# ElementsProject/lightning

Core Lightning — Lightning Network implementation focusing on spec compliance and performance

Repository: https://github.com/ElementsProject/lightning
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/lightning
Language: C
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: bitcoin, lightning, lightning-network, p2p
Last push: 2026-08-26T14:24:22+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 97/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 94, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4100, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 42, "gap_med": 27.5, "n_releases_24m": 21}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3088, forks 1013 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:42.140219+00:00)

## What it is
Core Lightning (CLN) is a specification-compliant Lightning Network node implementation written in C, maintained by Blockstream and in production on Bitcoin mainnet since 2018. It runs a lightning daemon (lightningd) with a JSON-RPC interface for managing channels and payments, and is highly customizable via plugins.

## Use cases
- run a lightning network node on bitcoin mainnet
- send and receive lightning payments
- open and manage payment channels
- build lightning payment services on a customizable node
- experiment with lightning on testnet or regtest
- integrate lightning payments via JSON-RPC or plugins

## When to choose
- you need a stable, spec-compliant lightning node for production mainnet use
- you want a lightweight, plugin-extensible node with a JSON-RPC API
- you run Linux or macOS and already operate a bitcoind backend

## When to avoid
- you need Windows support, which is not available
- you want a GUI-first wallet rather than a daemon with RPC interface
- you cannot run a fully synced bitcoind instance

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: stable
- function: rpc, networking, cli, cryptography, p2p
- domain: blockchain, fintech, self-hosted, developer-tools
- platform: cli, self-hosted
- tags: lightning-network, bitcoin, lightning-node, payments, blockstream, json-rpc, c, cryptocurrency, linux, macos, docker

## Member repositories
- ElementsProject/lightning (main) score 97

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:42.140219+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T07:27:30.488698+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/ElementsProject/lightning (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:42.140219+00:00, sha ac3940444a8f)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.