Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Deploy and manage Lightning Network (LND) and Taproot Assets (LITD) nodes on Comet Platform. This guide covers account creation, node deployment, and initial setup.

What is Comet Platform?

Platform-as-a-Service for the Bitcoin Ecosystem

Key Benefits:

• Simple Infrastructure - No DevOps expertise or hardware management required

• Non-Custodial - You control private keys; client-side encryption protects sensitive data

• Transparent Pricing - Credit-based model with predictable costs

• Fast Deployment - Production-ready nodes in under 5 minutes

Key Concepts

Node Types

LND Nodes

Lightning Network operations for instant, low-cost Bitcoin payments. Node tier (Standard, Pro, Enterprise) determined by subscription plan.

LITD (TAPD) Nodes

Lightning Network + Taproot Assets Protocol. Mint, transfer, and manage Taproot Assets on Bitcoin while maintaining Lightning capabilities.

Coming Soon: Bitcoin Core nodes coming soon.

Credits

Credit-based pricing model instead of hourly billing:

• Fixed monthly credit allocation per subscription tier

• Credits continuously occupied by deployed resources (not consumed hourly)

• Deleting nodes frees credits for other resources

• Think capacity limit, not currency spent

Example: Basic plan includes 1,000 credits/month. Running nodes occupy credits; delete a node to free those credits.

Creating Your Account

Step 1: Sign Up

1. Navigate to dashboard.cometplatform.com

2. Enter email and click "Request OTP"

3. Enter 6-digit verification code from email

4. Click "Validate"

Passwordless authentication with One-Time Passwords (OTP) for security.

After successful authentication, new users will complete account creation:

1. Enter your full name

2. Provide your company name

3. Select your country from the dropdown menu

4. Click "Sign Up" to proceed

⚠️ Security: Maintain reliable email access. Enable 2FA on your email provider.

Step 2: Choose Subscription Plan

1. Choose between available subscription plans:

2. Select billing frequency (Monthly/Annually)

3. Click "Continue with [Selected Plan]" to proceed

Yearly Plans (discounted):

• Basic ($300/year): Save $60/year

• Pro ($2,000/year): Save $400/year

• Enterprise ($10,000/year): Save $2,000/year

Upgrade or downgrade anytime from Billing page.

Step 3: Add Payment Information

1. Choose payment method

2. Enter card details securely (if paying by Credit/Debit Card)

3. Review subscription details

4. Click "Pay Now" to complete payment

Subscription begins immediately with credits available for node deployment.

📘 Note: Credit consumption rates subject to change. Check Billing page for current rates.

Step 4: Node Deployment

During the first-time setup flow, you can deploy your first node immediately:

1. Select node type:

2. Configure node settings:

3. For Bitcoin nodes, set a secure RPC password

4. Click "Confirm" to deploy

📘 Note: You can skip node deployment during initial setup and create nodes later from the "My Nodes" page. See the "Creating Your First Node" section below for detailed node creation instructions.

Step 5: Seed Phrase Management (LND & LITD Nodes)

If you deployed an LND or LITD node during setup, you'll proceed through seed phrase management:

1. View your generated seed phrase (it will only be shown once)

2. Securely store the seed phrase - click "Copy to clipboard" to save

3. Validate the seed phrase to confirm you've saved it correctly

4. Complete seed phrase encryption to secure your wallet

⚠️ Critical: Seed phrase is master key to wallet. Store securely offline. Never share or enter on untrusted sites.

Step 6: Create Node Password

Set password to unlock node and encrypt sensitive data.

⚠️ Important: Different from account login (OTP). Store in password manager with offline backups. Without it, you'll need seed phrase for recovery.

After completing these steps, your node will begin provisioning. Once provisioning is complete, you'll be redirected to the node details page to unlock it. See the "Creating Your First Node" section below for unlocking instructions and node management details.

Dashboard Overview

Left Sidebar Navigation:

• Dashboard - Node overview and credit usage

• My Nodes - View and manage deployed nodes

• Billing - Invoices, plan details, subscription management

• API Keys - Create and manage programmatic access

User Profile Menu (bottom left):

• Upgrade subscription, account settings, billing, notifications, logout

Main Dashboard:

• Search bar for finding nodes by name

• Filters: status, network (Mainnet/Testnet), tier

• Bulk operations: Pause/Play buttons

• Node list with Name, Type, Status, Network, Tier

Right Sidebar:

• Active node count

• Credits in use (with progress bar)

• Next billing date

API Key Management

Create and manage API keys for programmatic access to your nodes:

1. Navigate to the API Keys section

2. View existing API keys and their status

3. Click "Create API Key" to generate a new key

4. Give your API key a descriptive name (e.g., "MyFirstCLIKey", "DevSDKKey")

5. Copy and securely store the API key immediately (it will only be shown once)

⚠️ Security: Treat your API keys like passwords. Do not share them publicly or commit them to version control.

Billing Management

Access your billing information to:

• View current subscription plan

• Monitor credit usage and remaining balance

• Manage payment methods

• View billing history and invoices

• Upgrade or downgrade your subscription plan

Navigate to the Billing section from the left sidebar to manage all billing-related activities.

