Accounts & Users

What is an account?

An account in Credits represents one of your end-users or customers. Each account has its own credit balance, transaction history, and plan assignments. Think of it as a 1:1 mapping to a user in your system.

External IDs

Every account can have an external_id that links it back to your own user system. This lets you look up a Credits account using the same ID you already use in your database (e.g. your auth provider's user ID, a Stripe customer ID, or any unique identifier).

When to create an account

Create a Credits account when a new user signs up in your app. This is typically done in your signup handler or webhook — right after you create the user in your own database, make an API call to create a corresponding Credits account with the user's external ID.

Example integration flow

1. User signs up in your application
2. Your backend creates a Credits account with the user's ID as external_id
3. Assign a plan to the account (e.g. a free tier with starter credits)
4. Use the external ID in all subsequent API calls to check balance, reserve credits, etc.