managing-paddle

name	managing-paddle
description	Use when working with Paddle — paddle billing and payments platform management including products, prices, subscriptions, transactions, customers, discounts, and payouts. Covers MRR tracking, churn analysis, subscription health, revenue recognition, and tax compliance status.
connection_type	paddle
preload	false

Paddle Management Skill

Monitor and manage Paddle billing, subscriptions, and revenue.

MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern

Always discover products and pricing before querying subscription or transaction data.

Phase 1: Discovery

#!/bin/bash
PADDLE_API="https://api.paddle.com"
AUTH="Authorization: Bearer ${PADDLE_API_KEY}"

echo "=== Products ==="
curl -s -H "$AUTH" "$PADDLE_API/products?status=active" | \
  jq -r '.data[] | "\(.name) | ID: \(.id) | Status: \(.status) | Tax: \(.tax_category)"'

echo ""
echo "=== Prices ==="
curl -s -H "$AUTH" "$PADDLE_API/prices?status=active" | \
  jq -r '.data[] | "\(.description // .id) | Product: \(.product_id) | Amount: \(.unit_price.amount) \(.unit_price.currency_code) | Billing: \(.billing_cycle.interval // "one-time")"'

echo ""
echo "=== Discounts ==="
curl -s -H "$AUTH" "$PADDLE_API/discounts?status=active" | \
  jq -r '.data[] | "\(.description) | Code: \(.code // "auto") | Amount: \(.amount) \(.type) | Usage: \(.usage_limit // "unlimited")"'

echo ""
echo "=== Notification Settings ==="
curl -s -H "$AUTH" "$PADDLE_API/notification-settings" | \
  jq -r '.data[] | "\(.description) | URL: \(.destination) | Active: \(.active) | Events: \(.subscribed_events | length)"'

Phase 1 outputs: Products, prices, discounts, notification endpoints

Phase 2: Analysis

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Subscription Summary ==="
for status in active past_due paused canceled trialing; do
  count=$(curl -s -H "$AUTH" "$PADDLE_API/subscriptions?status=$status" | jq '.meta.pagination.estimated_total // 0')
  echo "$status: $count"
done

echo ""
echo "=== Recent Transactions ==="
curl -s -H "$AUTH" "$PADDLE_API/transactions?status=completed&order_by=created_at[DESC]&per_page=10" | \
  jq -r '.data[] | "\(.id) | Amount: \(.details.totals.total) \(.currency_code) | Customer: \(.customer_id) | \(.created_at)"'

echo ""
echo "=== Revenue Summary (recent transactions) ==="
curl -s -H "$AUTH" "$PADDLE_API/transactions?status=completed&per_page=100" | \
  jq -r '"Completed Transactions: \(.data | length)\nTotal Revenue: \([.data[].details.totals.total | tonumber] | add // 0)\nCurrencies: \([.data[].currency_code] | unique | join(", "))"'

echo ""
echo "=== Payout History ==="
curl -s -H "$AUTH" "$PADDLE_API/payouts?per_page=5" | \
  jq -r '.data[] | "\(.id) | Amount: \(.amount) \(.currency_code) | Status: \(.status) | Paid: \(.paid_at // "pending")"' 2>/dev/null ||  

Output Format

PADDLE STATUS
=============
Products: {count} active | Prices: {count}
Subscriptions: Active={count} Trial={count} Past Due={count}
Monthly Revenue (sample): {amount}
Churn (past_due + canceled): {count}
Discounts: {active} active
Notification Endpoints: {count}
Issues: {list_of_warnings}

Anti-Hallucination Rules

1. NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
2. NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or --help output.
3. NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
4. ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
5. ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.

Counter-Rationalizations

Shortcut	Counter	Why
"I'll skip discovery and check known resources"	Always run Phase 1 discovery first	Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors
"The user only asked for a quick check"	Follow the full discovery → analysis flow	Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures
"Default configuration is probably fine"	Audit configuration explicitly	Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled
"Metrics aren't needed for this"	Always check relevant metrics when available	API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues
"I don't have access to that"	Try the command and report the actual error	Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative

Common Pitfalls

• Paddle Classic vs Billing: API endpoints differ — v1 is Classic, v2 is Billing
• Sandbox: Use sandbox-api.paddle.com for testing — separate credentials
• Tax handling: Paddle is merchant of record — tax is included in amounts
• Pagination: Use after cursor pagination — not page numbers