Stripe test mode on a live site: switch from pk_test to your live keys

Why test keys stop real payments

Stripe's key guide: in a sandbox, "card networks and payment providers don't process payments" and "You can't accept real payment methods or work with real accounts." Its testing guide says it directly: "You can't process live payments if your integration is still using your test API keys."

Stripe also notes that "Each mode has its own set of API keys, and objects in one mode aren't accessible to the other." A price ID created in the sandbox (price_...) doesn't exist in live mode, so swapping only the key usually produces "No such price" errors.

Switch to live mode

1. Work through Stripe's go-live checklist. Stripe: "Switching between them is mostly a matter of swapping your API keys", plus the items below.
2. Get your live keys. On the Dashboard's API keys page, switch from sandbox to live mode. Stripe: "Copy your live mode publishable key (starts with pk_live_) and replace the pk_test_ key in your client-side code."
3. Update the server key. Stripe recommends a restricted key for server code; reveal or create your live key (rk_live_ or sk_live_) and store it in your host's secrets, never in client code.
4. Recreate live objects. The checklist: "Stripe objects created in a sandbox environment—such as plans, coupons, products, and SKUs—aren't usable in live mode." Create live versions of your products, prices, coupons and Payment Links, and update every ID your code uses.
5. Webhooks. Stripe: "make sure you've defined live endpoints in your Stripe account", and copy each live endpoint's signing secret into your server settings.
6. Keep test keys for previews. Use environment variables per environment (production gets live keys, preview builds get test keys) so the switch is a setting, not a code change.
7. Redeploy and look at the live bundle. Search it for pk_test_: it should only contain pk_live_. Your first real orders then appear in the Dashboard in live mode.

Do your testing in a sandbox, not with real cards on the live site: "The Stripe Services Agreement prohibits testing in live mode using real payment method details."

What Pewterkit Check looks at

On sites that take payments, the check searches your home page and the scripts it loads for a Stripe publishable test key (pk_test_, leaving out Clerk keys, which use a similar prefix) and for buy buttons that link to https://buy.stripe.com/test_…. A test key on its own is a fix. When your code has both a live key and a test key, it's a warning to make sure the test key isn't used on any checkout path.