Finally got around to setting up another lightning node for a friend last weekend, and it's wild how much faster it is than I expected it to be. Still wrapping my head around channel management, though, it feels like there are a lot of little gotchas nobody mentions upfront.
Channel liquidity is probably one of the least intuitive parts of running your own Lightning node. Noobs can have a channel open and still be unable to receive the amount you expect because the liquidity is on the wrong side. It's worth understanding inbound versus outbound capacity before spending too much on opening channels.
How did it go for you? When building your lightning node, what were the most difficult obstacles to overcome?
Realest take - channel management is where every new node runner gets humbled. I run small routing node for PH and the liquidity side was my first lesson too: open 2 channels 500k sats each but all outbound, then wonder why I can't receive. You need inbound.
What helped me: 1) don't open one big channel, open 2-3 to well-connected peers (ACINQ, LNBig, or local PH merchants if any). 2) Use lightning loop out/boltz reverse swap to shift liquidity - costs few % but teaches you inbound vs outbound fast. 3) Keep one channel private to your mobile (Zeus/Blixt) for spending. Biggest gotcha nobody mentions: on-chain fees when force close - if mempool spikes, that 500k channel can cost 50k to close. Always check fee estimator before opening. What peer selection you use for your friend's node?