core-lightning/doc/lightning-close.7.md

lightning-close -- Command for closing channels with direct peers
=================================================================

SYNOPSIS
--------

**close** *id* \[*unilateraltimeout*\] \[*destination*\] \[*fee_negotiation_step*\]

DESCRIPTION
-----------

The **close** RPC command attempts to close the channel cooperatively
with the peer, or unilaterally after *unilateraltimeout*, and the
to-local output will be sent to the address specified in *destination*.

If the given *id* is a peer ID (66 hex digits as a string), then it
applies to the active channel of the direct peer corresponding to the
given peer ID. If the given *id* is a channel ID (64 hex digits as a
string, or the short channel ID *blockheight:txindex:outindex* form),
then it applies to that channel.

If *unilateraltimeout* is not zero, the **close** command will
unilaterally close the channel when that number of seconds is reached.
If *unilateraltimeout* is zero, then the **close** command will wait
indefinitely until the peer is online and can negotiate a mutual close.
The default is 2 days (172800 seconds).

The *destination* can be of any Bitcoin accepted type, including bech32.
If it isn't specified, the default is a c-lightning wallet address.

The *fee_negotiation_step* parameter controls how closing fee
negotiation is performed assuming the peer proposes a fee that is
different than our estimate. On every negotiation step we must give up
some amount from our proposal towards the peer's proposal. This parameter
can be an integer in which case it is interpreted as number of satoshis
to step at a time. Or it can be an integer followed by "%" to designate
a percentage of the interval to give up. A few examples, assuming the peer
proposes a closing fee of 3000 satoshi and our estimate shows it must be 4000:
* "10": our next proposal will be 4000-10=3990.
* "10%": our next proposal will be 4000-(10% of (4000-3000))=3900.
* "1": our next proposal will be 3999. This is the most extreme case when we
insist on our fee as much as possible.
* "100%": our next proposal will be 3000. This is the most relaxed case when
we quickly accept the peer's proposal.
The default is "50%".

The peer needs to be live and connected in order to negotiate a mutual
close. The default of unilaterally closing after 48 hours is usually a
reasonable indication that you can no longer contact the peer.

NOTES
-----

Prior to 0.7.2, **close** took two parameters: *force* and *timeout*.
*timeout* was the number of seconds before *force* took effect (default,
30), and *force* determined whether the result was a unilateral close or
an RPC error (default). Even after the timeout, the channel would be
closed if the peer reconnected.

NOTIFICATIONS
-------------
If `allow-deprecated-apis` is false, notifications may be returned
indicating what is going on, especially if the peer is offline and we
are waiting.  This will be enabled by default in future!

RETURN VALUE
------------

On success, an object with fields *tx* and *txid* containing the closing
transaction are returned. It will also have a field *type* which is
either the JSON string *mutual* or the JSON string *unilateral*. A
*mutual* close means that we could negotiate a close with the peer,
while a *unilateral* close means that the *force* flag was set and we
had to close the channel without waiting for the counterparty.

A unilateral close may still occur at any time if the peer did not
behave correctly during the close negotiation.

Unilateral closes will return your funds after a delay. The delay will
vary based on the peer *to\_self\_delay* setting, not your own setting.

AUTHOR
------

ZmnSCPxj <<ZmnSCPxj@protonmail.com>> is mainly responsible.

SEE ALSO
--------

lightning-disconnect(7), lightning-fundchannel(7)

RESOURCES
---------

Main web site: <https://github.com/ElementsProject/lightning>