Run LND

Notes on setting up and running LND instances.

Example commands are given from the perspective of running Ubuntu

Contents

1. System Requirements
2. Initial Setup
3. Access Control
4. Using Tor
5. Install Bitcoin Core
6. Install Go
7. Install LND
8. Install Balance of Satoshis
9. Load Coins

System Requirements

• EC2: T4 Micro Instance or better

• IP: A clear-net routing node should get a fairly static IP

• OS: Ubuntu is pretty common, any OS

• PORT: 9735 will be the standard P2P port, 10009 the standard gRPC port

• DISK: 25 GB+ (on AWS select the io2 storage and at least 200 IOPs)

• Note: EC2 will only give you 5 IPs per region

• Note: When creating an EC2 instance you'll have to add rules to its security group that allow access to ports 9735 and 10009

Disk:

If using Bitcoin Core on mainnet, setup a disk that can host the entire Blockchain and transaction index: 800 GB. On AWS use gp3 disk type.

If using Neutrino lite-mode a separate disk is not necessary.

Initial Setup

If on EC2:

# adjust privs on PEM file
sudo chmod 600 ~/PATH_TO_PEM_FILE

Add an Elastic IP and associate it with the node

Connect:

ssh -i ~/path_to_downloaded_pem_file ubuntu@IP_OF_INSTANCE

Install your favorite editor, like emacs:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y && sudo apt install -y emacs

# open and then quit
emacs

# change owner of emacs config
sudo chown -R ubuntu ~/.emacs.d

If running on a public instance, increase the file descriptors limit:

sudo emacs /etc/sysctl.conf

Add line:

fs.file-max=512000

# Save and reboot
sudo reboot

If using an attached disk for the full Blockchain and it has not yet been initialized set it up as something like /blockchain

# List storage
lsblk
# You will get the volume name appearing as something like nvme1n1

# Check on the storage to make sure it is empty
sudo file -s /dev/nvme1n1
# should show "/dev/nvme1n1: data" meaning empty

# Format the storage as ext4. It may take a second
sudo mkfs -t ext4 /dev/nvme1n1

# Make a directory for the volume and mount it
sudo mkdir /blockchain
sudo mount /dev/nvme1n1 /blockchain/
cd /blockchain

# Double check you have enough space
df -h .
# should show available space in the volume

# Automatically mount the partition, but first backup the existing config
sudo cp /etc/fstab /etc/fstab.bak
sudo emacs /etc/fstab

# Create entry in the file:
/dev/nvme1n1 /blockchain ext4 defaults,nofail 0 0

# Save and exit, then test:
sudo mount -a
# Should show no errors

# Take ownership of the directory:
sudo chown `whoami` /blockchain

Setup a local firewall:

# Check if UFW is installed
which ufw
sudo ufw logging on
sudo ufw enable
# PRESS Y
# Allow access to 9735 the P2P port and 10009 the gRPC port
sudo ufw status
sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw allow 9735
sudo ufw allow 10009

Setup network flood protection:

sudo iptables -N syn_flood
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --syn -j syn_flood
sudo iptables -A syn_flood -m limit --limit 1/s --limit-burst 3 -j RETURN
sudo iptables -A syn_flood -j DROP
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p icmp -m limit --limit 1/s --limit-burst 1 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p icmp -m limit --limit 1/s --limit-burst 1 -j LOG --log-prefix PING-DROP:
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p icmp -j DROP
sudo iptables -A OUTPUT -p icmp -j ACCEPT

Access Control

On a remote instance, set it up to use hardware keys only to authenticate

You can setup your SSH keys by editing ~/.ssh/authorized_keys.

Use a # comment above the keys to comment on what they are

Using Tor

If you want to run your node behind Tor? Install Tor.

Instructions:

# Make sure that your architecture is supported: only amd64, arm64, or i386 are supported
dpkg --print-architecture

# Install transport https package
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt install -y apt-transport-https

# Determine which codename you have
lsb_release -c

# Edit package sources for installation
sudo emacs /etc/apt/sources.list.d/tor.list

# Add the following lines to the file, replace <DISTRIBUTION> with the codename, ie: focal or jammy

deb     [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/tor-archive-keyring.gpg] https://deb.torproject.org/torproject.org <DISTRIBUTION> main
deb-src [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/tor-archive-keyring.gpg] https://deb.torproject.org/torproject.org <DISTRIBUTION> main

