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.\"     Title: lightning-close
.\"    Author: [see the "AUTHOR" section]
.\" Generator: DocBook XSL Stylesheets v1.79.1 <http://docbook.sf.net/>
.\"      Date: 08/08/2019
.\"    Manual: \ \&
.\"    Source: \ \&
.\"  Language: English
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.TH "LIGHTNING\-CLOSE" "7" "08/08/2019" "\ \&" "\ \&"
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.SH "NAME"
lightning-close \- Command for closing channels with direct peers
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
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\fBclose\fR \fIid\fR [\fIunilateraltimeout\fR]
.SH "DESCRIPTION"
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The \fBclose\fR RPC command attempts to close the channel cooperatively with the peer, or unilaterally after \fIunilateraltimeout\fR\&.
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If the given \fIid\fR 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 \fIid\fR is a channel ID (64 hex digits as a string, or the short channel ID \fIblockheight:txindex:outindex\fR form), then it applies to that channel\&.
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If \fIunilateraltimeout\fR is not zero, the \fBclose\fR command will unilaterally close the channel when that number of seconds is reached\&. If \fIunilateraltimeout\fR is zero, then the \fBclose\fR command will wait indefinitely until the peer is online and can negotiate a mutual close\&. The default is 2 days (172800 seconds)\&.
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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\&.
.SH "NOTES"
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Prior to 0\&.7\&.2, \fBclose\fR took two parameters: \fIforce\fR and \fItimeout\fR\&. \fItimeout\fR was the number of seconds before \fIforce\fR took effect (default, 30), and \fIforce\fR 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\&.
.SH "RETURN VALUE"
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On success, an object with fields \fItx\fR and \fItxid\fR containing the closing transaction are returned\&. It will also have a field \fItype\fR which is either the JSON string \fImutual\fR or the JSON string \fIunilateral\fR\&. A \fImutual\fR close means that we could negotiate a close with the peer, while a \fIunilateral\fR close means that the \fIforce\fR flag was set and we had to close the channel without waiting for the counterparty\&.
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A unilateral close may still occur at any time if the peer did not behave correctly during the close negotiation\&.
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Unilateral closes will return your funds after a delay\&. The delay will vary based on the peer \fIto_self_delay\fR setting, not your own setting\&.
.SH "AUTHOR"
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ZmnSCPxj <ZmnSCPxj@protonmail\&.com> is mainly responsible\&.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
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lightning\-disconnect(7), lightning\-fundchannel(7)
.SH "RESOURCES"
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Main web site: https://github\&.com/ElementsProject/lightning