routstr-core/docs/provider/configuration.md

Configuration

Routstr is configured primarily through the Admin Dashboard. All settings persist in the database and take effect immediately—no restarts required.

For automated deployments, you can optionally pre-configure settings via environment variables.

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Initial Setup (.env file)

Before running your node, you should create a .env file in the project root. This file is used to bootstrap the initial configuration and store sensitive secrets.

Example .env

# Encrypts node secrets at rest. Optional — if unset, the node generates a key on
# first start and prints it once (back it up). Set it to manage the key yourself
# (recommended in production). See "Secrets at Rest" below.
ROUTSTR_SECRET_KEY=

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

# Lightning Payouts
RECEIVE_LN_ADDRESS=yourname@wallet.com

Setting the UI Password

On first start the node generates an admin password and logs it once — read it from the container logs to sign in. You can then change it two ways:

1. Via Dashboard: Once logged in, go to Settings → Security to update your password.
2. Via Environment Variable (legacy seed): Setting ADMIN_PASSWORD in .env before the first start seeds the initial password instead of generating one. It's read only once, for existing deployments; a value left in .env is ignored after the node has been configured.

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Admin Dashboard (Primary)

Access the dashboard at /admin/ on your node.

Upstream Providers

Connect to your AI provider(s):

Setting	Description
Upstream URL	API endpoint (e.g., https://api.openai.com/v1)
API Key	Your provider's API key

Node Identity

How your node appears to clients:

Setting	Description
Name	Display name (e.g., "Fast GPT-4 Node")
Description	Brief description of your service

Pricing

Control your profit margins:

Setting	Description	Default
Fixed Pricing	Charge flat rate per request vs. per-token	Off
Exchange Fee	Buffer for BTC volatility	1.005 (0.5%)
Upstream Fee	Your profit markup	1.10 (10%)

See Pricing for detailed strategies.

Cashu Mints

Which mints to accept payments from:

Setting	Description
Mints	List of trusted Cashu mint URLs

Lightning Withdrawals

Automatic profit withdrawal:

Setting	Description	Default
Lightning Address	Your LN address for withdrawals	—
Minimum Payout (sat)	Min available balance (in sats) before profit is paid out. Applies to both sat and msat mints (auto-converted).	210
Payout Interval (seconds)	How often the payout loop wakes up and checks balances	900

All payout amounts must be positive. Set the minimums above your wallet's minimum-invoice constraint (typically 1 sat) and high enough to amortise routing fees.

Security

Setting	Description
Admin Password	Password for dashboard access

Nostr Discovery

Announce your node on the network:

Setting	Description
Npub	Your Nostr public key
Nsec	Your Nostr private key (for signing)
Relays	Relays to publish announcements
Share Analytics	Publish aggregate usage stats to Nostr

See Discovery for details.

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Environment Variables (Optional)

Use environment variables for:

• Automated deployments (CI/CD, infrastructure-as-code)
• Secrets management (external secret stores)
• Initial bootstrap (set once, manage via dashboard later)

All Variables

Variable	Description	Default
UPSTREAM_BASE_URL	Upstream API endpoint	—
UPSTREAM_API_KEY	Upstream API key	—
ADMIN_PASSWORD	Legacy seed for the dashboard password (otherwise generated + logged on first start)	(auto-generated)
ROUTSTR_SECRET_KEY	Master key encrypting node secrets at rest. Auto-generated to a key file if unset	(auto-generated)
ROUTSTR_SECRET_KEY_FILE	Path to the generated key file (used when ROUTSTR_SECRET_KEY is unset)	routstr_secret.key beside the database
DATABASE_URL	Database connection string	sqlite+aiosqlite:///keys.db
NAME	Node display name	ARoutstrNode
DESCRIPTION	Node description	A Routstr Node
NPUB	Nostr public key (bech32)	—
NSEC	Legacy seed for the Nostr private key (otherwise set from the admin UI)	—
ENABLE_ANALYTICS_SHARING	Enable usage analytics sharing to Nostr	true
CASHU_MINTS	Comma-separated mint URLs	https://mint.minibits.cash/Bitcoin
RECEIVE_LN_ADDRESS	Lightning address for withdrawals	—
MIN_PAYOUT_SAT	Min payout balance in sats (applies to all mints)	210
PAYOUT_INTERVAL_SECONDS	Payout loop interval (seconds)	900
TOR_PROXY_URL	SOCKS5 proxy for Tor	socks5://127.0.0.1:9050
CORS_ORIGINS	Allowed CORS origins	*
RELAYS	Nostr relays (comma-separated)	(default set)

Priority

Environment variables are read on startup. Dashboard settings override them and persist in the database. Once you change a setting in the dashboard, the env var is ignored for that setting.

Secrets at Rest

The node's Nostr private key (nsec) is encrypted in the database using ROUTSTR_SECRET_KEY. You don't have to set it: if it's unset, the node generates a key on first start, writes it beside the database (the file named by ROUTSTR_SECRET_KEY_FILE, default routstr_secret.key) so it persists on the same volume as your data, and prints it once.

Back up that key — it lives on the same volume as your database, so include it in your backups. If it is lost or changed, previously encrypted secrets can't be decrypted and must be re-entered — there is no rotation. To keep the key off the data volume, set ROUTSTR_SECRET_KEY explicitly (an env value always takes precedence over the file). See also Deployment.

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Models

Manage which AI models you offer:

1. Go to Models in the dashboard
2. Models are auto-discovered from your upstream
3. For each model, you can:
   • Enable/Disable — hide expensive models you don't want to serve
   • Override pricing — set custom per-token rates
   • Create aliases — friendly names for models

See Pricing for per-model pricing strategies.