LN+ Help Center

Introduction

Lightning Network Plus (LN+) is a free web app that helps Bitcoin Lightning Network node operators cooperate with each other. You can build liquidity through swaps and a shared credit pool, secure your node with watchtower partners, discover and message other operators, promote Lightning-enabled stores, and learn through the Layers Academy.

This guide walks through every user-facing area of the site. Each section tells you what the feature does, where to find it, and how to use it step by step.

Getting Started

This section walks you through your very first minutes on LN+: what the site is for, how to sign in, and how to get your account ready to use every feature.

What is LN+

LN+ is a free website that helps Bitcoin Lightning Network node operators work together. With LN+ you can:

• Find partners for liquidity swaps so you can open channels together in rings or pairs.
• Participate in the liquidity pool to exchange channel openings for credits.
• Set up watchtower swaps to protect each other's nodes while offline.
• Browse a ranked directory of every public Lightning node.
• Discover and promote Lightning-enabled stores and services.
• Send direct messages to other node operators.
• Learn through the Layers Academy and earn achievements.

Some features also work if you don't run a node — you can still read, learn, shop the market, post questions, and comment where allowed — but verifying a node unlocks the full operator experience.

Creating an Account

LN+ offers three ways to sign up. You can mix and match them later, but your account type determines which features you can use:

• Lightning sign in — preferred. Verifies you control a Lightning node by signing a message with it. Required to create swaps, apply to swaps, join the pool, or use any feature that depends on your node.
• Nostr sign in — signs you in with a Nostr key. Good for reading, commenting, and receiving Nostr notifications. Your account can later be linked to a node.
• Email sign up — a classic email and password account. Good for browsing, learning in the Academy, messaging, and shopping the market. Your account can later be linked to a node.

You can always link additional methods to the same account later from your dashboard.

Lightning Sign In

Signing in with your Lightning node is the strongest way to authenticate. LN+ shows you a short message that you sign with your node's private key. LN+ verifies the signature against the pubkey that produced it — no password, no email needed.

Step by step:

1. Open the Lightning sign in page.
2. Copy the challenge message shown.
3. Paste it into your node's sign-message tool. LND users can run lncli signmessage; CLN, Eclair, and other implementations have equivalent commands (see our signmessage guide for copy-paste commands).
4. Paste the signature back into LN+ and submit.
5. LN+ verifies your pubkey from the signature and either signs you into your existing account or creates a new one keyed to that pubkey.

If verification fails, double-check that you copied the entire message and signature exactly, with no extra whitespace, and that you signed with the same node whose profile you want to claim.

Nostr Sign In

Nostr sign-in uses a browser extension (nos2x, Alby, etc.) or a supported signing client to prove you control an npub. From the Nostr sign in page, click the sign-in button, approve the signing request in your extension, and you're in. If you already have an LN+ account with an email or Lightning pubkey, you can also link your npub from Nostr Linking inside the dashboard.

Linking Nostr also lets LN+ send you direct-message notifications over Nostr relays instead of (or in addition to) email.

Email Sign In

Email sign up is the simplest way to read, comment, and use passive features. Go to Sign up, enter your email and a password, and you can start using the site. Forgot your password? Use the link on the login page to receive a reset email.

An email-only account cannot create swaps, apply to swaps, or join the liquidity pool. To unlock those features, verify your node from the dashboard.

Avoiding Duplicate Accounts

If you already have an LN+ account, sign in to that account before linking another method. For example, if you created an account with email first, sign in with email and then use node verification or Nostr linking from your account area. Starting from a standalone Lightning or Nostr sign-in page may create or open a different account if LN+ cannot match it to your existing one.

Verifying Your Node

If you signed up with email or Nostr and now want to use node-based features, verify your node:

1. Sign in and go to your dashboard.
2. Click "Verify Your Node".
3. Follow the same signmessage flow described above in Lightning Sign In. This links your node's pubkey to your existing account.

Once verified, your node's public gossip data (alias, capacity, channel count, addresses) is automatically pulled and kept up-to-date. You can refresh it manually from your node profile.

