Core Lightning MCP Server

A Rust-based gRPC server that provides a standardized interface to Core Lightning nodes. This server implements the MCP (Model Context Protocol) specification to enable control of the Core Lightning node using LLM.

Installation

Option 1: From Release (Recommended)

1. Download the appropriate binary for your platform from the latest release
2. Extract the archive:

   # For Linux/macOS
   tar -xzf cln-mcp-<platform>.tar.gz
   
   # For Windows
   # Use your preferred zip extractor
   

3. Make the binary executable (Linux/macOS only):

   chmod +x cln-mcp
   

Option 2: From Source

Prerequisites

• Rust 1.80 or higher
• Protocol Buffers Compiler (protoc)
• Core Lightning (with gRPC enabled)
• MCP clients (Claude, Goose, etc.)

Protocol Buffers Compiler (protoc)

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y protobuf-compiler

macOS:

brew install protobuf

Windows:

choco install protoc

Verify installation:

protoc --version  # Should show version 3.0.0 or higher

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/adi2011/cln-mcp.git
cd cln-mcp

2. Build the project:

cargo build --release

Configuration

The server can be configured using command-line arguments:

cln-mcp [OPTIONS]

Options:
  --certs-dir <path>    Path to certificates directory
  --node-address <url>  Node address (default: https://localhost:9736)
  --help                Shows help message

TLS Certificate Setup

Add the --grpc-port(default: 9736) option while running CLN, and it'll automatically generate the appropriate mTLS certificates.

Copy the following PEM files from the Lightning directory to a separate directory:

• ca.pem: CA certificate
• client.pem: Client certificate
• client-key.pem: Client private key

Claude Setup

• Install Claude
• Go to settings -> Developer
• Edit Config

   {
       "mcpServers" : {
           "cln-mcp" : {
               "command": "Path/to/cln-mcp" (ex: "/Users/MyPC/cln-mcp/target/release/cln-mcp" or the executable unzipped from the release),
               "args": [
                   "--certs-dir",
                   "Path/to/certificates" (ex: "/Users/MyPC/cln-mcp/certs")
               ]
           }
       }
   }

• Restart Claude

Future Goals

[ ] Enable it to derive parameters for the RPC calls
[ ] Choose the most appropriate and useful RPCs for maximum utility
[ ] Extend support for LND
[ ] Host multiple servers to make it more efficient

This is a work in progress. We welcome code reviews, pull requests, and issues based on your usage.