Rank 12unstatedL402

lnget

curl for L402 — an HTTP client that pays 402 invoices automatically

Rank: 12 of 14
Composite score: 7.5 / 10
Schemes: L402
Role: Pays 402 challenges
Kind: client
Maturity: unstated
Protocol / rail: Bitcoin / Lightning (L402)
Assets: BTC
Networks: lightning
Custody model: Self-custodial (your lnd node, LNC, or embedded wallet)
Node management: Required
MCP native: No
License: MIT
Last verified: 2026-10-15

Overview

lnget is a command-line HTTP client, like wget or curl, that handles L402 payments transparently: when a server returns 402, it pays the invoice, caches the token and retries. A --max-cost flag caps spend per request, which makes it a safe primitive for agents that can run shell commands. It needs a Lightning backend — an lnd node, a remote node through Lightning Node Connect, or an experimental embedded Neutrino wallet.

Key advantages

Pays 402 invoices and retries transparently, caching the L402 token
--max-cost caps what a single request may spend
Usable from any shell or agent that can run a command

Trade-offs

Needs a Lightning backend: lnd, Lightning Node Connect, or an experimental embedded wallet
Lightning and L402 only

Evaluation matrix

Custody & Sovereignty9.0
Self-custodial with exit guarantees vs. centralized/custodial risk. A 10 means the holder keeps their own keys and can unilaterally exit to the base chain; a custodial platform scores around 4.
Operational Friction5.0
Infrastructure burden. Zero nodes, channels or liquidity to manage scores a 10; running and maintaining your own Lightning node scores around 4–5.
Agent Native Support7.0
Out-of-the-box MCP server integration, typed tool calls and LLM-friendly setup. A first-party MCP server scores 9–10; a library or CLI an agent can drive scores 6–8.
Payment Rails & Assets7.0
Breadth of settlement rails and assets: Lightning for true micropayments, stablecoins for a stable unit of account, cards for mainstream reach. A single asset on a single network scores around 7.
Settlement Speed & Fees9.5
Instant sub-second settlement with near-zero overhead scores a 10. Block-bound settlement scores around 8; card-network settlement and fees score lower.
Developer DX7.5
SDK quality, documentation, maintenance and copy-paste integration speed. Alpha-stage API churn, stale releases or inconsistent docs lower the score.

Why these scores. Custody 9: your own node or wallet. Friction 5: needs lnd or LNC. Agent 7: a CLI any agent can call; no MCP server. Rails 7: Lightning only. Settlement 9.5: Lightning. DX 7.5: one go install and simple flags.

Integration

Install

go install github.com/lightninglabs/lnget/cmd/lnget@latest

Usage

lnget https://api.example.com/premium-data.json
lnget -o data.json https://api.example.com/data.json
lnget -q https://api.example.com/data.json | jq .
lnget --max-cost 5000 https://api.example.com/expensive-endpoint

Best for

Agents and scripts that call L402-protected APIs from the command line with a hard spending cap.

Sources

Every claim on this page was checked against these sources on 2026-10-15. Maturity “unstated” means: the vendor does not state a maturity level.

Machine-readable

fetch this entry as JSON

curl "https://402mcp.org/api/v1/solutions?id=lightning-labs-lnget&view=full"

or as Markdown

curl -H 'Accept: text/markdown' https://402mcp.org/solutions/lightning-labs-lnget