Completing Your Profile

Many features (creating swaps, joining the pool, messaging other operators, etc.) require a verified Lightning node on your account. To unlock the full LN+ experience:

1. Verify at least one Lightning node.
2. Open Edit Profile and add a display name so other users can recognize you.

Optional but recommended: add a short bio, an avatar, a website, and any social or communication links you want to share, such as Twitter/X, Nostr, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Telegram, Instagram, Discord, Medium, TikTok, or GitHub. These fields appear on your public node profile and help other operators decide to collaborate with you.

Account & Settings

Your account is the hub for everything you do on LN+. Use the dashboard to navigate, adjust how the site behaves through settings, link additional channels for notifications, and manage your authorization details.

Dashboard

The Dashboard is the entry point for every account action. It shows you quick links to:

• My Account, Edit Account, Email Settings, Account Settings
• My Node, Pro Membership, Orders
• New and dismissed Notifications
• Direct Messages
• My News, Post News, Support, Ask Question
• Pending Channel Openings, Active Channel Obligations, Concluded Obligations
• Liquidity Swaps for You, Liquidity Swaps List, Active and Concluded Liquidity Swaps
• Bookmarked and Hidden Liquidity Swaps
• Pool Accounting, Initiated and Received Pool Offers
• My Watch Swaps
• My Courses and Academy Achievements
• Donate and Log out

If your profile is incomplete, the dashboard automatically shows a reduced set of shortcuts that guide you toward completing it.

My Account

The My Account page is a quick summary of your current account: which node is linked, your Pro status, your credits, your ratings, and shortcuts to the most common actions. Treat it like your home screen — it shows what needs your attention.

Editing Your Profile

Open Edit Account to change:

• Display name (shown on your public profile)
• Short bio or description
• Avatar image (uploaded to LN+ and served from our CDN)
• Website URL
• Social and communication links, such as Twitter/X, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Telegram, Instagram, Discord, Medium, TikTok, and GitHub
• Public Nostr npub (optional — lets others reach you on Nostr from your profile)

Save when done. Your public profile updates immediately.

Email & Password

Use Email Settings to change your sign-in email or password. Enter the new email, or enter and confirm a new password, then save the relevant form.

Account Settings

Open Account Settings to control how LN+ behaves for you. Notification and display preferences are simple checkboxes that save instantly. Minimum channel size is a numeric setting you save with the update button.

• Receive Email Notifications: Sends important events (applications, comments, messages, swap status changes) to the email address on your account.
• Receive Nostr Notifications: Sends the same events as Nostr direct messages to your linked npub. Requires Nostr linking.
• Receive Telegram Notifications: Sends notifications through our Telegram bot. Requires Telegram linking.
• Show Beginner Intro Blocks: Displays onboarding blurbs throughout the site. Uncheck once you know your way around.
• Filter for Applicable Liquidity Swaps: When checked, the swap list only shows swaps you can actually join given your node's size, channel count, and Prime status. Uncheck to see every swap including ones your node doesn't qualify for.
• Can Connect to Tor nodes: Set this if your node can dial out to onion addresses. Most full nodes like Umbrel and Start9 can; some cloud nodes cannot. When off, swaps that require Tor support are hidden.
• Show LND/BOS Only Liquidity Swaps: Enables the display of dual-funded and group-channel-open swaps that rely on LND with the Balance of Satoshis (BOS) tool. Keep off if you don't run LND+BOS.
• Visible in the Liquidity Pool: Makes your node appear in the pool so other operators can initiate credit transactions toward you.
• Required Minimum Channel Size: Sets the smallest channel you're willing to accept (in sats) from both pool offers and swap invitations. Defaults to a reasonable value; raise it if you prefer larger channels only.

Telegram Linking

To receive instant Telegram notifications, go to Telegram Linking. Click "Generate Token" to get a one-time code, then open our Telegram bot (the page shows the bot link) and send it the token. Your chat is linked within a few seconds. Disconnect at any time from the same page.

Deleting Your Account

You can cancel your account at any time from Edit Account (scroll to the bottom). You'll be asked to confirm. After cancellation your swap history remains visible to prior partners for accountability, but your profile is hidden from search results and you can no longer sign in. If you change your mind shortly after, contact us to restore access.

Liquidity Swaps

Liquidity swaps are the heart of LN+. Several operators agree to open channels to each other at the same time so everyone walks away with balanced incoming and outgoing liquidity. This section covers every piece of the swap flow.

