Dodo Payments Checkout Integration

Use client.checkoutSessions.create(...) to build hosted checkout pages or overlay checkout modals. This is the recommended path for all new payment integrations.

When to use this skill

• Build a one-time payment checkout flow
• Create a subscription checkout with optional trial
• Embed checkout in an overlay or inline modal
• Collect customer billing info and custom fields at checkout
• Apply discount codes or handle currency selection
• Redirect customers after payment completes

Checkout Methods

Dodo Payments offers three ways to collect payment:

Legacy: Dynamic Payment Links created via POST /payments or POST /subscriptions are deprecated. Use Checkout Sessions instead.

Core Concepts

Amounts in smallest currency unit: All prices are in cents (or equivalent). A $10 USD charge is 1000.

Checkout Session: A single-use session that generates a hosted checkout URL. Expires after 24 hours (or 15 minutes if confirm=true).

Return URL: Where the customer lands after payment. Dodo appends payment_id (one-time) or subscription_id (subscription), status, and when available license_key and email. It is a UI hint only, never proof of payment.

Entitlement on webhook: The browser redirect is not the source of truth. Always verify payment via webhook before granting access. See webhook-integration skill for verification.

Create a Checkout Session

Basic One-Time Payment

import DodoPayments from 'dodopayments';

const client = new DodoPayments({
  bearerToken: process.env.DODO_PAYMENTS_API_KEY,
  environment: 'test_mode', // or 'live_mode'
});

const session = await client.checkoutSessions.create({
  product_cart: [
    { product_id: 'pdt_example', quantity: 1 }
  ],
  customer: {
    email: 'customer@example.com',
    name: 'Jane Doe'
  },
  return_url: 'https://yoursite.com/checkout/success'
});

console.log('Redirect to:', session.checkout_url);

Response fields:

• session_id: Unique checkout session ID
• checkout_url: Hosted checkout URL (redirect customer here). Nullable when confirm=true
• client_secret: Present only if confirm=true
• publishable_key: Present only if confirm=true. Pair it with client_secret for the inline SDK flow
• payment_id: Present only if confirm=true

publishable_key is a per-session value returned for confirm-mode inline checkout. It is not a Stripe-style publishable API key — Dodo issues no such credential, and every API key is secret and server-side only.

With Multiple Products

const session = await client.checkoutSessions.create({
  product_cart: [
    { product_id: 'pdt_item_1', quantity: 2 },
    { product_id: 'pdt_item_2', quantity: 1 }
  ],
  customer: { email: 'customer@example.com' },
  return_url: 'https://yoursite.com/success'
});

With Existing Customer

const session = await client.checkoutSessions.create({
  product_cart: [
    { product_id: 'pdt_example', quantity: 1 }
  ],
  customer: { customer_id: 'cus_existing_id' },
  return_url: 'https://yoursite.com/success'
});

With Billing Address and Tax ID

const session = await client.checkoutSessions.create({
  product_cart: [
    { product_id: 'pdt_example', quantity: 1 }
  ],
  customer: {
    email: 'customer@example.com',
    name: 'Jane Doe'
  },
  billing_address: {
    country: 'US',
    street: '123 Main St',
    city: 'San Francisco',
    state: 'CA',
    zipcode: '94105'
  },
  tax_id: 'VAT123456789',
  customer_business_name: 'Acme Corp',
  return_url: 'https://yoursite.com/success'
});

With Discount Codes

const session = await client.checkoutSessions.create({
  product_cart: [
    { product_id: 'pdt_example', quantity: 1 }
  ],
  customer: { email: 'customer@example.com' },
  discount_codes: ['PROMO10', 'WELCOME5'], // max 20, ordered
  feature_flags: {
    allow_discount_code: true
  },
  return_url: 'https://yoursite.com/success'
});

With Subscription and Trial

const session = await client.checkoutSessions.create({
  product_cart: [
    { product_id: 'pdt_monthly_subscription', quantity: 1 }
  ],
  subscription_data: {
    trial_period_days: 14
  },
  customer: { email: 'subscriber@example.com' },
  return_url: 'https://yoursite.com/success'
});

With Custom Fields

const session = await client.checkoutSessions.create({
  product_cart: [
    { product_id: 'pdt_example', quantity: 1 }
  ],
  customer: { email: 'customer@example.com' },
  custom_fields: [
    {
      key: 'company_size',
      label: 'Company Size',
      field_type: 'dropdown',
      options: ['1-10', '11-50', '51-200', '200+'],
      required: true
    },
    {
      key: 'use_case',
      label: 'Primary Use Case',
      field_type: 'text',
      placeholder: 'e.g., analytics, reporting',
      required: false
    }
  ],
  return_url: 'https://yoursite.com/success'
});

With Metadata

const session = await client.checkoutSessions.create({
  product_cart: [
    { product_id: 'pdt_example', quantity: 1 }
  ],
  customer: { email: 'customer@example.com' },
  metadata: {
    order_id: 'order_12345',
    referral_code: 'FRIEND20',
    campaign: 'summer_sale'
  },
  return_url: 'https://yoursite.com/success'
});

Next.js App Router

Full guide: references/server-examples.md.

Covers:

• API Route
• Client Component
• Success Page

Express.js

Full guide: references/server-examples.md.

Python (FastAPI)

Full guide: references/server-examples.md.

