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177 lines
7.4 KiB
Markdown
177 lines
7.4 KiB
Markdown
# c-lightning: A specification compliant Lightning Network implementation in C
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c-lightning is a [standard compliant](https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lightning-rfc) implementation of the Lightning Network protocol.
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The Lightning Network is a scalability solution for Bitcoin, enabling secure and instant transfer of funds between any two parties for any amount.
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For more information about the Lightning Network please refer to http://lightning.network.
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## Project Status
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[](https://travis-ci.org/ElementsProject/lightning)
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[](http://makeapullrequest.com)
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[](https://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=c-lightning)
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This implementation is still very much a work in progress. It can be used for testing, but __it should not be used for real funds__.
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We do our best to identify and fix problems, and implement missing features.
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Any help testing the implementation, reporting bugs, or helping with outstanding issues is very welcome.
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Don't hesitate to reach out to us on IRC at [#lightning-dev @ freenode.net](http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=%23lightning-dev), [#c-lightning @ freenode.net](http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=%23c-lightning), or on the mailing list [lightning-dev@lists.linuxfoundation.org](https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/lightning-dev).
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## Getting Started
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c-lightning currently only works on Linux (and possibly Mac OS with some tweaking), and requires a locally running `bitcoind` (version 0.15 or above) that is fully caught up with the network you're testing on.
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### Installation
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Please refer to the [installation documentation](doc/INSTALL.md) for detailed instructions.
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For the impatient here's the gist of it for Ubuntu and Debian:
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```
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sudo apt-get install -y autoconf automake build-essential git libtool libgmp-dev libsqlite3-dev python python3 net-tools
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git clone https://github.com/ElementsProject/lightning.git
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cd lightning
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make
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```
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Or if you like to throw `docker` into the mix:
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```
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sudo docker run \
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-v $HOME/.lightning:/root/.lightning \
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-v $HOME/.bitcoin:/root/.bitcoin \
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-p 9735:9735 \
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cdecker/lightningd:latest
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```
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### Starting `lightningd`
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In order to start `lightningd` you will need to have a local `bitcoind` node running in either testnet or regtest mode:
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```
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bitcoind -daemon -testnet
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```
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Wait until `bitcoind` has synchronized with the testnet network. In case you use regtest, make sure you generate at least 432 blocks to activate SegWit.
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Make sure that you do not have `walletbroadcast=0` in your
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`~/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf`, or you may run into trouble. Notice that
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currently pruned nodes are not supported and may result in
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`lightningd` being unable to synchronize with the blockchain.
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You can start `lightningd` with the following command:
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```
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lightningd/lightningd --network=testnet --log-level=debug
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```
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### Listing all commands:
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`cli/lightning-cli help` will print a table of the API and lists the following commands
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### Opening a channel on the Bitcoin testnet
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First you need to transfer some funds to `lightningd` so that it can open a channel:
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```
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# Returns an address <address>
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cli/lightning-cli newaddr
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# Returns a transaction id <txid>
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bitcoin-cli -testnet sendtoaddress <address> <amount>
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```
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`lightningd` will register the funds once the transaction is
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confirmed.
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If you don't have any testcoins you can get a few from a faucet
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such as [TPs' testnet faucet](http://tpfaucet.appspot.com/) or
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[Kiwi's testnet faucet](https://testnet.manu.backend.hamburg/faucet).
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You can send it directly to the `lightningd` address.
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Confirm `lightningd` got funds by:
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```
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# Returns an array of on-chain funds.
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cli/lightning-cli listfunds
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```
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Once `lightningd` has funds, we can connect to a node and open a
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channel.
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Let's assume the **remote** node is accepting connections at
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`<ip>` (and optional `<port>`, if not 9735) and has the node ID
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`<node_id>`:
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```
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cli/lightning-cli connect <node_id> <ip> [<port>]
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cli/lightning-cli fundchannel <node_id> <amount>
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```
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This opens a connection and, on top of that connection, then opens a channel.
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The funding transaction needs 1 confirmations in order for the channel to be usable, and 6 to be broadcast for others to use.
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You can check the status of the channel using `cli/lightning-cli listpeers`, which after 1 confirmation should say that `state` is `CHANNELD_NORMAL`; after 6 confirmations you can use `cli/lightning-cli listchannels` to verify that the `public` field is now `true`.
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### Different states
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States starting with `ONCHAIND` mean that the channel has been closed and an onchain transaction exists reflecting the resulting balances
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* `ONCHAIND_OUR_UNILATERAL` > Closed by you without cooperation of the counterparty
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* `ONCHAIND_THEIR_UNILATERAL` > Closed by the counterparty without your cooperation
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* `ONCHAIND_MUTUAL` > Negotiated closing by both sides
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States starting with `CHANNELD` mean that funds are not available onchain, and from that moment they can only be moved offchain, this is, through the Lightning Network
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* `CHANNELD_AWAITING_LOCKIN` > Waiting for confirmation of the channel funding transaction
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* `CHANNELD_NORMAL` > Channel is active
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The `GOSSIPING` state means that you are connected to a peer but there is no payment channel yet.
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### Sending and receiving payments
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Payments in Lightning are invoice based.
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The recipient creates an invoice with the expected `<amount>` in millisatoshi (or `"any"` for a donation), a unique `<label>` and a `<description>` the payer will see:
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```
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cli/lightning-cli invoice <amount> <label> <description>
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```
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This returns some internal details, and a standard invoice string called `bolt11` (named after the [BOLT #11 lightning spec](https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lightning-rfc/blob/master/11-payment-encoding.md)).
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The sender can feed this `bolt11` string to the `decodepay` command to see what it is, and pay it simply using the `pay` command:
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```
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cli/lightning-cli pay <bolt11>
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```
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Note that there are lower-level interfaces (and more options to these interfaces) for more sophisticated use.
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## Configuration File
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lightningd can be configured either by passing options via the command line, or via a configuration file. Command line options will always override the values in the configuration file.
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To use a configuration file, create a file named "config" within your ".lightning" directory. Usually this will be ~/.lightning/config
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Configuration options are set using a key=value pair on each line of the file, for example:
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```
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alias=SLEEPYDRAGON
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rgb=008000
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port=9735
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network=testnet
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```
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For a full list of possible lightningd configuration options, run:
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```
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lightningd/lightningd --help
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```
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## Further information
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JSON-RPC interface is documented in the following manual pages:
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* [invoice](doc/lightning-invoice.7.txt)
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* [listinvoices](doc/lightning-listinvoices.7.txt)
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* [waitinvoice](doc/lightning-waitinvoice.7.txt)
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* [waitanyinvoice](doc/lightning-waitanyinvoice.7.txt)
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* [delinvoice](doc/lightning-delinvoice.7.txt)
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* [getroute](doc/lightning-getroute.7.txt)
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* [sendpay](doc/lightning-sendpay.7.txt)
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* [pay](doc/lightning-pay.7.txt)
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* [listpayments](doc/lightning-listpayments.7.txt)
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* [decodepay](doc/lightning-decodepay.7.txt)
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For simple access to the JSON-RPC interface you can use the `cli/lightning-cli` tool, or the [python API client](contrib/pylightning).
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