lnbits/docs/guide/installation.md

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Basic installation

You can choose between four package managers, poetry, nix and venv.

By default, LNbits will use SQLite as its database. You can also use PostgreSQL which is recommended for applications with a high load (see guide below).

Option 1: poetry

git clone https://github.com/lnbits/lnbits-legend.git
cd lnbits-legend/

# for making sure python 3.9 is installed, skip if installed
sudo apt update
sudo apt install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:deadsnakes/ppa
sudo apt install python3.9

curl -sSL https://install.python-poetry.org | python3 -
export PATH="/home/ubuntu/.local/bin:$PATH" # or whatever is suggested in the poetry install notes printed to terminal
poetry env use python3.9
poetry install --no-dev

mkdir data
cp .env.example .env
sudo nano .env # set funding source

Running the server

poetry run lnbits
# To change port/host pass 'poetry run lnbits --port 9000 --host 0.0.0.0'

Option 2: Nix

git clone https://github.com/lnbits/lnbits-legend.git
cd lnbits-legend/
# Modern debian distros usually include Nix, however you can install with:
# 'sh <(curl -L https://nixos.org/nix/install) --daemon', or use setup here https://nixos.org/download.html#nix-verify-installation

nix build .#lnbits
mkdir data

Running the server

# .env variables are currently passed when running
LNBITS_DATA_FOLDER=data LNBITS_BACKEND_WALLET_CLASS=LNbitsWallet LNBITS_ENDPOINT=https://legend.lnbits.com LNBITS_KEY=7b1a78d6c78f48b09a202f2dcb2d22eb ./result/bin/lnbits --port 9000

Option 3: venv

git clone https://github.com/lnbits/lnbits-legend.git
cd lnbits-legend/
# ensure you have virtualenv installed, on debian/ubuntu 'apt install python3-venv'
python3 -m venv venv
# If you have problems here, try `sudo apt install -y pkg-config libpq-dev`
./venv/bin/pip install -r requirements.txt
# create the data folder and the .env file
mkdir data && cp .env.example .env
# build the static files
./venv/bin/python build.py

Running the server

./venv/bin/uvicorn lnbits.__main__:app --port 5000

If you want to host LNbits on the internet, run with the option --host 0.0.0.0.

Option 4: Docker

git clone https://github.com/lnbits/lnbits-legend.git
cd lnbits-legend
docker build -t lnbits-legend .
cp .env.example .env
mkdir data
docker run --detach --publish 5000:5000 --name lnbits-legend --volume ${PWD}/.env:/app/.env --volume ${PWD}/data/:/app/data lnbits-legend

Troubleshooting

Problems installing? These commands have helped us install LNbits.

sudo apt install pkg-config libffi-dev libpq-dev

# if the secp256k1 build fails:
# if you used venv
./venv/bin/pip install setuptools wheel
# if you used poetry
poetry add setuptools wheel
# build essentials for debian/ubuntu
sudo apt install python3-dev gcc build-essential

Optional: PostgreSQL database

If you want to use LNbits at scale, we recommend using PostgreSQL as the backend database. Install Postgres and setup a database for LNbits:

# on debian/ubuntu 'sudo apt-get -y install postgresql'
# or follow instructions at https://www.postgresql.org/download/linux/

# Postgres doesn't have a default password, so we'll create one.
sudo -i -u postgres
psql
# on psql
ALTER USER postgres PASSWORD 'myPassword'; # choose whatever password you want
\q
# on postgres user
createdb lnbits
exit

You need to edit the .env file.

# add the database connection string to .env 'nano .env' LNBITS_DATABASE_URL=
# postgres://<user>:<myPassword>@<host>/<lnbits> - alter line bellow with your user, password and db name
LNBITS_DATABASE_URL="postgres://postgres:postgres@localhost/lnbits"
# save and exit

Using LNbits

Now you can visit your LNbits at http://localhost:5000/.

Now modify the .env file with any settings you prefer and add a proper funding source by modifying the value of LNBITS_BACKEND_WALLET_CLASS and providing the extra information and credentials related to the chosen funding source.

Then you can restart it and it will be using the new settings.

You might also need to install additional packages or perform additional setup steps, depending on the chosen backend. See the short guide on each different funding source.

