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Named Environment Model

kaleido node manages named Docker Compose environments stored under a base directory, which defaults to: 
~/.kaleido/spawn/
Each environment gets its own compose file and volumes, which makes it practical to keep separate local stacks for development, testing, or demos. Example layout: 
~/.kaleido/spawn/
├── default/
│   ├── docker-compose.yml
│   └── volumes/
└── staging/
    ├── docker-compose.yml
    └── volumes/

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Create An Environment

kaleido node create
kaleido node create staging
The wizard prompts for:
  1. Base directory
  2. Environment name
  3. Node count
  4. Bitcoin network
  5. Base daemon and peer ports
  6. Whether to start the environment immediately

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Lifecycle Commands

CommandPurpose
kaleido node listShow all environments and their node URLs
kaleido node use <name> [--node N]Point the active node-url at one node in an environment
kaleido node up <name>Start containers
kaleido node stop <name>Stop containers without deleting data
kaleido node down <name>Stop and remove containers and networks
kaleido node ps <name>Show container status
kaleido node logs <name>Stream logs
kaleido node clean <name>Delete environment data volumes
When exactly one environment exists, commands like up, stop, logs, and clean can auto-detect it.

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Switch The Active Node

Use kaleido node use to update the configured node URL: 
kaleido node use default
kaleido node use staging --node 2
This is the bridge between Docker-managed environments and all node-dependent commands such as wallet, asset, channel, and payment.

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Initialize And Unlock

After a fresh environment starts, initialize the wallet once: 
kaleido node init
Key options:
  • --password to pass the wallet password directly
  • --mnemonic to restore from an existing mnemonic during initialization
After every restart, unlock the wallet: 
kaleido node unlock
Notable unlock options:
  • --password
  • --bitcoind-user
  • --bitcoind-pass
  • --bitcoind-host
  • --bitcoind-port
  • --indexer-url
  • --proxy-endpoint
  • --announce-alias
  • --announce-address
By default, the command uses the rgbtools regtest services exposed by the CLI.

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Inspect And Lock

kaleido node info
kaleido node lock
Use info to confirm the node is reachable and correctly configured before running wallet, channel, or swap flows.

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Taker Operations

The nested taker group supports atomic and low-level swap acceptance on the node side: 
kaleido node taker pubkey
kaleido node taker whitelist '30/rgb:abc.../10/rgb:def.../...'

kaleido node create devnet
kaleido node up devnet
kaleido node use devnet
kaleido node init
kaleido node unlock
kaleido node info

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Operational Notes

  • clean is irreversible because it removes the underlying data volumes.
  • down removes containers and networks, but preserves volumes.
  • logs accepts --service to limit output to one container.
Continue to Wallet, Assets, And Payments for the commands you run against an unlocked node.