Best Practices

Production-ready best practices for AuxVault integration.

🔐 Security

Never Hardcode Credentials

// ❌ BAD
const apiKey = 'live_abc123...';

// ✅ GOOD
const apiKey = process.env.LUQRA_API_KEY;

Always Use HTTPS

// ❌ BAD
const baseUrl = 'http://api.auxvault.com';

// ✅ GOOD
const baseUrl = 'https://api.auxvault.com';

Verify Webhook Signatures

// ✅ ALWAYS verify signatures
const isValid = client.webhooks.verify(payload, signature);
if (!isValid) {
  return res.status(401).send('Invalid signature');
}

💻 Code Quality

Use Idempotency Keys

// ✅ Prevent duplicate charges
const transaction = await client.transactions.create({
  idempotencyKey: `order_${orderId}_${attempt}`,
  amount: 100.00,
  ...
});

Handle All Errors

// ✅ Comprehensive error handling
try {
  const result = await processPayment();
} catch (error) {
  if (error.code === 'TRANSACTION_DECLINED') {
    // Handle decline
  } else if (error.code === 'RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED') {
    // Retry with backoff
  } else {
    // Log and alert
  }
}

Use Exponential Backoff

// ✅ Smart retry logic
async function retryWithBackoff(fn, maxRetries = 3) {
  for (let i = 0; i < maxRetries; i++) {
    try {
      return await fn();
    } catch (error) {
      if (!isRetryable(error) || i === maxRetries - 1) {
        throw error;
      }
      await sleep(Math.min(1000 * Math.pow(2, i), 10000));
    }
  }
}

📊 Performance

Cache Static Data

// ✅ Cache payment methods, merchants, etc.
const cache = new Map();

async function getCustomer(id) {
  if (cache.has(id)) return cache.get(id);
  
  const customer = await client.customers.get(id);
  cache.set(id, customer);
  return customer;
}

Use Webhooks Over Polling

// ❌ BAD: Poll every second
setInterval(() => checkStatus(), 1000);

// ✅ GOOD: Use webhooks
app.post('/webhook', (req, res) => {
  if (req.body.type === 'transaction.approved') {
    handleApproval(req.body.data);
  }
});

Batch Requests When Possible

// ❌ BAD: 100 individual requests
for (const txn of transactions) {
  await client.transactions.get(txn.id);
}

// ✅ GOOD: 1 batch request
const txns = await client.transactions.list({
  ids: transactions.map(t => t.id)
});

🎯 User Experience

Show Clear Error Messages

// ❌ BAD
alert('Error');

// ✅ GOOD
alert('Payment declined. Please try a different card or contact your bank.');

Validate Before Submitting

// ✅ Client-side validation
function validateCard(card) {
  if (!isValidCardNumber(card.number)) {
    return 'Invalid card number';
  }
  if (!isValidExpiry(card.expiry)) {
    return 'Card expired';
  }
  return null;
}

Provide Payment Confirmation

// ✅ Always send receipt
if (transaction.status === 'approved') {
  await sendReceipt(customer.email, transaction);
  showSuccessMessage('Payment successful!');
}

📈 Monitoring

Log Important Events

// ✅ Log all transactions
logger.info('Transaction created', {
  transactionId: txn.id,
  amount: txn.amount,
  status: txn.status
});

Set Up Alerts

// ✅ Alert on high error rates
if (errorRate > 0.05) {
  alertOps('High error rate detected');
}

Track Key Metrics

• Success rate
• Average response time
• Decline rate
• Webhook delivery rate

💰 Financial

Reconcile Daily

// ✅ Daily reconciliation
async function reconcileDaily() {
  const report = await client.reports.daily(yesterday);
  const ourTotal = await database.getTotalForDay(yesterday);
  
  if (report.total !== ourTotal) {
    alertFinance('Reconciliation mismatch');
  }
}

Handle Settlements Properly

• Understand settlement schedule
• Account for holds and reserves
• Track refunds separately

🧪 Testing

Test in Sandbox First

// ✅ Always test in sandbox
if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production') {
  // Production settings
} else {
  // Sandbox settings
}

Test All Scenarios

• Approved transactions
• Declined transactions
• Network failures
• Timeout scenarios
• Webhook failures

📞 Support

Keep Support Contacts Ready

• Technical support email
• Account manager contact
• Emergency hotline

Document Your Integration

• API endpoints used
• Webhook configuration
• Error handling approach
• Deployment process

Need help? Contact support@auxvault.com