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ElementsProject/ lightning-charge
JavaScript Shell HTML CSS Bitcoin micropayments
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ElementsProject
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Description

A simple drop-in solution for accepting lightning payments

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Lightning Charge

build status npm release docker release MIT license Pull Requests Welcome IRC

A drop-in solution for accepting lightning payments, built on top of c-lightning.

  • Simple HTTP REST API, optimized for developer friendliness and ease of integration. Near-zero configuration.

  • Supports invoice metadata, fiat currency conversion, long polling, web hooks, websockets and server-sent-events.

  • Built-in checkout page, can be iframed or redirected to.

:zap: radically low fees :zap: nano payments :zap: instant confirmations :zap:

Getting Started

Setup c-lightning and nodejs (v7.6 or newer), then:

$ npm install -g lightning-charge


$ charged --api-token mySecretToken # defaults: --ln-path ~/.lightning/testnet --db-path ./charge.db --port 9112

Note: if you're running into permission issues, try following these instructions.

That's it! The Lightning Charge REST API is now running and ready to process payments. You can access it at 

http://localhost:9112
using the API access token configured with 
--api-token
.

Configuration options may alternatively be provided using environment variables:

$ LN_PATH=~/.lightning/testnet DB_PATH=charge.db API_TOKEN=mySecretToken PORT=9112 charged

Listens for connections on 

127.0.0.1
by default. Set 
-i 0.0.0.0
to bind on all available interfaces. Note that Charge does not have TLS encryption and should not normally be exposed directly to the public internet. For remote access, you should setup an SSH tunnel or a TLS-enabled reverse proxy like nginx.

See 

$ charged --help
for the full list of available options.

Deploy with Docker

To deploy Lightning Charge with Docker, run these commands:

$ mkdir data # make sure to create the folder _before_ running docker
$ docker run -it -u `id -u` -v `pwd`/data:/data -p 9735:9735 -p 9112:9112 \
             shesek/lightning-charge --api-token mySecretToken

This will start 

bitcoind
, 
lightningd
and 
charged
and hook them up together. You will then be able to access the REST API at 
http://localhost:9112
using 
mySecretToken
.

Runs in 

testnet
mode by default, set 
NETWORK
to override.

If you want to experiment in 

regtest
mode and don't care about persisting data, this should do: 
$ docker run -it -e NETWORK=regtest -p 9112:9112 shesek/lightning-charge --api-token mySecretToken

To connect to an existing 

lightningd
instance running on the same machine, mount the lightning data directory to 
/etc/lightning
(e.g. 
-v $HOME/.lightning:/etc/lightning
). Connecting to remote lightningd instances is currently not supported.

To connect to an existing 

bitcoind
instance running on the same machine, mount the bitcoin data directory to 
/etc/bitcoin
(e.g. 
-v $HOME/.bitcoin:/etc/bitcoin
). To connect to a remote bitcoind instance, set 
BITCOIND_URI=http://[user]:[pass]@[host]:[port]
(or use 
__cookie__:...
as the login for cookie-based authentication).

Deploy to Azure

One-click deployment on Azure (by @NicolasDorier).

An instructional video is available here.

Client libraries

Clients libraries are available for JavaScript and PHP. For other languages, you can use the REST API directly using a standard HTTP library.

LApps

Below are example LApps built on top of Lightning Charge:

  • FileBazaar: an ecommerce tool for content creators that produce digital files like photos, videos, or music.

  • Lightning Publisher: accept bitcoin payments for content on WordPress blogs.

  • nanotip: a simple web server for accepting lightning donations (a lightning tip jar).

  • paypercall: easily charge for HTTP APIs on a pay-per-call basis.

  • nanopos: a simple point-of-sale system for physical stores.

  • ifpaytt: trigger IFTTT actions with lightning payments.

  • WooCommerce Lightning: a lightning gateway for the WooCommerce e-commerce software.

