Script language definitionPrivate preview

Learn about the syntax and semantics of the script language used in Stripe Billing.

Stripe’s scripting language is a subset of TypeScript. While it maintains TypeScript’s features, it has some key differences including a more restrictive set of allowed operations. The scripting language can help prevent potential issues such as long runtimes and excessive memory consumption.

Syntax

Basic types and literals

The language supports these primitive types:

// Numeric values
let num: number = 42;
let pi: number = 3.14159;

// Strings
let greeting: string = "Hello, world!";
let multiline: string = `This is a
multi-line string`;

// Booleans
let active: boolean = true;
let completed: boolean = false;

// Null
let empty: null = null;

Variables and declarations

Declare variables using let or const:

// Variable declarations
let count: number = 0;
let name: string = "John";

// Constants (must be initialized)
const PI: number = 3.14159;
const API_KEY: string = "abcd1234";

Type annotations are optional but recommended:

// Type inferred as number
let score = 100;

// Explicitly typed
let highScore: number = 0;

Functions and lambdas

Define functions in multiple ways:

// Function declaration
function add(a: number, b: number): number {
  return a + b;
}

// Arrow function (lambda)
const multiply = (a: number, b: number): number => {
  return a * b;
};

// Inline arrow function
const double = (x: number): number => x * 2;

Objects and arrays

Define objects and arrays similar to TypeScript:

// Object literal
let person = {
  name: "Alice",
  age: 30,
  address: {
    city: "Wonderland",
    zipCode: "12345"
  }
};

// Array literal
let numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
let names: string[] = ["Alice", "Bob", "Charlie"];

// Array spread
let moreNumbers = [...numbers, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10];

// Accessing properties
let cityName = person.address.city;
let firstNumber = numbers[0];

Control flow

Control flow statements include if-else, while, and for loops:

// If-else statement
if (score > 100) {
  console.log("High score!");
} else if (score > 50) {
  console.log("Good score!");
} else {
  console.log("Try again!");
}

// While loop
let i = 0;
while (i < 5) {
  console.log(i);
  i++;
}

// For loop
for (let j = 0; j < 5; j++) {
  console.log(j);
}

Break statements work as expected:

// Break in a loop
let i = 0;
while (true) {
  if (i >= 5) {
    break;
  }
  i++;
}

Operators

You can find standard supported operators below:

// Arithmetic operators
let sum = 5 + 3;
let difference = 10 - 4;
let product = 3 * 7;
let quotient = 20 / 4;
let remainder = 10 % 3;  // Modulo

// Comparison operators
let equal = (5 == 5);
let notEqual = (5 != 3);
let greater = (10 > 5);
let less = (5 < 10);
let greaterOrEqual = (5 >= 5);
let lessOrEqual = (4 <= 4);

// Logical operators
let and = (true && false);  // false
let or = (true || false);   // true
let not = !true;            // false

// Compound assignment
let value = 5;
value += 3;  // value is now 8

Import and export

Organize your code into modules:

// Importing modules
import { DiscountableItem } from '@stripe/scripts/discounts';

// Export a function
export function calculateTotal(items: DiscountableItem[]): number {
  let sum = 0;
  for (let i = 0; i < items.length; i++) {
    sum += items[i].price;
  }
  return sum;
}

// Default export
export default function main() {
  // Main function logic
}

We don’t support third-party libraries.

Type system

Type annotations

Specify types after a colon:

let count: number = 0;
let name: string = "John";
let active: boolean = true;
let items: string[] = ["apple", "banana"];

Interfaces and object types

Define object types inline or as interfaces:

// Inline object type
let person: { name: string; age: number } = {
  name: "Alice",
  age: 30
};

// Interface definition
interface Product {
  id: string;
  name: string;
  price: number;
  inStock?: boolean;  // Optional property
}

// Using the interface
let laptop: Product = {
  id: "lt-001",
  name: "Laptop",
  price: 999.99,
  inStock: true
};

Union types

Union types allow a variable to have multiple types:

// Union type
let id: string | number;

id = "abc123";  // Valid
id = 123;       // Also valid

Type declarations

Create type aliases:

// Type alias
type ID = string | number;

// Using the type alias
let userId: ID = "user123";
let productId: ID = 456;

// Complex type declaration
type ApiResponse = {
  status: number;
  data: {
    items: any[];
    count: number;
  };
  error?: string;
};

Static analysis

Our script language includes static analysis to make sure scripts are reliable and efficient.

