lnd/README.md

## Lightning Network Daemon

[![Build Status](https://img.shields.io/travis/lightningnetwork/lnd.svg)](https://travis-ci.org/lightningnetwork/lnd)
[![MIT licensed](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-blue.svg)](https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/blob/master/LICENSE)
[![Irc](https://img.shields.io/badge/chat-on%20freenode-brightgreen.svg)](https://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=lnd)
[![Godoc](https://godoc.org/github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd?status.svg)](https://godoc.org/github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd)

<img src="logo.png">

The Lightning Network Daemon (`lnd`) - is a complete implementation of a
[Lightning Network](https://lightning.network) node and currently deployed on
`testnet3` - the Bitcoin Test Network.  `lnd` has several pluggable back-end
chain services including [`btcd`](https://github.com/btcsuite/btcd) (a
full-node), [`bitcoind`](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin), and
[`neutrino`](https://github.com/lightninglabs/neutrino) (a new experimental light client). The project's codebase uses the
[btcsuite](https://github.com/btcsuite/) set of Bitcoin libraries, and also
exports a large set of isolated re-usable Lightning Network related libraries
within it.  In the current state `lnd` is capable of:
* Creating channels.
* Closing channels.
* Completely managing all channel states (including the exceptional ones!).
* Maintaining a fully authenticated+validated channel graph.
* Performing path finding within the network, passively forwarding incoming payments.
* Sending outgoing [onion-encrypted payments](https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lightning-onion)
through the network.
* Updating advertised fee schedules.
* Automatic channel management ([`autopilot`](https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/tree/master/autopilot)).

## Lightning Network Specification Compliance
`lnd` _fully_ conforms to the [Lightning Network specification
(BOLTs)](https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lightning-rfc). BOLT stands for:
Basic of Lightning Technologies. The specifications are currently being drafted
by several groups of implementers based around the world including the
developers of `lnd`. The set of specification documents as well as our
implementation of the specification are still a work-in-progress. With that
said, the current status of `lnd`'s BOLT compliance is:

  - [X] BOLT 1: Base Protocol
  - [X] BOLT 2: Peer Protocol for Channel Management
  - [X] BOLT 3: Bitcoin Transaction and Script Formats
  - [X] BOLT 4: Onion Routing Protocol
  - [X] BOLT 5: Recommendations for On-chain Transaction Handling
  - [X] BOLT 7: P2P Node and Channel Discovery
  - [X] BOLT 8: Encrypted and Authenticated Transport
  - [X] BOLT 9: Assigned Feature Flags
  - [X] BOLT 10: DNS Bootstrap and Assisted Node Location
  - [X] BOLT 11: Invoice Protocol for Lightning Payments

## Developer Resources

The daemon has been designed to be as developer friendly as possible in order
to facilitate application development on top of `lnd`. Two primary RPC
interfaces are exported: an HTTP REST API, and a [gRPC](https://grpc.io/)
service. The exported API's are not yet stable, so be warned: they may change
drastically in the near future.

An automatically generated set of documentation for the RPC APIs can be found
at [api.lightning.community](https://api.lightning.community). A set of developer
resources including talks, articles, and example applications can be found at:
[dev.lightning.community](https://dev.lightning.community).

Finally, we also have an active
[Slack](https://join.slack.com/t/lightningcommunity/shared_invite/enQtMzQ0OTQyNjE5NjU1LWRiMGNmOTZiNzU0MTVmYzc1ZGFkZTUyNzUwOGJjMjYwNWRkNWQzZWE3MTkwZjdjZGE5ZGNiNGVkMzI2MDU4ZTE) where protocol developers, application developers, testers and users gather to
discuss various aspects of `lnd` and also Lightning in general.

