> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://second.tech/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# BTCPay Bark plugin

> Accept self-custodial Lightning and Ark payments in BTCPay Server with the Bark plugin. No Lightning node, channels, or liquidity management required.

## Where checkout payments land

Your customers pay through the regular BTCPay checkout and see nothing new. Behind the checkout, the plugin splits payments across two wallets:

* **Lightning and Ark payments:** Arrive in your store's Bark wallet.
* **On-chain payments:** Arrive in your store's native BTCPay wallet, exactly as before the plugin.

<Frame caption="The checkout looks the same, but the QR code and payment link now embed Lightning and Ark payment details too">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/second-0659a37d/OfW--dvR5MfSzvzn/images/btcpay/checkout.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=OfW--dvR5MfSzvzn&q=85&s=c4b33935ab25b5983d105dc5acb1d934" alt="Screenshot of the BTCPay checkout a customer sees, with a single QR code payable over Lightning, Ark, or on-chain" width="1074" height="898" data-path="images/btcpay/checkout.png" />
</Frame>

## What the plugin manages for you

* **One Bark wallet per store:** Each store on your server gets its own Bark wallet, with its own keys and balance.
* **Wallet maintenance:** The plugin runs a full Bark wallet for each store and handles all required maintenance tasks (e.g., [refreshes](/docs/learn/rounds)) in the background for you.
* **Notifications:** Bark wallet events feed into your usual BTCPay notification stream: payments received outside the checkout, refresh alerts, emergency exit and offboard progress, and wallet daemon issues.
* **Reporting:** Every Bark payment lands in a **Bark Wallet** report in your store's Reporting page, ready to [export](/docs/btcpay/reporting).

## Set up and run your store's wallet

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Install the plugin" icon="download" href="/docs/btcpay/install">
    Install the plugin from the Plugin Directory and set up a Bark wallet for your store.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Back up your wallet" icon="key" href="/docs/btcpay/backups">
    Write down the recovery phrase and set up continuous backups of the wallet.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Understand your balances" icon="gauge" href="/docs/btcpay/dashboard">
    How to read the Bark wallet page, including off-chain and on-chain balances.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Manage your Bark wallet" icon="arrow-right-arrow-left" href="/docs/btcpay/send-receive">
    Move bitcoin in and out of the wallet from the admin interface.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Manage your VTXOs" icon="list-check" href="/docs/btcpay/vtxos">
    Inspect, refresh, offboard, and exit individual VTXOs.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Export your Bark activity" icon="file-csv" href="/docs/btcpay/reporting">
    Download every Bark payment and maintenance operation as a CSV.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Configure the plugin" icon="gear" href="/docs/btcpay/settings">
    Payment toggle, refresh behavior, Branta verification, and the emergency exit.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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