What you need
- Claude Code on your own computer.
- Linux or an Apple Silicon Mac to run the comet on your own computer. This is the default, and the fastest way to start.
- An invite code, if you were given one. Without one, Claude stops at a Bitcoin funding address and waits for someone to fund it.
- A DigitalOcean account, only if you want the comet on a server instead. Claude makes an SSH key and walks you through creating a droplet (2 vCPU, 4 GB, about $24 a month). It asks before anything bills you.
The prompt
Fill in the first line, then paste the whole thing into Claude Code. Claude asks whether to run the comet on your computer or on a server.
INVITE = (your invite code, or: none)
Help me stand up a Groundwire comet. First ask me whether to run it
on this computer or on a VPS (a rented server). If I have no
preference, use this computer.
Fetch this file and follow the prompt quoted in it exactly, as if
I had pasted it here myself, with the INVITE above:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gwbtc/groundwire/hd/cc-landing/onboarding/COLLEAGUE-PROMPT.md
It sends you to TEAM-ONBOARDING.md in the same folder. Read that
too. If you can't fetch either file, stop and tell me.
On a VPS, ask whether I already have one (its address and SSH key)
or want you to set up a new droplet. Then follow the prompt as
written.
On this computer, the prompt's "do not run the comet locally" does
not apply. Skip the SSH key, droplet and swap steps. Run the
guide's flow here without ssh, with the same release tag, sponsor
and invite handling, and leave off --vps. Install tmux first if it
is missing (with Homebrew on a Mac). On Linux, also install
python3-venv.
The mint's stop step sometimes can't shut the ship down. That is a
known bug, and killing it is safe. Kill it as the prompt describes
and carry on. It isn't an error, so don't stop to ask me about it.
The prompt pulls the current instructions from the Groundwire repo, so it always mints on the current release.
Your invite code is money. Anyone holding it can spend the sats behind it, so give it only to the Claude doing the mint. Write down the 12-word recovery phrase. It is the only key that can ever rekey your comet. Claude saves it to a private file, but keep a copy on paper too.
What to expect
- Claude explains each step before it takes it, and hands you only what needs your own hands: signing in, paying and approving.
- The mint waits on Bitcoin confirmations, usually 10 to 60 minutes.
- When it is done, Claude gives you your comet’s name, its web address and a login code.
- For the first few hours the ship is slow while its Bitcoin light client syncs. This is expected. Don’t restart it.
- On your own computer, the comet is online while the computer is awake. A server keeps it online all the time.