An AI agent skill for deploying BTCPay Server via Docker. Designed for non-technical users — the agent handles everything, the user just answers questions.
# Install the skill
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/welliv/btcpay-server-install/main/install-hermes.sh | bash
# Then say to Hermes:
# "Install BTCPay Server"Add to your ~/.claude/projects/*/instructions or global settings:
You have access to the btcpay-server-install skill. When the user says to install BTCPay Server, read the skill from ~/.hermes/skills/btcpay-server-install/SKILL.md and follow the guided setup.
Or via the skill manager:
skill install https://github.com/welliv/btcpay-server-installClone the repo and adapt the SKILL.md to your agent's skill format:
git clone https://github.com/welliv/btcpay-server-installThe agent walks the user through 5 simple questions:
- Domain — Do you have one? (TOR works without DNS)
- Network — Mainnet or Testnet?
- Storage — How much disk for Bitcoin? (100GB, 50GB, 25GB, 5GB)
- Lightning — Yes or no?
- Ready — Confirm and deploy
The agent then runs deploy.sh on the user's server and verifies everything is working.
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| BTCPay Server | Payment processor |
| Bitcoin Node | Validates transactions independently |
| TOR | Private access link — works immediately |
| Let's Encrypt | Auto-configured HTTPS |
| PostgreSQL | Database |
| Nginx | Web server |
Bitcoin sync runs in background — takes 1–3 days. Server is ready to use right away.
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| OS | Ubuntu 20.04+ or Debian 11+ |
| Disk | At least 100GB free |
| Ports | 80 and 443 open |
| Access | SSH to the server |
Default values can be overridden:
| Variable | Default | Options |
|---|---|---|
BTCPAY_HOST |
(TOR only) | Your domain |
NBITCOIN_NETWORK |
mainnet |
mainnet, testnet, regtest |
LIGHTNING |
none |
lnd, clightning, eclair, none |
PRUNE |
100 |
5, 25, 50, 100 (GB) |
Pruning reference:
| Size | History |
|---|---|
| 100GB | ~1 year |
| 50GB | ~6 months |
| 25GB | ~3 months (minimum for Lightning) |
| 5GB | ~2 weeks (testing only) |
The skill shows the user two access links:
- 🧅 TOR — works immediately
- 🌐 Domain — works once DNS propagates
Post-deploy management via btcpay-helpers.sh:
btcpay-helpers.sh status # Check if everything is running
btcpay-helpers.sh tor # Get TOR link
btcpay-helpers.sh btc # Bitcoin sync status
btcpay-helpers.sh logs # View BTCPay logs
btcpay-helpers.sh restart # Restart everythingbtcpay-server-install/
├── SKILL.md — AI agent skill (primary)
├── README.md — This file
├── LICENSE — MIT
├── CHANGELOG.md — version history
├── CONTRIBUTING.md — how to contribute
├── SECURITY.md — vulnerability disclosure
├── .github/
│ ├── workflows/ci.yml — shellcheck + markdown lint
│ ├── ISSUE_TEMPLATE/ — bug + feature templates
│ └── pull_request_template.md
├── scripts/
│ ├── deploy.sh — deployment script (called by skill)
│ └── btcpay-helpers.sh — post-deploy management
└── install-hermes.sh — Hermes skill installer
Found an issue? Open a bug report or feature request. PRs welcome — see CONTRIBUTING.md.
MIT