check-lightning

name	check-lightning
description	Audit Lightning Network integration. Checks node health, channel balances, peer connectivity, invoice handling, and routing. Use when: reviewing Lightning setup, diagnosing payment failures, or capacity planning. Keywords: lightning, lnd, cln, channels, invoices, bolt11.

/check-lightning

Audit Lightning integration. Output findings as structured report.

What This Does

1. Check node sync status
2. Check channel balances (inbound/outbound)
3. Audit peer connectivity
4. Verify invoice generation
5. Review payment routing success rate
6. Check watchtower configuration
7. Output prioritized findings (P0-P3)

This is a primitive. It only investigates and reports. Use /log-lightning-issues to create GitHub issues or /fix-lightning to fix.

Process

1. Node Sync Status (lncli getinfo)

# LND: node info + sync status
lncli --network=testnet getinfo

# CLN alternative
lightning-cli getinfo

2. Channel Balance (inbound/outbound liquidity)

# Channel balances + local/remote liquidity
lncli --network=testnet channelbalance
lncli --network=testnet listchannels

# On-chain wallet balance
lncli --network=testnet walletbalance

# CLN alternative
lightning-cli listfunds
lightning-cli listchannels

3. Peer Connectivity

# Peers connected?
lncli --network=testnet listpeers

# CLN alternative
lightning-cli listpeers

4. Invoice Generation

# Create test invoice (bolt11)
lncli --network=testnet addinvoice --amt 1000 --memo "healthcheck"

# List invoices
lncli --network=testnet listinvoices --max_invoices 5

# CLN alternative
lightning-cli invoice 1000 "healthcheck" "healthcheck"
lightning-cli listinvoices

5. Payment Routing Success Rate

# Forwarding history (route success)
lncli --network=testnet fwdinghistory --max_events 50

# Recent payments
lncli --network=testnet listpayments --max_payments 20

# CLN alternative
lightning-cli listforwards
lightning-cli listpays

6. Watchtower Configuration

# Watchtower info (LND)
lncli --network=testnet tower info 2>/dev/null || echo "No tower info (watchtower off?)"
lncli --network=testnet listtowers 2>/dev/null | head -5

# CLN alternative
lightning-cli listwatchtowers 2>/dev/null | head -5

7. Deep Audit

Spawn lightning-auditor agent for comprehensive review:

• Channel policy sanity (fees, cltv deltas)
• Route liquidity vs payment sizes
• Invoice expiry + preimage handling
• Peer reliability and channel age
• Backup + recovery posture

Output Format

## Lightning Audit

### P0: Critical (Payment Failures)
- Node not synced - Cannot route or pay
- No inbound liquidity - Invoices cannot be paid
- Watchtower disabled on public node

### P1: Essential (Must Fix)
- Peers disconnected or flapping
- High failure rate in forwarding history
- Invoice generation failing (bolt11 invalid)

### P2: Important (Should Fix)
- Low outbound liquidity - Payments often fail
- Fee policy too high for routes
- No channel backups verified
- No monitoring for stuck HTLCs

### P3: Nice to Have
- Optimize channel mix for inbound capacity
- Add more diverse peers
- Track success rate over time

## Current Status
- Sync: Unknown
- Liquidity: Unknown
- Peers: Unknown
- Invoices: Unknown
- Routing: Unknown
- Watchtower: Unknown

## Summary
- P0: 2 | P1: 3 | P2: 4 | P3: 3
- Recommendation: Fix sync + inbound liquidity before routing work

Priority Mapping

Gap	Priority
Node not synced	P0
No inbound liquidity	P0
Watchtower off on public node	P0
Peer instability	P1
Routing failures	P1
Invoice generation broken	P1
Low outbound liquidity	P2
Fee policy too high	P2
Missing channel backups	P2
Optimization work	P3

Related

• /log-lightning-issues - Create GitHub issues from findings
• /fix-lightning - Fix Lightning issues
• /lightning - Full Lightning lifecycle management
• /check-bitcoin - Bitcoin on-chain audit
• /check-btcpay - BTCPay Server audit
• /check-payments - Multi-provider payment audit