# Get the GPG key for Tor and add it to GPG
sudo wget -qO- https://deb.torproject.org/torproject.org/A3C4F0F979CAA22CDBA8F512EE8CBC9E886DDD89.asc | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/tor-archive-keyring.gpg >/dev/null

# Install the Tor package
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y tor deb.torproject.org-keyring

# Add a user for Tor
sudo usermod -a -G debian-tor `whoami`

Then configure Tor:

# Edit the Tor configuration
sudo emacs /etc/tor/torrc

# Add these lines at the top of the file:

ControlPort 9051
CookieAuthentication 1
CookieAuthFileGroupReadable 1
Log notice stdout
SOCKSPort 9050

# Restart the Tor service
sudo service tor restart

Check if Tor is working

curl --socks5 localhost:9050 --socks5-hostname localhost:9050 -s https://check.torproject.org/ | cat | grep -m 1 Congratulations | xargs

This should echo Congratulations

Install Bitcoin Core

Using Bitcoin Core as a chain backend? Download Bitcoin Core.

Installation:

sudo apt install git build-essential libtool autotools-dev automake pkg-config libssl-dev libevent-dev bsdmainutils libboost-system-dev libboost-filesystem-dev libboost-chrono-dev libboost-program-options-dev libboost-test-dev libboost-thread-dev libminiupnpc-dev libzmq3-dev
git clone -b v28.0 https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin.git
cd bitcoin/
./autogen.sh
./configure CXXFLAGS="--param ggc-min-expand=1 --param ggc-min-heapsize=32768" --enable-cxx --with-zmq --without-gui --disable-shared --with-pic --disable-tests --disable-bench --enable-upnp-default --disable-wallet
# This may take a while
make -j "$(($(nproc)+1))"
sudo make install

Setup directories on the Blockchain storage volume, and also create the Bitcoin Core data directory in order to setup the configuration file:

mkdir -p /blockchain/.bitcoin/data && mkdir ~/.bitcoin

Download and use the Bitcoin Core auth script to generate credentials:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/master/share/rpcauth/rpcauth.py
python ./rpcauth.py bitcoinrpc
# This will output the authentication string to add to bitcoin.conf
# Save the password, this will be used for LND configuration

Edit the configuration file. If you have an existing Bitcoin Core, use getbestblockhash to get the current chain tip hash.

emacs ~/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf

Add this configuration:

# Set the best block hash here:
assumevalid=

# Run as a daemon mode without an interactive shell
daemon=1

# Set the data directory to the storage directory
datadir=/blockchain/.bitcoin/data

# Set the number of megabytes of RAM to use, set to like 50% of available memory
dbcache=3000

# Add visibility into mempool and RPC calls for potential LND debugging
debug=mempool
debug=rpc

# Turn off the wallet, it won't be used
disablewallet=1

# Don't bother listening for peers
listen=0

# Constrain the mempool to the number of megabytes needed:
maxmempool=100

# Limit uploading to peers
maxuploadtarget=1000

# Turn off serving SPV nodes
nopeerbloomfilters=1
peerbloomfilters=0

# Don't accept deprecated multi-sig style
permitbaremultisig=0

# Set the RPC auth to what was set above
rpcauth=

# Turn on the RPC server
server=1

# Reduce the log file size on restarts
shrinkdebuglog=1

# Set testnet if needed
testnet=1

# Turn on transaction lookup index
txindex=1

# Turn on ZMQ publishing
zmqpubrawblock=tcp://127.0.0.1:28332
zmqpubrawtx=tcp://127.0.0.1:28333

Using Tor? Add additional lines:

# put under [main] section

# Only use Tor
onlynet=onion

# Connect to Tor proxy
proxy=127.0.0.1:9050

Start Bitcoin Core:

bitcoind

Add Bitcoin Core to crontab:

crontab -e

Add entry:

# Start Bitcoin Core on boot
@reboot /usr/local/bin/bitcoind

Create an easy link to the debug log of Bitcoin Core:

# Mainnet:
ln -s /blockchain/.bitcoin/data/debug.log ~/bitcoind-mainnet.log

# Or Testnet:
ln -s /blockchain/.bitcoin/data/testnet3/debug.log ~/bitcoind-testnet.log

Create a file to rotate the logs

sudo emacs /etc/logrotate.d/bitcoin-debug

# Add these instructions
# Uncomment depending on mainnet or testnet:
# /blockchain/.bitcoin/data/debug.log
# /blockchain/.bitcoin/data/testnet3/debug.log
{
        rotate 5
        copytruncate
        daily
        missingok
        notifempty
        compress
        delaycompress
        sharedscripts
}

