Braintree Management Skill

Monitor and manage Braintree payment processing and merchant accounts.

MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern

Always discover merchant configuration and payment methods before querying transactions.

Phase 1: Discovery

#!/bin/bash
BT_ENV="${BRAINTREE_ENVIRONMENT:-sandbox}"
BT_API="https://payments${BT_ENV:+.$BT_ENV}.braintreegateway.com/merchants/${BRAINTREE_MERCHANT_ID}"
AUTH="-u ${BRAINTREE_PUBLIC_KEY}:${BRAINTREE_PRIVATE_KEY}"

echo "=== Merchant Account Info ==="
curl -s $AUTH -H "Content-Type: application/xml" \
  "$BT_API/merchant_accounts" | \
  python3 -c "
import sys, xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
root = ET.fromstring(sys.stdin.read())
for ma in root.findall('.//merchant-account'):
    print(f\"{ma.find('id').text} | Status: {ma.find('status').text} | Currency: {ma.find('currency-iso-code').text} | Default: {ma.find('default').text}\")
"

echo ""
echo "=== Plans (Subscriptions) ==="
curl -s $AUTH -H "Content-Type: application/xml" "$BT_API/plans" | \
  python3 -c "
import sys, xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
root = ET.fromstring(sys.stdin.read())
for p in root.findall('.//plan'):
    print(f\"{p.find('name').text} | ID: {p.find('id').text} | Price: {p.find('price').text} | Billing: {p.find('billing-frequency').text}\")
"

echo ""
echo "=== Add-ons & Discounts ==="
curl -s $AUTH -H "Content-Type: application/xml" "$BT_API/add_ons" | \
  python3 -c "
import sys, xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
root = ET.fromstring(sys.stdin.read())
for a in root.findall('.//add-on'):
    print(f\"Add-on: {a.find('name').text} | Amount: {a.find('amount').text}\")
" 2>/dev/null || echo "No add-ons configured"

Phase 1 outputs: Merchant accounts, subscription plans, add-ons

Phase 2: Analysis

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Transaction Search (last 7 days) ==="
curl -s $AUTH -H "Content-Type: application/xml" \
  "$BT_API/transactions/advanced_search" \
  -d "<search><created-at><min>$(date -v-7d +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S 2>/dev/null || date -d '7 days ago' +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S)</min></created-at></search>" | \
  python3 -c "
import sys, xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
root = ET.fromstring(sys.stdin.read())
txns = root.findall('.//transaction')
statuses = {}
for t in txns:
    s = t.find('status').text
    statuses[s] = statuses.get(s, 0) + 1
for s, c in sorted(statuses.items(), key=lambda x: -x[1]):
    print(f'{s}: {c}')
print(f'Total: {len(txns)}')
"

echo ""
echo "=== Disputes ==="
curl -s $AUTH "$BT_API/disputes" | \
  python3 -c "
import sys, xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
root = ET.fromstring(sys.stdin.read())
disputes = root.findall('.//dispute')
print(f'Open disputes: {len([d for d in disputes if d.find(\"status\").text in [\"open\", \"accepted\"]])}')
print(f'Total disputes: {len(disputes)}')
"

echo ""
echo "=== Active Subscriptions ==="
curl -s $AUTH -H "Content-Type: application/xml" \
  "$BT_API/subscriptions/advanced_search" \
  -d "<search><status><item>Active</item></status></search>" | \
  python3 -c "
import sys, xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
root = ET.fromstring(sys.stdin.read())
print(f'Active subscriptions: {len(root.findall(\".//subscription\"))}')
"

Output Format

BRAINTREE STATUS
================
Merchant: {id} ({currency})
7-Day Transactions: {count} (Success: {pct}%)
Decline Rate: {percent}%
Active Subscriptions: {count}
Open Disputes: {count}
Settlement Pending: {amount}
Issues: {list_of_warnings}

Anti-Hallucination Rules

1. NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
2. NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or --help output.
3. NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
4. ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
5. ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.

Counter-Rationalizations

Shortcut	Counter	Why
"I'll skip discovery and check known resources"	Always run Phase 1 discovery first	Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors
"The user only asked for a quick check"	Follow the full discovery → analysis flow	Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures
"Default configuration is probably fine"	Audit configuration explicitly	Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled
"Metrics aren't needed for this"	Always check relevant metrics when available	API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues
"I don't have access to that"	Try the command and report the actual error	Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative

Common Pitfalls

• Sandbox vs Production: Different API endpoints — environment must match credentials
• XML API: Braintree uses XML for search — JSON available for GraphQL API
• Transaction states: settled vs settling vs authorized — understand the lifecycle
• Duplicate checking: Braintree has built-in duplicate detection — check gateway rejections