# Quick Start

Start earning Bitcoin by selling AI access in under 5 minutes.

## What You'll Build

A **Routstr Provider Node** acts as a gateway that:

1. **Connects** to upstream AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter, etc.)
2. **Accepts** Bitcoin payments via Cashu eCash
3. **Serves** AI requests to clients on the network

You bring the API keys, Routstr handles the billing, payments, and client management.

!!! tip "Future: Node-to-Node Routing"
In future versions, you'll be able to run a node that connects to other Routstr nodes—eliminating the need to configure upstream providers yourself. For now, you'll need your own API credentials.

---

## Prerequisites

- [Docker](https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/) installed
- API credentials from at least one AI provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter, etc.)

---

## 1. Prepare Configuration

Create a `.env` file in the root of the project to store your secrets:

```bash
# Encrypts node secrets at rest. Optional — if unset, the node generates a key on
# first start and prints it once (back it up).
ROUTSTR_SECRET_KEY=

# Node Identity
NAME="My AI Node"
DESCRIPTION="Fast access to models"

# Lightning Payouts
RECEIVE_LN_ADDRESS=yourname@wallet.com

```

The admin password is generated and logged once on first start (read it from the
logs to sign in), and your Nostr identity (`nsec`) is configured afterwards from
the admin UI — both are stored encrypted in the database, not in `.env`.
(`ADMIN_PASSWORD` / `NSEC` are still read once as a legacy seed for existing
deployments.)

## 2. Start the Node

The recommended way to run Routstr is using Docker Compose, which handles the node, the UI, and optional services like Tor.

```bash
docker compose up -d
```

Verify it's running:

```bash
curl http://localhost:8000/v1/info
```

### Build from Source (Optional)

If you've cloned the repository and want to build the images yourself:

```bash
docker compose build
docker compose up -d
```

---

## 3. Configure via Dashboard

Open the **Admin Dashboard** at [http://localhost:8000/admin/](http://localhost:8000/admin/).

!!! note "Login"
On first start the node generates an admin password and logs it once — read it from the container logs to sign in. You can change it afterwards from **Settings** → **Security**.

### Connect Your AI Providers

1. Navigate to **Settings** → **Upstream**
2. Enter your upstream URL (e.g., `https://api.openai.com/v1`)
3. Enter your API key
4. Save

### Set Your Profit Margin

1. Go to **Settings** → **Pricing**
2. Configure your markup (default is 10%)
3. Optionally set a fixed price per request instead

### Secure the Dashboard

1. Go to **Settings** → **Admin**
2. Set a strong password
3. Save and re-login

---

## 3. Start Earning

Once configured, your node is live. Clients pay you in Bitcoin (via Cashu tokens) for every AI request.

### Monitor Your Earnings

The dashboard shows:

- **Total Wallet**: All Bitcoin held by your node
- **User Balances**: Funds belonging to active client sessions
- **Your Balance**: Your profit (`Total - User Balances`)

### Withdraw Profits

1. Go to **Withdraw** in the dashboard
2. Select amount and mint
3. Generate a Cashu token
4. Redeem to your Lightning wallet

---

## Next Steps

- **[Deployment](deployment.md)**: Production setup with Docker Compose and Tor
- **[Dashboard Guide](dashboard.md)**: Full reference for all dashboard features
- **[Pricing](pricing.md)**: Configure pricing strategies and per-model overrides
- **[Discovery](discovery.md)**: Announce your node on Nostr for clients to find you