Install Go

Building from source? Install Go

You can check if Go is installed and what version it is, and then install or update:

go version
# Should show Go version 1.23.2

dpkg --print-architecture
# Tells you what architecture you will need

# If an out of date Go is already installed
sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go

# If installing Go for the first time
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get -y upgrade

# Download Go (switch from amd64 to arm64 if using arm)
wget https://golang.org/dl/go1.23.2.linux-amd64.tar.gz

# Extract it
sudo tar -xvf go1.23.2.linux-amd64.tar.gz

# Install it and remove the download
sudo mv go /usr/local && rm go1.23.2.linux-amd64.tar.gz

# On a new install, make a directory for it
mkdir ~/go

# On a new install, setup the path to use the Go directory
emacs ~/.profile

# Place lines at the end of the file:
GOPATH=$HOME/go
PATH="$HOME/bin:$GOPATH/bin:$HOME/.local/bin:/usr/local/go/bin:$PATH"

# Add an alias if running on Testnet
alias lncli="lncli --network=testnet"

# Save and exit, then run profile
. ~/.profile

Install LND

Install LND on the machine, then setup its configuration

# Get build tools
sudo apt-get install -y build-essential

# Clone the LND repo and install LND
cd ~/
git clone https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd.git
cd lnd
git checkout v0.18.3-beta
make && make install tags="autopilotrpc chainrpc invoicesrpc peersrpc routerrpc signrpc walletrpc watchtowerrpc wtclientrpc"
mkdir ~/.lnd
emacs ~/.lnd/lnd.conf

Set configuration for LND: (Make sure to replace IP etc with correct IP)

[Application Options]
# Allow push payments
accept-keysend=1

# Public network name
alias=YOUR_ALIAS

# Allow gift routes
allow-circular-route=1

# Public hex color
color=#000000

# Reduce the cooperative close chain fee
coop-close-target-confs=1000

# Log levels
debuglevel=CNCT=debug,CRTR=debug,HSWC=debug,NTFN=debug,RPCS=debug

# Public P2P IP (remove this if using Tor)
externalip=INSTANCE_IP

# Mark unpayable, unpaid invoices as deleted
gc-canceled-invoices-on-the-fly=1

# Avoid historical graph data sync
ignore-historical-gossip-filters=1

# Listen (not using Tor? Remove this)
listen=localhost

# Set the maximum amount of commit fees in a channel
max-channel-fee-allocation=1.0

# Set the max timeout blocks of a payment
max-cltv-expiry=5000

# Allow commitment fee to rise on anchor channels
max-commit-fee-rate-anchors=100

# Pending channel limit
maxpendingchannels=10

# Min inbound channel limit
minchansize=5000000

# gRPC socket binding
rpclisten=0.0.0.0:10009

# Avoid high startup overhead
stagger-initial-reconnect=1

# Delete and recreate RPC TLS certificate when details change or cert expires
tlsautorefresh=1

# Do not include IPs in the RPC TLS certificate
tlsdisableautofill=1

# Add DNS to the RPC TLS certificate
tlsextradomain=YOUR_DOMAIN_NAME

# The full path to a file (or pipe/device) that contains the password for unlocking the wallet
# Add this to the config file after you have created a wallet
# wallet-unlock-password-file=/home/ubuntu/.lnd/wallet_password