Take a look at Polar for an excellent way of spinning up a Lightning Network dev environment.

Additional guides

SQLite to PostgreSQL migration

If you already have LNbits installed and running, on an SQLite database, we highly recommend you migrate to postgres if you are planning to run LNbits on scale.

There's a script included that can do the migration easy. You should have Postgres already installed and there should be a password for the user (see Postgres install guide above). Additionally, your LNbits instance should run once on postgres to implement the database schema before the migration works:

# STOP LNbits

# add the database connection string to .env 'nano .env' LNBITS_DATABASE_URL=
# postgres://<user>:<password>@<host>/<database> - alter line bellow with your user, password and db name
LNBITS_DATABASE_URL="postgres://postgres:postgres@localhost/lnbits"
# save and exit

# START LNbits
# STOP LNbits
# on the LNBits folder, locate and edit 'tools/conv.py' with the relevant credentials
python3 tools/conv.py

Hopefully, everything works and get migrated... Launch LNbits again and check if everything is working properly.

LNbits as a systemd service

Systemd is great for taking care of your LNbits instance. It will start it on boot and restart it in case it crashes. If you want to run LNbits as a systemd service on your Debian/Ubuntu/Raspbian server, create a file at /etc/systemd/system/lnbits.service with the following content:

# Systemd unit for lnbits
# /etc/systemd/system/lnbits.service

[Unit]
Description=LNbits
# you can uncomment these lines if you know what you're doing
# it will make sure that lnbits starts after lnd (replace with your own backend service)
#Wants=lnd.service
#After=lnd.service

[Service]
# replace with the absolute path of your lnbits installation
WorkingDirectory=/home/bitcoin/lnbits
# same here
ExecStart=/home/bitcoin/lnbits/venv/bin/uvicorn lnbits.__main__:app --port 5000
# replace with the user that you're running lnbits on
User=bitcoin
Restart=always
TimeoutSec=120
RestartSec=30
# this makes sure that you receive logs in real time
Environment=PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save the file and run the following commands:

sudo systemctl enable lnbits.service
sudo systemctl start lnbits.service

Using https without reverse proxy

The most common way of using LNbits via https is to use a reverse proxy such as Caddy, nginx, or ngriok. However, you can also run LNbits via https without additional software. This is useful for development purposes or if you want to use LNbits in your local network.

We have to create a self-signed certificate using mkcert. Note that this certiciate is not "trusted" by most browsers but that's fine (since you know that you have created it) and encryption is always better than clear text.

Install mkcert

You can find the install instructions for mkcert here.

Install mkcert on Ubuntu:

sudo apt install libnss3-tools
curl -JLO "https://dl.filippo.io/mkcert/latest?for=linux/amd64"
chmod +x mkcert-v*-linux-amd64
sudo cp mkcert-v*-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/mkcert

Create certificate

To create a certificate, first cd into your lnbits folder and execute the following command (more info)

# add your local IP (192.x.x.x) as well if you want to use it in your local network
mkcert localhost 127.0.0.1 ::1

This will create two new files (localhost-key.pem and localhost.pem ) which you can then pass to uvicorn when you start LNbits:

./venv/bin/uvicorn lnbits.__main__:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 5000 --ssl-keyfile ./localhost-key.pem --ssl-certfile ./localhost.pem

LNbits running on Umbrel behind Tor

If you want to run LNbits on your Umbrel but want it to be reached through clearnet, Uxellodunum made an extensive guide on how to do it.

Docker installation

To install using docker you first need to build the docker image as:

git clone https://github.com/lnbits/lnbits-legend.git
cd lnbits-legend
docker build -t lnbits-legend .

You can launch the docker in a different directory, but make sure to copy .env.example from lnbits there

cp <lnbits_repo>/.env.example .env

and change the configuration in .env as required.

Then create the data directory

mkdir data

Then the image can be run as:

docker run --detach --publish 5000:5000 --name lnbits-legend -e "LNBITS_BACKEND_WALLET_CLASS='FakeWallet'" --volume ${PWD}/.env:/app/.env --volume ${PWD}/data/:/app/data lnbits-legend

Finally you can access your lnbits on your machine at port 5000.