What is a Liquidity Swap

A liquidity swap is an agreement among 2 to 5 node operators to open channels in a specific pattern:

• Dual-funded (2 participants): one shared, balanced channel opened jointly. Requires LND with BOS.
• Triangle (3 participants): a ring where each node opens one channel. Easiest to fill and works with any node implementation.
• Square (4 participants) and Pentagon (5 participants): larger rings. More channels per event, but harder to fill.

Every participant opens exactly one channel and receives one incoming channel, so you end up with both sides of liquidity and no duplicate channels between any two members.

Each swap has a fixed duration in months. Three months or more is recommended, and 12 months is common. Participants commit to keep the channel open for that duration without force-closing. A negative rating is the typical penalty for breaking the agreement early.

Browsing Swaps

Visit the Swaps index to see all currently open swaps. Each card shows the swap shape (triangle, square, etc.), capacity, duration, participants filled vs. needed, any special rules, and whether it's Prime or Pro.

Use the filters at the top:

• Applicable only (on by default) — hides swaps your node doesn't qualify for.
• Status — Pending (open for applications), Opening (channels being opened), Completed (finished).
• Participants — filter by ring size.
• Platform — any, or LND-only.

Signed-in users also get a personalized Swaps for You page that surfaces the best matches for your node. To see only swaps you've joined, open My Swaps; for historical ones, My Concluded Swaps.

Creating a Swap

Any verified node operator with a complete profile can create a swap. Click New Swap and choose:

• Participants: 2, 3, 4, or 5. Three is the most popular.
• Capacity per participant: recommended minimum 1,000,000 sats. For dual-funded (2 participants), enter your half of the channel capacity only.
• Duration: number of months. Three or more is recommended; 12 is common.
• Minimum channels and minimum capacity: optional filters that restrict who may apply.
• Connection types: allow clearnet, Tor, or both. Leaving both off would allow nobody.
• Platform: Any (default) or LND-only (with BOS). Required for dual-funded swaps.
• Can use BOS: check if you personally have LND + BOS available. Required for LND-platform swaps.
• Private: hidden from the public index, accessible only through a pin code you share out of band. See Private Swaps.
• Description / rules: short text where you can add expectations (e.g., "keep fees reasonable").

After submitting you're automatically participant A. You can edit a pending swap as long as no one else has joined; once there's a second applicant, the terms are locked. You can delete a swap you created as long as you're still the only applicant.

Applying to a Swap

To join an existing swap, open its page and click "Apply". If the swap is private, you'll first be asked for its pin code. You can leave the swap at any time while it's still in Pending status — your slot opens back up for someone else. Once the swap fills (Opening status), leaving is treated as breaking the agreement.

LN+ checks whether you already have channels or active channel-opening obligations with the relevant participants. If it finds a match, the system shows a warning before you apply so you can avoid accidental duplicate channels.

Why Can't I Apply?

If the Apply button is missing or disabled, your account or node probably does not meet one of the swap requirements:

• You need to be signed in with a verified Lightning node.
• You cannot apply twice to the same swap.
• Your node must meet the swap's minimum capacity and minimum channel-count rules.
• Your node must have the required clearnet or Tor address for the swap.
• Prime swaps require Prime status.
• LND/BOS swaps are intended for LND users with BOS available.

Account settings can also hide swaps from the public index. Turn off "Filter for Applicable Liquidity Swaps" to browse more broadly, or enable "Show LND/BOS Only Liquidity Swaps" if you want to see LND/BOS swaps.

Opening Channels

When the last participant joins, the swap transitions to "Opening" status and every participant is notified. You have 48 hours to open your channel(s) from this moment. Open the swap page — LN+ generates personalized instructions telling you exactly:

• Which participant (A, B, C, D, or E) you should open to.
• The pubkey and address to connect to.
• The exact channel size in sats.
• Copy-paste commands for lncli, core-lightning (CLN), or the BOS command for LND/BOS group opens and dual-funded channels.

For regular swaps, mark your step complete after you broadcast the channel opening transaction. For LND/BOS swaps, follow the BOS-specific instructions shown on the page. When every participant's step is complete, the swap moves to "Completed" status. You're now ready to rate your partners.

Check Pending Channel Openings and Active Channel Obligations to see work you still owe; Concluded Obligations shows agreements that have already finished.

