Core Lightning is a modular Lightning Network node implementation that runs the same daemon from a personal node to a Lightning service provider, and extends in any language.
Core Lightning’s dual funding lets both peers put capital in at open, so the channel routes in either direction from the first block instead of waiting on inbound liquidity.
Buy and sell inbound liquidity peer to peer over the gossip network, with no centralized coordinator.
Rebalance with on-chain swaps instead of closing and reopening channels, via the PeerSwap plugin.
Resize a live channel without closing it, interoperable with Eclair.
Route randomization and shadow routing run automatically on every payment. There are no flags to remember.
Receive over BOLT 12 offers without exposing your node’s public key or IP.
Amounts split across routes, so no single hop sees the full payment.
Run the node entirely behind Tor for network-level privacy.
Randomized route hints and required payment secrets make balance probing harder.
Add RPC commands, subscribe to events, and hook into the daemon’s internals without touching core code. Plugins run as subprocesses, written in Python, Rust, Go, JavaScript, or anything that speaks JSON-RPC.
The built-in plugin manager installs, updates, or removes any plugin with one command.
Watchtower clients, Nostr Wallet Connect, hold invoices, and more in the community plugin repository, plus third-party projects like CLBOSS autopilot and PeerSwap.
pyln-client for Python and cln-grpc for Rust, maintained in the main repo.
BOLT 12 offers handle recurring and spontaneous payments with proof of payment, enabled by default.
Payment engine that also handles BOLT 11 invoices and BIP-353 addresses.
Pay cln@blockstream.com directly via BIP-353 DNS payment instructions.
Standard invoices keep working alongside offers, with nothing to migrate.
The same daemon serves a personal node and a Lightning service provider. Configure what the deployment needs and skip the rest.
Install from a pre-built binary or Docker image and point it at your bitcoind.
JSON-RPC 2.0 over Unix socket, gRPC, and REST via clnrest.
Token-based authentication with per-command, time, and rate restrictions.
Millisatoshi-level accounting with CSV export and a SQL interface.
Lightning Service Provider Specifications support: LSPS0 transport, with LSPS2 experimental.
Each of the major implementations makes a different set of tradeoffs, and the differences show up in production.
| Core Lightning | LND | Eclair | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Codebase | C and Rust | Go | Scala |
| Architecture | Fully modular, plugin model | Monolithic | Monolithic with plugins |
| Dual-funded channels | Yes, first implementation | No | Yes |
| BOLT 12 offers | Default since v24.11 | No | No |
| Plugin languages | Any | Go only | JVM only |
| Automation | CLBOSS autopilot, third-party plugin | Limited | None |
Accurate as of August 2026.
Core Lightning is built by its community, and we are one of its major contributors. Suggest features, report issues, and join the discussion on the next release.
For a Core Lightning node without running the infrastructure, Greenlight hosts one in the cloud while your keys stay on your device.