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AGENTS.md

This file provides guidance for AI coding agents working on the Alby Hub repository.

Project Overview

Alby Hub is a self-custodial Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC) service that bridges Lightning Network wallets with applications supporting the NIP-47 protocol. It supports multiple Lightning backends (LDK, LND, Phoenixd, Cashu) and runs as either a web server or a desktop app (via Wails).

Tech Stack

  • Backend: Go 1.25, Echo v4, GORM, SQLite (default) / PostgreSQL
  • Frontend: React 18, TypeScript, Vite, Tailwind CSS 4, shadcn/ui, Radix UI, Zustand, SWR
  • Desktop: Wails v2 (produces native desktop app using Go + web frontend)
  • Lightning: LDK (embedded), LND (gRPC), Phoenixd, Cashu
  • Protocol: Nostr NIP-47 (Nostr Wallet Connect)

Project Structure

hub/
├── api/                  # HTTP API handlers and request/response models
├── alby/                 # Alby account integration (OAuth, backups)
├── apps/                 # App connection management
├── cmd/http/main.go      # HTTP server entry point
├── config/               # Configuration management
├── db/                   # Database layer, migrations, queries
├── events/               # Event pub/sub system
├── frontend/             # React frontend (see below)
├── http/                 # HTTP service router
├── lnclient/             # LN abstraction interface + implementations
│   ├── ldk/              # Embedded LDK node
│   ├── lnd/              # LND gRPC client
│   ├── phoenixd/         # Phoenixd client
│   └── cashu/            # Cashu client
├── nip47/                # NIP-47 protocol implementation
│   ├── controllers/      # Per-method request handlers
│   ├── permissions/      # Permission validation
│   └── cipher/           # NIP-04 encryption
├── service/              # Core service orchestration
├── swaps/                # Boltz atomic swap integration
├── transactions/         # Transaction tracking and metadata
├── tests/                # Test helpers and utilities
└── wails/                # Wails desktop-specific handlers

Frontend Structure

frontend/src/
├── components/           # Reusable UI components
├── screens/              # Page-level route components
├── contexts/             # React context providers
├── hooks/                # Custom React hooks
├── state/                # Zustand client state stores
├── lib/                  # Auth, backend type helpers
├── utils/                # Shared utilities (request.ts, swr.ts, formatting, etc.)
├── types.ts              # Shared TypeScript types
└── routes.tsx            # Route definitions

frontend/platform_specific/
├── http/                 # Web-specific utilities (copied at build time)
└── wails/                # Desktop-specific utilities (copied at build time)

Development Setup

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 20+
  • Yarn

Running in HTTP Mode (Primary)

# Terminal 1 – Frontend (port 5173)
cd frontend
yarn install
yarn dev:http

# Terminal 2 – Backend (port 8080)
cp .env.example .env   # configure as needed
go run cmd/http/main.go

Running in Desktop Mode (Wails)

wails dev -tags "wails"

Testing

Go Backend

# Run all tests
go test ./...

# Run specific test by name
go test ./... -run TestHandleGetInfoEvent

# Run with PostgreSQL (optional)
export TEST_DATABASE_URI="postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/postgres"
go test ./...

Mocks are generated with mockery (config in .mockery.yaml); run it after changing any interface.

Frontend

cd frontend
yarn lint          # ESLint + TypeScript type check + Prettier
yarn tsc:compile   # TypeScript only
yarn format        # Prettier only

No Jest/Vitest tests exist; frontend quality is enforced via linting.

Building

# HTTP production build
cd frontend && yarn build:http
go build -o main cmd/http/main.go

# Docker
docker build . -t albyhub:latest

Key Architecture Patterns

Request Flow

HTTP Request / NIP-47 Nostr Event
    → HTTP Handler / NIP-47 Event Handler
    → api/ package (business logic)
    → LNClient interface
    → Backend implementation (LDK/LND/Phoenixd/Cashu)

Event System

Services communicate via events/ pub/sub. Prefer publishing events over direct inter-service calls. Key events use the nwc_* prefix (e.g., nwc_payment_sent, nwc_payment_received).

Platform-Specific Frontend Code

Code under frontend/platform_specific/http/ and frontend/platform_specific/wails/ is swapped at build time. Any platform-specific frontend logic must have both variants.

