INSTALL.md

Installation

Spanish guide version here

The following document is intended to provide the necessary information to prepare the work environment for the development of the bot by providing the technical and physical characteristics of each element.

Table of contents

• Purpose
• Target
• System Scope
• Technical requirements
• Installation
• Using the bot

Purpose

Allow people to trade with other people on Telegram using the Lightning Network. The lnp2pbot is developed in Node.js and connects to an LND (Lightning Network Daemon) node is a full implementation of a Lightning Network node.

Target

Achieving that the telegram bot is able to receive payments Lightning without being custodian. Users won't need permission to use the service or provide personal data that could compromise their privacy, thus maintaining full custody of their assets at all times. The bot will use hold invoices and will only settle the seller's invoices when both parties agree. Immediately after this, the bot will pay the buyer's invoice.

System Scope

Reach all users who want to acquire non-custodial Bitcoin satoshis through a Telegram bot.

Technical requirements

1. Computer with internet access.
2. Node management system Polar or LND node.

3. Docker: automation of application deployment as portable, self-sufficient containers that can run in the cloud or locally.

4. MogoDB: database manager system.

Installation

Prepare the environment.

1) Check if Node.js is installed.

$ node -v

In case it's not installed:

• On Mac run the following command:

$ brew install node

• On Linux and Windows, go to the following link.

MongoDB Configuration with Docker Compose

2. Create the Directory and Configuration File

Create a directory where you will place the mongo.yml file for MongoDB:

$ mkdir mongodb
$ cd mongodb
$ nano mongo.yml

3. Content of the mongo.yml file

The contents of the mongo.yml file must be:

version: "3.7"

services:
  mongodb:
    image: mongo:5.0
    environment:
      MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_USERNAME: mongoadmin
      MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD: secret
    volumes:
      - ./mongodb-data/:/data/db
    ports:
      - 27017:27017

4. Start MongoDB

To start MongoDB, run the following command:

$ docker compose -f mongo.yml up

Lnp2pbot

5. Clone the Bot Repository

Clone the bot repository and navigate to the project directory:

$ git clone https://github.com/lnp2pBot/bot.git
$ cd bot
$ npm install

6. Create and Configure the .env file

In the root directory of the project, you will find a sample .env-sample file. Copy that file and edit it to configure your environment variables:

$ cp .env-sample .env
$ nano .env

Connect to the Lightning Node

To connect to an LND node, you need to set several variables in the .env file created in the previous step:

• LND_CERT_BASE64: TLS certificate of the LND node in base64 format. You can obtain it with the command: ~/.lnd/tls.cert | tr -d '\n'.

• LND_MACAROON_BASE64: Macaroon file in base64 format. This file contains permissions to perform actions on the LND node. You can obtain it with the command:~/.lnd/data/chain/bitcoin /mainnet/admin.macaroon | tr -d '\n',

• LND_GRPC_HOST: IP address or domain name of the LND node and the port, separated by a colon. Example: 192.168.0.2:10009.

If you are using Polar, you can obtain the necessary information as shown in the following image:

Complete the configuration of the .env file

Here are the variables you need to modify in the .env file. The remaining variables can either keep their default values or be adjusted as you see fit:

LND_CERT_BASE64=''
LND_MACAROON_BASE64=''
LND_GRPC_HOST='' 
BOT_TOKEN=''

DB_USER='mongoadmin'
DB_PASS='secret'
DB_HOST='127.0.0.1'
DB_PORT='27017'
DB_NAME='lnp2pbot'

MONGO_URI='mongodb://mongoadmin:secret@localhost/lnp2pbot?authSource=admin'

CHANNEL='@your-offers-channel' 
ADMIN_CHANNEL='-10*****46' 
HELP_GROUP='@your-support-group' 

FIAT_RATE_EP='https://api.yadio.io/rate'

DISPUTE_CHANNEL='@your-dispute-channel' 

NOSTR_SK=''

RELAYS=''

Details of some variables:

• BOT_TOKEN: You will need to go to Telegram and open @BotFather. Run the menu and choose Create a new bot where you will select the bot's name and username. Once generated, it will show you a token that you will place in this field.

• CHANNEL: This is the channel where the bot posts offers. Create a channel on Telegram by pressing the button to write a new message. On Android, it is in the bottom right corner with a round icon featuring a pencil, and on iOS, it is in the top right corner with a small pencil-shaped icon. Press the New Channel option. Then, set the bot as a channel's administrator (open the bot and select: Add to a group or channel). Channel has to be public. Part after t.me/ in link shown in channel info is what goes into CHANNEL property (e.g. if link is t.me/foo then value should be @foo).

• ADMIN_CHANNEL: This channel is where the bot sends relevant information to administrators, such as payments failures, when a user takes an order but doesn't proceed, among other things. In this field, you need to enter the channel ID. To obtain it, write a message in the channel, forward it to the @JsonDumpBot, and it will show you a JSON with the channel ID. More information can be found here. You need to add the bot as a channel's administrator.

• HELP_GROUP: This is the group where you will provide bot support. You can create a new group or use an existing one.

• DISPUTE_CHANNEL: This channel is where the bot posts disputes for solvers to take on (it's not a channel for resolving disputes, just for claiming them). You need to create this channel on Telegram and add the bot as an administrator.

• NOSTR_SK: The private key for Nostr that will publish the bot's offers as a replaceable parameterized event type 38383. If you do not want your bot to publish offers on Nostr, comment out this variable.

• RELAYS: The Nostr relays that the Nostr user of your bot will connect to in order to publish offers. If you do not want your bot to publish offers on Nostr, comment out this variable.

7. Running the bot

$ npm start

• For testing purposes:

$ npm test

Using the bot

After completing the Installation steps:

Start the bot with the command:

/start 

It will display a menu, we will choose the /sell option to sell with the necessary requirements.

2. In the channel you will see the offer, you must choose to buy with the other Telegram user.

3. Take the order in the channel. Click on Buy Satoshis.

4. Enter the bot and click continue.

This is the message that will be displayed.

5. Create invoice in Polar with some of the users and paste in Telegram. Choose Create Invoice in the behavior part.

6. Set the sales quantity.

7. Choose Copy and Close.

8. Enter the bot and paste the invoice.

A request for payment will be sent to the seller and will be displayed in the bot..

9. Paste the invoice in Polar and pay it.

10. When someone takes the order, the bot will display the following message:

11. The following will be displayed in the bot for the other user:

12. The user must release the funds with the command /fiatsent, to do this he must copy and paste with the id

13. The bot will indicate that the user has already sent the fiat money.

14. The user must release the funds with the /release command by copying and pasting with the id.

15. Finally, the buyer will be notified that the transaction has been successfully completed.