lnd

Lightning Terminal (litd) — Lightning Network Node

Install and operate a Lightning Terminal (litd) node for agent-driven payments. litd bundles lnd with loop, pool, tapd, and faraday — giving agents access to liquidity management, channel marketplace, and taproot assets in a single container.

Default: Docker container, neutrino backend, SQLite storage, testnet. No full Bitcoin node required. Use --network mainnet for real coins.

Default mode: watch-only with remote signer. Private keys stay on a separate signer container — the agent never touches key material. For quick testing, use --mode standalone (keys on disk, less secure).

Quick Start (Container — Recommended)

Watch-Only with Remote Signer (Production)

# 1. Install litd image
skills/lnd/scripts/install.sh

# 2. Start litd + signer containers
skills/lnd/scripts/start-lnd.sh --watchonly

# 3. Set up signer wallet (first run only)
skills/lightning-security-module/scripts/setup-signer.sh --container litd-signer

# 4. Import credentials and create watch-only wallet
skills/lnd/scripts/import-credentials.sh --bundle ~/.lnget/signer/credentials-bundle
skills/lnd/scripts/create-wallet.sh

# 5. Check status
skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh getinfo

Standalone (Testing Only)

# 1. Install litd image
skills/lnd/scripts/install.sh

# 2. Start litd container
skills/lnd/scripts/start-lnd.sh

# 3. Create standalone wallet (generates seed — keys on disk)
skills/lnd/scripts/create-wallet.sh --mode standalone

# 4. Check status
skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh getinfo

Warning: Standalone mode stores the seed mnemonic and wallet passphrase on disk. Do not use for mainnet funds you cannot afford to lose.

Regtest Development

# Start litd + bitcoind for local development
skills/lnd/scripts/start-lnd.sh --regtest

# Create wallet and mine some blocks
skills/lnd/scripts/create-wallet.sh --container litd --mode standalone
docker exec litd-bitcoind bitcoin-cli -regtest -generate 101

Container Modes

Mode	Command	Containers	Use Case
Standalone	start-lnd.sh	litd	Testing, development
Watch-only	start-lnd.sh --watchonly	litd + litd-signer	Production
Regtest	start-lnd.sh --regtest	litd + litd-bitcoind	Local dev

Profiles

Profiles customize litd behavior without editing compose files:

# List available profiles
skills/lnd/scripts/docker-start.sh --list-profiles

# Start with a profile
skills/lnd/scripts/start-lnd.sh --profile taproot
skills/lnd/scripts/start-lnd.sh --profile debug

Profile	Purpose
default	Standard operation (info logging)
debug	Trace logging, verbose subsystems
taproot	Simple taproot channels enabled
wumbo	Large channels up to 10 BTC
regtest	Regtest network preset

Network Selection

Default is testnet. Override with --network:

# Testnet (default — no real coins)
skills/lnd/scripts/start-lnd.sh

# Mainnet (real coins — use with remote signer)
skills/lnd/scripts/start-lnd.sh --network mainnet --watchonly

# Signet (testing network)
skills/lnd/scripts/start-lnd.sh --network signet

litd Sub-Daemons

litd integrates multiple daemons. Access them via the --cli flag:

# lnd CLI (default)
skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh getinfo

# Loop — liquidity management (submarine swaps)
skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh --cli loop quote out 100000

# Pool — channel marketplace
skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh --cli pool accounts list

# Taproot Assets (tapd)
skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh --cli tapcli assets list

# Lightning Terminal (litd)
skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh --cli litcli getinfo

# Faraday — channel analytics
skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh --cli frcli revenue

Installation

Default: pulls the litd Docker image.

skills/lnd/scripts/install.sh

This pulls lightninglabs/lightning-terminal:v0.16.0-alpha from Docker Hub and verifies the image. The litd image includes lncli, litcli, loop, pool, tapcli, and frcli.

Build from Source (Fallback)

skills/lnd/scripts/install.sh --source

Requires Go toolchain. Builds lnd and lncli with all build tags.

Native Mode

For running without Docker, use --native:

# Start natively
skills/lnd/scripts/start-lnd.sh --native --mode standalone

# Stop natively
skills/lnd/scripts/stop-lnd.sh --native

Native mode uses the config template at skills/lnd/templates/lnd.conf.template and runs lnd as a background process.

Remote Nodes

Connect to a remote lnd node with connection credentials:

skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh \
    --rpcserver remote-host:10009 \
    --tlscertpath ~/remote-tls.cert \
    --macaroonpath ~/remote-admin.macaroon \
    getinfo

MCP / Lightning Node Connect

For read-only access without direct gRPC connectivity, use the lightning-mcp-server skill with Lightning Node Connect (LNC). LNC uses encrypted WebSocket tunnels — no TLS certs, macaroons, or open ports needed. Just a pairing phrase from Lightning Terminal.

skills/lightning-mcp-server/scripts/install.sh
skills/lightning-mcp-server/scripts/configure.sh
skills/lightning-mcp-server/scripts/setup-claude-config.sh

Wallet Setup

Watch-Only Wallet (Default)

Imports account xpubs from the remote signer — no seed or private keys on this machine.

