New Mint

This is the suggested path to a fully sovereign mint: every service run and hosted on hardware you control. Prepare the server, install and run your services, then connect Orchard to manage everything from one place.

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1. System — Start by setting up the server you will run your services on.

2. Bitcoin node — Run your own Bitcoin node to act as the source of truth.

3. Lightning node — Run a lightning node on top of the Bitcoin node for second layer, lightning fast payments.

4. Cashu mint — Stand up the mint that uses your Lightning node as a backend.

5. Orchard — Install Orchard and point it to each service for an all-in-one manager.

Once all five are in place, you can operate the mint from the Orchard dashboard. Already run some of these services yourself? See Install to connect Orchard to services you already have.

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.

The guides we build on

Rather than reinvent the wheel and maintain our own bare-metal setup steps, we hand the base layers (System, Bitcoin, and Lightning) off to battle-tested guides that already do this well, and note the Orchard-specific adjustments on each step. Two guides shaped this path:

RaspiBolt (the origin) 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.

MiniBolt (what we recommend) 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.

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

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 with less granular control, and are generally geared for private use. A mint is public-facing infrastructure so this guide takes a more hands-on approach to setup.

Where to start

1. System Prepare and harden the machine everything runs on.

2. Bitcoin Node Run Bitcoin and let it sync to the current block height.

3. Lightning Node Run a Lightning node on top of your Bitcoin node.

4. Cashu Mint Run a Cashu mint backed by your Lightning node.

5. Orchard Install Orchard and manage it all from one dashboard.

After new mint

Your Orchard Mint running? Operate the mint from the dashboard.

Connect an existing stack Already run your own services? The Install pages connect Orchard to them.