Lnd Web Client

Installation

Requirements

• Git
• NodeJS / npm

Procedure

Fetch sources from the Lnd Web Client git repository:

git clone https://github.com/mably/lncli-web.git

Move into the newly created directory:

cd lncli-web

Fetch the dependencies and build the application by running:

npm install

If not started automatically, run the following command to build the application:

"./node_modules/.bin/gulp" bundle

Execution

Requirements

lncli-web is now fully compatible with macaroons and encrypted wallets.

But if you want to start lnd with wallet encryption and macaroons disabled, just add those two parameters to the command line:

lnd [...] --no-macaroons --noencryptwallet

If you want to use macaroons, you need to copy the lnd admin.macaroon file to the lncli-web root directory (by default). The default path to the admin.macaroon file can be modified in the <lncliweb>/config/defaults.js file.

Generate lnd certificates compatible with NodeJS gRPC

Beware that lnd autogenerated certificates are not compatible with current NodeJS gRPC module implementation.

Lnd uses the P-521 curve for its certificates but NodeJS gRPC module is only compatible with certificates using the P-256 curve (link).

You need to generate your own lnd certificates using the following commands (thanks to Alex Akselrod for helping me on this):

# Enter the Lnd home directory, located by default at ~/.lnd on Linux or
# /Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/Lnd/ on Mac OSX
# $APPDATA/Local/Lnd on Windows. Also change '/CN=localhost/O=lnd' to '//CN=localhost\O=lnd' if you are using Git Bash.
cd ~/.lnd
openssl ecparam -genkey -name prime256v1 -out tls.key
openssl req -new -sha256 -key tls.key -out csr.csr -subj '/CN=localhost/O=lnd'
openssl req -x509 -sha256 -days 36500 -key tls.key -in csr.csr -out tls.cert
rm csr.csr

Copy generated certificate file into lncli-web directory

cp tls.cert [lncli-web_directory]/lnd.cert

Start the Webserver

node server

Available command-line arguments:

node server --help

  Usage: server [options]

  Options:

    -h, --help                    output usage information
    -V, --version                 output the version number
    -s, --serverport [port]       web server listening port (defaults to 8280)
    -h, --serverhost [host]       web server listening host (defaults to localhost)
    -l, --lndhost [host:port]     RPC lnd host (defaults to localhost:10009)
    -t, --usetls [path]           path to a directory containing key.pem and cert.pem files
    -u, --user [login]            basic authentication login
    -p, --pwd [password]          basic authentication password
    -r, --limituser [login]       basic authentication login for readonly account
    -w, --limitpwd [password]     basic authentication password for readonly account
    -f, --logfile [file path]     path to file where to store the application logs
    -e, --loglevel [level]        level of logs to display (debug, info, warn, error)
    -n, --lndlogfile <file path>  path to lnd log file to send to browser
    -k, --le-email [email]        lets encrypt required contact email

Open your browser at the following address: http://localhost:8280

Enjoy!

Docker

Build the container

(from inside the lncli-web folder)

docker build . -t lncli-web

Run in a Docker container

Mount your .lnd directory to the container:

docker run -v /path/to/.lnd/:/config lncli-web

The container will generate certs if necessary.

Any commandline option (see below) can be overridden by setting an appropriate environment variable.

Example: set SET_LNDHOST for --lndhost, or set SET_LE_EMAIL for --le-email

Running in a Docker container connecting to a remote LND instance

Copy the admin.macaroon, tls.key and tls.cert to your machine, for example in /tmp/config.

Then, use docker run accordingly:

docker run -it -e SET_LNDHOST=[IP of lightning host]:10009 -v /tmp/config:/config --net=host lncli-web

Then just browse to http://127.0.0.1:8280. Note: this still requires you to re-generate your certificates as per above.

Screenshots

Check here for the mandatory screenshots: http://imgur.com/a/LgWcs

Enabling https for remote access

You need to have a key.pem (private key) file and a cert.pem (certificate) file available in your path (check the --usetls command-line option).

On Linux you can create the above files using a self-signed certificate by executing the following command:

openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout key.pem -out cert.pem -days 36500

You might need to run this extra command to remove the password protection:

openssl rsa -in key.pem -out newkey.pem && mv newkey.pem key.pem

And the you need to add the --usetls command-line option to point to the directory containing your two pem files.

Example command starting a password protected Lnd Web Client with readonly account enabled, running on port 443, and using https with corresponding pem files located in the app directory:

node server -s 443 --usetls . --user manager --pwd 33H966wG --limituser lnd --limitpwd rocks

Hoping that helps.