## Installation
  In order to build from source, please see [the installation
  instructions](docs/INSTALL.md).

## Docker
  To run lnd from Docker, please see the main [Docker instructions](docs/DOCKER.md)
  
## IRC
  * irc.freenode.net
  * channel #lnd
  * [webchat](https://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=lnd)

## Further reading
* [Step-by-step send payment guide with docker](https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/tree/master/docker)
* [Contribution guide](https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/blob/master/docs/code_contribution_guidelines.md)
README: reformat and add IRC badge 2017-01-12 03:12:53 +03:00			`## Lightning Network Daemon`
Fixing badges in README The Markdown for badges in the README has newlines incorrectly separating the images from the associated URL link, causing the link URLs to show up as text. This removes the newlines so that the badges render properly. 2017-03-22 01:05:55 -04:00
README: use HTTPS instead of HTTP 2018-07-06 21:20:51 +02:00			`[![Build Status](https://img.shields.io/travis/lightningnetwork/lnd.svg)](https://travis-ci.org/lightningnetwork/lnd)`
lnd+docker: add "Production" Docker Image This commit satisfies the auto-build functionality desired in #722 without changing anything in the docker folder. This allows development and testing to continue to build and use images locally, but external users get a very lean Docker image they can use. The size difference is appreciable. REPOSITORY TAG IMAGE ID CREATED SIZE lnd latest 3634dcf5df68 17 seconds ago 1.19GB lnd-single latest b295cc248447 30 minutes ago 56MB Right before merging this PR, an Automated Build repository should be configured on the appropriate account (lightningnetwork?) on Docker Hub with the name of lnd in order to match documentation. I see there are already some repositories created, however I think best practice for Docker is to have a single repository and different tags for different architectures. The included image is based off of Alpine, but in the future we could extend into multiple Dockerfiles (example: ARM support, or being Ubuntu based). So in this proposed scenario, lightningnetwork/lnd:latest would be alpine, but lightningnetwork/lnd:ubuntu would be an ubuntu-based image, for example. (With thanks to @alingenhag for https://github.com/f-u-z-z-l-e/docker-lnd/ from which I borrowed heavily) 2018-05-16 21:50:25 -04:00			`[![MIT licensed](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-blue.svg)](https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/blob/master/LICENSE)`
			`[![Irc](https://img.shields.io/badge/chat-on%20freenode-brightgreen.svg)](https://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=lnd)`
Fixing badges in README The Markdown for badges in the README has newlines incorrectly separating the images from the associated URL link, causing the link URLs to show up as text. This removes the newlines so that the badges render properly. 2017-03-22 01:05:55 -04:00			`[![Godoc](https://godoc.org/github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd?status.svg)](https://godoc.org/github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd)`
README: reformat and add IRC badge 2017-01-12 03:12:53 +03:00
README: add logo to top portion of page 2017-09-29 14:06:22 -07:00			`<img src="logo.png">`

