Lovable and Plaid integration: Step-by-Step Guide 2025

 

Step 1: Adding Plaid as a Dependency

 

Since Lovable does not provide a terminal, you must “install” dependencies by adding them directly into your project’s configuration file. Create or open the existing package.json file in your Lovable project and add Plaid to the dependencies list. For example, insert the following code into your package.json file (if a package.json file does not exist, create one in the root of your project):

{
  "name": "lovable-project",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "dependencies": {
    "plaid": "^11.0.0"
  }
}

This tells the environment which version of the Plaid library your project requires.

 

Step 2: Creating the Plaid Configuration File

 

Next, create a new file in your project called plaid-config.ts. This file will be used to configure the Plaid client with required API keys and environment settings. Copy the code below into plaid-config.ts:

import { Configuration, PlaidApi, Products, CountryCode } from 'plaid';

// Replace the following placeholders with your actual Plaid credentials.
const PLAIDCLIENTID = 'YOURPLAIDCLIENT_ID';
const PLAIDSECRET = 'YOURPLAID_SECRET';
const PLAID_ENV = 'sandbox'; // options: 'sandbox', 'development', or 'production'

const configuration = new Configuration({
  basePath: https://${PLAID_ENV}.plaid.com,
  baseOptions: {
    headers: {
      'PLAID-CLIENT-ID': PLAIDCLIENTID,
      'PLAID-SECRET': PLAID_SECRET,
    },
  },
});

export const plaidClient = new PlaidApi(configuration);

This file sets up the Plaid client so that other parts of your code can call its methods.

 

Step 3: Creating the Plaid Integration File

 

Now create a new file called plaid-integration.ts which contains functions to handle Plaid-related actions such as creating a link token. Insert the following code into the file:

import { plaidClient } from './plaid-config';

// Function to create a Link Token
export async function createLinkToken(): Promise<string> {
  try {
    const response = await plaidClient.linkTokenCreate({
      user: {
        clientuserid: 'unique-user-id', // Replace with real user id if available
      },
      client_name: 'Lovable Project',
      products: [ 'auth', 'transactions' ], // List the products you wish to use
      country_codes: [ 'US' ], // Adjust the country codes as needed
      language: 'en',
    });
    return response.data.link_token;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error creating link token:', error);
    throw error;
  }
}

This code defines a function that creates a link token with Plaid. You can adjust the values (like products and country codes) according to your requirements.

 

Step 4: Integrating the Plaid Function into Your Lovable Project

 

You now need to import and use the created function in your main application code. Open the main file where you wish to call Plaid’s functionality (for example, main.ts), and add the following snippet where appropriate (this might be inside an event handler or during initial application load):

import { createLinkToken } from './plaid-integration';

async function initializePlaid() {
  try {
    const linkToken = await createLinkToken();
    // Use the link token to render the Plaid Link module your way.
    console.log('Plaid Link Token:', linkToken);
    // Insert your code to initialize or open Plaid Link using the obtained token.
    // For example, if you are using Plaid Link in the browser, call the Plaid.create() method.
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Initialization failed:', error);
  }
}

// Call initializePlaid at the appropriate moment in your app lifecycle.
initializePlaid();

This integration ensures that when your Lovable project runs, it will generate a Plaid link token and you can then complete the flow accordingly.

 

Step 5: Configuring Environment Variables (Optional)

 

If your project supports environment variables through code configuration, consider creating a file (for example, env.ts) where you securely load your API keys instead of hardcoding them in plaid-config.ts. Example code:

export const ENV = {
  PLAIDCLIENTID: 'YOURPLAIDCLIENT_ID',
  PLAIDSECRET: 'YOURPLAID_SECRET',
  PLAID_ENV: 'sandbox'
};

Then update plaid-config.ts to import these values:

import { ENV } from './env';
import { Configuration, PlaidApi } from 'plaid';

const configuration = new Configuration({
  basePath: https://${ENV.PLAID_ENV}.plaid.com,
  baseOptions: {
    headers: {
      'PLAID-CLIENT-ID': ENV.PLAIDCLIENTID,
      'PLAID-SECRET': ENV.PLAID_SECRET,
    },
  },
});

export const plaidClient = new PlaidApi(configuration);

This method helps keep your credentials separate from your main code.

 

By following these steps, you integrate Plaid into your Lovable project, making it possible to create link tokens and perform further Plaid API interactions using TypeScript.