How to Open a Lightning Channel

Ready to open your first Lightning channel? This guide walks you through the entire process, from preparation to confirmation.

Before You Start

You'll need:

• ✅ A Lightning node (LND, Core Lightning, Eclair, or a wallet with node features)
• ✅ Some on-chain Bitcoin for funding (minimum ~50,000 sats recommended)
• ✅ Your node synced to the blockchain
• ✅ A peer to connect to (like LOM!)

Step 1: Get Your Node Info

First, find your node's public key and address. Here's how for common implementations:

# LND
lncli getinfo | grep identity_pubkey
lncli getinfo | grep uris

# Core Lightning
lightning-cli getinfo | grep id

# Umbrel
# Go to Lightning Node → Node Info

Your node URI looks like:

Step 2: Connect to LOM

Before opening a channel, connect to our node:

# LND
lncli connect 02a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6e7f8a9b0c1d2e3f4a5b6c7d8e9f0a1b2c3{{ $node['onion'] }}

# Core Lightning  
lightning-cli connect 02a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6e7f8a9b0c1d2e3f4a5b6c7d8e9f0a1b2c3 mumu7octopus3lightning.onion:9735

Step 3: Open the Channel

Option A: Outbound Channel (You → LOM)

You fund the channel with your Bitcoin. This gives you sending capacity.

# LND - Open 500,000 sat channel
lncli openchannel 02a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6e7f8a9b0c1d2e3f4a5b6c7d8e9f0a1b2c3 500000

# Core Lightning
lightning-cli fundchannel 02a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6e7f8a9b0c1d2e3f4a5b6c7d8e9f0a1b2c3 500000

Option B: Request Inbound Channel (LOM → You)

We fund the channel, giving you receiving capacity. Use our request form:

1. Go to Request a Channel
2. Enter your node pubkey and address
3. Select "Inbound" channel type
4. Pay the 25,000 sat fee via Lightning invoice
5. We'll open the channel within 24 hours

Step 4: Wait for Confirmation

Channel opens are on-chain transactions. You'll need to wait for confirmations:

• 1 confirmation: ~10 minutes (channel visible but not usable)
• 3 confirmations: ~30 minutes (safe for small amounts)
• 6 confirmations: ~1 hour (fully confirmed, safe for any amount)

# Check pending channels (LND)
lncli pendingchannels

# List active channels
lncli listchannels

Step 5: Verify Your Channel

Once confirmed, verify your channel is active:

# LND
lncli listchannels | grep -A 20 "02a1b2c3d4e5f6a7"

# Check balance
lncli channelbalance

Common Issues

What's Next?

Now that your channel is open:

• 🔍 Check your channel status
• 💸 Try sending a small payment to test
• 📊 Monitor your channel balance over time
• 📚 Learn about troubleshooting if issues arise