README: update with latest information 2017-08-22 21:00:42 -07:00			The Lightning Network Daemon (`lnd`) - is a complete implementation of a
			`[Lightning Network](https://lightning.network) node and currently deployed on`
			`testnet3` - the Bitcoin Test Network. `lnd` has several pluggable back-end
			chain services including [`btcd`](https://github.com/btcsuite/btcd) (a
docs+README: update docs to no longer imply that only btcd is support In this commit, we modify the docs in order to clarify that both btcd and bitcoind are supported as chain backends. Many users expressed confusion as the old set of docs stated that we "require" my btcd fork, rather than clarifying that if you want to use btcd, then you must use my fork. 2018-04-02 16:19:16 -07:00			full-node), [`bitcoind`](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin), and
			[`neutrino`](https://github.com/lightninglabs/neutrino) (a new experimental light client). The project's codebase uses the
README: update with latest information 2017-08-22 21:00:42 -07:00			`[btcsuite](https://github.com/btcsuite/) set of Bitcoin libraries, and also`
			`exports a large set of isolated re-usable Lightning Network related libraries`
lnd+docker: add "Production" Docker Image This commit satisfies the auto-build functionality desired in #722 without changing anything in the docker folder. This allows development and testing to continue to build and use images locally, but external users get a very lean Docker image they can use. The size difference is appreciable. REPOSITORY TAG IMAGE ID CREATED SIZE lnd latest 3634dcf5df68 17 seconds ago 1.19GB lnd-single latest b295cc248447 30 minutes ago 56MB Right before merging this PR, an Automated Build repository should be configured on the appropriate account (lightningnetwork?) on Docker Hub with the name of lnd in order to match documentation. I see there are already some repositories created, however I think best practice for Docker is to have a single repository and different tags for different architectures. The included image is based off of Alpine, but in the future we could extend into multiple Dockerfiles (example: ARM support, or being Ubuntu based). So in this proposed scenario, lightningnetwork/lnd:latest would be alpine, but lightningnetwork/lnd:ubuntu would be an ubuntu-based image, for example. (With thanks to @alingenhag for https://github.com/f-u-z-z-l-e/docker-lnd/ from which I borrowed heavily) 2018-05-16 21:50:25 -04:00			within it. In the current state `lnd` is capable of:
README: update with latest information 2017-08-22 21:00:42 -07:00			`* Creating channels.`
			`* Closing channels.`
			`* Completely managing all channel states (including the exceptional ones!).`
			`* Maintaining a fully authenticated+validated channel graph.`
			`* Performing path finding within the network, passively forwarding incoming payments.`
lnd+docker: add "Production" Docker Image This commit satisfies the auto-build functionality desired in #722 without changing anything in the docker folder. This allows development and testing to continue to build and use images locally, but external users get a very lean Docker image they can use. The size difference is appreciable. REPOSITORY TAG IMAGE ID CREATED SIZE lnd latest 3634dcf5df68 17 seconds ago 1.19GB lnd-single latest b295cc248447 30 minutes ago 56MB Right before merging this PR, an Automated Build repository should be configured on the appropriate account (lightningnetwork?) on Docker Hub with the name of lnd in order to match documentation. I see there are already some repositories created, however I think best practice for Docker is to have a single repository and different tags for different architectures. The included image is based off of Alpine, but in the future we could extend into multiple Dockerfiles (example: ARM support, or being Ubuntu based). So in this proposed scenario, lightningnetwork/lnd:latest would be alpine, but lightningnetwork/lnd:ubuntu would be an ubuntu-based image, for example. (With thanks to @alingenhag for https://github.com/f-u-z-z-l-e/docker-lnd/ from which I borrowed heavily) 2018-05-16 21:50:25 -04:00			`* Sending outgoing [onion-encrypted payments](https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lightning-onion)`
README: update with latest information 2017-08-22 21:00:42 -07:00			`through the network.`
			`* Updating advertised fee schedules.`
			* Automatic channel management ([`autopilot`](https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/tree/master/autopilot)).
README: update readme to latest project state 2017-01-10 12:14:37 -08:00
			`## Lightning Network Specification Compliance`
README: update BOLT compat language Fixes #549. 2018-01-22 19:25:12 -08:00			`lnd` _fully_ conforms to the [Lightning Network specification
README: update with latest information 2017-08-22 21:00:42 -07:00			`(BOLTs)](https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lightning-rfc). BOLT stands for:`
			`Basic of Lightning Technologies. The specifications are currently being drafted`
README: update readme to latest project state 2017-01-10 12:14:37 -08:00			`by several groups of implementers based around the world including the`
			developers of `lnd`. The set of specification documents as well as our
			`implementation of the specification are still a work-in-progress. With that`
provide formatting for lnd references 2017-12-19 20:28:38 -05:00			said, the current status of `lnd`'s BOLT compliance is:
README: update readme to latest project state 2017-01-10 12:14:37 -08:00
README: update with latest information 2017-08-22 21:00:42 -07:00			`- [X] BOLT 1: Base Protocol`
README: add checkbox to BOLT #2 compatibility Fixes #137!!! Fixes #380, #297, #194, #137. 2017-11-10 19:47:17 -08:00			`- [X] BOLT 2: Peer Protocol for Channel Management`
README: update with latest information 2017-08-22 21:00:42 -07:00			`- [X] BOLT 3: Bitcoin Transaction and Script Formats`
README: update readme to latest project state 2017-01-10 12:14:37 -08:00			`- [X] BOLT 4: Onion Routing Protocol`
			`- [X] BOLT 5: Recommendations for On-chain Transaction Handling`
			`- [X] BOLT 7: P2P Node and Channel Discovery`
			`- [X] BOLT 8: Encrypted and Authenticated Transport`
README: add additional check boxes for BOLT spec compliance This commit adds additional check boxes to convey our adherence to BOLT-0009, BOLT-0010, and BOLT-0011. 2017-09-29 14:42:28 -07:00			`- [X] BOLT 9: Assigned Feature Flags`
			`- [X] BOLT 10: DNS Bootstrap and Assisted Node Location`
			`- [X] BOLT 11: Invoice Protocol for Lightning Payments`
add copyright, license and discouragement in readme 2016-01-16 00:13:11 -08:00
README: update with latest information 2017-08-22 21:00:42 -07:00			`## Developer Resources`

