Stash Cloud Overview

Stash Cloud is cloud node infrastructure for the RGB Lightning Network, customized from open-source Kubernetes, unifying compute and storage. By default it supports the RGB Lightning Node (rgbldkd, developed by Bitlight Labs). End users need no ops knowledge and no self-hosted servers; developers provision dedicated nodes through the standard API.

For the design background, see Stash Cloud: From a Specialized Solution to General Cloud RLN Infrastructure.

The RGB protocol uses a client-side validation model, where asset states are maintained and verified locally on each user's own node. Therefore, large-scale, reliable cloud node infrastructure is a prerequisite for the RGB ecosystem to move from concept to production. Stash Labs has dedicated a team with more than ten years of DevOps experience to develop and maintain this project.

Who It's For

Role	How	Notes
End users	Create a wallet in Stash Wallet	The wallet requests a cloud node; there is no separate Stash Cloud account
Third-party developers / projects	Management API (/v3, Bearer API key)	Create V3 nodes using name and X-Network; no type selector. rgbldkd is the implementation
Liquidity providers	LSP authorization	Console-JWT-only keep-alive with X-Network; does not change node type or delegate provider trading secrets

Stash Wallet, RGB Dex, and Flash Dex reuse the same user node; see Case Studies.

What It Solves

Self-hosting RGB Lightning nodes usually means buying or renting servers and taking on deployment and ongoing maintenance yourself. Typical challenges include:

• Operational complexity — Server procurement, OS setup, node deployment, upgrades, monitoring, and incident recovery all fall on you
• Hard multi-tenant isolation — Isolating node data and network across users in a self-hosted environment is costly
• Elastic scaling — Expanding or reclaiming capacity and starting or stopping nodes on demand is difficult with a small number of self-managed servers
• Integration overhead — Third-party products need a standard API to access node capabilities, not direct management of servers and processes

Stash Cloud packages this complexity into a cloud node service and a standard API. Developers can offer dedicated rgbldkd nodes to their users without self-hosting servers or maintaining the underlying stack, and stay focused on application-layer products and business logic.

Creation, start/stop and deletion follow the current V3 contract. Idle reclamation, wake-on-demand and backup retention are deployment policies; arbitrary access does not necessarily wake a node or extend activity. Native access requires an independent Grant, node token and request signatures. See Node Compute Engine.

Compute Resource Pricing

Cloud nodes are free for small and medium developers. We generate revenue through upper-layer applications such as DEX products, not by charging for the nodes themselves.

• Small and medium developers — Completely free, to support the growth of the RGB ecosystem
• Large projects and ecosystem partners — Dedicated VIP technical support, billed only at the lowest-cost server resource rates, with the goal of bringing cloud node costs as close to the minimum as possible

Responsibility

Stash Cloud provides compute, disks, network isolation, and node data backups. Isolation is granular to each node: its own namespace, its own cloud disk, network default-deny between nodes. Management API credentials are separate from node runtime authorization; the platform does not sign on a user's behalf or move node funds. Users keep their own mnemonics and private keys; Stash Cloud cannot help recover lost keys.

For asset or transaction loss caused by a cloud-node infrastructure failure (compute, disks, isolation, or unavailable platform backups) and not by the developer or user, Stash Labs takes responsibility — regardless of whether the developer has paid for server resources. The following are out of scope:

• Lost or leaked mnemonics or private keys
• Running a cloud node and a self-hosted node online for the same channel state
• Destroying a node without exporting, beyond what Stash Cloud backups can restore