# How do I verify my first refund?

> Open an operation against stripe.refund.succeeded, make the refund call with the idempotency key, submit the result, and verify. Ten minutes.

Canonical: https://provely.sh/docs/quick-start  
Last reviewed: 2026-09-05  

**Install the SDK, open an operation against `stripe.refund.succeeded`, make the refund call with the idempotency key from `begin`, submit the response, and call `verify`. The first verified outcome takes under ten minutes with an Official skill.**

## Which steps does the quick start take?

### Verify a Stripe refund with the TypeScript SDK

1. **Install the SDK.** Run `npm install @provely/sdk` or `pip install provely`.
2. **Set the API key.** Create a key in the dashboard and export it as `PROVELY_API_KEY`. The SDK reads it. The key never goes to the agent prompt.
3. **Connect Stripe with a read-only key.** Call `POST /v1/connections` with a restricted Stripe key that can read refunds. The verifier reads with this key. Your agent keeps its own write key.
4. **Begin the operation.** Call `begin` with the contract `stripe.refund.succeeded` and the input `{ charge_id, amount_cents }`. Keep `op.idempotency_key`.
5. **Make the refund call.** Call `stripe.refunds.create` with the `Idempotency-Key` header set to `op.idempotency_key`.
6. **Submit the acknowledgement.** Call `op.actionResult(refund)` with the Stripe response.
7. **Verify and report.** Call `op.verify()`. Report the verdict exactly as returned. On VERIFIED, download the receipt with `op.receipt()`.

*The whole loop*

```typescript
import { Provely } from '@provely/sdk';
import Stripe from 'stripe';

const provely = new Provely({ baseUrl: 'https://api.provely.sh' });
const stripe = new Stripe(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY!);

const op = await provely.begin({
  contract: 'stripe.refund.succeeded',
  input: { charge_id: 'ch_3QxT5s2eZvKYlo2C', amount_cents: 14200 },
});

const refund = await stripe.refunds.create(
  { charge: 'ch_3QxT5s2eZvKYlo2C', amount: 14200 },
  { idempotencyKey: op.idempotency_key },
);

await op.actionResult(refund);
const verification = await op.verify();

switch (verification.verdict) {
  case 'VERIFIED':
    console.log('The action is verified complete. Receipt:', verification.receipt_id);
    break;
  case 'PENDING':
    console.log('The action is accepted but not yet verified. Operation:', op.id);
    break;
  default:
    console.log('Verification did not confirm the outcome:', verification.verdict, verification.reason);
}
```

*The same loop in Python*

```python
from provely import Provely

provely = Provely(base_url="https://api.provely.sh")
op = provely.begin(
    contract="stripe.refund.succeeded",
    input={"charge_id": "ch_3QxT5s2eZvKYlo2C", "amount_cents": 14200},
)
refund = stripe.Refund.create(
    charge="ch_3QxT5s2eZvKYlo2C", amount=14200, idempotency_key=op.idempotency_key
)
op.action_result(refund)
verification = op.verify()
print(verification.verdict)  # VERIFIED, PENDING, CONTRADICTED, FAILED, or UNVERIFIABLE
```

## What does each verdict mean for the agent?

| Verdict | What the agent says |
| --- | --- |
| VERIFIED | "The action is verified complete. Receipt: `<id>`." |
| PENDING | "The action is accepted but not yet verified. Operation: `<id>`." |
| CONTRADICTED | "Verification found a different outcome than requested. Do not retry blindly." |
| UNVERIFIABLE | "I cannot prove the outcome. Treat the action as unconfirmed." |
| FAILED | "The provider reports that the action failed." |

### Can I skip begin and only call verify?

No. `begin` binds the idempotency key and the correlation keys to the operation. Without it the runtime cannot tell your refund from a pre-existing one, and a pre-existing match must not verify.

### How long does verify wait?

One call observes once and returns. PENDING is a normal answer. Call `status` later, or use `provely verify --wait 10m` from the CLI to poll until a terminal verdict.

## Read next

- [Read the Stripe verification page](https://provely.sh/verify/stripe)
- [Read the SDK reference](https://provely.sh/docs/sdks)
- [Read the CLI reference](https://provely.sh/docs/cli)
- [Read what a receipt proves](https://provely.sh/receipts)