Mastering the Lightning Network

Appendix C. Wire Protocol Messages

This appendix lists all the currently defined message types used in the Lightning P2P protocol. Additionally, we show the structure of each message, grouping the messages into logical groupings based on the protocol flows.

Note

Lightning Protocol messages are extensible and their structure may change during network-wide upgrades. For the authoritative information, consult the latest version of the BOLTs found in the GitHub Lightning-RFC repository.

Message Types

Currently defined message types are listed in Table C-1.

Table C-1. Message types

Type integer	Message name	Category
16	init	Connection Establishment
17	error	Error Communication
18	ping	Connection Liveness
19	pong	Connection Liveness
32	open_channel	Channel Funding
33	accept_channel	Channel Funding
34	funding_created	Channel Funding
35	funding_signed	Channel Funding
36	funding_locked	Channel Funding + Channel Operation
38	shutdown	Channel Closing
39	closing_signed	Channel Closing
128	update_add_htlc	Channel Operation
130	update_fulfill_hltc	Channel Operation
131	update_fail_htlc	Channel Operation
132	commit_sig	Channel Operation
133	revoke_and_ack	Channel Operation
134	update_fee	Channel Operation
135	update_fail_malformed_htlc	Channel Operation
136	channel_reestablish	Channel Operation
256	channel_announcement	Channel Announcement
257	node_announcement	Channel Announcement
258	channel_update	Channel Announcement
259	announce_signatures ...