# Import credentials bundle from signer
skills/lnd/scripts/import-credentials.sh --bundle <credentials-bundle>

# Create watch-only wallet (auto-detects litd container)
skills/lnd/scripts/create-wallet.sh

Standalone Wallet

Generates a seed locally. Use only for testing.

skills/lnd/scripts/create-wallet.sh --mode standalone

Handles the full wallet creation flow via REST API:

1. Generates a secure random wallet passphrase
2. Calls /v1/genseed to generate a 24-word seed mnemonic
3. Calls /v1/initwallet with the passphrase and seed
4. Stores credentials securely:
   • ~/.lnget/lnd/wallet-password.txt (mode 0600)
   • ~/.lnget/lnd/seed.txt (mode 0600)

Unlock Wallet

skills/lnd/scripts/unlock-wallet.sh

Auto-unlock is enabled by default in the container via --wallet-unlock-password-file. Manual unlock is only needed if auto-unlock is disabled.

Recover Wallet from Seed (Standalone Only)

skills/lnd/scripts/create-wallet.sh --mode standalone --recover --seed-file ~/.lnget/lnd/seed.txt

Starting and Stopping

Start

# Docker standalone (default)
skills/lnd/scripts/start-lnd.sh

# Docker watch-only (production)
skills/lnd/scripts/start-lnd.sh --watchonly

# Docker with profile
skills/lnd/scripts/start-lnd.sh --profile taproot

# Mainnet
skills/lnd/scripts/start-lnd.sh --network mainnet

Stop

# Stop (preserve data)
skills/lnd/scripts/stop-lnd.sh

# Stop and clean (remove volumes)
skills/lnd/scripts/stop-lnd.sh --clean

# Stop all litd containers
skills/lnd/scripts/stop-lnd.sh --all

Node Operations

All commands auto-detect the litd container:

Node Info

skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh getinfo
skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh walletbalance
skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh channelbalance

Funding

skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh newaddress p2tr
skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh walletbalance

Channel Management

skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh connect <pubkey>@<host>:9735
skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh openchannel --node_key=<pubkey> --local_amt=1000000
skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh listchannels
skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh closechannel --funding_txid=<txid> --output_index=<n>

Payments

skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh addinvoice --amt=1000 --memo="test payment"
skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh decodepayreq <bolt11_invoice>
skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh sendpayment --pay_req=<bolt11_invoice>
skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh listpayments

Macaroon Bakery

Use the macaroon-bakery skill for least-privilege agent credentials:

skills/macaroon-bakery/scripts/bake.sh --role pay-only
skills/macaroon-bakery/scripts/bake.sh --role invoice-only
skills/macaroon-bakery/scripts/bake.sh --inspect <path-to-macaroon>

Configuration

Container Config

The Docker compose templates pass configuration via command-line arguments. For advanced customization, mount a custom litd.conf:

• litd template: skills/lnd/templates/litd.conf.template
• lnd template (native): skills/lnd/templates/lnd.conf.template

Note: litd requires lnd. prefix for lnd flags (e.g., lnd.bitcoin.active). Standalone lnd does not use the prefix.

Key Defaults

• Backend: neutrino (BIP 157/158 light client)
• Database: SQLite
• Network: testnet (override with --network mainnet)
• Auto-unlock: enabled via password file

Container Naming & Ports

Container	Purpose	Ports
litd	Main Lightning Terminal	8443, 10009, 9735, 8080
litd-signer	Remote signer (lnd)	10012, 10013
litd-bitcoind	Bitcoin Core (regtest only)	18443, 28332, 28333

Port Reference

Port	Service	Description
8443	litd UI	Lightning Terminal web UI
9735	Lightning	Peer-to-peer Lightning Network
10009	gRPC	lncli and programmatic access
8080	REST	REST API (wallet, etc.)
10012	Signer gRPC	Remote signer RPC
10013	Signer REST	Signer REST API

File Locations

Path	Purpose
~/.lnget/lnd/wallet-password.txt	Wallet unlock passphrase (0600)
~/.lnget/lnd/seed.txt	24-word mnemonic backup (0600, standalone only)
~/.lnget/lnd/signer-credentials/	Imported signer credentials (watch-only)
versions.env	Pinned container image versions
skills/lnd/templates/	Docker compose and config templates
skills/lnd/profiles/	Profile .env files

Version Pinning

Container image versions are pinned in versions.env at the repo root:

LITD_VERSION=v0.16.0-alpha
LND_VERSION=v0.20.0-beta

Override at runtime:

LITD_VERSION=v0.17.0-alpha skills/lnd/scripts/start-lnd.sh

Integration with lnget

Once litd is running with a funded wallet and open channels:

lnget config init
lnget ln status
lnget --max-cost 1000 https://api.example.com/paid-data

Security Considerations

See references/security.md for detailed guidance.

Default model (watch-only with remote signer):

• No seed or private keys on the agent machine
• Signing delegated to signer container via gRPC
• Set up with the lightning-security-module skill

Standalone model (testing only):

• Wallet passphrase and seed stored on disk (0600)
• Suitable for testnet and quick testing

Macaroon security:

• Never give agents the admin macaroon in production
• Bake scoped macaroons with the macaroon-bakery skill

Troubleshooting

"wallet not found"

Run skills/lnd/scripts/create-wallet.sh to create the wallet.

"wallet locked"

Run skills/lnd/scripts/unlock-wallet.sh. Auto-unlock is enabled by default.

"chain backend is still syncing"

Neutrino needs time to sync headers:

skills/lnd/scripts/lncli.sh getinfo | jq '{synced_to_chain, block_height}'

Container not starting

docker logs litd
docker logs litd-signer

"remote signer not reachable"

docker ps | grep litd-signer
docker logs litd-signer