claude-dev-suite Eclair (ACINQ)
Eclair is ACINQ's Lightning implementation. Scala-based, runs on JVM, designed primarily as a routing/payment infrastructure node rather than personal wallet.
Components
eclair-node— main daemon.eclair-cli— CLI tool wrapping HTTP API.- HTTP/JSON-RPC API (no gRPC by default).
- Phoenix (mobile wallet) talks to ACINQ's Eclair backend via custom protocol.
Configuration
eclair.conf:
eclair {
chain = "mainnet"
bitcoind {
host = "127.0.0.1"
rpcport = 8332
rpcuser = "..."
rpcpassword = "..."
zmqblock = "tcp://127.0.0.1:28332"
zmqtx = "tcp://127.0.0.1:28333"
}
api {
enabled = true
port = 8080
binding-ip = "127.0.0.1"
password = "..."
}
node-alias = "eclair-node"
channel {
fund-min = 100000 sat
fund-max = 500000000 sat
}
on-chain-fees {
feerate-tolerance.ratio-low = 0.5
feerate-tolerance.ratio-high = 10.0
}
}
HOCON syntax (superset of JSON).
API
HTTP basic auth with single password (set in conf). Calls:
curl -u :password -X POST http://localhost:8080/getinfo
curl -u :password -d "uri=03abc...@host:9735" \
http://localhost:8080/connect
curl -u :password -d "nodeId=03abc..." -d "fundingSatoshis=1000000" \
http://localhost:8080/open
curl -u :password -d "invoice=lnbc..." \
http://localhost:8080/payinvoice
Plugin architecture
Eclair plugins are JVM JAR files dropped into the plugins/ directory.
Implement Plugin interface in Scala/Java. Hooks into:
- Channel events.
- Payment events.
- Routing decisions.
Watchtower
Eclair has built-in watchtower for outbound channels:
eclair.watchtowers {
client.enabled = true
}
Sends encrypted breach blobs to configured tower nodes.
Implementation strengths
- Liquidity advertisement: Eclair pioneered "liquidity ads" for selling channel inbound to peers.
- PathFinding: variant of Dijkstra with sophisticated probability tracking.
- Backend / server-grade: designed for high-throughput routing nodes.
- Phoenix backend: ACINQ's hosted infrastructure for Phoenix users.
Phoenix integration
Phoenix mobile wallet uses a hybrid model:
- Mobile holds keys (self-custodial).
- ACINQ-hosted Eclair server is "trusted intermediary" for channel-on-pay and routing.
- "Splice-on-demand" — Phoenix can request capacity changes.
Memory / resource
JVM-based: ~500 MB - 1 GB RAM typical. Heavier than LND/CLN/LDK but not unreasonable for a backend.
Common issues
- JVM tuning: heap too small → OOM under load.
- HTTP API password leak via process listing — use env var or file reference instead.
- Backup: SQLite database in
~/.eclair/eclair.sqlite.db. Standard warnings about not restoring old DB. - Plugin compatibility breaks across Eclair versions; verify before upgrading.