Prime & Pro Swaps

Prime swaps are a higher-trust tier. Only Prime Nodes — nodes with at least 10 positive ratings and a positive-rating rate of 90% or more — can apply. If a swap is flagged Prime, you'll see a visible badge and non-Prime nodes cannot join. Only Pro Membership holders can create Prime swaps.

Pro swaps are created by users with a Pro Membership. They appear first in the swaps index to boost fill rate. Any qualifying node can apply, regardless of Pro status.

BOS Swaps (Dual-Funded and Group Opens)

LND nodes running the Balance of Satoshis (BOS) tool can create and join two special swap types:

• Dual-funded channels (2 participants): one balanced channel opened jointly with the BOS open-balanced-channel command.
• Group channel opens (3–5 participants): multiple channels opened in a single on-chain transaction using create-channel-group / join-channel-group. This saves significant on-chain fees and block space.

To see these swaps in the index enable "Show LND/BOS Only Liquidity Swaps" in your Account Settings. To create one, select "LND" as the platform on the new swap form and confirm you can use BOS.

Private Swaps

A private swap is not listed anywhere on the site. When you create one, LN+ generates a pin code and a shareable link. Send the pin (or full URL) directly to the specific operators you want to invite — over Signal, Nostr, Twitter DM, whatever works. They enter the pin on the swap page to apply. Everything else works the same as a public swap.

Swap Visibility & Privacy

Public pending swaps are visible in the swap index. Private swaps are hidden from the public index and require the pin code to apply. Once a swap fills and moves into channel opening, comments and detailed coordination are mainly for participants, prior commenters, and admins. Keep sensitive connection details, disputes, and timing coordination inside the swap page instead of posting them publicly elsewhere.

Bookmarks & Hides

On any swap page you'll see a bookmark and a hide button.

• Bookmark: saves the swap to your Bookmarked Swaps list. Useful when you're interested but want to think it over.
• Hide: removes the swap from your swap list without affecting others. If you change your mind, view and unhide it from Hidden Swaps.

Comments on Swaps

Every swap page has a comment section. Use it to ask the creator questions, coordinate timing, or share context with fellow applicants. All participants get notifications for new comments on a swap they're part of. Keep discussions respectful — public comments are visible to everyone and are a factor in ratings.

Rating Participants

After a swap completes, rate each partner with either a positive (happy) or negative (unhappy) rating. Ratings feed into Prime status and into a node's overall reputation on LN+.

Leave a positive rating when a partner opens on time, keeps the channel up for the full duration, and communicates well. Leave a negative rating only for real problems like force-closures inside the agreed duration, ghosting, or opening a wrong-sized channel. You can toggle your rating later if the situation changes.

Swap Subscriptions

A swap subscription is your participant slot in a liquidity swap. It tracks whether your application is pending, opening, or completed, and it is what LN+ uses to show your obligations and status on the swap page. Admin tools also exist for exceptional cases, such as deleting or taking over a participant slot when support needs to repair a swap.

When a Swap Gets Stuck

If a participant disappears, opens the wrong channel, or a swap gets stuck in the wrong state, leave a clear comment on the swap page so the other participants have context. If the state needs to be repaired, contact us; support can review the swap and use admin tools when appropriate.

Rebalance

Some active swaps show a Rebalance option. This is a lightweight way for participants of an older swap to rebalance their ring by cycling some sats around it — useful when one channel has drifted heavily one direction. You can apply to rebalance, withdraw your application, mark a rebalance complete, or dismiss one you're no longer interested in. Everyone in the ring is notified so you can coordinate.

Liquidity Pool

The liquidity pool is a way to buy and sell incoming liquidity between individual nodes, one credit transaction at a time, without needing to form a ring. Everything is tracked in LN+'s internal credit accounting.

What is the Pool

The Liquidity Pool is a directory of nodes that are willing to receive new incoming channels. When you open a channel to a pool node, you earn liquidity credits; when a pool node receives your channel, they spend credits. Credits can then be exchanged back into incoming liquidity for yourself at a later time.

Minimum credit transaction size is 100,000 sats. Every credit transaction has a fixed 50-day duration — that's how long the underlying channel must stay open for the credits to fully settle.

Joining the Pool

To appear in the pool index so that others can open channels to you and you can spend credits:

1. Verify your node.
2. Open Account Settings and enable "Visible in the Liquidity Pool".
3. Set your "Required Minimum Channel Size" so that only channels you actually want are offered.

