package_dimensions': None,
        'shippable': None,
        'statement_descriptor': None,
        'tax_code': None,
        'type': 'service',
        'unit_label': None,
        'updated': 1751657895,
        'url': None
    }
)

The pagination utilities work with any Stripe resource that supports pagination:

• paged(): Creates a paged generator for a resource’s API
• pages(): Iterator that automatically fetches all pages and returns all items returned in those pages

This makes it easy to process large datasets without manually handling pagination tokens.