Run a Manifold Fedimint Guardian and earn sats hosting seats

1. Check the disk before anything else

   umbrelOS›Settings›Storage

   You need about 100 GB free today; 500 GB is comfortable for years. Less than that means the node fills the disk mid sync and stops. If the number is too small, go back to Prepare the mini PC, fit the SSD, and reinstall onto it.

2. Install the Bitcoin Node app

   App Store›Bitcoin›Bitcoin Node›Install

   This is Umbrel's official app, powered by Bitcoin Core, in the main App Store rather than the Fedi Dev one. Version 1.4.0 (Sep 2026) ships Bitcoin Core v31.1. It starts syncing the moment it is installed. Prefer Knots? Umbrel's Bitcoin Knots app implements the same dependency, so the guardian app accepts it in place of Bitcoin Node and should work as well; the settings below are Bitcoin Node's.

   Bitcoin Node on apps.umbrel.com →   Source on GitHub →

3. Five settings to check, once

   Bitcoin Node›Settings

   The app has over twenty advanced settings. Only these matter for a guardian:

   Setting	Value	Why
   Prune Old Blocks	10 GB	Keeps the node between 35 and 115 GB. Tested across seven production guardians in September 2026; umbrelOS reclaims the space on its own once the node catches up.
   Bitcoin Network	Mainnet	The default; the guardian needs the main network.
   Bitcoin Core Version	Always use the latest version	Keeps the node current; v31.1 as of September 2026.
   Enable Transaction Indexing	Off	umbrelOS turns it off for you when pruning is on. An index written before you enabled pruning stays on disk: it is dead weight rather than a problem, and clearing it is optional.
   Cache Size	2000 MB on a 16 GB box, 1000 MB on 8 GB	Speeds up the initial sync noticeably. You can lower it again afterwards.

   Leave Max Upload Target alone unless your line is metered, and leave the peer connection settings on their defaults. Changing settings restarts the node, which pauses the sync for a minute.

4. Watch the sync, and know how to read it

   The app's home screen shows the current block height, a Synchronizing percentage and the peers it is connected to. The percentage misleads: it is weighted by transactions, and early blocks hold almost none, so it sits under 1 percent for the first day while the block count climbs past hundreds of thousands, then races through the last years. Watch the block height instead and compare it with a public explorer such as mempool.space; when the two numbers match, the sync is done.

   

   What a synced node looks like. Umbrel's Bitcoin Node app once it has caught up: Synchronized 100%, peer connections, latest blocks. Image from the app's store listing.

5. Know where the RPC details live

   Bitcoin Node›Connect›Bitcoin Core RPC

   The guardian app declares Bitcoin Node as a dependency and reads the RPC connection from it, so you should not need to type anything. If the wizard ever asks, the Connect panel shows Host, Port (8332), Username and Password. The password is generated by the app and always visible here, so it cannot be lost, but a reinstall of the app generates a new one.

   

   The Connect panel. RPC Details is the tab with the username, password, host and port. Image from the app's store listing.

6. Done when

   • Block height matches the explorer and the app no longer says Synchronizing.
   • Prune Old Blocks is set to 10 GB and the disk still shows at least 10 percent free.
   • You know where the RPC details are (Bitcoin Node › Connect), in case the app ever asks.
   • The box has been left on since; a node that is switched off falls behind and has to catch up before a guardian can use it.

1. Install Bitcoin Core from the Start9 registry

   StartOS›Marketplace›Bitcoin Core›Install

   Start9's own package, Bitcoin Core v31.1 (release v31.1_16, Sep 6, 2026). Bitcoin Knots from the same registry works as well; this guide follows Bitcoin Core. It installs onto the StartOS data drive, which on a Start9 server is already 2 TB or more.

   Package on GitHub →   Start9 Bitcoin guide →

2. Set pruning before the sync gets far

   Bitcoin Core›Actions

   Start9's package sizes itself to the disk: on a drive under about 900 GB it installs pruned, on anything larger it defaults to a full archival node. A guardian is happy either way. To run pruned on a larger drive, open Actions › Other, enable pruning, set the target to 10000 MB, turn the transaction index (txindex) off, and save. StartOS reclaims the space on its own once the node catches up.

3. Watch the sync

   The service page shows the block height and sync state. Start9 quotes "under a day to several days" depending on hardware and bandwidth; a spinning USB disk stretches that to weeks. Compare the block height with mempool.space; matching numbers mean done.

