Purpose
lightningprox-mcp is the MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for LightningProx, used to connect LightningProx's AI gateway in MCP-compatible clients. It is aimed at users who want to pay per request via the Bitcoin Lightning Network without managing accounts and API keys, providing pay-per-use AI query capabilities.
Main Capabilities
- Payment method: Bitcoin Lightning payments replace API keys. Users load a prepaid spend token, pass it in requests via the X-Spend-Token header, and each request deducts sats from the balance. No registration, no monthly plans, no credential management.
- Model coverage: 19 models from 5 providers.
- Vision/multimodal: image_url can be passed directly in requests; only URL mode is supported, no base64 encoding required.
- Authentication: all requests are authenticated via the X-Spend-Token header.
Usage
- Configure the MCP client. Configuration file locations:
- macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
- Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
- Linux: ~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json
- Obtain a spend token:
- Call get_invoice (or call ask_ai without a token) to obtain a Lightning invoice;
- Pay the invoice with any Lightning wallet;
- The system returns a spend token, which can be used for all subsequent requests until the balance is exhausted.
- Make a query: include the X-Spend-Token header in the request. For vision requests, include image_url in the message content, no base64 required.
Use Cases
- Users who want to use pay-per-request AI capabilities within an MCP client;
- Users who do not want to register an account or manage API keys and prefer to use Bitcoin Lightning payments;
- Scenarios that require passing an image URL directly in the request for vision/multimodal queries.
Limitations
- Vision/multimodal only supports URL mode, not base64 encoding;
- Authentication relies on the X-Spend-Token header;
- Pricing, the specific model list, balance deduction details, and other information are not yet provided in the materials;
- Gateway address: lightningprox.com; documentation: lightningprox.com/docs; AIProx agent registry: aiprox.dev; built by LPX Digital Group LLC.
