> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.paymint.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Onboarding

> Get started with Paymint in 3 simple steps

## Overview

Paymint streamlines the process of integrating subscription billing into your app. By handling complex tasks like webhook management and API abstraction, you can focus on building your product.

<Info>
  Before you begin, you'll need a [Paddle account](https://paddle.com). Paddle is the payment processor that powers Paymint.
</Info>

***

## What You Need to Do

Complete these steps in the Paymint dashboard:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Set Up Paddle">
    Connect your Paddle account by providing your **Paddle API key**. This enables Paymint to interact with Paddle on your behalf.

    <Card title="Paddle Setup Guide" icon="credit-card" href="/guides/paddle-setup">
      Complete the Paddle setup checklist and connect your account
    </Card>

    **What you'll do:**

    * Create or link your Paddle account
    * Follow the first 4 steps of the [Paddle Setup Checklist](https://developer.paddle.com/build/onboarding/set-up-checklist#setup-checklist)
    * (Optional) Use Paymint's UI to create products and prices if not already set up in Paddle
    * Enter your Paddle Secret API key in the Paymint dashboard
  </Step>

  <Step title="Generate API Keys">
    Create your **Paymint API keys** to authenticate your application with our SDK.

    <Card title="API Keys Setup" icon="key" href="/guides/api-keys">
      Create and manage your Paymint API keys
    </Card>

    **What you'll do:**

    * Generate a new API key for your environment (sandbox or production)
    * Store the key securely in your environment variables
    * Test the key with a sample API call
  </Step>

  <Step title="Integrate the SDK">
    Add the Paymint SDK to your application and start accepting payments.

    <Card title="Integration Guide" icon="code" href="/guides/integration-example">
      Code examples and integration walkthrough
    </Card>

    **What you'll do:**

    * Install `@paymint/nextjs` in your project
    * Set up the API route and provider
    * Build your pricing page
  </Step>
</Steps>

***

## What Paymint Handles Automatically

Once connected, Paymint takes care of the heavy lifting:

| Feature                     | Description                                                                  |
| --------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Product Sync**            | Your Paddle products and prices are automatically synced and kept up-to-date |
| **Webhook Processing**      | Subscription events (created, canceled, updated) are processed in real-time  |
| **Customer Management**     | Customer records are matched and managed automatically                       |
| **Secure Authentication**   | API key validation and session security are handled by the SDK               |
| **Paddle Token Generation** | Client-side checkout tokens are securely generated server-side               |

***

## Environment Variables

After completing setup, you'll have these environment variables:

```bash theme={null}
# Your Paymint API key (from Step 2)
PAYMINT_API_KEY=paymint_test_xxxxx  # or paymint_live_xxx for production
```

<Tip>
  The SDK auto-detects sandbox vs production based on your API key prefix. No additional configuration needed!
</Tip>

***

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Integration Example" icon="book" href="/guides/integration-example">
    See a complete end-to-end integration with code examples
  </Card>

  <Card title="Next.js SDK Reference" icon="react" href="/sdks/nextjs">
    Full API reference for hooks and server utilities
  </Card>
</CardGroup>