Getting Started with PayKit in 5 Minutes

You want to accept payments in your Node.js app. You install Stripe's SDK, write charge creation logic, build a checkout form, set up webhooks. Then your product manager says "we also need Razorpay for India." Now you're maintaining two parallel integrations with different APIs, different webhook formats, and different error shapes.

PayKit eliminates that problem. One SDK, one API, every provider.

What is PayKit?

PayKit is a unified TypeScript payment SDK. You write your payment logic once — charges, refunds, webhooks, checkout — and swap providers by changing a single import. The core SDK, Stripe, Razorpay, and PayPal adapters are MIT-licensed and free.

Step 1: Install

bash

npm install @squaredr/paykit stripe

That's it. The stripe package is a peer dependency — PayKit's adapter wraps it to provide the unified interface.

Step 2: Create your first charge

src/lib/paykit.ts

import { PayKit } from '@squaredr/paykit'
import { StripeAdapter } from '@squaredr/paykit/stripe'
 
export const paykit = new PayKit({
  adapter: new StripeAdapter({
    secretKey: process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY!,
  }),
})

src/app/api/checkout/route.ts

import { paykit } from '@/lib/paykit'
 
export async function POST(request: Request) {
  const { amount, currency } = await request.json()
 
  const charge = await paykit.charges.create({
    amount,      // in smallest unit (e.g. 5000 = $50.00)
    currency,
    metadata: { source: 'website' },
  })
 
  return Response.json({
    clientSecret: charge.clientSecret,
  })
}

The clientSecret is passed to your frontend to confirm the payment using Stripe's Payment Element.

Step 3: Frontend checkout

src/components/Checkout.tsx

'use client'
 
import { PayKitProvider, CheckoutForm } from '@squaredr/paykit-react'
import { StripeClientAdapter } from '@squaredr/paykit/stripe/client'
 
const stripeClient = new StripeClientAdapter(
  process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_STRIPE_PK!
)
 
export function Checkout({ clientSecret }: { clientSecret: string }) {
  return (
    <PayKitProvider clientAdapter={stripeClient} clientSecret={clientSecret}>
      <CheckoutForm
        onSuccess={(result) => console.log('Paid:', result.id)}
        onError={(err) => console.error(err.message)}
      />
    </PayKitProvider>
  )
}

PayKitProvider loads the provider's script, mounts the payment form, and handles confirmation. You get onSuccess and onError callbacks — no provider-specific code needed.

Step 4: Switch to Razorpay

Here's where PayKit shines. To switch from Stripe to Razorpay, change one file:

src/lib/paykit.ts

import { PayKit } from '@squaredr/paykit'
import { RazorpayAdapter } from '@squaredr/paykit/razorpay'
 
export const paykit = new PayKit({
  adapter: new RazorpayAdapter({
    keyId: process.env.RAZORPAY_KEY_ID!,
    keySecret: process.env.RAZORPAY_KEY_SECRET!,
  }),
})

Your checkout route, webhook handler, and frontend component stay exactly the same. paykit.charges.create() now creates a Razorpay order instead of a Stripe PaymentIntent — but the return shape is identical.

Step 5: Handle webhooks

Payment events (successful charge, failed charge, refund) arrive via webhooks. PayKit normalises every provider's webhook payload into a unified event:

src/app/api/webhooks/route.ts

import { paykit } from '@/lib/paykit'
 
export async function POST(request: Request) {
  const payload = await request.text()
  const signature = request.headers.get('stripe-signature')!
 
  const event = paykit.webhooks.construct({
    payload,
    signature,
    secret: process.env.STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET!,
  })
 
  switch (event.type) {
    case 'charge.succeeded':
      // fulfil the order
      break
    case 'charge.failed':
      // notify the customer
      break
  }
 
  return new Response('ok', { status: 200 })
}

Whether the webhook comes from Stripe (payment_intent.succeeded) or Razorpay (payment.captured), your handler sees charge.succeeded. PayKit maps 22 event types across all providers.

What's next?

You now have a working payment integration that can switch providers with a single line change. From here:

Multi-provider routing — run Stripe for USD and Razorpay for INR simultaneously using PaymentRouter
Webhook deep dive — idempotency patterns, multi-provider webhook routing, and local testing
Try the interactive demos — see PayKit in action with live Stripe and Razorpay checkout flows

PayKit is open source on GitHub. The core SDK and three provider adapters (Stripe, Razorpay, PayPal) are free and MIT-licensed.