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 Lightning Network Daemon (LND) and Lightning Infrastructure Toolkit Daemon (LITD) with Taproot Assets Protocol Daemon (TAPD).

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 planned for future release.

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: Access the Dashboard

After completing signup and company details:

1. You are taken directly to the Dashboard

2. No subscription plan selection or payment method is required before this first redirect

3. You can immediately explore navigation, view available actions, and familiarize yourself with the interface

On the dashboard you will also see a guided Nodes Infrastructure card (for example, a "Create now" call-to-action) that represents the continuation of your first-time setup.

From here you can:

• View the Dashboard overview

• Navigate to My Nodes, Billing, and API Keys

• Start the guided setup to create your first node

📘 Note: While you can browse the dashboard without a plan, you must activate a subscription (choose a plan and add a payment method from Billing or the guided flow) before you can actually deploy a node.

Next Steps After Signup

Once you are comfortable with the dashboard layout, you should:

• Activate your subscription from the Billing section or from the guided setup:

• Deploy your first node from the Dashboard (via the Nodes Infrastructure card) or from the My Nodes page, then follow the "Creating Your First Node" section later in this guide

• Manage API access from the API Keys section after your node is up

Browsing the dashboard is possible without a plan, but deploying nodes and consuming credits requires an active subscription and payment method.

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

Use the Billing section to activate and manage your subscription:

1. Navigate to Billing from the left sidebar

2. Review the Plan Summary card (shows included and used credits, next billing date, and current plan status)

1. If you have no plan yet, click "Subscribe" (or "Choose a plan") to open the Choose a Starting Plan modal:

2. Select Monthly or Annually, then click "Continue with \"

3. In the Payment Method step:

After payment succeeds:

• The Plan Summary updates to show your active plan (e.g., Pro – Active) and included/used credits

• You can now deploy nodes from the dashboard or My Nodes using the available credits

• You can later Upgrade Plan or manage payment methods from the same Billing page

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

📘 Prerequisites: To create and deploy a node you need an active subscription with available credits and at least one payment method configured in Billing.

Step 1: Open the New Node Modal

You can start node creation from multiple entry points:

• From the Dashboard: Click "Create now" on the Nodes Infrastructure card

• From My Nodes: Click the "+ New Node" button

This opens the Create a new node modal.

Step 2: Configure Node in the Modal

In the Create a new node modal:

1. Select a node type:

2. Enter a Node Name (e.g., "My App")

3. Choose Network (Mainnet/Testnet)

4. Select Region (e.g., US East 1)

5. Click "Create Node"

If you have not yet activated a subscription, the flow will prompt you to choose a plan and add a payment method (as described in the Billing section) before creation can proceed.

Step 3: Node Deployment Progress

After confirming, you are redirected to the node’s deployment screen:

• The header shows the node name (e.g., My App), type (e.g., Bitcoin Node), and network

• A Deployment Progress section shows steps such as Allocating resources and subsequent initialization tasks

• An Activity Log lists timestamped events (e.g., [05:14:04 PM] Allocating resources)

You can navigate away; deployment continues in the background.

Step 4: Deployment Complete and Dashboard View

Once deployment finishes:

1. The Nodes Infrastructure card on the Dashboard updates to "Completed!"

2. Your new node appears in the Dashboard table and My Nodes list with status (e.g., Provisioning, then Running) and network

3. Credits in use are updated in the Credits In Use section according to your plan

Step 5: Wallet, Seed Phrase, and Credentials Setup

For LND and LITD nodes, you must set up the wallet:

1. Seed Phrase – import an existing seed phrase or generate a new one.

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

For Bitcoin Nodes (bitcoind), you must retrieve and protect RPC credentials:

1. Obtain the automatically generated RPC username and password shown during node setup or in the node’s access details

2. Confirm these credentials are encrypted on Comet using your node password so they are never stored in plaintext

3. Save the RPC credentials in a secure location (for example, a password manager) along with your node password

Seed Phrase Encryption:

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. Complete seed phrase encryption to secure your wallet and Init wallet

Step 6: 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 7: 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: cometcash.com/documentation

• 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.

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.