Overlay Checkout

Full guide: references/overlay-checkout.md.

Covers:

• Installation
• Server Route
• Browser Overlay and Inline Modes

Static Payment Links

No-code shareable links. No server-side API call needed.

Basic Format

https://checkout.dodopayments.com/buy/{productid}

In test mode the host is test.checkout.dodopayments.com (for example https://test.checkout.dodopayments.com/buy/{productid}); a test-mode product does not exist on the live host.

Example:

https://checkout.dodopayments.com/buy/pdt_example

With Query Parameters

https://checkout.dodopayments.com/buy/pdt_example?quantity=2&email=customer@example.com&redirect_url=https%3A%2F%2Fyoursite.com%2Fsuccess

Supported parameters:

• quantity: Item quantity
• redirect_url: Success redirect URL
• email: Prefill customer email
• fullName, firstName, lastName: Prefill name
• country, city, state, zipCode, addressLine: Prefill address
• paymentCurrency: Force currency
• metadata_*: Custom metadata (e.g., metadata_orderId=123)

Retrieve and Preview Sessions

Retrieve Session Status

const status = await client.checkoutSessions.retrieve('cks_session_id');

console.log(status.id);
console.log(status.payment_status);

Preview Session (without creating)

const preview = await client.checkoutSessions.preview({
  product_cart: [
    { product_id: 'pdt_example', quantity: 1 }
  ],
  customer: { email: 'customer@example.com' },
  billing_currency: 'EUR'
});

console.log('Preview total:', preview.current_breakup.total_amount);

Customization

Theme and Appearance

const session = await client.checkoutSessions.create({
  product_cart: [{ product_id: 'pdt_example', quantity: 1 }],
  customer: { email: 'customer@example.com' },
  customization: {
    theme: 'dark', // 'light', 'dark', or 'system'
    force_language: 'en',
    show_order_details: true,
    theme_config: {
      font_size: 'md',
      font_weight: 'normal',
      radius: '8px',
      pay_button_text: 'Complete Purchase',
      light: {
        bg_primary: '#ffffff',
        text_primary: '#000000',
        button_primary: '#0066ff'
      }
    }
  },
  return_url: 'https://yoursite.com/success'
});

Feature Flags

const session = await client.checkoutSessions.create({
  product_cart: [{ product_id: 'pdt_example', quantity: 1 }],
  customer: { email: 'customer@example.com' },
  feature_flags: {
    allow_discount_code: true,
    allow_currency_selection: true,
    allow_customer_editing_email: true,
    allow_phone_number_collection: true,
    require_phone_number: false,
    allow_tax_id: true
  },
  return_url: 'https://yoursite.com/success'
});

Post-Payment Flow

Return URL Handling

After payment, the customer is redirected to your return_url with query parameters:

# One-time payment
https://yoursite.com/success?payment_id=pay_xxx&status=succeeded&email=customer%40example.com

# Subscription (with license keys)
https://yoursite.com/success?subscription_id=sub_xxx&status=active&license_key=LK-001,LK-002&email=customer%40example.com

Query parameters:

• payment_id (one-time payments) or subscription_id (subscriptions)
• status: succeeded (one-time) or active (subscription) on success; failed if declined; processing (or a requires_* value) if it settles later; expired if the session expired
• license_key: present when the product issues license keys (comma-separated if several)
• email: present when the customer has an email on record

There is no session_id parameter. Treat processing/missing status as "unknown" and wait for the webhook.

Verify Payment Server-Side

Do not trust the browser redirect. Use the Express webhook route in references/server-examples.md: it receives the raw signed body before express.json(), fulfills one-time purchases on verified payment.succeeded using event.data.customer.customer_id, and grants subscription access only on verified subscription.active.

Webhook signature verification is covered in the webhook-integration skill.

Common Mistakes

1. Granting access from the return URL The return URL redirect is not proof of payment. Never grant access or fulfill an order from its query parameters; wait for a verified webhook event.

2. Using deprecated APIs Do not use client.payments.create() or client.subscriptions.create() for new integrations. Both are deprecated. Use client.checkoutSessions.create().

3. Forgetting the environment flag The default is live_mode. Always set environment: 'test_mode' during development to avoid charging real cards.

4. Using the deprecated discount_code Use discount_codes (an array). The singular discount_code string is deprecated (still accepted for backward compatibility) and cannot be combined with discount_codes in the same request.

5. Amounts in wrong unit All amounts are in the smallest currency unit (cents for USD). $10 is 1000, not 10.

6. Reusing checkout URLs Checkout URLs are single-use. Create a new session for each checkout attempt.

7. Ignoring confirm=true behavior When confirm=true, the session is finalized immediately and the checkout URL expires in 15 minutes instead of 24 hours. Use only when you have all required customer data.

8. Forgetting raw body for webhooks Webhook signature verification requires the raw request body, not a re-serialized JSON object. Mount the webhook route with express.raw({ type: 'application/json' }) before express.json().

9. Trusting a client-supplied product id Do not accept an arbitrary pdt_ id from the browser. Authenticate the user, accept a public plan slug, map it to an allowlisted product id on the server, and reject quantities that are not positive integers.

Resources

• Checkout Sessions Integration Guide
• Checkout Sessions API Reference
• Overlay Checkout
• Inline Checkout
• Static Payment Links
• Webhook Integration