# New Mint

The suggested path to a fully sovereign mint: run Bitcoin, Lightning, and a Cashu mint yourself, on hardware you control, then connect Orchard to manage it all from one place.

This is the suggested path to a **fully sovereign mint**: every service run and
hosted by you, on hardware you control. Build the stack from the bottom up, then
connect Orchard to each service to manage everything from one place.

<Steps>

1. **[System](/new-mint/system/)** — the soil. A machine you control, set up
   and secured, with room for every service.

2. **[Bitcoin node](/new-mint/bitcoin-node/)** — the roots of your mint. Your own Bitcoin
  node, the source of truth your Lightning node trusts.

3. **[Lightning node](/new-mint/lightning-node/)** — processes deposits and
   withdrawals from the mint, anchored to the Bitcoin node below it.

4. **[Cashu mint](/new-mint/mint/)** — issues and redeems ecash against that
   Lightning node.

5. **[Orchard](/new-mint/orchard/)** — the manager. Install Orchard, point it at
   everything above, and tend the whole stack from one dashboard.

</Steps>

Once all five are in place, you operate the mint from the Orchard dashboard. Already
run some of these services yourself? See [Install](/install/installation/) to connect Orchard to a
stack you already have.

<Aside type="tip" title="Already have part of the stack?">
  Already running a Bitcoin or Lightning node? Pick up at the step you still
  need. To install Orchard and connect services you already run, see
  [Install](/install/installation/).
</Aside>

## The guides we build on

Orchard manages Bitcoin infrastructure; it is not a Bitcoin or Lightning distribution. Rather than
reinvent and maintain our own bare-metal setup steps, we hand the base layers
(System, Bitcoin, and Lightning) off to a guide that already does this well, and
note the Orchard-specific adjustments on each step. Two guides shaped this path:

<CardGrid>
  <LinkCard
    title="RaspiBolt (the origin)"
    href="https://raspibolt.org"
    target="_blank"
    rel="noopener noreferrer"
    description="The Raspberry Pi guide we learned these best practices from. It does not port cleanly to Linux. Only use this if you are familiar with server setup."
  />
  <LinkCard
    title="MiniBolt (what we recommend)"
    href="https://minibolt.minibolt.info"
    target="_blank"
    rel="noopener noreferrer"
    description="The same best practices, already built for Linux on capable hardware. The purpose-fit path for a public-facing mint, and where our base-layer steps hand off."
  />
</CardGrid>

Orchard's own docs pick up where MiniBolt leaves off, at the Cashu mint and Orchard.

<Aside type="note" title="Node-in-a-box setups">
  Umbrel, Start9, and similar appliances are great for plug-and-play
  self-hosting, but not the right fit here. They run pre-packaged apps on an OS
  you do not fully control, tuned for private use. A mint is public-facing
  infrastructure, and this path builds and hardens each base layer yourself.
</Aside>

## Where to start

<CardGrid>
  <LinkCard
    title="1. System"
    href="/new-mint/system/"
    description="Prepare and harden the machine the whole stack runs on."
  />
  <LinkCard
    title="2. Bitcoin Node"
    href="/new-mint/bitcoin-node/"
    description="Run Bitcoin and let it sync — the chain everything else settles to."
  />
  <LinkCard
    title="3. Lightning Node"
    href="/new-mint/lightning-node/"
    description="Run a Lightning node on top of your Bitcoin node."
  />
  <LinkCard
    title="4. Cashu Mint"
    href="/new-mint/mint/"
    description="Run a Cashu mint backed by your Lightning node."
  />
  <LinkCard
    title="5. Orchard"
    href="/new-mint/orchard/"
    description="Install Orchard and manage the whole stack from one dashboard."
  />
</CardGrid>

## After new mint

<CardGrid>
  <LinkCard
    title="Your Orchard"
    href="/orchard/"
    description="Stack built and managed? Operate the mint from the dashboard."
  />
  <LinkCard
    title="Connect an existing stack"
    href="/install/installation/"
    description="Already run your own services? The Install pages connect Orchard to them."
  />
</CardGrid>