🏡Subaccounts, Friends & Family
Create isolated subaccounts with your Alby Hub, for yourself, your projects, or for friends and family. Many accounts, one Alby Hub. "One Hub to rule them all." 💫
Last updated
Create isolated subaccounts with your Alby Hub, for yourself, your projects, or for friends and family. Many accounts, one Alby Hub. "One Hub to rule them all." 💫
Last updated
Your bitcoin & nostr companion / from 🐝 with 🧡
Sometimes, we want to keep our personal account separate from the one we use for business or projects. Here, you can create different accounts easily. You can also set up accounts from your Hub to help onboard friends and family. Not everyone needs their own Hub. Let's help you get started by making you the provider of wallets for your family. 👍🚀
Here are 3 ways to create a subaccount: 1. With no lightning address (very fast: you make a subaccount in under a minute) 2. With a lightning address (you must also create an Alby web Account) 3. Podcaster subaccounts (each with its own v4v tag)
Creating this type of subaccount is super quick and useful, especially at a Bitcoin meetup when you want to help a nocoiner friend set up a Lightning wallet right away. 😊✨ The downside is that users need to create an invoice each time they want to receive sats. This kind of wallet is great for immediate needs or as a demo, but it's not ideal for long-term use since it lacks a Lightning address, meaning it can't be used as a recipient wallet for Nostr either. 👍
You need two devices:
Your computer or mobile phone to access Alby Hub.
A mobile phone with the Alby Go app installed and open. 😊
The second device doesn't have to be solely a mobile phone with Alby Go app. Since the subaccounts are created with an NWC Connection secret, they can be connected to any app that requires a wallet, including your Alby browser extension. Just keep in mind that, without an associated Lightning address, this wallet might not be ideal for Nostr apps or platforms where you need to receive zaps, as you'll need to manually create an invoice each time you receive satoshis. ✨
1.2.1. Simply open your Alby Hub, go to the "App Store", open the "Friends & Family" app. Choose a name for this subaccount on Alby Hub. Once done, you'll get a QR code to scan with your mobile phone's Alby Go app. 😊
1.2.2. On your mobile phone, open Alby Go, select "Create a new wallet," set the subaccount's name, and then scan the QR code. 👍✨
Congratulations! 🎉 You've successfully created a subaccount, a Lightning wallet for your friend, in under a minute! ⚡😊
Creating this type of subaccount is a great long-term solution for a friend or family member. 😊✨ They'll have a reliable Lightning wallet with an address they can share to receive payments directly, without needing to create an invoice each time. Sats can be sent directly to their Lightning address.
This subaccount is also perfect for setting up special accounts for yourself. While it takes a few extra steps, it’s worth it, this wallet offers a full Lightning experience, ideal for use as a recipient wallet for Nostr as well. 👍
You and your friend/family member need at least 20 minutes, both with computers ready (other methods exist, but this is recommended).
You must have an Alby web account with an Alby Hub.
Your friend/family member needs a computer, a mobile phone, and should already have their own Alby web account.
2.2.1. Your friend or family member needs to have an Alby web account and a personalized Lightning address ⚡.
To create an Alby web Account, go to https://getalby.com/auth/users/new.
To personalize the lightning address, go to https://getalby.com/settings, then to "Lightning Address" and choose a lightning address.
2.2.2. Your have to create the subaccount with the Alby Hub just as in 1.2.1., open your Alby Hub, go to the "App Store", open the "Friends & Family" app. Choose a name for this subaccount. Once done, you'll get a QR code to scan with the mobile phone's Alby Go app of your friend of family member.
Scan that QR code with Alby Go.
After scanning the QR code and setting up the isolated wallet on your Alby Go mobile app 📱, here's the first difference from the 1.2 procedure: you can now enter your lightning address in Alby Go when prompted. To make the lightning address work, let's set it up in this final step. 😊
2.2.3. To set up you friend/family member's Lightning address ⚡, click the "Copy" button to copy the NWC Connection secret, or simply scan the QR code. Paste this secret into your friend or family member's Alby web account as the wallet. To do this, go to their account, navigate to "Wallet Configuration" (https://getalby.com/node), and click "Link to Your Own Wallet" 🔗.
After clicking "Link to Your Own Wallet" 🔗, you'll see a long list of ways to set up an Alby Hub. However, we’re not setting up an Alby Hub for this account, we're using the NWC Connection string for the isolated account. 😊
Scroll to the bottom of the list and select "Link Manually" -> Nostr Wallet Connect. In that section, paste the NWC Connection secret you created with the Alby Hub. Once done, your Lightning address will be configured and linked to the isolated wallet ⚡.
🎉 Congratulations!
You've successfully set up an isolated wallet with your Alby Hub for your friend or family member! 😊 This wallet is extra special: it’s perfect for long-term use and ideal for Nostr since it comes with a Lightning address ⚡. Great work setting up something truly beneficial for your acquaintance!
This type of subaccount is for those needing keysend payments ⚡. For instance, a radio show with one Alby Hub might want each program to have its own subaccount, complete with a Lightning address, but also able to receive keysend payments for podcasting to each separate subaccount. 😊
This subaccount is a bit more complex: it starts with the steps from part one, adds a Lightning address as in part two, and then involves setting up the correct value-for-value (v4v) tag linked to the subaccount (not the main hub) 🎙️.
The same requirements as the 2.1 section:
The owner of the podcsting subaccounts must have an Alby web account with an Alby Hub.
Each subaccount needs to have their own Alby web account(*).
(*) It's not strictly mandatory for each subaccount to have its own Alby web account just to enable keysend payments ⚡. However, it's generally beneficial for these subaccounts to have their own unique Lightning address, along with a Nostr account for marketing purposes 😊. This setup allows each radio program or podcast to receive zaps through Nostr with its Lightning address 📻.
There’s a specific guide for setting up podcaster subaccounts 📖. Please refer to the section below 👇.
How can I share my Alby Hub with a friend who is a podcaster or musicianOnce you've set up your 🎙️ podcasting isolated account, you can associate a Nostr ID by installing our browser extension. Connect the extension to the specific Alby web account of your isolated podcasting wallet . More info below 👇.
🦤Nostr🎉 Congratulations!
You've successfully learned how to configure multiple types of isolated accounts with just one hub. "One Hub to rule them all" 💍. This is a great achievement, and we're truly grateful for your dedication. Keep up the fantastic work! 😊
💬 Need Help? We're Here for You!
All of this is new, and we’re here to help! 😊 If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to reach out at getalby.com/help We’re always happy to support you!
💡 Share Your Ideas & Feedback!
This is all very new, and we value your thoughts! If you have ideas or want to request features, please share them on our feedback forum. Your input helps us improve!
📝 Read & Share Our Blog Post!
Check out our blog post about the launch of the Friends & Family app and subaccounts! 📣 Feel free to share it on social media to spread the word.
Thank you for stopping by! This section was created with contributions from Roland, Moritz & Jean-Paul
