Blink Lightning CLI

Bitcoin Lightning wallet for the command line — zero runtime npm dependencies, Node.js 18+ built-ins only.

24 commands for wallet management, payments, invoices, swaps, L402 paywall operations (consumer + producer), service discovery, and budget controls. Designed for humans and AI agents alike.

Highlights

• Zero runtime dependencies — only Node.js 18+ built-ins (node:crypto, node:fs, node:util, etc.)
• 24 commands — balance, payments, invoices, QR codes, swaps, L402 consumer + producer, service discovery, budget controls
• L402 paywall toolkit — create Lightning paywalls (producer) and pay them (consumer)
• 261 tests, 0 failing — node:test framework, no test library dependencies
• JSON-first output — structured JSON to stdout, status messages to stderr
• AI-agent native — published on ClawHub for OpenClaw/Hermes agents; also works with any LLM or human

Quick Start

export BLINK_API_KEY="blink_..."

blink balance                                          # wallet balances + USD estimates
blink create-invoice 1000 "Coffee payment"             # create a Lightning invoice
blink pay-invoice lnbc...                              # pay a Lightning invoice
blink price 50000                                      # convert sats to USD
blink l402-challenge --amount 100 --expiry 3600        # create an L402 paywall challenge
blink l402-verify --token <macaroon>:<preimage>        # verify a client's payment proof

Commands

Wallet

Command	Description
blink balance	Show BTC and USD wallet balances with pre-computed USD estimates
blink account-info	Show account level, spending limits, and wallet summary
blink transactions	List recent wallet transactions with pagination
blink price	BTC/USD price, currency conversion, and price history (no API key required)

Payments

Command	Description
blink pay-invoice <bolt11>	Pay a BOLT-11 Lightning invoice
blink pay-lnaddress <addr> <sats>	Send sats to a Lightning Address (user@domain)
blink pay-lnurl <lnurl> <sats>	Send sats to a raw LNURL payRequest string
blink fee-probe <bolt11>	Estimate the fee for paying a Lightning invoice without sending

Invoices

Command	Description
blink create-invoice <sats> [memo]	Create a BTC Lightning invoice with optional auto-subscribe
blink create-invoice-usd <cents> [memo]	Create a USD-denominated Lightning invoice
blink check-invoice <hash>	Check payment status of a Lightning invoice by payment hash
blink subscribe-invoice <bolt11>	Watch an invoice for payment via WebSocket
blink subscribe-updates	Stream account activity updates via WebSocket (NDJSON)
blink qr <bolt11>	Generate a QR code for a Lightning invoice (terminal + PNG file)

Swaps

Command	Description
blink swap-quote <direction> <amount>	Get a BTC <-> USD conversion quote (no funds moved)
blink swap-execute <direction> <amount>	Execute a BTC <-> USD wallet conversion

L402 Consumer (pay paywalls)

Command	Description
blink l402-discover <url>	Probe a URL for L402 payment requirements (no payment made)
blink l402-pay <url>	Fetch an L402-gated resource, paying automatically via Blink
blink l402-store <subcommand>	Manage the L402 token cache (~/.blink/l402-tokens.json)
blink l402-search [query]	Search L402 service directories (l402.directory, 402index.io)
blink l402-info <service_id>	Get full service details + paid health reports

L402 Producer (create paywalls)

Command	Description
blink l402-challenge --amount <sats>	Create an L402 payment challenge (invoice + signed macaroon)
blink l402-verify --token <mac>:<pre>	Verify an L402 payment token (preimage + HMAC + caveats)

Budget Controls

Command	Description
blink budget status	Show current spend vs rolling limits and remaining budget
blink budget set --hourly <sats> --daily <sats>	Set per-hour and per-day spending limits
blink budget allowlist list|add|remove <domain>	Manage L402 domain allowlist
blink budget log [--last N]	Show recent spending entries
blink budget reset	Clear spending history

Installation

Standalone

git clone https://github.com/blinkbitcoin/blink-skills.git
cd blink-skills
export BLINK_API_KEY="blink_..."
./bin/blink.js balance

Or add to your PATH:

export PATH="$PATH:$(pwd)/bin"
blink balance

OpenClaw / Hermes Agents

Published on ClawHub as [email protected]. The full skill manifest and agent instructions are in blink/SKILL.md.

With blink-mcp

For MCP-native clients (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.), see blink-mcp. The CLI is typically 80-100x more token-efficient per agent session than MCP tool calls.

Configuration

Variable	Required	Description
BLINK_API_KEY	Yes (wallet ops)	Blink API key (blink_...). Not needed for price.
BLINK_API_URL	No	Override API endpoint. Default: https://api.blink.sv/graphql
BLINK_L402_ROOT_KEY	No	64-char hex root key for L402 producer HMAC signing. Auto-generated to ~/.blink/l402-root-key if not set.
BLINK_BUDGET_HOURLY_SATS	No	Max sats spendable in rolling 1-hour window.
BLINK_BUDGET_DAILY_SATS	No	Max sats spendable in rolling 24-hour window.
BLINK_L402_ALLOWED_DOMAINS	No	Comma-separated domain allowlist for L402 auto-pay.

Staging / testnet:

export BLINK_API_URL="https://api.staging.blink.sv/graphql"

Testing

npm test    # 261 tests, node:test framework, zero test dependencies

Documentation

Full command reference, output examples, security model, and agent instructions: blink/SKILL.md

License

MIT