Lightning Address

Lightning Address

The Lightning Address is a simple human-readable HTTP-based resolver for an LNURL Pay QR code. Instead of scanning a QR code or copy-pasting a string like lnurl1ja9ch12......, with Lightning Address you can use username@domain.com.

Fetching Information

andre@zbd.gg = username@domain.com

When evaluating a Lightning Address, all that needs to be done is extract the username and the domain.com from the address and perform a GET request. The returned response payload is the response for the normal LNURL Pay flow, also known as LUD 6.

From username@domain.com to https://domain.com/.well-known/lnurlp/username.

To decode Lightning Addresses. head on over to Lightning Decoder app. A few other examples of Lightning Address follow below:

• andre@zbd.gg
• fiatjaf@lntxbot.com
• sergej@bitrefill.me
• fox2pzeb@ln.tips
• root@stadicus.com

Response Example

This response payload is identical to the response payload of the next request. This is to showcase how the Lightning Address and the LNURL Pay (encoded URL) QR codes are interchangeable. LN Address just resolves to the QR code itself.

{
  "minSendable":1000,
  "maxSendable":150000000,
  "commentAllowed":150,
  "tag":"payRequest",
  "metadata":"[[\"text/plain\",\"andre - Welcome to ZEBEDEE! ;)\"], [\"text/identifier\",\"andre@zbd.gg\"]",
  "callback":"https://api.zebedee.io/v0/process-static-charges/d0f2c3da-e836-480a-bf8c-f5d5b167d6f8"
}

LNURL Pay Fetch Details

The LNURL Pay flow is comprised of 2 API requests, one for fetching metadata, min/max sending amounts, and callback URL, followed by a second request which performs the actual get me an invoice request.

This API represents the first API where the payload response follows the LUD6 protocol.

Response Example

{
  "minSendable":1000,
  "maxSendable":150000000,
  "commentAllowed":150,
  "tag":"payRequest",
  "metadata":"[[\"text/plain\",\"andre - Welcome to ZEBEDEE! ;)\"], [\"text/identifier\",\"andre@zbd.gg\"]",
  "callback":"https://api.zebedee.io/v0/process-static-charges/d0f2c3da-e836-480a-bf8c-f5d5b167d6f8"
}

Request Invoice

After fetching the LNURL Pay parameters with the previous API endpoint, we now have access to the callback property, which outlines the URL for submitting a GET call to retrieve a new invoice. This is the Hey, give me an invoice for 500 satoshis part.

Using the amount query parameter in the GET request with the provided callback, if the amount is between the minSendable and maxSendable amounts, then an invoice will returned in the response payload.

Note that values are in millisatoshis, not satoshis. 1 sat = 1000 msat.

Response Example

The pr property that gets returned is the Lightning Network invoice itself (payment request).

{
  "pr": "lnbc10n1pshnqgkpp5gfmfa8srqgxdujnlw2a3yx39xex6ymg488jstyxt8z3q624v863shp5qafhuasqm6ukxux3kgzrwjt0xeuahld0y3vzlhvlm2rgllt98lqscqzpgxqzfvsp5z5plachz6hkd46ru8e7kq9mhzn9avf6qn8akxxwyg5faqz3kvams9qyyssqp752ymtv3crupuwwu4ax6dav4adsk56jnxjt44htjz696lj8ftpzs8456aex5qfy7g8k38rxkvny00c4pjj88y2pg4ydx6khz5p8rysq6pacm8",
}

If you wish to decode/learn more about this invoice, head on over to Lightning Decoder.