Convex Polar Component

Add subscriptions and billing to your Convex app with Polar.

Check out the example app for a complete example.

// Get subscription details for the current user
// Note: getCurrentSubscription is for apps that only allow one active
// subscription per user. If you need to support multiple active
// subscriptions, use listUserSubscriptions instead.
const {
  productKey,
  status,
  currentPeriodEnd,
  currentPeriodStart,
  ...
} = await polar.getCurrentSubscription(ctx, {
  userId: user._id,
});

// Show available plans
<CheckoutLink
  polarApi={api.example}
  productIds={[products.premiumMonthly.id, products.premiumYearly.id]}
  // Optional: turn off embedding to link to a checkout page
  embed={false}
>
  Upgrade to Premium
</CheckoutLink>

// Manage existing subscriptions
<CustomerPortalLink polarApi={api.example}>
  Manage Subscription
</CustomerPortalLink>

Prerequisites

Convex App

You'll need a Convex App to use the component. Follow any of the Convex quickstarts to set one up.

Polar Account

• Create a Polar account
• Create an organization and generate an organization token with permissions:
  • products:read
  • products:write
  • subscriptions:read
  • subscriptions:write
  • customers:read
  • customers:write
  • checkouts:read
  • checkouts:write
  • checkout_links:read
  • checkout_links:write
  • customer_portal:read
  • customer_portal:write
  • customer_sessions:write

Installation

Install the component package:

npm install @convex-dev/polar

Create a convex.config.ts file in your app's convex/ folder and install the component by calling app.use:

// convex/convex.config.ts
import { defineApp } from "convex/server";
import polar from "@convex-dev/polar/convex.config.js";

const app = defineApp();
app.use(polar);

export default app;

Set your Polar organization token:

npx convex env set POLAR_ORGANIZATION_TOKEN xxxxx

Usage

Set up Polar webhooks

The Polar component uses webhooks to keep subscription data in sync. You'll need to:

1. Create a webhook and webhook secret in the Polar dashboard, using your Convex site URL + /polar/events as the webhook endpoint. It should look like this: https://verb-noun-123.convex.site/polar/events

   Enable the following events:

   • product.created
   • product.updated
   • subscription.created
   • subscription.updated

2. Set the webhook secret in your Convex environment:

npx convex env set POLAR_WEBHOOK_SECRET xxxxx

3. Register the webhook handler in your convex/http.ts:

import { httpRouter } from "convex/server";
import { polar } from "./example";

const http = httpRouter();

// Register the webhook handler at /polar/events
polar.registerRoutes(http as any);

export default http;

You can also provide typesafe handlers for any Polar webhook event via the events option. Handlers receive the fully typed event payload based on the event key:

polar.registerRoutes(http, {
  // Optional custom path, default is "/polar/events"
  path: "/polar/events",
  events: {
    "subscription.updated": async (ctx, event) => {
      // event.data is typed as Subscription
      if (event.data.customerCancellationReason) {
        console.log("Customer cancelled:", event.data.customerCancellationReason);
      }
    },
    "order.created": async (ctx, event) => {
      // event.data is typed as Order
      console.log("New order:", event.data.id);
    },
  },
});

4. Be sure to run npx convex dev to start your Convex app with the Polar component enabled, which will deploy the webhook handler to your Convex instance.

Create products in Polar

Create a product in the Polar dashboard for each pricing plan that you want to offer. The product data will be synced to your Convex app automatically.

The component supports all Polar price types: fixed, free, custom (pay-what-you-want), seat-based, and metered. Products can also include benefits and free trial periods configured in the Polar dashboard or at checkout time.

Products created prior to using this component need to be synced with Convex using the syncProducts function.

Initialize the Polar client

Create a Polar client in your Convex backend:

// convex/example.ts
import { Polar } from "@convex-dev/polar";
import { api, components } from "./_generated/api";
import { DataModel } from "./_generated/dataModel";

export const polar = new Polar<DataModel>(components.polar, {
  // Required: provide a function the component can use to get the current user's ID and
  // email - this will be used for retrieving the correct subscription data for the
  // current user. The function should return an object with `userId` and `email`
  // properties.
  getUserInfo: async (ctx) => {
    const user = await ctx.runQuery(api.example.getCurrentUser);
    return {
      userId: user._id,
      email: user.email,
    };
  },
  // Optional: Configure static keys for referencing your products.
  // Alternatively you can use the `listAllProducts` function to get
  // the product data and sort it out in your UI however you like
  // (eg., by price, name, recurrence, etc.).
  // Map your product keys to Polar product IDs (you can also use env vars for this)
  // Replace these keys with whatever is useful for your app (eg., "pro", "proMonthly",
  // whatever you want), and replace the values with the actual product IDs from your
  // Polar dashboard
  products: {
    premiumMonthly: "product_id_from_polar",
    premiumYearly: "product_id_from_polar",
    premiumPlusMonthly: "product_id_from_polar",
    premiumPlusYearly: "product_id_from_polar",
  },
  // Optional: Set Polar configuration directly in code
  organizationToken: "your_organization_token", // Defaults to POLAR_ORGANIZATION_TOKEN env var
  webhookSecret: "your_webhook_secret", // Defaults to POLAR_WEBHOOK_SECRET env var
  server: "sandbox", // Optional: "sandbox" or "production", defaults to POLAR_SERVER env var
});

