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Lightning Enable — infrastructure for agent commerce over Lightning.

See the full ecosystem map for every component, package, and live demo.

Introduction to Lightning Enable

Lightning Enable is infrastructure for agent commerce over Lightning. It lets autonomous agents discover, buy, and get paid for digital work — over the Lightning Network, within the budgets and rules their humans control.

AI agents are starting to buy. They call APIs, run workflows, and pay for tools. But card rails assume a human identity, a checkout flow, and a billing address — none of which an agent workflow has. Lightning per-request payments fit: an agent hits a paid endpoint, gets an HTTP 402 with a Lightning invoice, pays it in about a second, and retries with cryptographic proof. It gets in; you get paid. Lightning Enable is the software that makes an agent and an API speak that language — with no Lightning node, no hosted middleman, and no per-transaction cut.

Lightning Enable never holds your funds

Lightning Enable is API middleware. Lightning Enable does not hold funds — your payment provider (Strike or OpenNode) facilitates custody and settlement. Every payment your API earns settles directly into your own provider account. Lightning Enable charges a flat monthly subscription, never a percentage of your revenue.

Two sides of the same rail​

Agent commerce has a buyer and a seller. Lightning Enable serves both on one rail — pick the side you're on:

        BUY side  (agents / consumers)          SELL side  (producers / API builders)
   ┌───────────────────────────────────┐   ┌───────────────────────────────────────┐
   │  Free, open-source MCP server      │   │  Create L402 producer endpoints        │
   │  Bring your own wallet             │   │  Return HTTP 402 + Lightning invoice   │
   │  (Strike · NWC · LND)              │   │  Verify the payment proof              │
   │  Pay & access any L402 API         │   │  Get paid per request, in sats         │
   └────────────────┬──────────────────┘   └────────────────────┬──────────────────┘
                    │            same L402 rail, same settlement │
                    └────────────────────┬───────────────────────┘
                                         ▼
                          Strike / OpenNode  (custody + settlement)

For agents (the buy side)​

Agents pay with the free, open-source MCP server (MIT — 26 tools, 18 of them work out of the box with no API key). Connect your own wallet — Strike, an NWC wallet, or LND — and your agent can pay Lightning invoices, access L402-protected APIs, and enforce spending budgets. No hosted MCP and no Lightning node required. Using the MCP as a buyer is always free.

For producers (the sell side)​

Producers turn any HTTP API into a paid one. Gate a route, return a 402 challenge, and get paid per request in real Bitcoin — while your existing subscriptions, rate limits, and API keys stay exactly as they are. Lightning per-request runs alongside what you already charge; it's an additional revenue stream, not a replacement. This is the part that needs a Lightning Enable plan (or the free sandbox below).

Fastest path to first success​

Pick your side and get a real payment moving in minutes.

If you're building an agent: install the MCP, connect a wallet, and run the built-in self-test.

# .NET tool (recommended)
dotnet tool install --global LightningEnable.Mcp

# or Python
pip install lightning-enable-mcp

Then have your agent call test_l402_payment — it pays a tiny live L402 challenge end-to-end and confirms your wallet is wired up correctly. Full walkthrough: MCP Quick Start · tool reference: MCP Complete Guide.

If you're monetizing an API: start the Free Producer Sandbox (no card), create your first L402 endpoint, and watch an agent pay it.

L402 in one breath​

L402 is the protocol underneath both sides. Payment becomes authorization:

1. Agent requests a resource        →   GET /api/premium/data
2. Server answers 402 + invoice     →   HTTP 402 Payment Required
                                        WWW-Authenticate: L402 macaroon="…", invoice="lnbc…"
3. Agent pays the Lightning invoice →   (~1 second, obtains the preimage)
4. Agent retries with the token     →   Authorization: L402 <macaroon>:<preimage>
5. Server verifies & serves         →   HTTP 200 OK

The proof is cryptographic: the server checks that SHA256(preimage) == payment_hash. No accounts, no sign-up, no card on file — just a tiny payment and a receipt. Deeper dive: How It Works and the L402 Producer API.

Three ways to start​

You don't have to reach for a credit card to begin. There are three on-ramps — pick the one that fits:

On-rampCostWhat you getStart
Free Producer SandboxFree — no card3 endpoints · 200 challenges/mo · 100 sats max per challengeEmail + magic link at dashboard/signup
L402 Fast Lane100 sats — no card, no formA full 30-day Agentic Commerce — Individual trialPay the challenge — Activate with Lightning
Stripe TrialCard — no charge for 30 daysA full 30-day Agentic Commerce — Individual trialStart the card trial

L402 Fast Lane is "the signup form that IS the protocol": you POST to the signup endpoint, get a 402, pay a 100-sat Lightning challenge, and retry with the macaroon proof to activate the account — the same L402 flow your own users and agents will use. See Activate with Lightning for the MCP, dev-CLI, and raw-protocol paths.

Plans​

Every plan is a flat monthly subscription — no per-transaction fees from us. Both paid tiers include the full L402 stack (unlimited endpoints, per-endpoint pricing, the Producer API, and the live dashboard); the difference is provider choice and support.

PlanPriceHighlights
Free Producer Sandbox$0Prove L402 works with no card: 3 endpoints, 200 challenges/mo, 100 sats max per challenge
Agentic Commerce — Individual$99/moUnlimited L402 endpoints, Strike settlement, per-endpoint pricing, live dashboard, 30-day trial
Agentic Commerce — Business$299/moEverything in Individual + Strike or OpenNode as settlement provider, white-glove onboarding, and direct founder access

Annual billing is available for roughly two months free, and you can pay with Bitcoin for 10% off instead of a card. See the full plan comparison for the feature-by-feature breakdown, and the Agentic Commerce overview for the product itself.

Using the MCP is free

Only creating L402-protected endpoints needs a plan (or the Free Producer Sandbox). Using the MCP server as an agent to pay and access L402 APIs is free and needs no subscription.

Platform integrations (included with any plan)​

Already run a storefront? Lightning Enable drops L402 checkout into commerce platforms so agents (and bitcoin-aligned customers) can buy in sats:

Where to go next​

Getting help​

Lightning Enable is a product of Refined Element, LLC. It is API middleware and never holds your funds — your chosen settlement provider (Strike or OpenNode) facilitates custody and settlement, and every payment settles directly into your own provider account.