Glossary

Quick reference for key terms used in FastAWS and Stripe.

Stripe Terms

Stripe Account

Your Stripe business account where you manage payments, products, and settings. Created at dashboard.stripe.com.

Stripe API Keys

Credentials that authenticate your app with Stripe:

• Publishable Key (pk*test*... or pk*live*...): Safe to use in frontend code. Identifies your account without sensitive permissions.
• Secret Key (sk*test*... or sk*live*...): Keep this private! Use only in backend code. Has full access to your Stripe account.

Always use test keys during development, switch to live keys for production payments.

Stripe Price ID

Unique identifier for a product's price. Examples: price_1AB2CDE3...

Used to reference specific pricing options when charging customers. Each product can have multiple price IDs (monthly, annual, one-time, etc.). Find them in Stripe Dashboard → Products → [Your Product] → Pricing.

Stripe Product

A good or service you sell (e.g., "Pro Plan", "One-Time Lifetime Access"). Products contain prices. Create at Stripe Dashboard → Products → Add Product.

Stripe Webhook

A notification system where Stripe sends real-time events to your app when payments happen (e.g., customer subscribed, payment failed, invoice paid).

Your webhook URL is: https://your-domain.com/api/stripe/webhook

Stripe Webhook Secret

A signing key that proves webhook messages actually came from Stripe. Protects against fake payment notifications. Keep it private! Found in Stripe Dashboard → Developers → Webhooks → [Your Endpoint].

Test Mode vs. Live Mode

• Test Mode: Use test payment methods (card: 4242 4242 4242 4242). No real charges. For development.
• Live Mode: Real payment processing. Use only in production with live keys.

Subscription

A recurring payment plan (e.g., $10/month). Customer is automatically charged at intervals until they cancel.

One-Time Payment

A single charge that doesn't repeat (e.g., lifetime access). No automatic recurring billing.

AWS Terms

AWS Region

Geographic location where your AWS resources run. Examples: us-east-1, eu-west-1. Choose one closest to your users for best performance.

AWS CLI

Command-line tool for managing AWS services from your terminal. Must be installed and configured with your credentials.

Lambda Function

A serverless function that runs code on-demand without managing servers. Used in FastAWS for backend logic.

DynamoDB

AWS's NoSQL database. Stores user data, subscriptions, and app state. FastAWS uses single-table design for simplicity.

Cognito User Pool

AWS's user authentication service. Manages user sign-ups, logins, and password resets. Handles all auth in FastAWS.

IAM Credentials

Your AWS access keys. Keep them private! Used by AWS CLI to authenticate.

General Terms

Environment Variables

Configuration values stored in .env files. Used for secrets and settings that change between dev and production.

CDN (Content Delivery Network)

Global network that serves your website from locations near users, faster than serving from one server.

API Gateway

Service that creates HTTP endpoints for your Lambda functions. Exposes serverless functions as REST APIs.

Webhook

A URL where a service sends you notifications. Stripe uses webhooks to notify you of payment events.

CI/CD

Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment. Automatically tests and deploys your code when you push changes.