[Bitcoin]
# Turn on Bitcoin mode
bitcoin.active=1

# Set the channel confs to wait for channels
bitcoin.defaultchanconfs=2

# Forward fee rate in parts per million
bitcoin.feerate=1000

# Set bitcoin.testnet=1 or bitcoin.mainnet=1 as appropriate
bitcoin.mainnet=1

# Set the lower bound for HTLCs
bitcoin.minhtlc=1

# Set backing node, bitcoin.node=neutrino or bitcoin.node=bitcoind
bitcoin.node=bitcoind

# Set CLTV forwarding delta time
bitcoin.timelockdelta=144

[bitcoind]
# Configuration for using Bitcoin Core backend

# Set the password to what the auth script said
bitcoind.rpcpass=

# Set the username
bitcoind.rpcuser=bitcoinrpc

# Set the ZMQ listeners
bitcoind.zmqpubrawblock=tcp://127.0.0.1:28332
bitcoind.zmqpubrawtx=tcp://127.0.0.1:28333

[bolt]
# Enable database compaction when restarting
db.bolt.auto-compact=true

[db]
# Avoid watchtower specific data storage
db.no-rev-log-amt-data=true

[protocol]
# Enable large channels support
protocol.wumbo-channels=1

# Enable channel id hiding
protocol.option-scid-alias=true

[routerrpc]
# Set default chance of a hop success
routerrpc.apriori.hopprob=0.5

# Start to ignore nodes if they return many failures (set to 1 to turn off)
routerrpc.apriori.weight=0.75

# Set minimum desired savings of trying a cheaper path
routerrpc.attemptcost=10
routerrpc.attemptcostppm=10

# Set the number of historical routing records
routerrpc.maxmchistory=10000

# Set the min confidence in a path worth trying
routerrpc.minrtprob=0.005

# Set the time to forget past routing failures
routerrpc.apriori.penaltyhalflife=6h0m0s

[routing]
# Remove channels from graph that have one side that hasn't made announcements
routing.strictgraphpruning=1

[tor]
# Enable Tor if using
tor.active=1
tor.v3=1

If bitcoin.node=neutrino is set, add Neutrino options to lnd.conf:

[neutrino]
# Mainnet addpeers
neutrino.addpeer=btcd-mainnet.lightning.computer
neutrino.addpeer=neutrino.noderunner.wtf
neutrino.addpeer=node.eldamar.icu
neutrino.addpeer=btcd.lnolymp.us

[fee]
fee.url=https://nodes.lightning.computer/fees/v1/btc-fee-estimates.json

[neutrino]
# Testnet addpeers
neutrino.addpeer=btcd-testnet.lightning.computer
neutrino.addpeer=lnd.bitrefill.com:18333
neutrino.addpeer=faucet.lightning.community

[fee]
fee.url=https://nodes.lightning.computer/fees/v1/btctestnet-fee-estimates.json

Create wallet password

openssl rand -hex 21 > ~/.lnd/wallet_password

cat ~/.lnd/wallet_password
# Copy this password

Start LND

# Start LND with nohup for non-interactive operation
# Alternatively: use systemd https://gist.github.com/alexbosworth/171958cc9888b7ebf3a91e5c23a57464
nohup /home/ubuntu/go/bin/lnd > /dev/null 2> /home/ubuntu/.lnd/err.log &

Setup LND

lncli create
# Follow prompts, use the wallet password as the initial password and set no cipher seed password

Edit crontab to run on startup and setup easy link of logs:

# Link if Mainnet
ln -s ~/.lnd/logs/bitcoin/mainnet/lnd.log ~/lnd-mainnet.log

# Link if Testnet
ln -s ~/.lnd/logs/bitcoin/testnet/lnd.log ~/lnd-testnet.log

# Setup crontab to start and unlock LND on boot
crontab -e

# Start LND on boot - or use systemd if you prefer: https://gist.github.com/alexbosworth/171958cc9888b7ebf3a91e5c23a57464
@reboot nohup /home/ubuntu/go/bin/lnd > /dev/null 2> /home/ubuntu/.lnd/err.log &

## Connect the new node to some existing nodes to bootstrap the graph
# Testnet, connect to htlc.me, testnet.yalls.org
lncli connect 03c856d2dbec7454c48f311031f06bb99e3ca1ab15a9b9b35de14e139aa663b463@34.201.74.232:9735
lncli connect 027455aef8453d92f4706b560b61527cc217ddf14da41770e8ed6607190a1851b8@3.13.29.161:9735
# Mainnet, connect to some nodes, like:
lncli connect 03e50492eab4107a773141bb419e107bda3de3d55652e6e1a41225f06a0bbf2d56@3.13.48.80:9735

# Open channels to an initial node to bootstrap network connectivity
# testnet
lncli openchannel 03c856d2dbec7454c48f311031f06bb99e3ca1ab15a9b9b35de14e139aa663b463 500000
# mainnet
lncli openchannel 03e50492eab4107a773141bb419e107bda3de3d55652e6e1a41225f06a0bbf2d56 5000000

Install Balance of Satoshis

This will need a Node.js installation to run:

# Avoid using sudo with NPM
mkdir ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'

# Update path
emacs ~/.profile

# Add line to the end
PATH="$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$PATH"

# Save and exit, update shell:
. ~/.profile

# Install balanceofsatoshis
npm i -g balanceofsatoshis

Load Coins

bos chain-deposit

If you're using testnet, here are some faucets:

• Coinfaucet
• YABTF