			`The daemon has been designed to be as developer friendly as possible in order`
docs: Correct a couple of typos in README.md. (#290) 2017-08-30 19:34:28 -05:00			to facilitate application development on top of `lnd`. Two primary RPC
README: update with latest information 2017-08-22 21:00:42 -07:00			`interfaces are exported: an HTTP REST API, and a [gRPC](https://grpc.io/)`
			`service. The exported API's are not yet stable, so be warned: they may change`
			`drastically in the near future.`

docs: Correct a couple of typos in README.md. (#290) 2017-08-30 19:34:28 -05:00			`An automatically generated set of documentation for the RPC APIs can be found`
README: use HTTPS instead of HTTP 2018-07-06 21:20:51 +02:00			`at [api.lightning.community](https://api.lightning.community). A set of developer`
README: update with latest information 2017-08-22 21:00:42 -07:00			`resources including talks, articles, and example applications can be found at:`
README: use HTTPS instead of HTTP 2018-07-06 21:20:51 +02:00			`[dev.lightning.community](https://dev.lightning.community).`
README: update with latest information 2017-08-22 21:00:42 -07:00
			`Finally, we also have an active`
README: update Slack invite link 2018-04-12 20:22:52 -04:00			`[Slack](https://join.slack.com/t/lightningcommunity/shared_invite/enQtMzQ0OTQyNjE5NjU1LWRiMGNmOTZiNzU0MTVmYzc1ZGFkZTUyNzUwOGJjMjYwNWRkNWQzZWE3MTkwZjdjZGE5ZGNiNGVkMzI2MDU4ZTE) where protocol developers, application developers, testers and users gather to`
README: update with latest information 2017-08-22 21:00:42 -07:00			discuss various aspects of `lnd` and also Lightning in general.

Update README with general build instructions 2016-01-17 19:53:50 -08:00			`## Installation`
readme+docs: Consolidate installation docs 2017-08-02 18:52:37 -07:00			`In order to build from source, please see [the installation`
			`instructions](docs/INSTALL.md).`
lnd+docker: add "Production" Docker Image This commit satisfies the auto-build functionality desired in #722 without changing anything in the docker folder. This allows development and testing to continue to build and use images locally, but external users get a very lean Docker image they can use. The size difference is appreciable. REPOSITORY TAG IMAGE ID CREATED SIZE lnd latest 3634dcf5df68 17 seconds ago 1.19GB lnd-single latest b295cc248447 30 minutes ago 56MB Right before merging this PR, an Automated Build repository should be configured on the appropriate account (lightningnetwork?) on Docker Hub with the name of lnd in order to match documentation. I see there are already some repositories created, however I think best practice for Docker is to have a single repository and different tags for different architectures. The included image is based off of Alpine, but in the future we could extend into multiple Dockerfiles (example: ARM support, or being Ubuntu based). So in this proposed scenario, lightningnetwork/lnd:latest would be alpine, but lightningnetwork/lnd:ubuntu would be an ubuntu-based image, for example. (With thanks to @alingenhag for https://github.com/f-u-z-z-l-e/docker-lnd/ from which I borrowed heavily) 2018-05-16 21:50:25 -04:00
			`## Docker`
			`To run lnd from Docker, please see the main [Docker instructions](docs/DOCKER.md)`
README: reformat and add IRC badge 2017-01-12 03:12:53 +03:00
README: update readme to latest project state 2017-01-10 12:14:37 -08:00			`## IRC`
			`* irc.freenode.net`
			`* channel #lnd`
			`* [webchat](https://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=lnd)`
README: add a short description of the rest of the packages within lnd 2016-01-15 18:24:38 -08:00
README: reformat and add IRC badge 2017-01-12 03:12:53 +03:00			`## Further reading`
			`* [Step-by-step send payment guide with docker](https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/tree/master/docker)`
Fixing badges in README The Markdown for badges in the README has newlines incorrectly separating the images from the associated URL link, causing the link URLs to show up as text. This removes the newlines so that the badges render properly. 2017-03-22 01:05:55 -04:00			`* [Contribution guide](https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/blob/master/docs/code_contribution_guidelines.md)`