Termination analysis

A key feature is termination checking, which guarantees that scripts always terminate when you run them on Stripe’s infrastructure, preventing infinite loops or recursion. Because not all terminating code can be proven to terminate, we reject some valid programs. Below are tips for writing terminating scripts.

The analyzer uses a coloring system:

T (Terminating): Code that is proven to terminate.
U (Unknown): Code that might not terminate.

// Guaranteed to terminate - marked as T
function countdown(n: number): void {
  while (n > 0) {
    n = n - 1;  // Decreasing counter
  }
}

// Not guaranteed to terminate - marked as U
function infinite(): void {
  while (true) {
    console.log("This runs forever");
  }
}

Well-founded recursion

The analyzer checks that recursive functions have a decreasing measure:

// Safe recursion - marked as T
function factorial(n: number): number {
  if (n <= 1) return 1;
  return n * factorial(n - 1);  // n decreases with each call
}

// Unsafe recursion - marked as U
function badRecursion(n: number): number {
  return badRecursion(n + 1);  // n increases, no termination
}

Common static analysis patterns

For loops with finite bounds are safe:

// Safe loop pattern - marked as T
for (let i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
  // Loop body with terminating operations
}

While loops need a decreasing counter:

// Safe while loop - marked as T
let counter = 10;
while (counter > 0) {
  // Do something
  counter--;  // Counter decreases
}

Writing termination-safe code

To make sure your code passes the termination checker, follow these guidelines:

Use for loops with clear, finite bounds
Make sure while loops have a decreasing counter or condition that eventually becomes false
Include a base case and decreasing argument in recursive functions
Avoid complex loop conditions, mutual recursion, or deep nesting of functions and loops

// Good pattern for loops
function processItems(items: any[]): void {
  for (let i = 0; i < items.length; i++) {
    processItem(items[i]);
  }
}

Runtime environment

The scripting language provides built-in objects that you can use in your scripts.

Built-in objects

Several built-in objects are available:

Math object

// Math operations
let min = Math.min(5, 3, 7);  // 3
let max = Math.max(5, 3, 7);  // 7
let floor = Math.floor(3.7);  // 3
let ceil = Math.ceil(3.2);    // 4

Arrays

// Array creation
let numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];

// Array properties
let length = numbers.length;  // 5

// Array indexing
let firstItem = numbers[0];  // 1
let lastItem = numbers[numbers.length - 1];  // 5

// Array methods
let sorted = numbers.sort((a, b) => a - b);

String operations

// String concatenation
let firstName = "John";
let lastName = "Doe";
let fullName = firstName + " " + lastName;  // "John Doe"

// String with template literals
let greeting = `Hello, ${firstName}!`;  // "Hello, John!"

Schema validation

You can annotate your types to provide basic validation for fields. Use this when you define the configuration schema for your scripts.

String validations

length_validation.ts
/** @minLength 0 @maxLength 10 */
type Greeting = string;

pattern_validation.ts
/** @pattern ^hello world$ */
type Greeting = string;

Number validations

inclusive_range_validation.ts
/** @minimum 0 @maximum 100 */
type Percent = number;

exclusive_range_validation.ts
/** @exclusiveMinimum -1 @exclusiveMaximum 101 */
type Percent = number;

Array validations

length_inclusive_validation.ts
/** @minItems 1 @maxItems 5 */
type Names = string[];

uniqueness_validation.ts
/** @uniqueItems */
type Names = string[];

If we don’t support your validation use case, we recommend building the validation check into your function definition and contacting scripts-preview@stripe.com.

