Most apps end up connected to a handful of third-party services: a payment processor, an email tool, an analytics platform, sometimes several more. Each connection brings its own settings, its own key, and its own set of things worth checking once, at the moment you connect it, rather than accepting whatever the default happens to be.
The checklist
- Scope of access: does the key or token you generated grant only what this specific integration actually needs, or does it default to broader access than the feature requires?
- Where the key lives: is it stored as an environment variable on the server, rather than sitting anywhere in code that could end up in a public repository or a browser-visible file?
- Webhook verification: if this service sends your app webhooks, does your endpoint actually verify the signature, rather than trusting anything shaped like a real message?
- What data actually gets sent: are you sending only the fields this specific service genuinely needs, rather than forwarding a whole user record because it was convenient at the time?
- Test vs live mode: many services, especially payment processors, have separate test and live keys; confirm you're not accidentally left on test mode in production, or worse, using a live key during development where it could leak.
Why this deserves a specific pass rather than trusting the setup wizard
Most integrations come with a quick-start guide that gets a connection working in minutes, and that guide is optimized for speed, not for the narrowest possible scope of access. Getting something working and getting it configured correctly for your specific app's actual needs are two different achievements, and the setup wizard only guarantees the first one.
How to use this going forward
Run this list every time you connect a new service, not just once when the app was first built. Each new integration is a new opportunity for the same handful of mistakes, an overly broad key, an unverified webhook, more data shared than necessary, and each one deserves the same short pass before it's considered done, regardless of how many times you've connected a similar service before.