Frequently asked questions
What is Nodana?
Nodana is a hosted platform for deploying and managing Phoenixd Lightning nodes. It handles the infrastructure and provides a dashboard, API, and CLI so you can focus on building your application.
What is Phoenixd?
Phoenixd is a lightweight Lightning node developed by ACINQ. It provides an HTTP API and automates channel and liquidity management. You can learn more in the Phoenixd documentation.
What do I need to get started?
You need a Nodana account and a Bitcoin Lightning wallet containing enough sats to buy credit. You can sign in with your email address or GitHub account, add credit, and then create your first node.
Follow the Your first node guide for a complete walkthrough.
How long does it take to create a node?
Nodes are usually ready in less than a minute. The dashboard shows the node's status while it is being deployed.
How much does a node cost?
Each node costs $12 per month. Usage is calculated per minute, so you only pay for the time the node exists.
See Adding credit for the available credit bundles and a price matrix for running multiple nodes.
Is a stopped node still billed?
Yes. Billing continues while a node exists, even when it is stopped, because its infrastructure and data are still retained. Delete the node if you want to stop future charges for it.
How do I add credit?
Open Add Credit in the Nodana dashboard, choose an amount, create a Lightning invoice, and pay it with your Lightning wallet. Your balance is updated after the payment is confirmed.
All credit is denominated in US dollars, while the invoice is paid in sats.
What happens when my credit runs out?
You will need to add more credit to continue running your nodes. Check your dashboard and account notifications for the current status of your balance and nodes.
How do I connect an application to my node?
Each node has its own endpoint and Phoenixd password. Nodana displays these connection details after the node is ready. Keep the password private and use it to authenticate requests to that node's Phoenixd API.
Is a Nodana API key the same as my Phoenixd password?
No. A Nodana API key authenticates requests that manage Nodana resources, such as creating, starting, or deleting nodes. A Phoenixd password authenticates payment requests sent directly to an individual node.
Read API authentication for examples.
Can I manage nodes without the dashboard?
Yes. You can create and manage nodes with the Nodana API or the Nodana CLI.
Can a Phoenixd node send and receive Lightning payments?
Yes. Once your node is ready, use its Phoenixd API to create invoices, check its balance, and send payments. These payment operations are handled by Phoenixd rather than the Nodana management API.
Where can I check for an outage?
See Nodana System Status for current service information.
How can I get help?
Visit the contact page to send us a message.