4. Know where the RPC credentials live

   Bitcoin Core›Properties

   On StartOS the guardian package reads the node's RPC address and credentials from the Bitcoin Core service it depends on, so you should not need to copy anything. If the wizard ever asks, Properties shows the RPC username and password (and a QuickConnect code for wallets). If a password is ever lost, the Delete RPC Users action removes the old user so a new one can be created.

1. Have umbrelOS running, up to date, and open its dashboard

   Install umbrelOS on the box if you have not (umbrel.com/umbrelos: flash a USB stick, boot the box from it, follow the on screen setup). Then open the Umbrel dashboard from a browser on the same network, sign in, and take any pending umbrelOS update from Settings before you add the store, so the app meets a current OS.

2. Add the Fedi Dev community app store

   App Store›⋯ menu, top right›Community App Stores

   Paste this address and click Add:

   https://github.com/fedibtc/manifold-umbrel-store.git

   The store is public. Nothing to log into and no token to paste.

3. Install Manifold Fedimint Guardian, the mainnet one

   Open the new Fedi Dev store. It lists two guardian apps side by side: install the one called just Fleet Manager (tagline "Run Fedimint guardians on Bitcoin mainnet"); that is Manifold Fedimint Guardian under its technical name. Fleet Manager (staging) next to it is a test network build: skip it. Umbrel lists Bitcoin Node as the app's dependency and offers to install it if it is missing, or lets you pick Bitcoin Knots in its place if that is the node you run. The image pulls from GitHub's registry; the first pull takes a minute or two.

4. Open the app

   Click the app tile. The dashboard opens behind Umbrel's own login, so you are already signed in. It lands on the setup wizard described in the next section.

   Known quirk. The screen before the wizard may briefly flash an [object Object] error. It is a display bug; the wizard works. Reload if it does not appear within a few seconds.

1. Make sure StartOS is on 0.4.0 stable or later

   System›Software Update

   On a 0.4.0 beta build the sideload page fails with an alerts is undefined error. Update the OS first.

   Bare mini PC? StartOS installs like umbrelOS does: download x86_64.iso from Start9's releases, flash it with balenaEtcher to an 8 GB stick, boot from it with Secure Boot off, and run the setup wizard at http://start.local. Start9's guide: docs.start9.com › flashing guides › x86. The mini PC shopping list and BIOS settings in this guide's Mini PC path apply to StartOS too.

2. Download the package file

   From the latest production release of the packaging repo, download fleet-manager_x86_64.s9pk (about 53 MB). ARM servers take fleet-manager_aarch64.s9pk instead. Skip any file with a fedi-dev- prefix: that is the staging build.

   Latest release on GitHub →

3. Sideload it

   Top navigation bar›Sideload

   Drop the file in and wait for the install to finish. The image is embedded in the file, so the box never pulls from a registry.

4. Start the service and wait for the health check

   Start the Manifold Fedimint Guardian service (listed under its technical name, Fleet Manager) and wait until the Operator Dashboard health check turns green.

5. Get the dashboard password

   Actions tab›Show Dashboard Password

   Copy it. StartOS has no authenticating proxy in front of apps, so the dashboard protects itself with this generated password.

6. Open the dashboard and sign in

   Use the interface's address entries, the Local https://… one, and accept the self signed certificate warning (unless you have installed your server's root certificate). Enter the password on the Sign in screen.

   Known StartOS quirk. If you browse StartOS from the server itself (a kiosk, or a browser inside a VM), the Open button builds a dead 127.0.0.1 link. Use the address entries instead.

1. SCREEN 1

   Choose: a new fleet, or recover one

   Two doors. Start a new fleet generates a fresh recovery phrase and starts with no seats. This is the usual choice. Recover from your phrase rebuilds a fleet whose original host is gone, from its 12 words, and brings its seats back with it.

   Recovery is only offered here. Once a host is set up, the choice is made and cannot be revisited on that host.

   
2. SCREEN 2

   "Record your recovery phrase"

   Click Reveal phrase and write the 12 words down on paper, in order. They are never stored in the browser, and there is no other backup: losing them loses every seat's guardian identity. Then click I've written it down, continue.

   Do not photograph or type the phrase anywhere. Anyone holding these words owns your fleet and everything it earns. You can reveal them again later from the Backup page if you need to check your copy.
   
3. SCREEN 3

   "Get this fleet authorized"

   The screen shows a QR code and your fleet's service Nostr public key (a 64 character string). Ambassadors only see fleets whose key carries a PeerBadge authorization, so this step cannot be skipped.

