In this episode, we're getting Stripe all set up so we can start processing payments within our app. We'll start by pulling in the official Stripe PHP library using Composer, and then take a quick look around the Stripe dashboard—perfect if you're brand new and need to know where to find things.
Next, we'll walk through setting up your Stripe API keys (both publishable and secret) in test mode, grabbing them from the Stripe dashboard, and storing them securely in your environment file. We'll then create a dedicated Stripe config file in our project so Laravel can easily access these keys wherever we need them.
After that, we'll create a simple service provider to bind the Stripe client to Laravel’s service container. This makes using Stripe in different parts of our app super convenient. We'll keep things straightforward by using a string binding, making it easy to pull out the Stripe client anywhere the need arises.
By the end of this episode, Stripe will be fully integrated in your Laravel project, and you'll be ready to move on to actually accepting payments at checkout!