Lightning Enable MCP Server

An open-source MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that enables AI agents to make Lightning Network payments. All tools are free — no license or subscription required.

Available in .NET and Python.

What It Does

Give your AI agent a Lightning wallet and it can:

• Pay invoices — Send Bitcoin via Lightning to any BOLT11 invoice
• Access L402 APIs — Automatically pay L402 challenges for seamless API access
• Discover APIs — Search the L402 API registry to find paid APIs by keyword or category, or fetch a specific API's manifest for full endpoint details and pricing
• Track spending — Budget limits, payment history, and balance checks
• Create invoices — Generate invoices to receive payments
• Get BTC price — Real-time Bitcoin price from Strike
• Exchange currency — Convert between USD/BTC/EUR and more (Strike wallet)
• Send on-chain — Send Bitcoin on-chain (Strike/LND)

Quick Install

# .NET
dotnet tool install -g LightningEnable.Mcp

# Python
pip install lightning-enable-mcp

# Python (no install)
uvx lightning-enable-mcp

# Docker
docker pull refinedelement/lightning-enable-mcp:latest

Claude Desktop Config

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

.NET:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "lightning-enable": {
      "command": "dotnet",
      "args": ["tool", "run", "lightning-enable-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "STRIKE_API_KEY": "your-strike-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Python:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "lightning-enable": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["lightning-enable-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "STRIKE_API_KEY": "your-strike-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Config file locations:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Supported Wallets

Wallet	Setup	L402 Support
Strike	API key	Yes
LND	REST + macaroon	Yes (guaranteed)
NWC (CoinOS)	Connection string	Yes
NWC (CLINK)	Connection string	Yes
NWC (Alby Hub)	Connection string	Yes
OpenNode	API key	No (no preimage)

Try It: Lightning Enable Store

The Lightning Enable Store is a live L402-powered web store. Ask Claude:

Buy me a Lightning Enable t-shirt from store.lightningenable.com

Documentation

• .NET README — Full .NET documentation
• Python README — Full Python documentation
• Full Docs — Complete guide with all 15 tools
• AI Spending Security — Budget controls and safety

Repository Structure

lightning-enable-mcp/
├── dotnet/
│   ├── src/LightningEnable.Mcp/         # .NET MCP server
│   ├── tests/LightningEnable.Mcp.Tests/  # .NET tests
│   └── LightningEnable.Mcp.sln          # Solution file
├── python/
│   └── lightning-enable-mcp/             # Python MCP server
├── .github/workflows/publish-mcp.yml     # CI/CD
├── LICENSE                               # MIT
└── README.md                             # This file

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Links

• Lightning Enable — Payment enablement middleware
• Documentation — Full docs
• Store — Live L402 demo
• NuGet — .NET package
• PyPI — Python package
• Docker Hub — Docker image