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

# Chainstack platform overview: nodes, APIs, and billing

> Get started with Chainstack, the blockchain infrastructure platform supporting 70+ networks with managed RPC nodes, APIs, and self-hosted deployment.

Chainstack gives you RPC access to 70+ blockchain networks. Deploy a node, get an endpoint, and call it — or run the same infrastructure on hardware you control.

There are two products, and they have separate documentation:

* Cloud — managed nodes that Chainstack runs for you. Deploy one from the [Chainstack console](https://console.chainstack.com/) and get an endpoint in seconds.
* Chainstack Self-Hosted — the same node stack deployed on your own Kubernetes cluster, managed through the Control Panel.

## Start here

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Node types" href="/web-api/iframe-proxy?url=https://docs.chainstack.com/docs/global-elastic-node" icon="server" iconType="solid" horizontal />

  <Card title="Pricing and request units" href="/web-api/iframe-proxy?url=https://docs.chainstack.com/docs/pricing-introduction" icon="tag" iconType="solid" horizontal />

  <Card title="Supported protocols and networks" href="/web-api/iframe-proxy?url=https://docs.chainstack.com/docs/protocols-networks" icon="diagram-project" iconType="solid" horizontal />

  <Card title="Clouds, regions, and locations" href="/web-api/iframe-proxy?url=https://docs.chainstack.com/docs/nodes-clouds-regions-and-locations" icon="globe" iconType="solid" horizontal />
</CardGroup>

## Build

* [Blockchain APIs](/reference/blockchain-apis) — the RPC method reference for every supported protocol
* [Web3 libraries](/reference/web3-libraries) — connecting web3.js, ethers.js, web3.py, and others to your endpoint
* [Authentication methods](/docs/authentication-methods-for-different-scenarios) — auth tokens, basic auth, and when to use each
* [Chainstack MCP server](/docs/chainstack-mcp-server) — deploy and manage nodes from an AI agent

## Run it yourself

* [Chainstack Self-Hosted](/docs/self-hosted/introduction) — run the node stack on your own Kubernetes cluster
* [Quick start](/docs/self-hosted/quick-start) — a first Self-Hosted deployment end to end

## Move an existing workload

Coming from another provider? See [Migrate to Chainstack with AI](/docs/migrate-to-chainstack-with-ai), which walks an agent through swapping your endpoints, along with the provider-specific guides alongside it.

## Testnet tokens

Request testnet funds from the [Chainstack faucet](https://faucet.chainstack.com/), or through the [Chainstack MCP server](/docs/chainstack-mcp-server) if you would rather stay in your editor. See [Faucet](/docs/faucets) for the supported networks.

## Use these docs from an agent

Every page is available as plain text: append `.md` to any documentation URL to get its markdown source, or use one of the whole-portal endpoints.

* [llms.txt](https://docs.chainstack.com/llms.txt) — a compact index of every section, to discover what exists before fetching pages
* [llms-full.txt](https://docs.chainstack.com/llms-full.txt) — the entire portal in a single file
* [skill.md](https://docs.chainstack.com/skill.md) — the portal packaged as an agent skill

The [Chainstack MCP server](/docs/chainstack-mcp-server) at `https://mcp.chainstack.com/mcp` searches these docs as well, alongside deploying and managing nodes.

## Billing and support

Pay by card, or top up with crypto at [Billing](https://console.chainstack.com/user/settings/billing) — 150+ cryptocurrencies are supported. For plan comparisons and quotas, see [Pricing](/docs/pricing-introduction).

To request a protocol, a capability, or any other improvement, use the [ideas portal](https://ideas.chainstack.com/). For anything else, [Chainstack support](https://support.chainstack.com) can help.