Quickstart Guide

1

Create Your Account

Sign up for a free SatsRail merchant account. No bank approval, no credit checks.

2

Get Your API Keys

From your merchant dashboard, go to API Keys to find your keys:

Secret key — starts with sk_live_ or sk_test_ (keep this server-side, never expose to clients)
Publishable key — starts with pk_live_ or pk_test_ (safe for client-side, can only create checkout sessions)

⚠️ Start with test keys. Use sk_test_ keys during development. They create isolated test data that never touches real payment providers.

3

Install an SDK

Pick your language:

# Node.js
npm install satsrail

# Python
pip install satsrail

# Ruby
gem install satsrail

Or skip the SDK and use the REST API directly with curl.

4

Create Your First Order

curl

curl -X POST https://satsrail.com/api/v1/m/orders \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_test_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "amount_usd": 50.00,
    "description": "Order #1234"
  }'

Node.js

import SatsRail from 'satsrail';

const sr = new SatsRail('sk_test_...');
const order = await sr.orders.create({
  amount_usd: 50.00,
  description: 'Order #1234'
});
console.log(order.lightning_invoice);

Python

import satsrail

sr = satsrail.Client("sk_test_...")
order = sr.orders.create(
    amount_usd=50.00,
    description="Order #1234"
)
print(order.lightning_invoice)

Ruby

require "satsrail"

SatsRail.api_key = "sk_test_..."
order = SatsRail::Order.create(
  amount_usd: 50.00,
  description: "Order #1234"
)
puts order.lightning_invoice

5

Listen for Webhooks

Set up a webhook endpoint to get notified when payments complete, orders update, and more. SatsRail signs every webhook with HMAC-SHA256 so you can verify authenticity.

Webhook Guide →

6

Go Live

When you're ready for production, swap your test keys for live keys:

Replace sk_test_ with sk_live_
Replace pk_test_ with pk_live_

That's it. Same code, real payments.