  • Lightning Jukebox: a lightning powered jukebox. Pay with Bitcoin to choose your music.

Third party Lapps:

REST API

All endpoints accept and return data in JSON format.

Authentication is done using HTTP basic authentication headers, with 

api-token
as the username and the api token (configured with 
--api-token
/
-t
or using the 
API_TOKEN
environment variable) as the password.

Invoices have the following properties: 

id
, 
msatoshi
, 
msatoshi_received
, 
quoted_currency
, 
quoted_amount
, 
rhash
, 
payreq
, 
description
, 
created_at
, 
expires_at
, 
paid_at
, 
metadata
and 
status
(one of 
unpaid|paid|expired
).

The code samples below assume you've set 

CHARGE=http://api-token:[email protected]:9112
. 

GET /info

Get information about the c-lightning node.

$ curl $CHARGE/info
{"id":"032c6ba19a2141c5fee6ac8b6ff6cf24456fd4e8e206716a39af3300876c3a4835","port":42259,"address":[],"version":"v0.5.2-2016-11-21-1937-ge97ee3d","blockheight":434,"network":"regtest"}


POST /invoice

Create a new invoice.

Body parameters: 

msatoshi
, 
currency
, 
amount
, 
description
, 
expiry
, 
metadata
and 
webhook
.

You can specify the amount as 

msatoshi
(1 satoshi = 1000 msatoshis), or provide a 
currency
and 
amount
to be converted according to the current exchange rates (via bitcoinaverage). If a currency and amount were provided, they'll be available under 
quoted_{currency|amount}
. 

expiry
sets the invoice expiry time in seconds (defaults to one hour). 
metadata
may contain arbitrary invoice-related meta-data. 
description
is embedded in the payment request and presented by the user's wallet (keep it short). 

webhook
may contain a URL to be registered as a webhook (see 
POST /invoice/:id/webhook
).

Returns 

201 Created
and the invoice on success. 
$ curl -X POST $CHARGE/invoice -d msatoshi=10000
{"id":"KcoQHfHJSx3fVhp3b1Y3h","msatoshi":"10000","status":"unpaid","rhash":"6823e46a08f50...",
 "payreq":"lntb100n1pd99d02pp...","created_at":1515369962,"expires_at":1515373562}


with fiat-denominated amounts


$ curl -X POST $CHARGE/invoice -d currency=EUR -d amount=0.5
{"id":"OYwwaOQAPMFvg039gj_Rb","msatoshi":"3738106","quoted_currency":"EUR","quoted_amount":"0.5",...}


without amount (accept all payments)


$ curl -X POST $CHARGE/invoice
{"id":"W8CF0UqY7qfAHCfnchqk9","msatoshi":null,...}


with metadata as application/json


$ curl -X POST $CHARGE/invoice -H 'Content-Type: application/json' 
  -d '{"msatoshi":7000,"metadata":{"customer_id":9817,"products":[593,182]}}'
{"id":"PLKV1f8B7sth7w2OeDOt_","msatoshi":"7000","metadata":{"customer_id":9817,"products":[593,182]},...}


with metadata as application/x-www-form-urlencoded


$ curl -X POST $CHARGE/invoice -d msatoshi=5000 -d metadata[customer_id]=9817 -d metadata[product_id]=7189
{"id":"58H9eoerBpKML9FvnMQtG","msatoshi":"5000","metadata":{"customer_id":"9817","product_id":"7189"},...}


GET /invoices

List all invoices.

$ curl $CHARGE/invoices
[{"id":"KcoQHfHJSx3fVhp3b1Y3h","msatoshi":"10000",...},{"id":"PLKV1f8B7sth7w2OeDOt_","msatoshi":"7000"},...]


GET /invoice/:id

Get the specified invoice.

$ curl $CHARGE/invoice/OYwwaOQAPMFvg039gj_Rb
{"id":"OYwwaOQAPMFvg039gj_Rb","msatoshi":"3738106","quoted_currency":"EUR","quoted_amount":"0.5","status":"unpaid",...}


DELETE /invoice/:id

Delete the specified invoice.

