Bitcoin Connect

This project includes web components for connecting to Lightning wallets and enabling WebLN. Websites only need to implement a single interface to connect with multiple wallets (WebLN), and users can connect from both desktop and mobile devices. These components work with pure HTML and all Javascript libraries or frameworks, such as React, Angular, Vue, Solid.js, etc.

🛝 Try it out here

Bitcoin Connect Landing

🚀 Quick Start

🚧WARNING🚧: this package is currently in Alpha. It's got awesome features, but is using new features of protocols such as WebLN and NWC which have not been finalized, and there may be breaking changes or bugs.

React Package

npm install @getalby/bitcoin-connect-react or yarn add @getalby/bitcoin-connect-react

Web Components Package

npm install @getalby/bitcoin-connect or yarn add @getalby/bitcoin-connect

HTML (CDN)

You can use Bitcoin Connect without any build tools:

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@getalby/bitcoin-connect@1.2.0/dist/index.browser.js"></script>

🤙 Usage

React

import {Button, Modal, launchModal} from '@getalby/bitcoin-connect-react';

// render a button
<Button onConnect={() => alert('Connected!')} />
// include the modal on the page (will not be rendered unless launchModal is called)
<Modal onConnect={() => alert('Connected!')} />

// open modal programmatically
<button onClick={launchModal}>
  Programmatically launch modal
</button>

Other Frameworks

Use another popular framework? please let us know or feel free to create a PR for a wrapper. See the React package for an example implementation.

Pure HTML

Components

Bitcoin Connect exposes the following web components for allowing users to connect their desired Lightning wallet:

<bc-button/> - launches the Bitcoin Connect Modal on click
- Optional Arguments:
  - icon-only - display the button as an icon without "Connect wallet"
  - disabled - mark the button as disabled
<bc-modal/> - render the modal on its own.
- Optional Arguments:
  - open - make the modal appear
<bc-connector-list/> - render the list of connectors on their own
more components coming soon

Window Events

Bitcoin Connect exposes the following events:

bc:connected window event which fires when a wallet is connected and window.webln is ready to use
bc:connecting window event which fires when a user is connecting to their wallet
bc:disconnected window event which fires when user has disconnected from their wallet
bc:modalopened window event which fires when Bitcoin Connect modal is opened
bc:modalclosed window event which fires when Bitcoin Connect modal is closed

Programmatically launching the modal

<bc-modal/> needs to be rendered somewhere on the page. The modal can then be launched with:

document.querySelector('bc-modal').setAttribute('open', true)

Styling

The following CSS variables can be configured:

html {
  --bc-color-primary: #21ecc7;
  --bc-color-secondary: #21ecc7;
  --bc-color-bg-primary: black;
  --bc-color-bg-secondary: black;
  --bc-color-text-primary: black;
  --bc-color-text-secondary: #f4f4f4;
  --bc-color-text-tertiary: white;
}

Demos

Pure HTML Demo

See Pure HTML

Example codepen

React Demo

See React

Example replit

More demos

Open demos

🛠️ Development

Install

Run yarn install && (cd dev/vite && yarn install)

Run Vite

Run yarn dev

Other dev options

Open dev

Production Build

yarn build

Build (Watch mode - no pure html support)

yarn dev:build

Build (Watch mode - with pure html support)

yarn dev:build:browser

Testing

yarn test

Need help?

We are happy to help, please contact us or create an issue.

Twitter: @getAlby
Telegram group
support at getalby.com
bitcoin.design Discord community (find us on the #alby channel)
Read the Alby developer guide to better understand how Alby packages and APIs can be used to power your app.

FAQ

How does it work?

Bitcoin Connect provides multiple options to the user to connect to a lightning wallet, each compatible with WebLN. Any already-existing providers of WebLN (such as an installed WebLN extension like Alby) are detected and offered, as well as options to create a new WebLN provider through protocols such as NWC. No matter which option you choose, window.webln will become available for the website to use to interact with your lightning wallet. Similar to the Alby extension, new options (called Connectors) can be easily added as they all follow a common, simple interface. As long as there is a way to connect to a lightning wallet through Javascript, a connector can be created for it in Bitcoin Connect. We welcome any and all contributions for new connectors!

Does this work on mobile browsers and mobile PWAs, or desktop browsers without a WebLN extension?

Yes! that's the main benefit.

Does it work with a desktop extension enabled?

Yes. It will use the desktop extension as the default connector if it exists.

Can I connect it to my mobile wallet?

That depends. The connection to your lightning node / wallet needs to be asynchronous so that you can use Bitcoin Connect natively on mobile websites or PWAs.

Can a user connect any lightning wallet?

It will only work for the connectors that are shown in the modal. Some of these connectors (e.g. the Alby Browser Extension) allow to connect multiple wallets themselves. Feel free to contribute to add a new connector.

Does it "remember" the user if they leave the page or close the browser?

Yes. Your connection is saved to localStorage

Is this safe?

You should have a certain level of trust on the website you decide to connect your wallet with, and that they ensure there is no malicious third-party scripts which would intend to read the wallet connection configuration, either from memory or storage. Connectors with budget controls or confirmation dialogs (Alby extension or NWC) are recommend so you have full control over your connection.

What are the high level things I need to do to add this to my site?

add the "Connect Wallet" button
wait for a connection event (using window.addEventListener) and then request to pay the invoice with window.webln

What connectors are supported?

🔥 Lit

This project is powered by Lit.

See Get started on the Lit site for more information.

License

MIT