// Export API functions from the Polar client
export const {
  changeCurrentSubscription,
  cancelCurrentSubscription,
  getConfiguredProducts,
  listAllProducts,
  listAllSubscriptions,
  generateCheckoutLink,
  generateCustomerPortalUrl,
} = polar.api();

Display products and prices

Use the exported getConfiguredProducts or listAllProducts function to display your products and their prices:

getConfiguredProducts

// Simple example of displaying products and prices if you've configured
// products by key in the Polar constructor
function PricingTable() {
  const products = useQuery(api.example.getConfiguredProducts);
  if (!products) return null;

  return (
    <div>
      {products.premiumMonthly && (
        <div>
          <h3>{products.premiumMonthly.name}</h3>
          <p>
            ${(products.premiumMonthly.prices[0].priceAmount ?? 0) / 100}/month
          </p>
        </div>
      )}
      {products.premiumYearly && (
        <div>
          <h3>{products.premiumYearly.name}</h3>
          <p>
            ${(products.premiumYearly.prices[0].priceAmount ?? 0) / 100}/year
          </p>
        </div>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

listAllProducts

// Simple example of displaying products and prices if you haven't configured
// products by key in the Polar constructor
function PricingTable() {
  const products = useQuery(api.example.listAllProducts);
  if (!products) return null;

  // You can sort through products in the client as below, or you can use
  // `polar.listAllProducts` in your own Convex query and return your desired
  // products to display in the UI.
  const proMonthly = products.find(
    (p) => p.prices[0].recurringInterval === "month",
  );
  const proYearly = products.find(
    (p) => p.prices[0].recurringInterval === "year",
  );
  return (
    <div>
      {proMonthly && (
        <div>
          <h3>{proMonthly.name}</h3>
          <p>
            ${(proMonthly.prices[0].priceAmount ?? 0) / 100}/
            {proMonthly.prices[0].recurringInterval}
          </p>
        </div>
      )}
      {proYearly && (
        <div>
          <h3>{proYearly.name}</h3>
          <p>${(proYearly.prices[0].priceAmount ?? 0) / 100}/year</p>
        </div>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

Each product includes:

• id: The Polar product ID
• name: The product name
• description: Product description
• isRecurring: Whether the product is a subscription
• recurringInterval: Billing interval (e.g., "month", "year")
• trialInterval: Trial period interval (if configured)
• trialIntervalCount: Number of trial intervals (if configured)
• benefits: Array of product benefits (description, type, etc.)
• prices: Array of prices, each with an amountType that determines available fields:
  • fixed: priceAmount (in cents), priceCurrency
  • free: No amount fields
  • custom: minimumAmount, maximumAmount, presetAmount, priceCurrency
  • seat_based: seatTiers (array of { minSeats, maxSeats, pricePerSeat }), priceCurrency
  • metered_unit: unitAmount, capAmount, meterId, meter ({ id, name }), priceCurrency

Add subscription UI components

Use the provided React components to add subscription functionality to your app:

import { CheckoutLink, CustomerPortalLink } from "@convex-dev/polar/react";
import { api } from "../convex/_generated/api";

// For new subscriptions
<CheckoutLink
  // For our example, the api.example object includes the generateCheckoutLink
  // function. You can also pass any object that includes this function.
  polarApi={api.example}
  productIds={[products.premiumMonthly.id, products.premiumYearly.id]}
  // Optional: turn off embedding to link to a checkout page
  embed={false}
>
  Upgrade to Premium
</CheckoutLink>

// With a free trial
<CheckoutLink
  polarApi={api.example}
  productIds={[products.premiumMonthly.id]}
  trialInterval="day"
  trialIntervalCount={7}
>
  Start 7-day free trial
</CheckoutLink>

// Lazy mode: generates checkout URL on click instead of on mount.
// Useful when rendering many checkout links to avoid rate limits.
<CheckoutLink
  polarApi={api.example}
  productIds={[products.premiumMonthly.id]}
  lazy
>
  Subscribe
</CheckoutLink>

// For managing existing subscriptions
<CustomerPortalLink
  polarApi={{
    generateCustomerPortalUrl: api.example.generateCustomerPortalUrl,
  }}
>
  Manage Subscription
</CustomerPortalLink>

Handle subscription changes

The Polar component provides functions to handle subscription changes for the current user.

