# Lightning Enable Documentation

> **Lightning Enable — infrastructure for agent commerce over Lightning.**

Complete documentation for Lightning Enable - the commerce orchestration layer connecting platforms to payment providers (Strike, OpenNode) for instant Lightning payments.

## Ecosystem

| Component | URL | Description |
|-----------|-----|-------------|
| Agentic Commerce Platform | https://api.lightningenable.com | Invoices, webhooks, L402 proxy |
| Documentation | https://docs.lightningenable.com | Full docs site |
| MCP Server | https://github.com/refined-element/lightning-enable-mcp | AI agent Lightning tools (NuGet, PyPI, Docker) |
| L402 Python Client | https://pypi.org/project/l402-requests | Auto-paying HTTP client |
| L402 .NET Client | https://www.nuget.org/packages/L402Requests | Auto-paying HTTP client |
| L402 TypeScript Client | https://www.npmjs.com/package/l402-requests | Auto-paying HTTP client |
| Agent Commerce Store | https://agent-commerce.store | L402 API marketplace — dozens of L402 data APIs (see the live manifest) |
| Lightning Enable Store | https://store.lightningenable.com | L402 merch demo |
| NostrWolfe | https://nostrwolfe.com | Agent commerce on Nostr — live L402-settled agent services (see site for the current catalog) |
| Agent SDK (Python) | https://pypi.org/project/le-agent-sdk | Agent commerce SDK — `pip install le-agent-sdk` |
| Agent SDK (TypeScript) | https://www.npmjs.com/package/le-agent-sdk | Agent commerce SDK — `npm install le-agent-sdk` |
| Agent SDK (.NET) | https://www.nuget.org/packages/LightningEnable.AgentSdk | Agent commerce SDK — `dotnet add package LightningEnable.AgentSdk` |
| A-Commerce Manifesto | https://a-commerce.lightningenable.com | The case for agentic commerce |
| Product Page | https://lightningenable.com | Subscribe |
| Parent Company | https://refinedelement.com | Refined Element, LLC |

## What is Lightning Enable?

Lightning Enable is a **commerce orchestration layer** that connects your platform to payment providers (Strike, OpenNode) for Bitcoin Lightning payments.

**Critical Understanding:**
- We are a COMMERCE ORCHESTRATION LAYER, not a payment processor
- We NEVER hold funds or control private keys
- The configured payment provider (Strike or OpenNode) handles all payment processing and custody
- We charge flat subscription fees only

## Documentation Sections

### Getting Started
- / - What Lightning Enable is and isn't (the introduction — served at the docs root)
- /getting-started/activate-with-lightning - L402 Fast Lane: agents (and humans) create an account by paying a ~100-sat L402 challenge — no card, 30-day trial, auto-downgrade to the Free Producer Sandbox. Also covers renewing Agentic Commerce in sats (/getting-started/activate-with-lightning#renew-in-sats)
- /getting-started/quick-start - Get running in 10 minutes
- /getting-started/prerequisites - What you need before starting
- /getting-started/first-payment - Create your first invoice
- /getting-started/first-settlement - Understand settlement flow

### Products
- /products/shopify-commerce/overview - Shopify L402 commerce
- /products/shopify-commerce/agent-discovery - Shopify agent discovery & registry
- /products/agentic-commerce/overview - L402 protocol

### API Reference
- /api-reference/overview - API introduction
- /api-reference/authentication - API key setup
- /api-reference/payments - Payment endpoints (create invoice, check status)
- /api-reference/refunds - Refund endpoints
- /api-reference/webhooks - Webhook configuration
- /api-reference/merchant-settings - Account, provider keys, subscription details, and the Lightning (L402) renewal endpoint
- /api-reference/errors - Error handling

### Provider Setup
- /strike-setup/account-setup - Create Strike account (recommended)
- /opennode-setup/account-setup - Create OpenNode account
- /opennode-setup/api-keys - Generate API keys

### Configuration
- /configuration/environment-variables - Required config
- /configuration/api-key-management - API key rotation and management

