Get Started with Alby Hub

Why do I need Alby Hub?

SatsRail is non-custodial — we never hold your money. Alby Hub is the bridge that makes it all work.

Generates Invoices

When a customer clicks "Pay," SatsRail asks your Alby Hub to create a Lightning invoice for the right amount.

Confirms Payments

Alby Hub listens for incoming payments and tells SatsRail when an invoice has been paid. Sats go straight to your wallet.

Think of Alby Hub as your personal payment terminal — it runs on your computer, keeps your keys, and handles the Lightning connection so SatsRail never touches your funds.

Three Steps to Go Live

1

Download & Install Alby Hub

Alby Hub is a free desktop app available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Download it and install like any other app — it takes a couple of minutes.

Download Alby Hub Desktop

Platform	Format
macOS	`.dmg` installer
Windows	`.exe` installer
Linux	AppImage, .deb, or Docker

Need help? Follow the official Alby Hub Desktop Guide for step-by-step screenshots.

2

Open a Liquidity Channel

To receive Lightning payments, you need a payment channel — think of it like opening the register before your first sale. Alby makes this easy with a one-click channel purchase.

~$8 one-time payment through Alby This opens a Lightning channel so customers can pay you. It's a one-time cost — after that, you're set.

The channel stays open as long as Alby Hub is running. You don't need to pay again unless you close it and open a new one.

3

Connect to SatsRail

Once Alby Hub is running with a channel open, connecting to SatsRail is quick:

In Alby Hub, go to Settings → Connections → Create New Connection
Copy the NWC connection string (starts with nostr+walletconnect://...)
Paste it into your SatsRail dashboard under Wallet Settings

That's it! We'll set up your wallet connection and enable Point of Sale for you. Thank you for supporting us!

Need help? Reach out to us — we'll walk you through the setup personally.

Keep Alby Hub Running

Alby Hub needs to be running on your computer for SatsRail to generate invoices and receive payments. If Alby Hub is offline, customers won't be able to pay.

Run it on a machine that stays on (your main PC, a home server, or a Raspberry Pi)
Enable "Start on boot" so it launches automatically after restarts
Check periodically that your channel is healthy and has inbound liquidity

How Payments Flow

Here's what happens when a customer pays:

1 Customer clicks your SatsRail payment button

2 SatsRail connects to your Alby Hub via NWC

3 Alby Hub generates a Lightning invoice

4 Customer pays the invoice from their wallet

5 Alby Hub detects the payment and notifies SatsRail

6 SatsRail marks the order as paid

Troubleshooting

Alby Hub is likely offline or the NWC connection expired. Open Alby Hub, check it's running, and verify the connection in your SatsRail dashboard.

The invoice was generated but Alby Hub may have gone offline before confirming. Restart Alby Hub — it will sync and pick up the payment.

Your Lightning channels don't have enough capacity to receive. Open a new channel or use Alby Hub's built-in liquidity tools.

Full Setup Guide

A deeper dive into Alby Hub and SatsRail.

Read the Blog Post

Developer Docs

API quickstart, SDKs, and code examples.

View Developer Docs

Ready to Accept Bitcoin?

Install Alby Hub, connect to SatsRail, and start getting paid in minutes.

Create Your Account Download Alby Hub

Free during early access • Non-custodial • Your keys, your sats

Get started with Alby Hub.