   Authorize it with your own PeerBadge: open the credential app that holds your badge, scan the QR code (or click Copy the authorization request and paste it into the app) and sign. Back in the wizard, click Check now. It does not poll in the background, so nothing happens until you click.

   When the relay carries your authorization the status changes to "Authorization observed" and the wizard moves on to the terms by itself after two seconds.

   
4. SCREEN 4

   The terms

   The wizard shows the terms for running a Manifold guardian. Read them and accept to continue; the price step does not open until you have.

5. SCREEN 5

   "Set your price"

   Maximum active seats is prefilled with the RAM based recommendation; lower it if the box does other work. Price per seat (sats) is the whole offer: the gross amount an Ambassador pays for one seat, before mint and Lightning fees. The dashboard suggests the equivalent of $2 to $3; a lower price fills seats sooner.

   Click Finish setup. Leaving the price blank finishes setup without selling anything; you can set a price any time from the Overview.

   Expect "Loading…" for about two minutes after this step. The fleet joins the network's shared setup payment federation, the one Ambassadors pay you through, and scans its history once. It only happens the first time.
   

Overview right after setup. Zero everywhere is normal. The next section is about getting from here to the first sale.

• Authorization observed. Open Authorization in the left menu. It should list at least one holder under "Observed holders". This is the badge from screen 3.
• A price is set. The Overview's "Your offer" card shows a price per seat rather than "Not selling seats". Change it any time with Change price.
• The wallet can receive. Open Wallet. At least one payment federation should be listed. You did not add it and cannot remove it: membership follows the network's published setup payment policy, and the fleet joins automatically.
• Confirm. The Overview banner reads Advertised and healthy. That is the whole check. Anyone can additionally see your advertisement (a kind 37701 Nostr event) published from your service Nostr key on the Manifold relay.

1. An Ambassador assembles a guardian set

   In the Fedi app the Ambassador opens Wallets, taps Create, and the app assembles a set of guardians from advertised fleets: cheapest first, then most free slots. One Ambassador buys at most one seat from your fleet per federation.

2. They pay once, for the whole set

   The Ambassador pays the total in ecash through the shared setup payment federation. Your fleet receives your seat price, gross, before mint and Lightning fees. Every offered seat accepts automatically once a valid payment lands; there is no approval step and no "create seat" button on your side.

   The Overview counts this as an accepted payment claim, which is not yet the same as a settled payment. The fleet reconciles the claim in the background and the Wallet balance follows.

3. A seat appears and forms the federation

   Open Seats. The new seat moves from Created to DKG (the guardians generating their shared keys) to Running. From then on your box is one of that federation's guardians. Click a seat for its detail page: federation, health, fee policy and payment evidence.

   

4. Fees accrue for as long as the federation runs

   Every transaction members make inside the federation pays a small fee, split by a fixed rule: the Ambassador holds 4 shares, each guardian 1 share, and 1 share is the guardian verification fee, so a federation with 10 guardians has 15 shares and you hold one of them. The rate starts at 0.5% (5,000 ppm) and the Ambassador can change it within the network's bounds. Your share is remitted into a per seat fee account that you collect from Payouts.

Overview with revenue. The four tiles are Wallet balance, Earned all time, Seat sales and Guardian fees. Everything is gross. The Earnings list groups seat sales and fee remittances by day. A dash means the fleet could not read that figure yet, not that it is zero.

1. Save a payout destination

   In the Payout destination card, paste a Lightning address or LNURL-pay link (for example you@wallet.example) and click Save destination. Every sweep reuses it. A bolt11 invoice is refused because it can only be paid once.

2. Sweep seat sales

   The Seat sales table lists each payment federation your fleet has been paid through, with its balance. Click Sweep on a row. A small residue can stay behind when notes cannot cover the fees; that is expected and it is swept with the next sale.

3. Collect, then send guardian fees

   Guardian fees take two clicks per seat, because the money first has to be released from the federation's fee pool into ordinary ecash: 1. Collect out of the pool, then 2. Send to destination. Part of a collection can stay locked until the federation's next cycle; the dashboard shows it as awaiting the cycle and you collect it next time.

   Collecting works without a destination, since it moves money inside the fleet. Sending does not.

4. Keep the operation id

   Each sweep shows an operation id with a copy button. It is the reference support will ask for if a payment needs tracing. The Wallet page stays read only: balances per payment federation, nothing to configure.

Payouts with revenue on both sides. Destination at the top, then per federation seat sales, then per seat guardian fees with their two step buttons.