Introduction

WebLN is a library and set of specifications for lightning apps and client providers to facilitate communication between apps and users' lightning nodes in a secure way. It provides a programmatic, permissioned interface for letting applications ask users to send payments, generate invoices to receive payments, and much more. This documentation covers both how to use WebLN in your Lightning-driven applications, but also how to implement a provider.

You may be interested in using WebLN if you...

• Have an application that accepts or makes Lightning payments to users
• Want to have decentralized identity and authentication in your application
• Are working on a Lightning node wallet, and want to make it easier for your users to interact with Lightning web apps

WebLN In the Wild

Some WebLN client providers include

• Joule - a WebLN-enabled browser extension that uses your own node
• Alby - a versatile open-source browser extension for the Bitcoin Lightning Network
• BlueWallet - a mobile wallet with a WebLN browser
• kwh - A firefox/chrome extension for WebLN to your c-lightning node
• Blixt Wallet - a non-custodial open-source Lightning Wallet with a WebLN browser

Some applications that use WebLN on the web include

• Bitrefill - Purchase gift cards with Bitcoin
• Lightning Spin - A roulette-style game where you can bet and win Satoshis
• LNMarkets - LN-powered Bitcoin derivatives trading platform
• Sparkshot - Platform for artists to monetize the release of their art.
• Stacker News - A reddit like platform with Lightning payments for upvotes of posts

Some demos to see what you can do with WebLN

• Sneak Peek of the Lightning Browser Extension & WebLN paywall
• Wordpress and the power of WebLN and LNURL

For App Developers

Jump into the Getting Started section to see how to install and use WebLN in your app.

A Quick Note About TypeScript

Code samples in this documentation will be in TypeScript, a statically-typed variant of JavaScript. WebLN is fully typed, and it's highly recommended you use TypeScript when using it for the best developer experience. Likewise, it's also recommended if you're implementing a provider, to make certain that you're compliant to the spec.