Node Management

Return to your nodes to:

• Monitor node status and health

• Access detailed node information

• Perform node actions (pause, resume, delete)

• View node metrics and performance data

• Manage node configurations

Navigate to "My Nodes" from the left sidebar to view all deployed nodes and access individual node details.

Creating Your First Node

Step 1: Navigate to Node Creation

From "My Nodes" page, click "+ New Node" button.

Step 2: Configure Node

Name

Descriptive name (e.g., "My First Lightning Node")

Type

• LND Node - Lightning Network operations

• LITD (TAPD) Node - Lightning + Taproot Assets

Network

• Mainnet - Production use with real Bitcoin

• Testnet - Development and testing

Recommendation: Select Testnet for first node.

Region

• US East 1 (currently only available region)

Step 3: Create Node

Click "Create Node". Platform begins provisioning.

Step 4: Enter Seed Phrase

Import existing seed phrase or generate new one.

⚠️ Critical: Seed phrase is master key to wallet. Store securely offline. Never share or enter on untrusted sites.

Seed Phrase Validation:

1. View your generated seed phrase (it will only be shown once)

2. Securely store the seed phrase - click "Copy to clipboard" to save

3. Validate the seed phrase to confirm you've saved it correctly

4. Complete seed phrase encryption to secure your wallet

Step 5: Create Node Password

Set password to unlock node and encrypt sensitive data.

⚠️ Important: Different from account login (OTP). Store in password manager with offline backups. Without it, you'll need seed phrase for recovery.

Step 7: Node Provisioning

Deployment process:

1. Allocate infrastructure resources

2. Initialize LND node

3. Set up wallet encryption

4. Generate authentication credentials (macaroons)

5. Configure network connections

Typically completes in under 5 minutes.

Step 8: Unlock Node

After completing the setup process, you'll be automatically redirected to the node details page for your newly created node.

Step 1: Node Details Page

1. You'll be automatically redirected to the newly created node page

2. Review the initial node status and configuration

3. Click the "Unlock Node" button to proceed

Step 2: Node Unlocking

1. Enter the password you set during node deployment

2. Click "Unlock" to proceed

3. Wait for the node to complete the unlocking process

Step 3: Unlock Confirmation

1. View the successful unlock confirmation

2. The node will now be fully operational and begin syncing with the Bitcoin network

Step 9: Access Credentials

Node Interface Tabs:

• Overview - Status, sync progress, metrics

• Wallet - Manage Lightning wallet and on-chain funds

• Channels - Open, manage, close Lightning channels

• Access - Connection details and credentials

• Backup - Download encrypted backups

• Logs - View logs for debugging

• General - Configure settings

Authentication: Node uses macaroons for authentication. Default admin.macaroon has full permissions. Create custom macaroons with "Bake Macaroon" feature in Access tab.

⚠️ Security: Store macaroons securely. They provide API access and should be treated like passwords.

Understanding Credits

How Credits Work

Credits occupied based on node type and tier. Dashboard right sidebar shows:

• Total credits (e.g., 1,000 for Basic plan)

• Credits in use

• Progress bar visualization

📘 Note: Check Billing page for current consumption rates and detailed usage.

Credit Continuity

Credits are capacity, not usage:

• Monthly subscription provides fixed credit capacity

• Resources continuously occupy credits

• New billing cycle: existing nodes continue occupying same credits

• Fixed subscription fee each month

Freeing Credits

Delete unused nodes to make credits available:

• Credits become immediately available after deletion

• Deploy new resources with freed credits

• No prorated refund (capacity-based pricing)

Low Credit Alerts

Alerts trigger when available credits drop below threshold (default: 10%). Options:

• Delete unused nodes

• Upgrade subscription

• Optimize infrastructure

Next Steps

Build with Your Node

Connect via API

Use gRPC or REST endpoints. See API Reference.

Open Lightning Channel

Required to send/receive payments. See Node Management Guide.

Mint Taproot Asset (LITD nodes)

See Taproot Assets Guide.

Advanced Features

• Node Management - Advanced operations, liquidity, optimization: Node Management Guide

• Automated Backups - Access from Backup tab: Security & Backup Guide

• Monitoring - Performance monitoring and alerts in Overview tab

Developer Resources

Get Help

• Documentation: docs.cometplatform.com

• API Docs: Access from API Keys page

• Support: Use Company ID (Account Settings) when contacting support

FAQ

How long does node provisioning take?

Under 5 minutes for most nodes for the whole process.

Can I change my subscription plan?

Yes. Upgrade or downgrade anytime from Billing page. Upgrades take effect immediately.

What happens if I run out of credits?

Cannot deploy new nodes. Existing nodes continue running. Delete unused nodes or upgrade subscription.

Is my data secure?

Yes. Non-custodial architecture. Node passwords and seed phrases never transmitted to or stored by Comet servers.

Can I migrate from self-hosted nodes?

Yes. Import existing seed phrase during node creation.

What if I forget my node password?

Use seed phrase to recover access to funds. Store both password and seed phrase securely.

Summary

✓ Created Comet Platform account

✓ Understood node types, credits, security model

✓ Explored dashboard features

✓ Deployed first Lightning Network node

✓ Accessed node credentials

✓ Learned credit system

✓ Discovered next step resources

Ready to dive deeper? See Node Management Guide for advanced operations.