Integrating Subscriptions

Learn how to integrate Stash Subscriptions into your game. This guide covers listing plans, creating subscription checkouts, handling webhooks, and managing subscription lifecycle.

This guide explains how to integrate Stash Subscriptions into your game, from displaying available plans to handling subscription lifecycle events.

Integration overview

Display available plans

Fetch plans from the API and show them to players.

Create subscription checkout

When a player selects a plan, create a subscription checkout link.

Handle webhooks

Process subscription lifecycle events on your backend.

Manage subscriptions

Let players view, cancel, or reactivate their subscriptions.

Display available plans

Fetch available subscription plans using the List Plans endpoint.

List Plans Request
curl -X GET "https://api.stash.gg/sdk/plans" \
  -H "X-Stash-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Plan response

List Plans Response
{
  "plans": [
    {
      "id": "plan_abc123",
      "code": "monthly_premium",
      "name": "Premium Monthly",
      "description": "Access to all premium features",
      "billing_period_value": 1,
      "billing_period_unit": "month",
      "prices": [
        { "currency": "USD", "amount_cents": 999 },
        { "currency": "EUR", "amount_cents": 899 }
      ],
      "trial_period_value": 7,
      "trial_period_unit": "day",
      "status": "active"
    }
  ]
}

Display these plans in your game UI, showing the name, description, price, and trial period (if any).

Use the code field (e.g., monthly_premium) to identify plans in your game logic. The id is Stash's internal identifier.

Create subscription checkout

When a player selects a plan, create a subscription checkout link using the Create Subscription Checkout Link endpoint.

Checkout creation should be done from your server to keep your API key private.

Create Subscription Checkout Link
curl -X POST "https://api.stash.gg/sdk/subscriptions/checkout-links" \
  -H "X-Stash-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "plan_id": "plan_abc123",
    "external_account_id": "player_123",
    "currency": "USD"
  }'

The response includes a checkout URL to present to the player:

Checkout Link Response
{
  "url": "https://checkout.stash.gg/subscribe/abc123",
  "id": "checkout_abc123"
}

After the player completes the checkout, Stash creates the subscription and sends a subscription.created webhook to your backend.

Handle webhooks

Set up a webhook endpoint to receive subscription lifecycle events. See the Webhooks guide for general webhook setup.

Subscription webhook events

EventDescription
subscription.createdNew subscription created
subscription.updatedSubscription plan or status changed
subscription.canceledPlayer canceled their subscription
subscription.reactivatedCanceled subscription was reactivated
subscription.expiredSubscription reached terminal state
subscription.payment_failedRenewal payment failed
subscription.payment_succeededRenewal payment succeeded

Webhook payload (v2)

Subscription webhooks use a v2 payload format:

subscription.created Webhook
{
  "type": "subscription.created",
  "data": {
    "id": "sub_xyz789",
    "external_account_id": "player_123",
    "plan_id": "plan_abc123",
    "status": "active",
    "period": {
      "value": 1,
      "unit": "month"
    },
    "trial_end": "2024-02-01T00:00:00Z",
    "access_end_date": "2024-03-01T00:00:00Z",
    "current_period_end": "2024-03-01T00:00:00Z",
    "next_billing_date": "2024-03-01T00:00:00Z",
    "cancel_at_period_end": false,
    "canceled_at": null,
    "created_at": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z"
  }
}

Handling subscription.created

When you receive subscription.created:

  1. Store the subscription ID and player mapping
  2. Grant the player access to subscription benefits
  3. Update your game's subscription UI
Handle subscription.created
app.post('/webhooks/stash', (req, res) => {
  const { type, data } = req.body;

  if (type === 'subscription.created') {
    // Grant subscription benefits to player
    await grantSubscriptionAccess(data.external_account_id, data.plan_id);

    // Store subscription for later reference
    await saveSubscription(data);
  }

  res.status(200).send('OK');
});

Handling subscription.expired

When you receive subscription.expired:

  1. Revoke the player's subscription benefits
  2. Update your game's subscription UI
  3. Optionally prompt the player to resubscribe

Manage subscriptions

Check subscription status

Use List Subscriptions to check a player's active subscriptions:

List Player Subscriptions
curl -X GET "https://api.stash.gg/sdk/subscriptions?external_account_id=player_123" \
  -H "X-Stash-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Filter by status to find only active subscriptions:

List Active Subscriptions
curl -X GET "https://api.stash.gg/sdk/subscriptions?external_account_id=player_123&status=active" \
  -H "X-Stash-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Cancel a subscription

Allow players to cancel their subscription using Cancel Subscription:

Cancel Subscription
curl -X POST "https://api.stash.gg/sdk/subscriptions/sub_xyz789/cancel" \
  -H "X-Stash-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

After cancellation:

  • cancel_at_period_end becomes true
  • Player keeps access until current_period_end
  • Webhook subscription.canceled is sent

Reactivate a subscription

If a player changes their mind before the period ends, reactivate with Reactivate Subscription:

Reactivate Subscription
curl -X POST "https://api.stash.gg/sdk/subscriptions/sub_xyz789/reactivate" \
  -H "X-Stash-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Reactivation only works while the subscription is canceled. Once it's expired, the player must create a new subscription.

Best practices

Validate access server-side

Always validate subscription access on your game server, not just the client. Check the subscription status and access_end_date before granting premium features.

Handle payment failures gracefully

When you receive subscription.payment_failed, don't immediately revoke access. The player is in a grace period and Stash is retrying the payment. Only revoke access when you receive subscription.expired.

Cache subscription status

Cache subscription status locally to avoid API calls on every game action. Update the cache when you receive webhook events or when the player opens subscription UI.

Provide clear subscription UI

Show players:

  • Their current plan and status
  • Next billing date
  • Option to cancel or manage payment method
  • Clear indication if they're in a trial period

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