aperture

---
name: aperture
description: Install and run Aperture, the L402 Lightning reverse proxy from Lightning Labs. Use when creating L402 paywalls, configuring paid API endpoints, hosting paid content for other agents, or testing L402 authentication flows.
---

# Aperture - L402 Lightning Reverse Proxy

Aperture is a reverse proxy that implements the L402 protocol, enabling
payment-gated API access via the Lightning Network. It sits in front of your
backend services and requires Lightning micropayments before granting access.

**Source:** `github.com/lightninglabs/aperture`

## Quick Start

```bash
# 1. Install aperture
skills/aperture/scripts/install.sh

# 2. Generate config (connects to local lnd)
skills/aperture/scripts/setup.sh

# 3. Ensure invoice.macaroon exists (required for L402 invoice creation)
#    If not present, bake one with the macaroon-bakery skill:
skills/macaroon-bakery/scripts/bake.sh --role invoice-only \
    --save-to ~/.lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/mainnet/invoice.macaroon

# 4. Start aperture
skills/aperture/scripts/start.sh

# 5. Test with lnget
lnget -k --no-pay https://localhost:8081/api/test
```

## How Aperture Works

1. Client requests a protected resource through Aperture
2. Aperture responds with HTTP 402 + `WWW-Authenticate: L402` header containing
   a macaroon and a Lightning invoice
3. Client pays the invoice and obtains the preimage
4. Client retries with `Authorization: L402 <macaroon>:<preimage>`
5. Aperture validates the token and proxies to the backend service

## Installation

```bash
skills/aperture/scripts/install.sh
```

This will:
- Verify Go is installed
- Run `go install github.com/lightninglabs/aperture/cmd/aperture@latest`
- Verify `aperture` is on `$PATH`

To install manually:

```bash
go install github.com/lightninglabs/aperture/cmd/aperture@latest
```

Or build from source:

```bash
git clone https://github.com/lightninglabs/aperture.git
cd aperture
make install
```

## Setup

```bash
skills/aperture/scripts/setup.sh
```

T