Orchard

lightning

We are actively developing a free and open source application to fill a gap in the node runners toolkit: 
Cashu mint management.

![](https://m.stacker.news/115959)

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The application can connect to each component of the Bitcoin stack

*Bitcoin -> Lightning -> Cashu*

*a full list of supported implementations can be seen on github

Cashu has a multi-asset architecture, and with taproot assets lightning does as well.
Orchard is built for this future supporting lightning nodes with asset channels.

![](https://m.stacker.news/115961)

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All integrations are optional, including the ai integration where a local ollama instance can be plugged in to explore data or manage the mint with chat controls

![](https://m.stacker.news/115966)

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Current releases are heavily focused on mint management where application support is limited and the rpc from key implementations, nutshell and cdk, are nascent and still evolving. 

The lightning integration is lightweight and read only designed to give the operator a view of the assets side of mints balance sheet, otherwise known as outbound lightning liquidity.

The roadmap plans to expand the lightning integration to expose more detailed flow information with breakdowns to segregate internal activity from mint member activity - a unique lightning concern for the mint manager.

The available open source tools for lightning node management are robust, but exposing ln management features in Orchard is also being considered. Having everything in one application would be a unique option for node runners.

We have a lot of ideas to improve the product, but community feedback is a primary driver of future development. It's never been easier to run a Cashu mint.