Examples

Percentage-off discount function

This example shows a discount function that gives a percentage off up to a maximum amount:

max_amount_percent_off.ts
/**
 * Max Amount Percent Off Discount
 *
 * This discount function applies a percentage discount to the gross amount,
 * but caps the total discount at a maximum amount. It calculates the discount
 * as a percentage of the gross amount and then ensures it doesn't exceed the
 * configured maximum.
 *
 * Configuration:
 * - max_amount: The maximum monetary amount that can be discounted
 * - percent: The percentage discount to apply
 */
import { MonetaryAmount, Percent } from '@stripe/scripts';
import {
  DiscountFunction,
  DiscountableItem,
  DiscountResult,
} from '@stripe/scripts/discounts';

type Configuration = {
  max_amount: MonetaryAmount;
  percent: Percent;
};

const maxAmountPercentOff: DiscountFunction<Configuration> = (
  configuration: Configuration,
  item: DiscountableItem,
): DiscountResult => {
  const { max_amount, percent } = configuration;
  const discount_amount = Math.min(max_amount.amount, item.gross_amount.amount * (percent / 100));

  return {
    discount: {
      amount: {
        amount: discount_amount,
        currency: item.gross_amount.currency,
      },
      status: discount_amount > 0 ? 'APPLIED' : 'NOT_APPLIED',
      reason: discount_amount > 0 ? 'Discount applied' : 'No discount applied',
    },
    line_item_discounts: [],
  };
};

export default maxAmountPercentOff;

Tiered discount based on quantity

This example shows a discount that applies different rates based on quantity:

tiered_discount.ts
/**
 * Tiered Discount
 *
 * This discount function applies percentage discounts based on quantity tiers.
 * It sums the quantities across all line items and applies the discount percentage
 * from the highest applicable tier. The discount is calculated on each line item's
 * subtotal amount.
 *
 * Configuration:
 * - tiers: Array of objects with minimum_quantity and discount_percent
 *   The tiers are sorted by minimum_quantity in descending order to find
 *   the highest applicable tier.
 */
import {
  DiscountFunction,
  DiscountableItem,
  DiscountResult,
  ItemDiscount,
} from '@stripe/scripts/discounts';

type Configuration = {
  tiers: Array<{
    minimum_quantity: number;
    discount_percent: number;
  }>;
};

const tieredDiscount: DiscountFunction<Configuration> = (
  configuration: Configuration,
  item: DiscountableItem,
): DiscountResult => {
  let discountPercent = 0;
  let totalQuantity = 0;

  for (let i = 0; i < item.line_items.length; i++) {
    totalQuantity += item.line_items[i]?.quantity ?? 0;
  }

  const sortedTiers = [...configuration.tiers].sort(
    (a, b) => b.minimum_quantity - a.minimum_quantity,
  );

  for (let i = 0; i < sortedTiers.length; i++) {
    const tier = sortedTiers[i];
    if (totalQuantity >= tier.minimum_quantity) {
      discountPercent = tier.discount_percent;
      break; // Stop after finding the first applicable tier
    }
  }

  let totalDiscountAmount = 0;
  const lineItemDiscounts: ItemDiscount[] = [];

  for (let i = 0; i < item.line_items.length; i++) {
    const lineItem = item.line_items[i];
    const lineItemDiscount = lineItem.subtotal.amount * (discountPercent / 100);

    totalDiscountAmount += lineItemDiscount;

    lineItemDiscounts.push({
      discountable_item_id: lineItem.id,
      discount: {
        amount: {
          amount: lineItemDiscount,
          currency: lineItem.subtotal.currency,
        },
        status: lineItemDiscount > 0 ? 'APPLIED' : 'NOT_APPLIED',
        reason:
          lineItemDiscount > 0
            ? `${discountPercent}% tier discount applied`
            : 'No discount applied',
      },
    });
  }

  return {
    discount: {
      amount: {
        amount: totalDiscountAmount,
        currency: item.gross_amount.currency,
      },
      status: totalDiscountAmount > 0 ? 'APPLIED' : 'NOT_APPLIED',
      reason:
        totalDiscountAmount > 0
          ? `${discountPercent}% tier discount applied`
          : 'No discount applied',
    },
    line_item_discounts: lineItemDiscounts,
  };
};

export default tieredDiscount;

Debugging tips

Common error patterns

If your script fails static analysis, check for these common issues:

Infinite loops: Loops without a clear termination condition

// Problem: No clear exit condition
while (x > 0) {
  doSomething(); // x never changes
}

// Fix: Add a decreasing counter
while (x > 0) {
  doSomething();
  x--;
}

Non-terminating recursion: Recursive calls without a decreasing measure

// Problem: No decreasing measure
function process(data: any): void {
  process(transformData(data));
}

// Fix: Add a depth limit and decreasing measure
function process(data: any, depth: number = 10): void {
  if (depth <= 0) return;
  process(transformData(data), depth - 1);
}