Practical overview
When it fits
Use it when integrating per-request Bitcoin Lightning billing into a Go web service and you can provide a supported Lightning node connection and preimage storage.
Who it is for
- Go API developers adding pay-per-call access to selected endpoints.
- Go service operators who need to choose preimage storage based on persistence and deployment scale.
- Go developers consuming APIs protected by Ln Paywall through its client package.
Documented uses
- Require a Lightning payment before serving a protected API request.
- Check that a submitted preimage corresponds to a paid invoice and has not already been used.
- Choose a preimage cache appropriate to a single instance or horizontally scaled service.
- Consume a paywalled API using the supplied Go client package.
Requirements & limits
The project is published as a public repository under the MPL-2.0 license.
- The middleware supports net/http Handler and HandlerFunc, Gin and Echo; the README also identifies gorilla/mux, httprouter and chi as compatible with its net/http middleware.
- The documented payment cycle uses HTTP 402 with a BOLT-11 invoice, followed by a retry carrying the paid invoice’s hex-encoded preimage in X-Preimage.
- The middleware requires a running Lightning node; the README describes lnd and c-lightning with Lightning Charge integrations.
- A Go map is neither persistent nor suitable for sharing used-preimage state across instances; bbolt persists locally but remains file-based; Redis supports persistent storage across horizontally scaled services.
- The client package is for Go consumers of paywalled APIs. The API gateway for services in other languages is described as roadmap, not a current library feature.
Check current requirements in the official documentation. Source-based guidance does not mean OpenViST has run or independently tested this project.
Prepare Lightning node and preimage storage prerequisites
Identify a supported Lightning node connection and storage option before integrating Ln Paywall into a Go API.
Before you start
- A running Lightning Network node. The README lists lnd and c-lightning with Lightning Charge as supported integrations.
- For lnd, the node must listen for gRPC connections; external connections require suitable listening configuration and a TLS certificate covering the external IP address.
- A preimage storage option: Go map, bbolt or Redis.
Steps
Choose a documented Lightning integration: lnd, or c-lightning used with Lightning Charge.
Select preimage storage according to deployment needs: Go map for non-persistent single-instance use, bbolt for persistent file-based single-instance use, or Redis for persistent storage usable across horizontally scaled services.
For Redis, arrange the required local or remote TCP connection and administration; the README advises using password configuration in production.
Expected outcome
A documented node and storage approach is selected for a later Go middleware integration.
Guide limitations
- This is prerequisite planning, not a middleware installation or deployment procedure.
- A Go map does not persist used preimages and cannot share them across horizontally scaled instances.
- bbolt persists data but is file-based and cannot be shared across horizontally scaled instances.
- Redis requires a TCP connection and administration.
- Eclair is listed as not implemented; vanilla c-lightning without Lightning Charge is not supported in the described setup.
Sources & review
Source record details
- Source availability
- Active
- Sources checked
- 17 October 2026
- Original website title
- philippgille/ln-paywall · Official homepage title · retained in its source language