You don't need any credits to appear in the pool. You earn credits by opening channels to other pool nodes. Untick the setting any time to leave.

Credit Transactions

A credit transaction represents a single pending or active channel deal between an initiator (the node that will open the channel) and a receiver (the pool node that will receive it).

Life cycle of a credit transaction:

1. Create (initiator): pick a pool node you'd like to open a channel to, choose a size (min 100K sats), and submit. The receiver gets a notification.
2. Approve or reject (receiver): the receiver reviews and either approves or rejects. Rejecting simply closes the offer. Approving moves the transaction to "Pending Confirmation".
3. Open the channel (initiator): once approved, the initiator has a limited time to open the channel. Detect it on the transaction page with the "Detect Channel" button so LN+ can confirm it.
4. Settlement (50 days): the agreed credits transfer gradually from receiver to initiator as the channel stays open.
5. Close or complete: if the channel stays up the full 50 days, credits are fully earned/spent. If it closes early, the remaining credits fail to transfer.

Track your pool activity from Initiated Offers (deals you started) and Received Offers (deals started toward you). You can comment on any transaction to coordinate with the other party, and rate them after completion.

Credit Transaction Statuses

Pool offers move through these statuses:

• Requested: the initiator created an offer and the receiver needs to review it.
• Approved: the receiver accepted the offer and the initiator should open the channel.
• Opened: the initiator marked the channel opening as started, and LN+ is waiting to detect confirmation.
• Confirmed: LN+ detected the live channel, and credits are settling over the 50-day period.
• Closed: LN+ detected that the channel closed; the final credit result depends on how long it stayed open.
• Rejected: the offer was declined, expired, or otherwise stopped before becoming a confirmed channel.

Understanding Credits

"Credits" are an internal bookkeeping unit — not a token, not transferrable, not tradeable outside LN+. They only represent how much incoming liquidity you've earned. Your node profile shows a detailed breakdown of credits in each state:

• Offered: credits reserved in credit transactions that haven't been approved or declined yet.
• Pending confirmation: credits inside approved transactions that are waiting for the channel to be detected and confirmed.
• Total confirmed: credits tied to transactions whose channel is live. They move from receiver to initiator over the 50-day period.
• Pending in confirmed: portion of confirmed credits that hasn't yet migrated — will settle gradually as the 50-day clock ticks.
• Successfully earned or spent: credits that completed the full 50-day journey. Initiators can spend these on new offers.
• Failed to earn or spent: credits from transactions where the channel closed before 50 days. The untransferred portion is forfeited.

Purchasing Credits

Merchants and other nodes that need a lot of incoming liquidity fast can buy credits from LN+. Visit Buy Credits to see the current price (set by LN+ based on supply) and place an order. After payment, credits land in your account and you can use them to spend in the pool right away.

Prices change with market conditions so that there is always enough liquidity for the pool to function. See Orders for your purchase history.

Pool Accounting

Pool Accounting is your personal ledger. It lists every credit transaction you've been part of with the running balance in each state. Use it to audit your pool activity and to spot transactions that never settled.

Watch Swaps

Watch swaps let you pair up with another operator so each of you runs a watchtower service for the other's node. If your node goes offline, a malicious channel partner can't cheat you because your watchtower partner will publish the justice transaction on your behalf.

What is a Watch Swap

A watch swap is a mutual agreement: node A watches node B, and node B watches node A. Each side shares their watchtower service URL with the other, and each side connects their watchtower client to the partner's service. Watching someone is cheap — just storage and occasional blockchain lookups — and the reward is cryptographically bounded. A watchtower can only publish the justice transaction; it cannot steal your funds, only protect them.

Setting up a Watchtower

Before using watch swaps, set up both a watchtower server (to watch others) and a watchtower client (so others can protect you). Resources by implementation:

• LND — LND watchtower docs
• Core Lightning (CLN) — The Eye of Satoshi
• Umbrel — advanced settings in your Lightning app

See our Watchtower primer for a walkthrough.

Important: do not publish your watchtower URL anywhere public. Running a watchtower consumes resources, so you only want the operators you've swapped with to connect.

