Hey everyone
I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know about my new project Nodana.
In a nutshell, it enables you to run phoenixd in the cloud using a CLI. No registration, personal details or credit cards required. I’ve been running an instance for Sintra (my other project), replacing a more "traditional" Lightning node (from Voltage) and so far, so good.
In case you don’t know already, phoenixd is a lightweight, specialised Lightning node from ACINQ with automated channel management and liquidity.
I’m looking for some beta testers with small projects who would like to give this a try. Full support on offer to help you get set up.
Feel free to register your interest or leave feedback either on here or via Nostr (link available on homepage).
Thanks all
Learn how to attach phoenixd to SN #695912
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Hey all. Now able to accept test users. Got a limited number of API keys to give out so DM me on Nostr and I'll ping one over. Beta test keys come with 1m sats (sorry these can't be withdrawn to a wallet).
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Sorry, not 1m... my bad. But it's enough to test things out.
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Would it also be possible to use REST for interaction?
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Interaction with the Nodana api you mean? If so then yes as the nodana-cli just calls these endpoints anyway. If you mean interaction with phoenixd then again yes as per their documentation. This would simply be a cloud-based version and you can call the endpoints in the normal way via your own dedicated connection uri.
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Thanks for clarifying.
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No problem. By REST, I assumed you actually meant standard HTTP requests rather than use a cli. The Phoenixd API isn't particularly RESTful though fwiw but Nodana's will be.
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Minimal REST support only, according to their API doc: https://phoenix.acinq.co/server/api
What will you do differently, if I may ask?
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I just mean Nodana's API (to control containers for example) will be a RESTful API but I would recommend using the cli anyway. Nodana doesn't control the Phoenixd API so you would need to consult their docs when interacting with it.
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Thank you.
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hey, i'm interested to beta test. here's my situation:
  • i have a VPS running nginx
  • i have no LN node or BTC node running in VPS (yet, i'm pretty sure somebody could help me understand best practices here, but i've been delaying the project because i don't have the immediate understanding)
  • i'm comfortable in CLI tools (can setup a systemd service) but not a greybeard or anything cool like that
  • i have about 10 hours i could dedicate to getting this setup in the next week
  • having this in place would enable me to accept LN for my business (fundamentally, i need customers who will pay in LN... but cart/horse etc...)
hit me on nostr if you want.
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Hi. So you won't need to add any systemd services or anything like that with this. All you would need to do is run something like "nodana start" and this will spin up a phoenixd instance. You can then connect to it from your app and call the phoenixd endpoints as per their documentation. It's what I do on Sintra - just create an invoice and then listen (via websockets) for when it's paid.
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so, i'm relying on their lightning node?
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Not quite sure what you mean by "relying on their lightning node" but with phoenixd there'll always be some dependence on ACINQ - in return you don't need to worry about channels and liquidity like you would need to with a standard Lightning node.
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You should mention that the mobile app Phoenix, is FOSS and so you can fork it and point it to this said phoenixd instance
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Tell me more about it. Is actually possible to tinker with the Phoenix wallet low level settings in order to connect with a swlf hosted phoenixd ?
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Well, you're saying settings and I'm saying code
This is the code. You gotta dig through it, find where it opens a channel with ACINQ, and point at yourself instead.
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @tolot 13 May
Okay, I meant code. But is all the trampoline idea portable simply by changing a pointer to the node. I don't think so. But I never thought through it.
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TBH, it might be easier to PCAP and point to your own DNS to trick it into thinking your server is ACINQ lol (There's probably a lightning node URI you gotta change in there though)
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I'd like to know more.
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Sure, anything in particular?
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I too would like to know more.
What is this providing that phoenixd isn't already? You mention a cli, but the phoenixd cli already looks pretty straightforward.
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100 sats \ 2 replies \ @t0m OP 13 May
Hey. So the cli I mention is to administer Nodana, not phoenixd. For example, you can start and stop phoenixd containers with the cli. Nodana provides the cloud based phoenixd instance without you needing to spin up a server, configure it, set up Nginx, DNS etc. I guess some people will be happy to do the server admin stuff and some won't be. Hope that answers your questions.
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Ok, sounds to me like a docker compose with Phoenixd & some common dependencies, similar to what a Helm chart for Kubernetes would do. Is that a fair comparison?
Also, would this tool let you change the network configurations (i.e IP vs TOR)?
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Docker compose is an implementation detail. His service offers hosting. Think Heroku, except more specialized because the only thing he's hosting is phoenixd.
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