📅 Original date posted:2023-03-24
📝 Original message:
Hi List,
I am creating an app to manage your Bitcoin Lightning Node, but I am struggling to find a good solution to connect to the plethora of back ends that are available now. Especially via web, where I am encountering CORS errors, which would require the user to specifically configure their node to use the app, creating a not so great user experience.
Nodes may also be behind various firewalls, making them notoriously difficult to connect to remotely. Lightning Labs has made their solution called Lightning Node Connect, which uses a secure proxy WebSocket to talk to the node. But I fear Lightning Node Connect is far too tailored for use with LND, and gRPC. Also, I found myself having a hard time grasping the numerous different protocols, and handshakes it uses, as I needed to write an implementation in a language that it is not already available. Thus, the idea of getting other node back ends, like CLN, and Eclair to implement it, is a tough ask.
What if there was a BLIP that described a JSON RPC interface over a WebSocket, that node back ends can implement allowing any front end to be able to be used with any back end. It would include all basic features of lightning, like opening a channel, closing a channel, sending a payment, etc. Technically, even custodial solutions like Wallet of Satoshi, could implement this interface. This allows the freedom to use any interface you desire, similar to how you can use any email client, with any email server.
Additionally, it would be great to have also a proxy version of the JSON RPC interface, allowing two sides to connect and subscribe to each other, and the proxy server pass encrypted messages it cant read along to the other side, allowing you to use your node behind complicated firewalls, like Tor.
List, what do you think of something like this?
Thanks, Michael.
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michael at mikuhl.me [ARCHIVE] /
npub19x…neyu5
2023-06-09 13:08:22
in reply to nevent1q…ff39
Author Public Key
npub19xextguqsn676l2f8h8ahztfkjjrqxjkq0a2xr0jf39m3vxyfccssneyu5Published at
2023-06-09 13:08:22Event JSON
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"content": "📅 Original date posted:2023-03-24\n📝 Original message:\nHi List,\n\nI am creating an app to manage your Bitcoin Lightning Node, but I am struggling to find a good solution to connect to the plethora of back ends that are available now. Especially via web, where I am encountering CORS errors, which would require the user to specifically configure their node to use the app, creating a not so great user experience.\n\nNodes may also be behind various firewalls, making them notoriously difficult to connect to remotely. Lightning Labs has made their solution called Lightning Node Connect, which uses a secure proxy WebSocket to talk to the node. But I fear Lightning Node Connect is far too tailored for use with LND, and gRPC. Also, I found myself having a hard time grasping the numerous different protocols, and handshakes it uses, as I needed to write an implementation in a language that it is not already available. Thus, the idea of getting other node back ends, like CLN, and Eclair to implement it, is a tough ask.\n\nWhat if there was a BLIP that described a JSON RPC interface over a WebSocket, that node back ends can implement allowing any front end to be able to be used with any back end. It would include all basic features of lightning, like opening a channel, closing a channel, sending a payment, etc. Technically, even custodial solutions like Wallet of Satoshi, could implement this interface. This allows the freedom to use any interface you desire, similar to how you can use any email client, with any email server.\n\nAdditionally, it would be great to have also a proxy version of the JSON RPC interface, allowing two sides to connect and subscribe to each other, and the proxy server pass encrypted messages it cant read along to the other side, allowing you to use your node behind complicated firewalls, like Tor.\n\nList, what do you think of something like this?\nThanks, Michael.\n-------------- next part --------------\nAn HTML attachment was scrubbed...\nURL: \u003chttp://lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/lightning-dev/attachments/20230324/60474ac2/attachment.html\u003e",
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