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Refunds API

Process refunds for completed Lightning payments.

Plan Requirement

Refunds are available on all paid plans. Contact support@lightningenable.com to enable refunds.

How Refunds Work​

Lightning payments are instant and irreversible. Refunds are processed as new outgoing Lightning payments from your payment provider account to the customer's wallet.

Original Payment:  Customer → Payment Provider → Your Account
Refund:           Your Account → Payment Provider → Customer Wallet
Strike vs OpenNode Refunds

Strike does not have a native refund API. Refunds via Strike are implemented as outgoing payments using Strike's payment-quotes flow — the mechanics are the same from the API perspective, but the underlying provider call differs.

OpenNode processes refunds as standard outgoing payments from your OpenNode account balance.

Requirements:

  • Original payment must be in paid status
  • Customer provides a Lightning invoice for the refund amount
  • Sufficient balance in your payment provider account

Create Refund​

Initiate a refund for a paid invoice.

POST /api/refunds

Request Headers​

HeaderRequiredDescription
X-API-KeyYesYour merchant API key
Content-TypeYesapplication/json

Request Body​

{
  "invoiceId": "inv_abc123def456",
  "amount": 49.99,
  "currency": "USD",
  "lightningInvoice": "lnbc499900n1pnxyz...",
  "reason": "Customer requested refund"
}

Parameters​

FieldTypeRequiredDescription
invoiceIdstringYesOriginal invoice ID to refund
amountdecimalYesRefund amount
currencystringYesCurrency (must match original)
lightningInvoicestringYesCustomer's Lightning invoice
reasonstringNoReason for refund

Response​

{
  "refundId": "ref_xyz789abc",
  "invoiceId": "inv_abc123def456",
  "status": "pending",
  "amount": 49.99,
  "currency": "USD",
  "amountSats": 125000,
  "reason": "Customer requested refund",
  "createdAt": "2024-12-29T14:00:00Z"
}

Example​

curl -X POST https://api.lightningenable.com/api/refunds \
  -H "X-API-Key: le_merchant_abc123" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "invoiceId": "inv_abc123def456",
    "amount": 49.99,
    "currency": "USD",
    "lightningInvoice": "lnbc499900n1pnxyz..."
  }'

Get Refund​

Retrieve refund details by ID.

GET /api/refunds/{refundId}

Parameters​

ParameterTypeDescription
refundIdstringRefund identifier

Response​

{
  "refundId": "ref_xyz789abc",
  "invoiceId": "inv_abc123def456",
  "status": "completed",
  "amount": 49.99,
  "currency": "USD",
  "amountSats": 125000,
  "reason": "Customer requested refund",
  "completedAt": "2024-12-29T14:01:00Z",
  "createdAt": "2024-12-29T14:00:00Z"
}

Example​

curl https://api.lightningenable.com/api/refunds/ref_xyz789abc \
  -H "X-API-Key: le_merchant_abc123"

List Refunds​

List all refunds for your account.

GET /api/refunds

Query Parameters​

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
skipint0Number of records to skip
takeint50Items to return (max 100)
statusstringallFilter by status

Response​

{
  "data": [
    {
      "refundId": "ref_xyz789abc",
      "invoiceId": "inv_abc123def456",
      "status": "completed",
      "amount": 49.99,
      "currency": "USD"
    }
  ],
  "total": 1,
  "skip": 0,
  "take": 50
}

Example​

curl "https://api.lightningenable.com/api/refunds?skip=0&take=20" \
  -H "X-API-Key: le_merchant_abc123"

Get Refunds for Invoice​

List all refunds for a specific invoice.

GET /api/refunds/invoice/{invoiceId}

Parameters​

ParameterTypeDescription
invoiceIdstringOriginal invoice ID

Response​

Returns array of refunds for the invoice.