## Key Concepts

### Architecture
```
Your App -> Lightning Enable (orchestration) -> Payment Provider: Strike or OpenNode (processor)
```

### Payment Flow
1. Your app requests invoice from Lightning Enable
2. Lightning Enable creates invoice via configured payment provider (Strike or OpenNode)
3. Customer pays Lightning invoice
4. Payment provider notifies Lightning Enable via webhook
5. Lightning Enable sends webhook to your app
6. Your app fulfills order

### Pricing

Three tiers. 30-day free trial on Agentic Commerce (card required, no charge until trial ends); the Free Producer Sandbox needs no card at all. Agentic Commerce — Business is contact-only: not purchasable through self-serve checkout; email support@lightningenable.com and any trial terms are arranged directly.

| Product | Monthly | Best For |
|---------|---------|----------|
| Free Producer Sandbox | $0 | Proving L402 works without a card — 3 endpoints, 200 challenges/mo, 1,000 sats max per challenge |
| Agentic Commerce | $49 | Solo developers and indie hackers — L402 basics + platform integrations |
| Agentic Commerce — Business | Contact us | Teams and companies scaling agent commerce — full L402 API monetization |

### Pay for Agentic Commerce in sats (L402)

Agentic Commerce can also be paid over Lightning: 30,000 sats buys 30 days (1,000 sats a day), no card. The sats price is configuration and can change; a challenge you already hold is honored at the price it was issued at unless the price has gone up, in which case mint a fresh one.

- Quote (no side effects): `GET https://api.lightningenable.com/api/merchant/subscription/renew` with `X-API-Key`
- Pay: `POST https://api.lightningenable.com/api/merchant/subscription/renew` with `X-API-Key` → `402` + L402 challenge → pay → repeat the `POST` with `Authorization: L402 <macaroon>:<preimage>` → `200` with `currentPeriodEnd`
- Each payment is credited once; re-sending a token answers `alreadyCredited: true` and never charges twice
- MCP tool: `renew_lightning_enable_subscription` (argument `maxSats`; MCP 2.1.0 or later)
- Not available while a card subscription is active, or on Agentic Commerce — Business
- Docs: /getting-started/activate-with-lightning#renew-in-sats and /api-reference/merchant-settings#renew-with-lightning-l402

### Platform Integrations (included with any paid plan)
- **Shopify Commerce** — AI agents discover, browse, and purchase from your Shopify store via Lightning

## MCP Server for AI Agents

MCP server (12,000+ downloads) for AI assistants to make Lightning payments and discover paid APIs. Compatible with Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, and any MCP-compatible client. Wallet, invoice, L402, budget, and API-discovery tools work out of the box (no account required). Producer tools (sell access via L402) and Agent Service Agreement tools (agent-to-agent commerce over Nostr) unlock with a Lightning Enable API key. The MCP server itself is open-source (MIT) and free to install.

```bash
dotnet tool install --global LightningEnable.Mcp
```

Account tools: `create_lightning_enable_account` opens an account with a ~100-sat L402 payment, and `renew_lightning_enable_subscription` pays for Agentic Commerce in sats (needs the merchant API key).

Key capability: `discover_api` — search the L402 API registry by keyword/category to find available paid APIs and Shopify stores, or fetch a specific API's manifest for full endpoint details and pricing. Shopify stores are auto-registered when merchants create integrations, with categories and descriptions for keyword search.

Documentation: /products/agentic-commerce/mcp-quickstart

## L402-Requests Libraries

Open-source auto-paying HTTP clients — three lines of code, paid APIs just work:
- Python: `pip install l402-requests` — /tools/l402-requests
- .NET: `dotnet add package L402Requests` — /tools/l402-dotnet
- TypeScript: `npm install l402-requests` — /tools/l402-ts

## Links

- API: https://api.lightningenable.com
- Product Page: https://lightningenable.com
- Parent Company: https://refinedelement.com
- Support: support@lightningenable.com