When running Core Lightning on StartOS it is recommended to use a full archival Bitcoin Core node. However, CLN can be run with a pruned node provided Bitcoin Core's version is >= 25.0.0~2.
Note: If using a pruned node and bitcoind prunes a block that Core Lightning has not processed yet, e.g., Core Lightning was not running for a prolonged period, then bitcoind will not be able to serve the missing block(s), hence Core Lightning will not be able to synchronize anymore and will be stuck.
Your Core Lightning node is highly configurable. Many settings are considered
advanced and should be used with caution. For the vast majority of users and
use-cases, we recommend using the defaults. You can change credentials from the
Config
menu at any time. Once configured, you may start your node!
CLN can be connected via LNLink or a Rune (generated from "Actions"), or alternatively, via the REST interface over tor (credentials are located inProperties
). For a list of compatible wallets, refer to the
lightning documentation.
Your Core Lightning service comes with a featureful built in UI. This interface can be used to deposit and withdraw bitcoin on chain, send and receive bitcoin over the lightning network, and even open or close channels! The password for your CLN UI can be found in the Config
and Properties
menus.
Note: If the password for the CLN UI is changed outside of the Config
menu i.e. within the CLN UI, the password in Config
or Properties
will not be updated!
CLBOSS is an Automated Node Manager for CLN.
Warning: CLBOSS is experimental software; use with caution! If you don't understand what it's doing, then please leave it off, or use it only on a node with small amounts until you get a feel for it. Unfortunately CLBOSS requires a minimum of 1M sats in order to activate, so if you would regret losing this amount, PLEASE USE CAUTION.
CLBOSS is not designed to make your node profitable. It will, however, attempt to place your node in an advantageous position in the network graph, in order that your node can always send, receive, and forward as many payments as possible. This makes it an excellent feature for a node that is expecting to be receiving lots of payments, such as a node connected to BTCPay Server or some other merchant software.
To this end, here are some of the things CLBOSS can do automatically:
- Open channels to other, useful nodes when fees are low and there are onchain funds
- Acquire incoming capacity via boltz.exchange swaps.
- Rebalance open channels by self-payment (including JIT rebalancer).
- Set forwarding fees so that they're competitive with other nodes
- Close channels that are not performing well (this feature is experimental)
In order to control CLBOSS, you will use several commands and config options. If
you have SSH access to your Start9 server, the commands can be entered on the command
line using podman exec -ti c-lightning.embassy lightning-cli <command>
.
The commands are:
clboss-status
clboss-externpay
clboss-ignore-onchain
andclboss-notice-onchain
clboss-unmanage
clboss-swaps
The config options can be found in your Service Details page for CLN (click on Config below where you just clicked Instructions, then navigate to Advanced->Plugins->CLBOSS Settings and then toggle to Enabled). Again, activate these options with caution. You can see more info about each config option by clicking the tooltips (question marks) next to each option.
To read more about operating CLBOSS, see the Operating section of the CLBOSS README.
If you have any questions about CLBOSS, don't hesitate to reach out to Start9 support.