Browsing Watch Swaps

Open Watch Swaps to see all open watch swaps. You'll only see swaps matching your node's size tier — LN+ pairs nodes of similar channel capacity so the protection is reciprocal in value. Filters work the same as liquidity swaps: Pending, Opening, Completed, plus bookmark and hide buttons.

Why Can't I See a Watch Swap?

Watch swap visibility depends on your account and node. Anonymous visitors can browse pending watch swaps. Signed-in users with a verified node see pending watch swaps that match their node's watch-swap size tier, plus watch swaps they already participate in. Admins can see all watch swaps.

Creating a Watch Swap

From the Watch Swaps index click "New Watch Swap". Choose either LND Watchtower or The Eye of Satoshi / CLN, add your watch instructions, and confirm that you have a functioning watchtower service. Submit, and your swap appears in the index for matching nodes to review.

Applying & Approvals

To apply, click "Apply" on a watch swap. Unlike liquidity swaps, the watch swap author reviews your node before accepting. Once approved, both sides see each other's watchtower service URL on the swap page. Connect your watchtower client to the partner's URL following your implementation's instructions.

You cannot apply to your own watch swap or apply twice to the same watch swap. Your node also needs to match the watch swap's size tier.

Implementing & Rating

After you've connected your client and verified it's reporting the partner's service as online, mark the swap as implemented. LN+ notifies both sides at each stage: review, approve/reject, implement, and rate. After both sides confirm implementation, rate each other the same way you rate liquidity swap partners. Negative ratings are appropriate if a partner's watchtower service disappears, if they never confirmed your client, or if they misrepresent their setup.

Watch swap subscriptions extend the arrangement past the initial term if both partners still want the protection. Manage them from the swap page.

Watch Swap Privacy

Watchtower service instructions are private coordination details. They are collected when a user creates or applies to a watch swap, and they become visible to the matched participants when the application is approved. Do not post your watchtower URL in public comments or outside the approved watch swap flow.

Node Explorer

The node explorer is a searchable, ranked directory of every public Lightning Network node, with rich profiles for nodes whose operators have an LN+ account.

Browsing Nodes

Open Nodes to browse. Use the search box to find a node by alias or pubkey, or sort by capacity, channel count, or Node Rank. Click any node to see its profile.

Node Rank

Every node has an LN+ Node Rank between 0 and 10, named after metals. Higher ranks indicate better connectivity to large, reputable nodes — similar in spirit to Google's PageRank. Use rank as a quick quality proxy when picking a partner.

1. Aluminium
2. Iron
3. Copper
4. Mercury
5. Titanium
6. Tungsten
7. Silver
8. Gold
9. Platinum
10. Iridium

Node Profile

A node profile shows the gossip-derived data (alias, pubkey, addresses, color, capacity, channel count) plus anything the operator has added through LN+: bio, website, Twitter/X, Nostr npub, avatar, posts, open swaps, ratings received, and LN+ Node Rank. Buttons let you:

• Message: start a direct conversation (see Direct Messages).
• Show pubkey QR / address QR: open a scannable QR so you can connect from a mobile wallet or a hardware node terminal.
• Refresh: force an immediate gossip refresh if the public info looks stale.
• Toggle pooling (your node only): quickly leave or rejoin the liquidity pool.
• Toggle heart: staff can mark exemplary nodes.

Node Posts & Channels

Each node has:

• Node Posts: short updates the operator wrote, similar to social media posts. View them on the node's profile or the dedicated node-posts page.
• Node Channels: a list of the node's public channels pulled from gossip, showing the peer, capacity, and whether the channel is active.

Click any channel to see its details on the channel explorer.

Node Filters

Pre-built node lists highlight specific slices of the network:

• Highlighted Nodes — staff-curated selection.
• Prime Nodes — 10+ positive ratings and 90%+ positive rate.
• Rated Nodes — nodes with at least one rating.
• Largest Nodes — by total capacity.
• Connected Nodes — by channel count.
• Pleb Nodes — small but active.
• New Nodes — recent additions to the network.
• Nodes on Nostr and Nodes on X — nodes whose operators linked those handles.
• Donated Nodes — nodes that have donated to LN+.

These same filters are great for finding a swap partner outside the swap index — reach out to an operator you like and invite them into a private swap.

Lightning Market

The Lightning Market is a directory of stores and services that accept Lightning payments or otherwise serve the Lightning ecosystem. It's where the LN+ community goes to earn and spend sats.

