Get Started
Dashboard-first quickstart for Rails Yield — deploy a node, fund it, activate, and start monitoring earnings via the GraphQL API in under an hour.
Stand up your first Rails Yield node and connect a monitoring loop in under an hour. Rails Yield needs real Bitcoin to earn real yield, so this quickstart starts in the dashboard and switches to the API once the node is running.
Prefer the API path? Integrate walks through the same flow with GraphQL mutations for every step.
What you'll build
Sign up
Create an account at rails.amboss.tech. The first account on a team becomes the master account - it's the only role that can deploy nodes and initiate withdrawals.
Set an account password
The password is the entropy that encrypts channel keys client-side. Rails never sees the plaintext.
There is no password recovery. Use a password manager and back the password up.
See Security for the full key model.
Choose a setup option
| Pick | If… |
|---|---|
| Fully Managed | You don't want to run a node. Fastest path. |
| Third Party Hosted | You already operate LND or Litd in production. |
| Intelligence API | You also run your own automation and want insights only. |
The rest of this quickstart assumes Fully Managed. The Third Party Hosted setup substitutes one API mutation in step 4; everything after step 5 is identical.
Deploy a node
Click "Create Earn Node" in the dashboard and pick LP (Liquidity Provider). Provisioning runs in the background and typically completes within a few minutes - watch the node's state advance through CREATED → WAITING_FOR_CREDENTIALS → WAITING_FOR_DEPOSIT.
Deployment is dashboard-only because the bring-up includes browser-side cryptography (key derivation, macaroon encryption with your team's symmetric key) that a backend can't safely replicate. See Deploy a Node for the sequence.
Fund the node
Once the node is in WAITING_FOR_DEPOSIT, the dashboard reveals a deposit address. Send Bitcoin from your wallet to that address.
There is no minimum, but practical first deposits run from 0.005 BTC (test sizing) to 2+ BTC (production). Too little capital means automation can't open meaningful channels.
After one on-chain confirmation, the node moves to WAITING_FOR_ACTIVATION.
Activate
Click "Activate" and complete the Stripe checkout. Stripe collects the subscription details and posts a webhook back to Rails; the node flips to ACTIVE shortly after.
Switch to the API for monitoring
Grab the auth_token cookie from a logged-in dashboard session and use it as a Bearer token. From here, every dashboard surface is reachable through GraphQL.
A minimal earnings query:
query Earnings($input: LiquidityProviderInput) {
user {
liquidity_provider(input: $input) {
funds {
total { sats usd }
earnings { sats usd }
}
revenue {
routing { sats usd }
liquidity { sats usd }
}
}
}
}curl -X POST https://rails.amboss.tech/graphql \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $AMBOSS_DASHBOARD_TOKEN" \
-d '{
"query": "query($input: LiquidityProviderInput) { user { liquidity_provider(input: $input) { funds { earnings { sats usd } } } } }",
"variables": { "input": { "node_id": "<NODE_ID>" } }
}'Next: build and withdraw
- Monitor - build a real monitoring loop on top of the funds and revenue queries
- Withdraw - request and track withdrawals
- Integrate - run the entire flow API-first
- API Reference - field-level docs for every operation
Need help getting from a first deposit to a real position? Talk to the team - we'll walk through sizing, fee policy, and partner selection with you.
Where to go next
Rails Yield
Access yield on Bitcoin without giving up custody. Rails Yield routes payments and leases liquidity on your behalf so your sats earn — no lending, no counterparty risk.
Setup Options
Choose the Rails Yield deployment model that fits your stack — Fully Managed, Third Party Hosted, or Intelligence API — and the permissions and trade-offs of each.