The task
The site was already live: people pay for game services and digital goods. Another team builds the public part of the site, and colleagues review my code. They needed someone on the server side to take the risky work — partner money, a platform upgrade, order migration, error logs, automatic payment checks — without breaking checkout for the sake of nicer code.
What I do
Since February 2026 I have been taking the hard server-side work on gg.money and steam.money: payments, rules, the admin, releases, and checks. What has been done in that time:
- Partner cabinet. A separate site, partners.gg.money: its own sign-in, a balance to withdraw, click tracking on referral links, and SBP withdrawals. A partner's reward no longer mixes with their personal cashback. While a withdrawal request is under review, the same amount cannot be withdrawn again. Before balances were moved on the live site, there was a dry run.
- Platform upgrade. PHP, Laravel, and the admin moved to current versions without stopping sales. The big step was split into one main change and a series of small fixes, until the test copy of the site ran steadily again.
- Moving orders to a new database. For a while orders are written to both databases, and reading from the new one is turned on by a switch, not for everyone at once. Tests check that the data matches.
- Cashback and reports. The cashback rate used to be set in several places. Now there is one rule: the highest rate applies — from a promo code, a service, or the general one. Report totals are exact and do not drift when records are written at the same time.
- Sign-in with an email code. Sign-in and sign-up with a code from an email, a captcha before the code is sent, a limit on attempts, and blocking of suspicious addresses on the server.
- Error logs. Logs and request traces go to Yandex Monium. They now carry what helps sort out a failed payment, and unnecessary personal data has been removed.
- Automatic payment checks. Sign-in, promo codes, the calculator, and SBP payment are checked automatically on a test copy of the site. Some checks used to pass even when the payment failed. Now a check passes only if the payment confirmation is visible on screen.
What it changed
Partners see their money apart from the regular balance, so payouts cause less confusion. Cashback follows one rule, so the business does not lose margin by mistake. The platform runs on current versions: it is easier to develop and safer to run. Payment breaks are caught by automatic checks, not by buyers.
How I work with AI
The rules of work are written down in the project itself. I set the frame and accept the result: money, scenarios, and business meaning. The AI agent drafts inside that frame. What reaches the live site is my responsibility.
Where the project is now
The service is live and taking payments. Some large pieces are already running; others are still in progress: the blog, checkout without an account, and order status that updates on screen without a reload. The customer always sees what already works and what is still on the way.
System diagram
The buyer comes in through the other team's site. My part is the server: payments, orders, partners, the admin, logs, and checks. It is highlighted on the diagram.