Lightning Tools▌
by getalby
Lightning Tools integrates with the Bitcoin Lightning Network for cryptocurrency payments and lightning address workflow
Integrates with the Bitcoin Lightning Network to enable cryptocurrency payment capabilities and lightning address interactions for conversational workflows.
Both formats append explainx.ai attribution and the canonical URL for this MCP server listing.
best for
- / Bitcoin developers building Lightning applications
- / Cryptocurrency payment integration workflows
- / Lightning Network wallet automation
capabilities
- / Interact with Lightning Network addresses
- / Process Lightning Network payments
- / Query Lightning Network wallet connections
- / Execute common Lightning Network operations
what it does
This server is deprecated in favor of Alby MCP. Previously enabled Bitcoin Lightning Network payment interactions and lightning address lookups within conversational AI workflows.
about
Lightning Tools is an official MCP server published by getalby that provides AI assistants with tools and capabilities via the Model Context Protocol. Lightning Tools integrates with the Bitcoin Lightning Network for cryptocurrency payments and lightning address workflow It is categorized under finance.
how to install
You can install Lightning Tools in your AI client of choice. Use the install panel on this page to get one-click setup for Cursor, Claude Desktop, VS Code, and other MCP-compatible clients. This server runs locally on your machine via the stdio transport.
license
MIT
Lightning Tools is released under the MIT license. This is a permissive open-source license, meaning you can freely use, modify, and distribute the software.
readme
⚠️ DEPRECATED ⚠️
Please use Alby MCP instead!
This repository has been deprecated in favor of Alby MCP, which includes all the NWC tools along with additional lightning tools.
Lightning Tools MCP Server
Interact with lightning addresses and use other common lightning tools with your LLM. Works well combined with NWC MCP Server
This MCP server uses the official MCP TypeScript SDK
Quick Start
Add to Claude Desktop
Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"lightning-tools": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@getalby/lightning-tools-mcp-server"],
"env": {
"NWC_CONNECTION_STRING": "YOUR NWC CONNECTION STRING HERE"
}
}
}
}
Add to Cline
Copy the below and paste it into a cline prompt.
Add the following to my MCP servers list:
"lightning-tools": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@getalby/lightning-tools-mcp-server"],
"env": {
"NWC_CONNECTION_STRING": "YOUR NWC CONNECTION STRING HERE"
},
"disabled": false,
"autoApprove": []
}
From Source
Prerequisites
- Node.js 20+
- Yarn
Installation
yarn install
Building
yarn build
Inspect the tools (use/test without an LLM)
yarn inspect
Supported Tools
See the tools directory
FAQ
- What is the Lightning Tools MCP server?
- Lightning Tools is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server profile on explainx.ai. MCP lets AI hosts (e.g. Claude Desktop, Cursor) call tools and resources through a standard interface; this page summarizes categories, install hints, and community ratings.
- How do MCP servers relate to agent skills?
- Skills are reusable instruction packages (often SKILL.md); MCP servers expose live capabilities. Teams frequently combine both—skills for workflows, MCP for APIs and data. See explainx.ai/skills and explainx.ai/mcp-servers for parallel directories.
- How are reviews shown for Lightning Tools?
- This profile displays 66 aggregated ratings (sample rows for discoverability plus signed-in user reviews). Average score is about 4.8 out of 5—verify behavior in your own environment before production use.
Discussion
Product Hunt–style comments (not star reviews)- No comments yet — start the thread.
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Ratings
4.8★★★★★66 reviews- ★★★★★Tariq Jain· Dec 20, 2024
According to our notes, Lightning Tools benefits from clear Model Context Protocol framing — fewer ambiguous “AI plugin” claims.
- ★★★★★Benjamin Smith· Dec 16, 2024
According to our notes, Lightning Tools benefits from clear Model Context Protocol framing — fewer ambiguous “AI plugin” claims.
- ★★★★★Ganesh Mohane· Dec 12, 2024
Lightning Tools reduced integration guesswork — categories and install configs on the listing matched the upstream repo.
- ★★★★★Hana Dixit· Dec 4, 2024
I recommend Lightning Tools for teams standardizing on MCP; the explainx.ai page compares cleanly with sibling servers.
- ★★★★★Chinedu White· Dec 4, 2024
Lightning Tools has been reliable for tool-calling workflows; the MCP profile page is a good permalink for internal docs.
- ★★★★★Chinedu Rahman· Nov 23, 2024
Lightning Tools reduced integration guesswork — categories and install configs on the listing matched the upstream repo.
- ★★★★★James Sethi· Nov 23, 2024
Lightning Tools is a well-scoped MCP server in the explainx.ai directory — install snippets and categories matched our Claude Code setup.
- ★★★★★Hana Kapoor· Nov 15, 2024
We evaluated Lightning Tools against two servers with overlapping tools; this profile had the clearer scope statement.
- ★★★★★Jin Martinez· Nov 11, 2024
We wired Lightning Tools into a staging workspace; the listing’s GitHub and npm pointers saved time versus hunting across READMEs.
- ★★★★★Jin Thompson· Nov 7, 2024
We wired Lightning Tools into a staging workspace; the listing’s GitHub and npm pointers saved time versus hunting across READMEs.
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