Lago

Lago is an open-source usage billing tool you can host yourself or use as a hosted service. The lago driver behind meter sends each meter.record() to Lago, where you price and invoice it. Pick Lago when you want usage billing you can self-host, or when you don't bill through Stripe.

meter:
  driver: lago

Before you start

1. Run Lago yourself or create a hosted Lago account.
2. Define the billable metrics and plans you charge on.
3. Create an API key for your app.

Configure

meter:
  driver: lago

How the driver takes its API key (as a secret: reference) and the Lago address, and how metrics map to Lago billable metrics, are not decided yet.

Use it

import { meter } from "mainsdk";

await meter.record({ customer: org.id, metric: "api_calls", value: 1 });

Local development and testing

meter ships in phase 2, and its in-memory fake for createTestApp() from @mainsdk/testing arrives with its spec. Until then, a self-hosted Lago on your machine works for trying the flow.

What MainSDK adds on top

meter has no guarantees in the catalog yet; they arrive with its spec. Keys go in as secret: references. See Usage metering.

Limits and notes

• Planned for phase 2; meter has no spec.
• If you self-host Lago, usage data stays where you run it. Pick a host in your MainSDK data region (US, EU or India).
• Not decided yet: whether a retried meter.record() counts once.

Swap to or from it

meter:
  driver: lago   # was stripe-meters

FAQ

Does Lago charge the card? Lago prices and invoices usage; collecting the payment is done by a payment provider you connect to it.

Can I use Lago with Stripe for payments? meter and pay are separate interfaces, so you can record usage in Lago and take payments through pay.

Next

• Usage metering and Payments
• Stripe

Open questions