Browsing Stores

Visit the Lightning Market to browse stores. Each card shows the store's logo, short description, primary category, and its community rating. Click into a store to see the full description, links, website, contact, ratings, and comments.

Use the search and category filters to narrow down what you need. Only active stores appear in the public market.

Submitting a Store

To list your own store or recommend one you love, click "New Store" from the market. Provide:

• Store name
• Short description
• Website URL
• Category (and sub-category if applicable)
• Logo / image
• Optional contact information

Submitted stores are reviewed before publication. Keep entries honest and non-spammy — low-quality submissions are rejected or removed.

Claiming a Store

If someone else submitted a store you operate, you can claim it when your verified LN+ node matches the node associated with that store. Open the store page and click "Claim Store". If the store has the wrong node or missing ownership information, contact us and we can correct or associate the listing so you can edit it.

Store Visibility & Ownership

Published store listings are public. Edits by regular users may be reviewed before the listing appears publicly again. Claiming a store only gives edit access when your verified LN+ node matches the store's associated node; otherwise support needs to review the ownership correction.

Rating & Commenting

Anyone with an account can leave a rating (positive or negative) and a comment on any store. Ratings feed the store's overall score on the market. Leave ratings based on your real purchase or interaction experience — prompt delivery, reasonable prices, good support deserve positive ratings; bait-and-switch, unresponsive support, or broken Lightning payment flows justify negative ratings.

Categories & Ecosystem

The market is organized into categories under the Lightning Ecosystem taxonomy. Browse a category page to see all stores tagged with it, read the category description, and find adjacent categories. Admins curate categories so the tree stays navigable.

Direct Messages

Direct messages let you talk privately with any other LN+ user — useful for coordinating swaps, resolving disputes, or simply networking.

Sending Messages

To start a conversation, visit any node profile and click "Message". Type your message and send. If the recipient has email, Nostr, or Telegram notifications enabled they'll be notified instantly. You can also open Messages from your dashboard to see all conversations and reply.

Managing Conversations

A conversation is called a message tunnel. It groups all messages exchanged with one other user into a single thread. Threads are sorted by most recent activity. Unread messages are highlighted — once you open the thread, the messages mark as read automatically.

You can't edit a sent message, but you can unsend a message while it is still unread. Once the recipient opens it, it is marked read and the normal unsend control is no longer shown.

Message Privacy

Direct messages are private conversations between node operators and are not shown on public profiles, swap pages, or the market. They are still part of LN+, so keep them respectful and do not use them for spam, scams, begging, or harassment.

Flagging & Blocking

If you receive an abusive, spammy, or scam message, use the Spam button on the message. To stop hearing from a specific user, open their message tunnel and click "Block". Blocked conversations move to the blocked section and the blocked node cannot send you new replies. Unblock any time from the same place.

Notifications

LN+ notifies you when something happens that requires your attention: someone applied to your swap, a channel you owe has a deadline, a message arrived, a pool transaction needs approval, and so on.

In-App Notifications

The bell icon in the top navigation shows unread counts. Click it, or open Notifications, to see the list. From the list you can:

• Mark a notification as read (click it or use the mark-as-read button).
• Mark it as unread again if you want to return to it later.
• Dismiss all notifications at once (clears the list; they move to dismissed).
• Review dismissed items under Dismissed Notifications.

Each notification is clickable and takes you directly to the relevant page (swap, message, credit transaction, etc.).

Email, Nostr, Telegram

In-app notifications are always on. In addition, you can opt into any combination of three out-of-band channels from Account Settings:

• Email: sent to the address on file. Requires a valid email address on your account.
• Nostr: sent as a DM to your linked npub via LN+'s configured relays. Requires Nostr linking.
• Telegram: sent from our Telegram bot to your chat. Requires Telegram linking.

Each channel can be toggled independently. Turn them all off if you only want to check notifications inside the site.

The Layers Academy of Bitcoin Finance

The The Layers Academy of Bitcoin Finance (often called the Layers Academy) is LN+'s built-in learning platform. It covers Bitcoin, the Lightning Network, running a node, and related technologies through bite-sized video lessons and interactive quizzes.

Taking a Course

Start at the Layers Academy home page. Content is organized as:

• Faculties — top-level topics (e.g., Bitcoin, Lightning, Node Operation).
• Courses — collections of lessons inside a category.
• Lessons — individual units with a short video, optional file attachments, and written notes.