Example​

curl https://api.lightningenable.com/api/refunds/invoice/inv_abc123def456 \
  -H "X-API-Key: le_merchant_abc123"

Refund Statuses​

StatusDescription
pendingRefund initiated, processing
completedRefund sent successfully
failedRefund failed (insufficient balance, invalid invoice)

Partial Refunds​

You can issue partial refunds by specifying an amount less than the original payment:

{
  "invoiceId": "inv_abc123def456",
  "amount": 25.00,
  "currency": "USD",
  "lightningInvoice": "lnbc250000n1..."
}

Notes:

  • Multiple partial refunds allowed
  • Total refunds cannot exceed original payment amount
  • Each partial refund requires a new customer Lightning invoice

Error Responses​

Invoice Not Found​

{
  "error": "Not Found",
  "message": "Invoice not found",
  "code": "INVOICE_NOT_FOUND"
}

Invoice Not Paid​

{
  "error": "Bad Request",
  "message": "Cannot refund unpaid invoice",
  "code": "INVOICE_NOT_PAID"
}

Refund Exceeds Payment​

{
  "error": "Bad Request",
  "message": "Refund amount exceeds original payment",
  "code": "REFUND_EXCEEDS_PAYMENT"
}

Invalid Lightning Invoice​

{
  "error": "Bad Request",
  "message": "Invalid Lightning invoice",
  "code": "INVALID_LIGHTNING_INVOICE"
}

Insufficient Balance​

{
  "error": "Payment Failed",
  "message": "Insufficient balance in payment provider account",
  "code": "INSUFFICIENT_BALANCE"
}

Feature Not Available​

{
  "error": "Forbidden",
  "message": "Refunds not available on your plan",
  "code": "FEATURE_NOT_AVAILABLE"
}

Code Examples​

JavaScript​

async function createRefund(invoiceId, amount, currency, lightningInvoice) {
  const response = await fetch('https://api.lightningenable.com/api/refunds', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'X-API-Key': process.env.LIGHTNING_API_KEY,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      invoiceId,
      amount,
      currency,
      lightningInvoice
    })
  });

  if (!response.ok) {
    const error = await response.json();
    throw new Error(error.message);
  }

  return response.json();
}

C#​

public async Task<RefundResponse> CreateRefundAsync(
    string invoiceId,
    decimal amount,
    string currency,
    string lightningInvoice)
{
    var request = new
    {
        invoiceId,
        amount,
        currency,
        lightningInvoice
    };

    var response = await _httpClient.PostAsJsonAsync("/api/refunds", request);

    if (!response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
    {
        var error = await response.Content.ReadFromJsonAsync<ErrorResponse>();
        throw new RefundException(error.Message);
    }

    return await response.Content.ReadFromJsonAsync<RefundResponse>();
}

Python​

def create_refund(invoice_id, amount, currency, lightning_invoice):
    response = requests.post(
        'https://api.lightningenable.com/api/refunds',
        headers={
            'X-API-Key': os.environ['LIGHTNING_API_KEY'],
            'Content-Type': 'application/json'
        },
        json={
            'invoiceId': invoice_id,
            'amount': amount,
            'currency': currency,
            'lightningInvoice': lightning_invoice
        }
    )
    response.raise_for_status()
    return response.json()

Best Practices​

Collect Customer Invoice​

Before initiating a refund, collect a valid Lightning invoice from the customer:

// Example refund flow
app.post('/refund-request', async (req, res) => {
  const { orderId, lightningInvoice } = req.body;

  // Verify the invoice is for correct amount
  const originalPayment = await getPayment(orderId);

  // Create refund
  const refund = await createRefund(
    originalPayment.invoiceId,
    originalPayment.amount,
    originalPayment.currency,
    lightningInvoice
  );

  res.json({ status: 'Refund initiated', refundId: refund.refundId });
});

Handle Failures​

Refunds can fail for various reasons. Always handle errors:

try {
  const refund = await createRefund(...);
  // Success
} catch (error) {
  if (error.code === 'INSUFFICIENT_BALANCE') {
    // Fund your payment provider account
  } else if (error.code === 'INVALID_LIGHTNING_INVOICE') {
    // Ask customer for new invoice
  }
}

Next Steps​