I recently started to run a CLN node using start9 node in a box solution and so far it has been a disaster!
After I got the node spun up I connected it to my Zeus wallet to open a private channel. Once the channel didn’t open I tried to open it again on Zeus with no success.
To get better node management results I started to use Ride The Lightning. That is when I noticed both channels were stuck pending open. Using txn IDs I had no luck in finding transaction for either channel even after the mempools cleared. These two channel opens still show up as pending on RTL and I have no clue how to fix it
To make my node discoverable I opened a sizable channel to Wallet of Satoshi. After failing to make any payments besides to WOS wallets I decided to close this channel. The cooperative close took longer than usual so I force closed it.
After the close the utxos are not showing up on Zeus or RTL. When checking the mempool I confirmed the channel closed and utxos went to my node but for some reason both RTL and Zeus aren’t showing the most recent state of my CLN node.
I tried to get help on the BOL2 social media community but it went dry there quickly.
If anyone can provide troubleshooting tips or a step by step way to recover the correct state of this node I’ll pay the bounty once I can access the utxos from this closed channel. I’ll throw in some extra sats if you can help me fix the pending channel close as well.
I have limited experience with command line and Linux but I can follow instructions if they are clear and well written.
cln contributor here!
Let's try to put this down ok and solve your problem!
Based on my experience, using the command line interface (CLI) is the best option, as there may be UI bugs that can cause issues. I can provide you with copy-and-paste commands to help you.
To view your UTXO info and open channels, you can run
lightning-cli listfundsand find your UTXOs under the outputs section. If you have jq installed, you can runlightning-cli listfunds | jq .outputsto see this information.I'm interested in seeing the status of your UTXOs and if possible, information about your channels. Let me know if you have any questions.
I completed this i see the Two pending channels both say “channelD awaiting lockin. Both ssh connected true
The channel I tried to close says connected “false” But the state says “ONCHAIN”
I also see my two UTXOS that are showing up in RTL and Zeus
What should I do next?
Nothing, just wait. The thing that can happen here is that at the moment of your closing the channel, the counterparty was offline.
In this case, you should force close, but CLN can choose another way, which is to wait for a certain amount of time before trying to close again. Only if the node is still offline after this waiting period will Core Lightning force close the channel.
This may result in a slightly higher fee, but your bitcoins will be safe and will eventually be returned to you, or maybe they have already been returned
The sats came back but how do I fix my pending channel problem? Any idea s?
I been waiting for at least two weeks. How much longer will I have to wait? I already tried to force close the channel on RTL
what the core lightning logs are telling you?
I paid half the bounty to you. Thanks for your help getting into the cli put me at ease. But a further dive into the docs I saw what the issue is with the two pending channels. I think I discovered a new bug in CLN I haven’t posted it to the GitHub yet but the solutions they explain in their documentation doesn’t work.
If you open an issue and tag me we can work around it, maybe the docs is not updated or just we had a bug.
Please make the issue when you had time
Complete
Okay thanks I have to ssh in first to access the ln cli.
What happens when you run
lightning-cli listfundsAnd I know what this sounds like, but have you tried a power cycle?
Same issue here, but not sure why after ssh in I get the error
-bash: lightning-cli command not foundWhat'm missing?
You'd have to find the docker container id and exec into it first.
docker psdocker exec -it <container_id> /bin/shSee if you can't look at the logs using this: https://docs.start9.com/latest/user-manual/managing-services#service-logs
Recurring errors on the log...
ERROR: CLWebSocket => Web socket error: connect ECONNREFUSED 178.18.0.3:3001 ERROR: WebSocketServer => Broadcasting error to clients...: {"error":"connect ECONNREFUSED 178.18.0.3:3001"}.Not sure how or where to run this using the star9 CLN app.
I haven’t tried a power cycle I did restart the app and RTL on start9 and that didn’t work
I don't own a start9 node but I'm guessing you'd need to ssh into the machine.
Try restarting the machine first. Then check that listfunds command and also the logs (idk if it's safe to post online, probably not).
cat /var/log/start9/lightningd.logPower cycle didn’t work will work on ssh next
Okay doing that now