The Lightning Enable Ecosystem
Lightning Enable — infrastructure for agent commerce over Lightning.
Lightning Enable is a suite of open-source tools and a commerce orchestration layer that gives platforms, developers, and AI agents everything they need to transact over the Lightning Network using the L402 protocol.
Architecture
+-------------------------------+
| Payment Providers |
| Strike . OpenNode |
| custody / settlement / KYB |
+---------------+---------------+
|
+---------------+---------------+
| Lightning Enable API |
| api.lightningenable.com |
| orchestration / L402 proxy |
| / webhooks |
+---------------+---------------+
|
+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| | |
+-------+--------+ +-------+--------+ +-------+--------+
| MCP Server | | L402 HTTP | | Agent Commerce |
| AI agent tools | | Clients | | Store |
| NuGet / PyPI / | | Python .NET TS | | API marketplace|
| Docker | | (consumer) | | L402 data APIs |
+-------+--------+ +----------------+ +----------------+
|
+-------+--------+ +---------------------------------------+
| NostrWolfe | | L402 Server SDKs (producer side) |
| Agent relay | | l402-server, l402-express (npm) |
| wss://agents. | | L402Server, L402Server.AspNetCore |
| lightningenable| | (NuGet) - charge for your own API |
| .com | | on your own domain |
+----------------+ +---------------------------------------+
Components
Agentic Commerce Platform
The commerce orchestration layer that connects platforms to payment providers (Strike, OpenNode) for Bitcoin Lightning payments. Handles invoices, webhooks, L402 proxy, and merchant management.
- Live API: api.lightningenable.com
- Docs: docs.lightningenable.com
- Get started: Quick Start Guide
Lightning Enable does not hold funds — the configured payment provider facilitates custody and settlement.
MCP Server — AI Agent Tools
Open-source MCP server that gives AI agents a Lightning wallet. 23 tools total. 15 work out of the box. 8 tools (2 producer, 6 ASA) require a Lightning Enable API key. Tools cover paying invoices, discovering APIs, accessing L402 resources, creating payment challenges, and agent-to-agent service discovery and L402 settlement.
- GitHub: refined-element/lightning-enable-mcp
- NuGet: LightningEnable.Mcp
- PyPI: lightning-enable-mcp
- Docker Hub: refinedelement/lightning-enable-mcp
- Docs: MCP Quick Start
# Install in one command
dotnet tool install -g LightningEnable.Mcp # .NET
pip install lightning-enable-mcp # Python (add [nwc] extra for Nostr Wallet Connect wallets)
docker pull refinedelement/lightning-enable-mcp # Docker
L402 HTTP Clients — Auto-Paying Libraries
Open-source (MIT) drop-in HTTP clients that handle L402 payment flows automatically. Three lines of code — paid APIs just work.
| Language | Package | Install |
|---|---|---|
| Python | l402-requests | pip install l402-requests |
| .NET | L402Requests | dotnet add package L402Requests |
| TypeScript | l402-requests | npm install l402-requests |
- Python docs: l402-requests
- .NET docs: L402Requests
- TypeScript docs: l402-requests
L402 Server SDKs — Charge for Your API (Producer Side)
Open-source (MIT) server SDKs and framework middleware for the producer side of L402: drop one line of middleware into your existing API and charge per request over Lightning. Native mode — your API stays on your own domain, and traffic never flows through Lightning Enable.
| Stack | SDK | Framework middleware | Install |
|---|---|---|---|
| Node.js | l402-server | l402-express (Express) | npm install l402-express |
| .NET | L402Server | L402Server.AspNetCore (ASP.NET Core) | dotnet add package L402Server.AspNetCore |
Live reference apps — open-source paid APIs you can curl to see a 402 in your terminal:
- Express + Node: refined-element/l402-example-node
- ASP.NET Core: refined-element/l402-example-aspnet
Claude Skills — Ready-Made Agentic Commerce Skills
Open-source Claude Skills for agentic commerce over Lightning + L402, powered by the Lightning Enable MCP server. Runs in Claude Code and Claude Desktop.
- GitHub: refined-element/lightning-enable-skills
- Requires the MCP server with a configured wallet
Research Agent Demo — Agent Buys Its Own Data
Reproducible demo of end-to-end agent commerce: an AI agent buys its own research data over Lightning (L402) and writes a cited paper — about 20 sats, no API keys, no accounts.
Agent Commerce Store — L402 API Marketplace
Live marketplace of dozens of L402 data APIs payable via Lightning micropayments — weather, research papers, SEC filings, economic data, and more, all accessible by AI agents. See the live manifest for the current list.
- Live: agent-commerce.store
- Manifest: L402 Manifest
- Machine docs: llms.txt
Lightning Enable Store — Live L402 Demo
Physical merch store demonstrating L402 checkout. AI agents can browse, pay via Lightning, and receive real products.
- Live: store.lightningenable.com
- Machine docs: llms-full.txt
NostrWolfe — Agent Discovery via Nostr
Open protocol enabling AI agents to discover each other, request services, and settle via the Lightning Network (L402) over Nostr.
- Website: nostrwolfe.com
- Agent Relay:
wss://agents.lightningenable.com - SDKs: le-agent-sdk-python (Python) · le-agent-sdk-ts (TypeScript) · le-agent-sdk-dotnet (.NET)
Start Here If You Want To...
| Goal | Start here |
|---|---|
| Accept Lightning payments on your platform | Quick Start Guide |
| Give your AI agent a Lightning wallet | MCP Quick Start |
| Monetize your API with pay-per-request | API Monetization |
| Charge for your API on your own domain (native mode) | Native Integration |
| See a working paid API end to end | l402-example-node · l402-example-aspnet |
| Access L402 APIs from Python/.NET/TypeScript | L402 HTTP Clients |
| Give Claude ready-made commerce skills | lightning-enable-skills |
| Watch an agent buy its own research data | l402-research-agent |
| Browse available paid APIs | Agent Commerce Store |
| Let agents discover each other on Nostr | NostrWolfe |
Links
| Resource | URL |
|---|---|
| API | api.lightningenable.com |
| Documentation | docs.lightningenable.com |
| Product Page | lightningenable.com |
| A-Commerce Manifesto | a-commerce.lightningenable.com |
| Parent Company | refinedelement.com |
| Support | support@lightningenable.com |