Click a lesson to play its video. Progress through the lessons in order or jump around — LN+ remembers which lessons you've watched. Use the lesson search bar to find content by keyword. You can also leave comments on a lesson to ask questions or add context.

Quizzes & Achievements

Every lesson ends with one or more quizzes. Select an option for each question and submit. You can retake a quiz as many times as you want — use the "reset answers" button to start fresh. Your best attempt is kept.

When you pass every quiz in a course above the required score threshold, LN+ awards you the course's Proof of Work Certificate, featuring a Golden Hammer. See all your earned achievements on Academy Achievements. Achievements appear on your public profile and are a quick signal to other operators that you've done the reading.

News & Posts

News posts are short public updates attached to your node profile — think microblog. Use them to share updates about your node, routing tips, Lightning news you're excited about, or announcements to your followers.

Posting News

Open Post News to compose. Posts support simple rich-text formatting and optional images. Submit and the post is published immediately to your node profile and to the global News feed.

Find your own posts by opening your node profile from the dashboard and selecting the "News" tab, or the "My News" shortcut from the Dashboard. Edit or delete any of your posts from the post page. If you think another user's post violates community standards, use the hide-post control — admins review hidden posts.

Reading the Feed

The global news feed aggregates posts from every node chronologically. Promoted posts (by LN+ staff or Pro users) appear at the top. You can comment on any post; the author is notified. Comments work like anywhere else on LN+.

Support & Q&A

The support area is a public Q&A forum focused on Lightning, node operation, and LN+ itself.

Asking Questions

Open Support to browse existing questions. Search first — your question may already be answered. If not, click Ask Question, give it a clear title and a detailed body, and submit. A good question description includes:

• Your node implementation (LND, CLN, Eclair, etc.) and version.
• Exactly what you tried and what happened.
• Any error messages, verbatim.
• What you've already ruled out.

Answering Questions

Everyone can help answer. Click into a question, post a comment with your answer or follow-up question, and the asker is notified. Good answers cite documentation or repro steps. If a comment is off-topic or abusive, contact us so moderators can review it.

Pro Membership

Pro Membership is an optional paid tier that supports LN+ and unlocks extra visibility and features.

Benefits

With Pro active you get:

• Your swaps are marked "Pro" and appear first in the swap index, filling faster.
• Ability to create Prime swaps (available only to Prime Nodes on the application side).
• A visible Pro badge on your node profile.
• Priority support for issues you report.
• Additional future features as they ship.

Read the full list on the Pro Membership page. Pro is a time-limited subscription — when it expires, your account returns to the free tier automatically.

Buying Pro

Go to Buy Pro to see the current price and pay with Lightning. After payment, your Pro badge activates within a few seconds. View past purchases and current expiry under Orders. If something goes wrong during payment, wait a minute and refresh — Lightning payments sometimes settle asynchronously — then contact us if it still doesn't show up.

Donations

LN+ is free to use. Donations keep the servers running, pay for development, and fund new features.

Donate from the Donation page. You can pay with Lightning (instant) or on-chain. Donation also doubles as a handy "test channel" — if you just opened a new channel and want to confirm it works, try sending us a small amount.

Donors get a subtle donor badge on their node profile and appear in the Donated Nodes and Donated Profiles lists. Your donation doesn't change your feature access — everything else remains free.

API

LN+ exposes a JSON API covering all the core user-facing actions: authentication, swap listing and creation, applications, ratings, comments, account info, notifications, and node lookup. Use it to automate your workflow or build third-party tools.

The API is versioned. Version 2.3 is current; version 1 still responds for read-only swap listing but is deprecated. Authentication is done by signing a short challenge message with your node — the same mechanism used for Lightning sign-in. Public endpoints (such as get_swaps and get_node) do not require authentication.

Full reference, parameters, and curl examples live in the API Documentation.

Still need help?

If this guide didn't answer your question:

• Ask in the Support Q&A — public answers help future users too.
• Contact us for account-specific or private issues.
• Follow us on X and Nostr for announcements and discussion.
• Read the About page for a deeper explanation of why each feature exists, and the Features page for a visual summary.
• Browse the White Papers for technical background, and the Legal page for terms.

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