bitcoind-lightning-compose

A docker-compose that builds a self validating bitcoind backend with a lightning (lnd) node.

If you are tired going through tutorials to connect bitcoind to lightning daemon then you are at the right place.

The configurations are stored either in:

• docker-compose.yml
• bitcoin.conf
• lnd.conf

Uses a self validating v.23.0 bitcoind image as backend built from ruimarinho's docker-bitcoin-core

Lightning service uses the lnd's image

Do you have a running bitcoin node with data already? You can use it as a backend for your lightning node by mounting the data directory to the btc service in the docker-compose.yml file.

Configuration details (How the services are wired)

bitcoin.conf

• rpcuser and rpcpassword - to authenticate RPC calls. (Define your own user and password)
• rpcallowip=0.0.0.0/0, rpcport=8332, rpcbind=0.0.0.0 - from which ip addresses, through what port and on what address should bitcoind listen for RPC calls (Port is the default one, it binds to every network interface, and accepts connections from any ip as well)
• zmq* block and transaction broadcasting configuration (port:ip)

lnd.conf

LND uses to connect to the bitcoind backend:

• bitcoin.node=bitcoind use bitcoind as a backend
• bitcoind.rpchost=btc the hostname where bitcoind listens, this is the name of the service in the compose file
• bitcoind.rpcuser=foo, bitcoind.rpcpass=your_password should be the same as in the bitcoin.conf file
• bitcoind.zmqpubrawblock=tcp://btc:28332, bitcoind.zmqpubrawtx=tcp://btc:28333 should be the same as in the bitcoin.conf file
• bitcoind.dir=/root/.bitcoin a directory containing bitcoin data, it will be mounted here via the compose file

To connect to our lightning node (via ZAP):

• tlsextraip=YOUR_IP_ADDRESS the ip of your node (with port forward you can reach it from outside of your network, in that case your router's ip comes here)
• tlsextradomain=YOUR_IP_ADDRESS same as above but with domain names
• rpclisten=0.0.0.0:10009 tells LND to accept connections on all external interfaces on the default port (10009)

docker-compose.yml

btc service

• environment: - BITCOIN_DATA=/home/bitcoin/.bitcoin where to store the bitcoin data inside the container
• volumes: - ./bitcoin.conf:/home/bitcoin/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf where to mount the bitcoin.conf file inside the container
• volumes: - /your/path/to/bitcoin_data:/home/bitcoin/.bitcoin where to store the bitcoin data directory on the host machine

lnd service

• volumes: - ./lnd.conf:/root/.lnd/lnd.conf where to mount the lnd.conf file inside the container
• volumes: - /your/path/to/bitcoin_data:/root/.bitcoin/ where to mount the bitcoin data directory inside the container
• volumes: - /your/path/to/lnd:/root/.lnd/ where to store the lnd data directory on the host machine
• command:--noseedbackup to disable the seed backup prompt for testing purposes (remove it if you want to be prompted for the seed backup)

+1 lndconnect service in a separate docker-compose file ( lndconnect/docker-compose.yml )

lndconnect is a service that generates a connection string for you to connect to your node via ZAP

• volume: - /your/path/to/lnd:/root/.lnd/ where to mount the lnd data directory inside the container
• --host=YOUR_IP_ADDRESS since we run it in a container we need to specify the host ip address to correctly generate the connection string

How to use it

• docker-compose up -d to start the services, wait a for the bitcoind to sync with the blockchain (it can take a while)
• docker-compose -f lndconnect/docker-compose.yml up to start the lndconnect service (it will generate a connection string for you to connect to your node via ZAP) (you can issue this command before the bitcoind syncs with the blockchain)