LNClient Interface

lnclient/models.go defines the interface all backends must implement. Changes to this interface require updates to all four implementations (LDK, LND, Phoenixd, Cashu) and their mocks.

Database

  • Migrations: db/migrations/ — always add new migrations here; never modify existing ones.
  • SQLite: WAL mode, 5s busy timeout, 20MB cache. Default for development and most deployments.
  • PostgreSQL: Supported for production. If touching DB code, test with both.
  • ORM: GORM with go-gormigrate. Use GORM conventions for new models.

Coding Conventions

Go

  • Idiomatic Go; gofmt formatting expected.
  • Structured logging via logrus with contextual fields — no fmt.Print.
  • Error wrapping with fmt.Errorf("context: %w", err) for debugging.
  • Use the event publisher for cross-service communication.
  • New API endpoints belong in api/api.go with corresponding HTTP routes in http/http_service.go.

TypeScript / React

  • Avoid using useNavigate — Use component where possible to ensure good browser UX.
  • Use shadcn/ui components for all UI — do not create custom components unless no shadcn equivalent exists.
  • Do not modify core shadcn/ui components — customize behavior by composing or wrapping them, not by editing the source files directly.
  • Prefer Tailwind utility classes over custom px definitions or inline styles. Use Tailwind's spacing, sizing, and layout utilities instead of hardcoded pixel values.
  • Never use !important Tailwind modifiers (e.g., !px-12, !text-sm). If a component's default styles need overriding, use a proper variant, compose with a wrapper, or extend the component — don't force specificity with !.
  • Use the theme system for colors, border-radius, shadows, and other design tokens. Reference CSS variables / Tailwind theme tokens (e.g., bg-primary, rounded-lg, shadow-sm) rather than hardcoding hex values or arbitrary values. See frontend/src/index.css for available theme variables.
  • Keep layouts flat — avoid nesting cards inside cards or wrapping elements in unnecessary bordered containers. Prefer clear, flat visual hierarchy.
  • Match existing spacing patterns — before adding new components, check sibling components for consistent padding, margins, and gaps. Ensure sibling elements have equal dimensions where appropriate.
  • Write copy from the user's perspective — Alby Hub IS the wallet; don't explain what a lightning wallet is or tell the user to "connect to a wallet" when they're already inside one. Keep UI copy concise and use the product's own vocabulary (sats, connections, apps).
  • Use the *Icon suffix when importing lucide-react icons (e.g., ZapIcon, BitcoinIcon, ArrowDownIcon) — both forms are valid lucide exports, but this codebase consistently uses the suffixed alias. Don't mix styles.
  • Strict TypeScript — no any types.
  • Functional components with hooks only.
  • SWR for server state; Zustand for client state (stores in frontend/src/state/).
  • HTTP requests use the typed request() helper in frontend/src/utils/request.ts.
  • New screens added to frontend/src/routes.tsx.
  • ESLint + Prettier enforced via pre-commit hooks (husky).

Branches

Use a type prefix followed by a short, dash-separated summary: feat/, chore/, or fix/. For example:

feat/add-cashu-backend
fix/payment-timeout-crash
chore/bump-go-1.25

Commits

Follow Conventional Commits format (feat:, fix:, chore:, etc.) — enforced by commitlint.

Critical Files

File Purpose
cmd/http/main.go HTTP server entry point
main_wails.go Desktop entry point
api/api.go Primary API endpoint handlers
service/service.go Core service initialization
service/start.go Service startup sequence
lnclient/models.go LNClient interface definition
nip47/event_handler.go NIP-47 request dispatch
db/migrations/ Database schema history
frontend/src/types.ts Shared TypeScript types
frontend/src/routes.tsx Frontend routing

Security Considerations

  • Seed phrases are AES-encrypted at rest; decrypted in-memory only when the LN node is running.
  • NIP-47 messages use NIP-04 or NIP-44 v2 encryption per app keypair (NIP-44 v2 preferred; NIP-04 is the fallback default).
  • API authentication uses JWT (golang-jwt v5).
  • Never log sensitive data (seeds, macaroons, tokens).
  • Validate all user input at system boundaries; trust internal service calls.

CI/CD

CI runs Go tests (including PostgreSQL), frontend lint/type checks, and binary builds for Linux and macOS. All checks must pass before merging to master.