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Quickstart Guide

Get started with BirrLink in minutes. This guide will walk you through the basic integration steps.

Prerequisites​

Before you begin, you'll need:

  • A BirrLink merchant account (sign up at birrlink.et)
  • Your API keys (found in your merchant dashboard)
  • Basic knowledge of HTTP requests or your preferred programming language

Integration Steps​

1. Install the SDK​

BirrLink provides SDKs for popular programming languages:

JavaScript/Node.js:

npm install @birrlink/sdk

Python:

pip install birrlink-sdk

Java:

# Add to your pom.xml
<dependency>
  <groupId>com.birrlink</groupId>
  <artifactId>sdk</artifactId>
  <version>1.0.0</version>
</dependency>

2. Initialize the SDK​

JavaScript:

const BirrLink = require('@birrlink/sdk');

const birrlink = new BirrLink({
  apiKey: 'your_secret_api_key',
  environment: 'sandbox' // Use 'production' for live transactions
});

Python:

from birrlink import BirrLink

client = BirrLink(
    api_key='your_secret_api_key',
    environment='sandbox'  # Use 'production' for live transactions
)

Java:

import com.birrlink.BirrLink;

BirrLink client = new BirrLink("your_secret_api_key", Environment.SANDBOX);

3. Create a Payment Request​

JavaScript:

const payment = await birrlink.charge.create({
  amount: 100.00,
  currency: 'ETB',
  customer: {
    email: 'customer@example.com',
    phone: '+251912345678'
  },
  description: 'Payment for order #12345',
  callback_url: 'https://yourwebsite.com/payment-callback'
});

console.log('Payment created:', payment.id);

Python:

payment = client.charge.create(
    amount=100.00,
    currency='ETB',
    customer={
        'email': 'customer@example.com',
        'phone': '+251912345678'
    },
    description='Payment for order #12345',
    callback_url='https://yourwebsite.com/payment-callback'
)

print(f'Payment created: {payment["id"]}')

4. Handle Payment Response​

The response will contain a payment ID and payment method specific details (like a payment link or QR code).

Testing Your Integration​

Use our sandbox environment to test your integration:

  • Base URL: https://sandbox.birrlink.et/api/v1
  • Test API keys: Available in your sandbox dashboard
  • Test payment methods: Various test credentials available in documentation

Moving to Production​

When you're ready to go live:

  1. Verify your integration works with all payment methods
  2. Ensure all security requirements are met
  3. Contact our team to enable production access
  4. Update your API keys and base URL to production values

Need Help?​