lightninglabs

Lightning Agent Tools

AI agents can read documentation, write code, and orchestrate complex workflows, but they can't easily pay for things. Traditional payment rails require government IDs, bank accounts, and manual enrollment, none of which work for autonomous software. Lightning Agent Tools bridges this gap by giving agents native access to the Lightning Network, a decentralized payment protocol capable of instant, high-volume transactions with no identity requirements.

The toolkit consists of seven composable skills and an MCP server. Together they let an agent run a Lightning node, pay for resources on the web using the L402 protocol, host its own paid API endpoints, manage scoped credentials, and query node state through the Model Context Protocol. The skills work with any agent framework that can execute shell commands: Claude Code, Codex, or your own tooling. The MCP server follows the Model Context Protocol standard and works with any compatible client. The security model defaults to a remote signer architecture that keeps private keys on a separate machine, away from the agent's runtime environment.

Install

MCP server (zero-install, any MCP client):

claude mcp add --transport stdio lnc -- npx -y @lightninglabs/lightning-mcp-server

Full plugin (all 7 skills via Claude Code):

claude plugin marketplace add lightninglabs/lightning-agent-tools
claude plugin install lightning-agent-tools@lightninglabs

From source (requires Go 1.24+):

git clone https://github.com/lightninglabs/lightning-agent-tools.git
cd lightning-agent-tools
skills/lightning-mcp-server/scripts/install.sh
skills/lightning-mcp-server/scripts/configure.sh --production
skills/lightning-mcp-server/scripts/setup-claude-config.sh --scope project

See Quick Start below for detailed setup options including environment variables, regtest mode, and the full commerce stack.

How It Works

graph TD
    CC["Your Agent"] --> Skills

    subgraph Skills["Skills"]
        lnd["lnd<br/><i>run a Lightning node</i>"]
        lsm["lightning-security-module<br/><i>remote signer</i>"]
        mb["macaroon-bakery<br/><i>scoped credentials</i>"]
        lg["lnget<br/><i>L402 HTTP client</i>"]
        ap["aperture<br/><i>L402 reverse proxy</i>"]
        mcp["lightning-mcp-server<br/><i>MCP server</i>"]
        com["commerce<br/><i>buyer/seller workflows</i>"]
    end

    subgraph Runtime["Daemons & Tools"]
        lnd_d["lnd daemon"]
        signer_d["lnd signer"]
        aperture_d["aperture proxy"]
        lnget_d["lnget CLI"]
        mcp_d["lightning-mcp-server"]
    end

    lnd --> lnd_d
    lsm --> signer_d
    lg --> lnget_d
    ap --> aperture_d
    mcp --> mcp_d

    lnd_d <-->|"remote signing"| signer_d
    lnget_d -->|"pays invoices"| lnd_d
    aperture_d -->|"generates invoices"| lnd_d
    mcp_d <-->|"LNC tunnel"| lnd_d

    com -.-> lnd
    com -.-> lg
    com -.-> ap

The skills break down into three functional groups:

Payment infrastructure. The lnd skill runs a Lightning node using the Neutrino light client (no full Bitcoin node required) with SQLite storage. The lightning-security-module sets up a remote signer to hold private keys on a separate machine. The macaroon-bakery bakes least-privilege credentials so agents only get the permissions they need.

Commerce. The lnget skill installs a command-line HTTP client that handles L402 payments automatically. When it hits a 402 response, it pays the embedded Lightning invoice, caches the token, and retries. The aperture skill runs an L402 reverse proxy that gates access to a backend service behind Lightning invoices. The commerce skill ties these together into buyer and seller workflows.

Node access. The lightning-mcp-server skill builds and configures an MCP server that connects to a Lightning node via Lightning Node Connect (encrypted WebSocket tunnels, pairing-phrase auth, no stored credentials). It exposes 18 read-only tools for querying node state and works with any MCP-compatible client.

Quick Start

Option A: Zero-Install MCP via claude mcp add

Register the MCP server with Claude Code in one command — no Go toolchain or git clone required:

claude mcp add --transport stdio lnc -- npx -y @lightninglabs/lightning-mcp-server

With a specific mailbox server:

claude mcp add --transport stdio \
  --env LNC_MAILBOX_SERVER=mailbox.terminal.lightning.today:443 \
  lnc -- npx -y @lightninglabs/lightning-mcp-server

For development/regtest: