Lightning MCP: 3-Minute Setup

Get your AI paying Lightning invoices in under 3 minutes. All 15 tools are free — no subscription required.

What You'll Get

After this guide, Claude can:

• Pay any Lightning invoice
• Access L402-protected APIs with automatic micropayments
• Check your wallet balance and payment history
• Buy from L402 stores (like agent-commerce.store)

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What You Need

1. Claude Code or Claude Desktop — Already installed
2. A Strike account — Free, 2-minute signup

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Step 1: Get a Strike API Key (1 minute)

Strike is the fastest way to start. No infrastructure, no node, full L402 support.

1. Download the Strike app or go to strike.me
2. Create an account (requires phone number)
3. Go to developer.strike.me
4. Log in with your Strike account
5. Click Generate API Key
6. Copy the API key

Why Strike?

Strike requires zero infrastructure, supports L402 (returns preimage on every payment), and handles custody. Want alternatives? See Wallet Options for NWC wallets (CoinOS, Alby Hub, CLINK) or LND for self-hosted.

Fund Your Wallet

Send a small amount of Bitcoin to your Strike wallet, or buy directly in the Strike app. Start with $1-5 worth.

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Step 2: Install the MCP Server (30 seconds)

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

# Or Python
pip install lightning-enable-mcp

.NET not installed?

Download .NET 8+ SDK from https://dot.net/download

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Step 3: Configure Claude (1 minute)

Claude Code

Edit your settings file:

macOS/Linux: ~/.claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

.NET:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "lightning-enable": {
      "command": "dotnet",
      "args": ["tool", "run", "lightning-enable-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "STRIKE_API_KEY": "your-strike-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Python:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "lightning-enable": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["lightning-enable-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "STRIKE_API_KEY": "your-strike-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude after saving.

Other Clients

• Cursor Setup — .cursor/mcp.json
• Claude Desktop — Same config format

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Step 4: Test It!

Open Claude and try:

Check Your Balance

Check my Lightning balance

Pay an Invoice

Pay this Lightning invoice: lnbc...

Access an L402 API

Get weather data for New York from agent-commerce.store

Claude will automatically handle the L402 payment and return the data.

Buy from the Lightning Enable Store

Buy me a Lightning Enable t-shirt from store.lightningenable.com

Claude browses the catalog, checks out, pays the invoice, and gives you a claim link.

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You're Done!

All 15 tools are included for free:

Tool	What It Does
pay_invoice	Pay any Lightning invoice
check_wallet_balance	Check wallet balance
get_payment_history	View recent payments
get_budget_status	Check spending limits
configure_budget	Adjust spending limits
create_invoice	Generate invoices to receive payments
check_invoice_status	Check if an invoice was paid
access_l402_resource	Auto-pay L402 APIs
pay_l402_challenge	Pay an L402 challenge manually
discover_api	Search the L402 API registry or fetch a specific API's manifest
get_btc_price	Real-time BTC price
get_all_balances	All currency balances (Strike)
exchange_currency	Convert between currencies (Strike)
send_onchain	Send Bitcoin on-chain
confirm_payment	Confirm a pending payment

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Set Spending Limits

Protect yourself with budget controls. Create ~/.lightning-enable/config.json:

{
  "currency": "USD",
  "tiers": {
    "autoApprove": 0.10,
    "logAndApprove": 1.00,
    "formConfirm": 10.00
  },
  "limits": {
    "maxPerPayment": 50.00,
    "maxPerSession": 20.00
  }
}

Threshold	Behavior
Under $0.10	Auto-pay silently
$0.10 - $1.00	Pay and log
$1.00 - $10.00	Ask for confirmation
Over $50/payment	Denied
Over $20/session	Denied

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Troubleshooting

"Wallet not configured"

Your Strike API key isn't being read. Check:

1. Environment variable is set correctly in your MCP config
2. Restart Claude after saving config changes
3. Try running lightning-enable-mcp directly to see errors

"dotnet: command not found"

Install .NET 8+ SDK from https://dot.net/download

"uvx: command not found"

Install uv: pip install uv or curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

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Next Steps

• Spending Security — Advanced budget controls
• Wallet Options — NWC, LND, and other wallets
• All 15 Tools — Complete tool reference
• Agent Commerce Store — 15 L402 APIs to test with

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Quick Reference

Setting	Where
Strike API Key	developer.strike.me
Claude Config	~/.claude/claude_desktop_config.json (Claude Code)
Budget Config	~/.lightning-enable/config.json
MCP Install	dotnet tool install -g LightningEnable.Mcp

Questions? Open an issue on GitHub.