Body parameters: 

status

The current status of the invoice needs to be specified in the request body.

$ curl -X DELETE $CHARGE/invoice/OYwwaOQAPMFvg039gj_Rb -d status=unpaid
204 No Content


GET /invoice/:id/wait?timeout=[sec]

Long-polling invoice payment notification.

Waits for the invoice to be paid, then returns 

200 OK
and the updated invoice.

If 

timeout
(defaults to 30s) is reached before the invoice is paid, returns 
402 Payment Required
.

If the invoice is expired and can no longer be paid, returns 

410 Gone
. 
$ curl $CHARGE/invoice/OYwwaOQAPMFvg039gj_Rb/wait?timeout=60
# zZZZzzZ
{"id":"OYwwaOQAPMFvg039gj_Rb","msatoshi":"3738106","status":"paid","paid_at":1515371152,...}


POST /invoice/:id/webhook

Register a URL as a web hook to be notified once the invoice is paid.

Body parameters: 

url
.

Returns 

201 Created
on success. Once the payment is made, a POST request with the updated invoice will be made to the provided URL.

If the invoice is already paid, returns 

405 Method Not Allowed
. If the invoice is expired, returns 
410 Gone
.

Webhooks can also be registered during invoice creation using the 

webhook
parameter.

For security reasons, the provided 

url
should contain a secret token used to verify the authenticity of the request (see an example HMAC-based implementation at woocommerce-gateway-lightning here, here and here). 
$ curl -X POST $CHARGE/invoice/OYwwaOQAPMFvg039gj_Rb/webhook -d url=http://example.com/callback
Created


GET /payment-stream

Subscribe to payment updates as a server-sent events stream.

$ curl $CHARGE/payment-stream
# zzZZzZZ
data:{"id":"OYwwaOQAPMFvg039gj_Rb","msatoshi":"3738106","status":"paid","paid_at":1515371152,...}
# zZZzzZz
data:{"id":"KcoQHfHJSx3fVhp3b1Y3h","msatoshi":"10000","status":"paid","paid_at":1515681209,...}
# zZZzzzz...

Or via JavaScript:

const es = new EventSource('http://api-token:[TOKEN]@localhost:9112/payment-stream')


es.addEventListener('message', msg => {
  const inv = JSON.parse(msg.data)
  console.log('Paid invoice:', inv)
})

(

EventSource
is natively available in modern browsers, or via the 
eventsource
library in nodejs)

WebSocket API

GET /ws

Subscribe to payment updates over WebSocket.

const ws = new WebSocket('http://api-token:[TOKEN]@localhost:9112/ws')


ws.addEventListener('message', msg => {
  const inv = JSON.parse(msg.data)
  console.log('Paid invoice:', inv)
})

Tests

Requires 

bitcoind
, 
bitcoin-cli
, 
lightningd
, 
lightning-cli
and 
jq
 to be in your 
PATH
. 
$ git clone https://github.com/ElementsProject/lightning-charge.git
$ cd lightning-charge
$ npm install
$ npm test

This will setup a temporary testing environment with a bitcoind regtest node and two c-lightning nodes with a funded channel, then start the Lightning Charge server and run the unit tests (written with mocha and supertest).

To run in verbose mode, set the 

VERBOSE
environment variable: 
$ VERBOSE=1 npm test
.

To pass arguments to mocha, use 

$ npm test -- [mocha opts]
.

To prevent the test environment files from being deleted after completing the tests, set 

KEEP_TMPDIR=1
.

To setup a testing environment without running the tests, run 

$ npm run testenv
. This will display information about the running services and keep them alive for further inspection.

Tests can also be run using docker: 

$ docker build --build-arg TESTRUNNER=1 -t charge . && docker run -it --entrypoint npm charge test

License

MIT

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