Note: It is highly recommended to prompt the user for confirmation before changing their subscription this way!

// Change subscription
const changeSubscription = useAction(api.example.changeCurrentSubscription);
await changeSubscription({ productId: "new_product_id" });

// Cancel subscription (works for both active and trialing subscriptions)
const cancelSubscription = useAction(api.example.cancelCurrentSubscription);
await cancelSubscription({ revokeImmediately: true });

Access subscription data

Query subscription information in your app:

// convex/example.ts

// A query that returns a user with their subscription details
export const getCurrentUser = query({
  handler: async (ctx) => {
    const user = await ctx.db.query("users").first();
    if (!user) throw new Error("No user found");

    const subscription = await polar.getCurrentSubscription(ctx, {
      userId: user._id,
    });

    return {
      ...user,
      subscription,
      isFree: !subscription,
      isPremium:
        subscription?.productKey === "premiumMonthly" ||
        subscription?.productKey === "premiumYearly",
    };
  },
});

API Reference

Polar Client

The Polar class accepts a configuration object with:

• getUserInfo: Function to get the current user's ID and email
• products: (Optional) Map of arbitrarily named keys to Polar product IDs
• organizationToken: (Optional) Your Polar organization token. Falls back to POLAR_ORGANIZATION_TOKEN env var
• webhookSecret: (Optional) Your Polar webhook secret. Falls back to POLAR_WEBHOOK_SECRET env var
• server: (Optional) Polar server environment: "sandbox" or "production". Falls back to POLAR_SERVER env var

React Components

CheckoutLink

Props:

• polarApi: Object containing generateCheckoutLink function
• productIds: Array of product IDs to show in the checkout
• children: React children (button content)
• embed: (Optional) Whether to embed the checkout. Defaults to true.
• lazy: (Optional) Defer checkout URL generation until click. Useful when rendering many links. Defaults to false.
• theme: (Optional) Embedded checkout theme: "dark" or "light". Defaults to "dark".
• trialInterval: (Optional) Trial period interval: "day", "week", "month", or "year".
• trialIntervalCount: (Optional) Number of trial intervals (e.g., 7 for 7 days).
• className: (Optional) CSS class name
• subscriptionId: (Optional) ID of a subscription to upgrade. It must be on a free pricing.
• metadata: (Optional) Metadata for additional information to the checkout

CustomerPortalLink

Props:

• polarApi: Object containing generateCustomerPortalUrl function
• children: React children (button content)
• className: (Optional) CSS class name

API Functions

The functions below are class methods on the Polar instance, used in your Convex backend code. The corresponding React-facing names (exported via polar.api()) are shown in the initialization section above.

changeCurrentSubscription

Change an existing subscription to a new plan:

await changeSubscription({ productId: "new_product_id" });

cancelCurrentSubscription

Cancel an active or trialing subscription:

await cancelSubscription({ revokeImmediately: true });

getCurrentSubscription

Get the current user's active subscription. Returns null if no active subscription exists. Expired trials are excluded.

const subscription = await polar.getCurrentSubscription(ctx, { userId });

listUserSubscriptions

For apps that support multiple active subscriptions per user. Returns active subscriptions, excluding ended subscriptions and expired trials.

const subscriptions = await polar.listUserSubscriptions(ctx, { userId });

listAllUserSubscriptions

Returns all subscriptions for a user, including ended and expired trials. Useful for displaying subscription history or distinguishing between "never subscribed" and "trial expired".

const allSubscriptions = await polar.listAllUserSubscriptions(ctx, { userId });

getProduct

Get a single product by its Polar product ID:

const product = await polar.getProduct(ctx, { productId });

getCustomerByUserId

Get the Polar customer record for a user:

const customer = await polar.getCustomerByUserId(ctx, userId);

listProducts

List all available products and their prices:

const products = await polar.listProducts(ctx);

registerRoutes

Register webhook handlers for the Polar component:

polar.registerRoutes(http, {
  // Optional: customize the webhook endpoint path (defaults to "/polar/events")
  path: "/custom/webhook/path",
  // Optional: typesafe handlers for any Polar webhook event
  events: {
    "order.created": async (ctx, event) => {
      // event.data is typed as Order
    },
  },
});

The events option accepts handlers for any of the 30+ Polar webhook event types with full TypeScript inference on the event payload. Built-in handling (persisting subscriptions and products) always runs automatically regardless of which events you handle.

The webhook handler uses the webhookSecret from the Polar client configuration or the POLAR_WEBHOOK_SECRET environment variable.

syncProducts

Sync existing products from Polar (must be run inside an action):

export const syncProducts = action({
  args: {},
  handler: async (ctx) => {
    await polar.syncProducts(ctx);
  },
});