🚀 Testing Stripe Webhooks Locally: The 2-Minute No-Dashboard Setup

No domain. No dashboard. No stress.

Testing Stripe webhooks can be a pain. You usually need to deploy a public URL or constantly update a webhook URL in the Stripe dashboard. Not anymore!
We're going to set up 100% working, local testing in under two minutes using the Stripe CLI to forward events directly to your localhost.

🎯 Goal: Test Stripe Locally (No Webhook in Stripe Dashboard)

We’ll use the Stripe CLI to forward Stripe events directly to your localhost — so you’ll never need to touch the Stripe dashboard for webhook setup again.

🧩 Step 1: Install Stripe CLI (Windows — Fixed)

For Windows users, installing via PowerShell is the cleanest way.

Note: Run your PowerShell terminal as Administrator.

Run this one command:

iwr https://github.com/stripe/stripe-cli/releases/download/v1.21.5/stripe_1.21.5_windows_x86_64.zip -OutFile stripe.zip; Expand-Archive stripe.zip .; .\stripe\stripe.exe --version\

This command will:

Download the zip file

Unzip the contents into a new stripe folder

Run stripe --version to confirm installation

Expected output:

stripe/1.21.5 windows-x86_64

🔑 Step 2: Login (One-Time Setup) Link your CLI to your Stripe account:

.\stripe\stripe.exe login

This will automatically open your browser — click Continue to complete the login process.

⚡ Step 3: Start Webhook Forwarding (Your Local “Webhook”) This is the magic step. The CLI connects to Stripe and forwards events to your local endpoint.

.\stripe\stripe.exe listen --forward-to localhost:3000/api/webhook/stripe

🚨 Important: Copy the secret it prints — this is your new local webhook secret.

Ready! Your webhook signing secret is whsec_test_abc123xyz... 🔐 Step 4: Update Your .env.local Add your Stripe keys and webhook secret:

STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_test_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
NEXT_PUBLIC_STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_test_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET=whsec_test_abc123xyz...   # ← Paste your secret here
NEXT_PUBLIC_URL=http://localhost:3000

Get your test keys from 👉 https://dashboard.stripe.com/test/apikeys

🧠 Step 5: Verify Your Webhook Handler File Ensure you have a serverless function that handles and verifies incoming webhook events. Example using Next.js API route:

import Stripe from "stripe";
import Order from "@/models/Order";
import { buffer } from "micro"; // for raw body access in serverless environments

const stripe = new Stripe(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY);
const endpointSecret = process.env.STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET;

export const config = { api: { bodyParser: false } };

export async function POST(req) {
  const buf = await buffer(req);
  const sig = req.headers["stripe-signature"];
  let event;

  try {
    event = stripe.webhooks.constructEvent(buf, sig, endpointSecret);
  } catch (err) {
    console.log("Webhook error:", err.message);
    return new Response("Webhook Error", { status: 400 });
  }

  if (event.type === "checkout.session.completed") {
    const session = event.data.object;
    const orderId = session.metadata.orderId;

    console.log("Payment SUCCESS for order:", orderId);

    await Order.findByIdAndUpdate(orderId, {
      status: "paid",
      stripeSessionId: session.id,
    });
  }

  return new Response("OK", { status: 200 });
}

🧭 Step 6: Run Your Application Start your local development server:

npm run dev

💳 Step 7: Test Stripe Checkout Go to your shopping cart

Choose Stripe as the payment method

Click Place Order

Use the test card:

4242 4242 4242 4242

Any future expiration date and any CVC will work.

✅ Verification:

In your PowerShell (where stripe listen is running), you’ll see:

--> checkout.session.completed
<-- [200] POST /api/webhook/stripe
Payment SUCCESS for order: 67f1a2b3...

In your database:

status: "paid" 💰 Step 8: Test Cash on Delivery (COD) To confirm your non-Stripe payment flow is unaffected:

Choose COD

Place Order

Order status should remain pending