AI-Revenue-OS

Switching PayPal from sandbox to live

The PayPal integration (src/revenue_os/paypal.py) is read-only: it books payments PayPal has already captured into the RevenueLedger. It cannot move money. Switching to live only changes which PayPal account is read.

PayPal side

1. Log in to developer.paypal.com with the real business account.
2. The account must be a Business account – paypal-sync uses the Transaction Search API, which personal accounts do not have.
3. Apps & Credentials -> toggle Live -> select/create an app -> copy the live Client ID and Secret (different from the sandbox ones).
4. On the app, under Features, enable Transaction Search (needed for paypal-sync; not for paypal-verify). Allow a short activation delay.
5. On every live button / invoice / payment link, set custom_id (or the invoice custom field) to the exact candidate name – same mapping rule as sandbox.

Project side

1. Put the live values in .env:

   PAYPAL_CLIENT_ID=<live client id>
   PAYPAL_CLIENT_SECRET=<live secret>
   PAYPAL_ENV=live
   

2. Nothing loads .env automatically – export the vars into the shell before running the CLI. PowerShell:

   $env:PAYPAL_CLIENT_ID     = "<live client id>"
   $env:PAYPAL_CLIENT_SECRET = "<live secret>"
   $env:PAYPAL_ENV           = "live"
   

3. The package is not installed – run with pip install -e . once, or set $env:PYTHONPATH = "src" per session.
4. .env stays gitignored. Never commit live credentials.

Verify without a real payment

python -m revenue_os paypal-sync --dry-run --days 1

Read-only: fetches an OAuth token, lists transactions, books nothing.

• would book 0 payment(s) ... 0 skipped -> credentials valid, Transaction Search enabled. (Confirmed working on 2026-08-29.)
• PayPal API 401 -> wrong client id/secret, or still sandbox values.
• PayPal API 403 -> Transaction Search not activated yet.

When a real payment arrives, verify it singly first:

python -m revenue_os paypal-verify <candidate> <order-id>

then switch to paypal-sync (without --dry-run) for routine booking.

Notes

• Live payments may be in EUR; record_payment books the returned currency as-is. Transaction Search lags up to ~3h; --days max is 31.
• The candidate must be launched or earning, or the payment is skipped.