/lightning

World-class Lightning lifecycle. Audit, plan, execute, verify—every time.

What This Does

Examines your Lightning setup, finds all gaps, fixes them, and verifies payments end-to-end. No partial modes. Every run does the full cycle.

Branching

Assumes you start on master /main . Before making code changes:

git checkout -b fix/lightning-$(date +%Y%m%d)

Config-only changes (node config, env vars, services) don't require a branch. Code changes do.

Process

0. Environment Check

Confirm network and connectivity first. Before any Lightning ops:

lncli --network=testnet getinfo | jq '.chains, .synced_to_chain' lncli getinfo | jq '.uris, .identity_pubkey'

Check:

• Testnet vs mainnet is intentional

• Node is synced to chain

• Peers reachable (no stale URIs)

1. Audit

Spawn the auditor. Use the lightning-auditor subagent for deep analysis. It examines:

• Channel health (active, disabled, policy asymmetry)

• Liquidity (local/remote balance skew, inbound capacity)

• Routing performance (failures, fee policy, CLTV)

• Invoice hygiene (expiry, amountless, memo policy)

• Security (macaroon use, no secrets logged)

• Ops (backup status, watchtower, autopilot settings)

Run automated checks:

lightning-auditor --full

2. Plan

From audit findings, build a remediation plan. Don't just list issues—plan the fixes.

For each finding:

• Config issues → Fix directly (lnd.conf, systemd, env vars)

• Channel issues → Plan closure/reopen or rebalancing

• Code issues → Delegate to Codex with clear specs

Prioritize:

• P0 — Funds at risk, node offline, broken payments

• P1 — Liquidity dead ends, routing failures

• P2 — Suboptimal fees, imbalance, missing UX

• P3 — Nice-to-haves, metrics polish

3. Execute

Fix everything. Don't stop at a report.

Config fixes (do directly):

Example: update env vars or config

rg -n "LND_|lnd.conf" .

Channel management:

• Close dead channels, reopen with better peers

• Adjust fees and CLTV to match route goals

• Rebalance to restore inbound/outbound capacity

Rebalancing:

lncli --network=testnet listchannels | jq '.channels[] | {chan_id, local_balance, remote_balance}'

4. Verify

Prove it works. Not "looks right"—actually works.

Connectivity + sync:

lncli --network=testnet getinfo | jq '.synced_to_chain'

Invoice create + pay (use a second node):

lncli --network=testnet addinvoice --amt 1000 --memo "smoke" lncli --network=testnet payinvoice <bolt11>

Channel balance verification:

lncli --network=testnet listchannels | jq '.channels[] | {chan_id, local_balance, remote_balance}'

If any verification fails, go back and fix it. Don't declare done until all checks pass.

Channel Management

Guidance:

• Prefer few high-quality peers over many weak ones

• Avoid long-lived channels with dead liquidity

• Keep inbound capacity for receiving use cases

• Keep outbound capacity for paying and routing

• Use fee policy to shape traffic, not to chase micro-yield

Liquidity Planning

Plan capacity by purpose:

• Send-first: higher local balance

• Receive-first: higher remote balance

• Routing: balanced channels, diverse peers

Targets:

• Maintain 20-40% inbound on critical channels

• Avoid >80% one-sided imbalance

• Rebalance before outbound drops below 10%

Default Stack

Assumes LND + Bitcoin Core + systemd + Docker (optional). Adapts to other stacks—concepts are the same, only tooling differs.

What You Get

When complete:

• Healthy channels with stable peers

• Planned liquidity with clear inbound/outbound targets

• Verified invoice creation and payment flow

• Rebalancing executed where needed

• Routing policy aligned with goals

• Configuration sane and documented