Third‑Party Integration Won’t Connect: A Founder’s Guide to Fixing Stripe, Email, and Auth
AI app generation makes it fast to add payments, email, and authentication, but the first live run often fails: the webhook never fires, the email does not send, or the “Connect” button goes nowhere. Integrations fail for simple reasons—keys, URLs, or permissions—so a calm pass with the right checks usually turns a dead end into a working feature.
How people experience broken integrations
- A payment that appears to succeed but no charge shows up
- A “magic link” email that never arrives after sign‑in
- A “Connect your account” flow that reloads the page without linking
These moments feel random to users and hurt trust fast. The fix is to align the small details services require before they will talk to your app.
A short checklist that fixes most integrations
- Keys and secrets: use live keys in production; don’t reuse test keys online
- Redirect/Callback URLs: paste your real URL (including https) into the provider’s dashboard
- Webhooks: add the correct endpoint and enable the events your app needs
- Permissions/Scopes: request only the scopes required by the feature you built
After each change, click through the integration in production, not just locally. If the provider offers logs or a dashboard, watch for a request arriving at the right time.
Why AI‑generated integrations miss the last mile
Tools like Cursor, Claude Code, Lovable, and Bolt.new can scaffold the screens and routes you need, but they do not own the provider’s settings, and docs change over time. That is why a convincing demo can still fail live—one value in a dashboard is wrong or missing. Once you correct it, the code you already have often works.
Make future integrations easier
Keep a short page in your project with the essentials for each service: which keys exist, which URLs matter, which webhooks you use, and what a successful run looks like. Next time you add a provider, copy the format and fill the blanks. You will save hours of guessing.
When to ask for help
If your integration still will not connect after you check keys, URLs, webhooks, and scopes, the fastest path may be a brief rescue. Spin by fryga can jump in, line up the provider settings, and leave you with a clean, repeatable setup for the next service you add.
Real‑world scenarios and quick fixes
Stripe payments succeed in test but fail live. Most often, the live keys were never added to hosting, or the success/cancel URLs still point to a preview link. Add live keys to production and make sure the redirect URLs match your public domain.
Magic‑link sign‑in emails don’t arrive. Check the email provider’s domain verification and sending limits. Many services block mail until DNS is verified and a sending domain is approved.
OAuth “Connect your account” loops forever. The app and provider disagree on the callback URL. Copy the exact address (including https and path) from production into the provider dashboard, and ensure the same URL appears in your app’s settings.
Webhook fires but the app ignores it. The endpoint exists, but the event type isn’t enabled. In the provider dashboard, enable the specific events your feature needs (for example, “checkout.session.completed”) and test again.
A simple integration playbook for teams
Before adding a new service, write one paragraph that names the job, the happy path, and the fastest way to see it work. After wiring the screens, finish by filling in the provider dashboard items: keys, URLs, webhooks, and scopes. Click through the path as a brand‑new user on the live site. Only then call it done. This small discipline keeps momentum high while cutting the guesswork that often derails launches.