Home › Solutions › How to Create a Read-Only Stripe Key for MRR
How do I create a read-only Stripe key to show my MRR?
In the Stripe Dashboard, in live mode, create a restricted key and set Read on Subscriptions, Prices, Products and Coupons, leaving every other permission at None. The key starts with rk_live_. ShowMRR rejects secret keys (sk_), test keys and publishable keys, and stores the key encrypted.
Steps
- Open the API keys page in your Stripe Dashboard and make sure you are in live mode, not a sandbox.
- Click Create restricted key and name it something you will recognise, such as "ShowMRR read-only".
- Set Read on Subscriptions, Prices, Products and Coupons. Leave everything else at None.
- Click Create key, complete Stripe's two-factor check and copy the key. Stripe does not show it again.
- Paste it into the Connect Revenue form on your startup in ShowMRR.
Good to know
- A key with no Write permission cannot create charges, issue refunds or change your account.
- To revoke: disconnect in ShowMRR, or expire or rotate the key in the Stripe Dashboard.
- If Stripe renames a permission, ShowMRR relays Stripe's error message, which names the missing one.
- Polar uses an organization access token with read-only scopes. Lemon Squeezy: we found no documentation of a read-only key, so treat that key as having full access.
More detail: How to Share Your Startup Revenue Publicly.
FAQ
Can I use my secret key?
No. ShowMRR rejects secret keys (sk_) because they have full access to your account.
What can ShowMRR read with this key?
Subscription data, to compute MRR. It keeps totals (MRR, customer count, daily history), not customer names, emails or individual payments.
Does Stripe test mode work?
No. Only a live-mode restricted key is accepted, and test-mode data is ignored.