**N.B. This is still early technology and there’s a risk of losing all of your funds. We recommend not putting in more money than you are willing to lose.**
### Getting Started
The app comes for two threat models:
1.*Pocket Money:* prebuilt and signed [releases](https://github.com/lightninglabs/lightning-app/releases) with auto update (recommended for most users).
2.*Tin Foil Hat:* if you'd rather build it yourself and do without auto updates, see the instructions below.
### Contributing
See the `ToDo (next release)` column on our [project board](https://github.com/lightninglabs/lightning-app/projects/1?fullscreen=true). Issues that are easy to pick up for outside contributors are labeled `help wanted`.
### Developing Locally
To build the mobile app locally, see the [README](https://github.com/lightninglabs/lightning-app/blob/master/mobile/README.md) in the `/mobile` directory for instructions.
To build the desktop app locally follow the instructions below:
#### Install lnd
We will use `lnd` to make GRPC calls from the ReactJS environment
make && make install tags="experimental autopilotrpc signrpc walletrpc chainrpc invoicesrpc routerrpc"
```
If you have any issues with this step, make sure to review the [Preliniaries to installing LND](https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/blob/master/docs/INSTALL.md#preliminaries)
Cloning this git repo `git clone https://github.com/lightninglabs/lightning-app` and from the project root folder run the following commands:
```
npm install
npm test
```
To start the app in development mode (simnet):
```
npm run electron-dev
```
Running in development mode can allow you to run in full node mode instead of the default neutrino mode, and will also allow you to run in simnet node for testing. The app will use it's own lnd `data/lnd` dir and does not share state with other lnd installations on your system. See [setup local cluster](https://github.com/lightninglabs/lightning-app/blob/master/assets/script/setup_local_cluster.md) on how to set up your simnet cluster for development.
#### Review UI style guide
To build the UI style guide
```
npm run storybook
```
### Building the Packaged App
To build the packaged version of the app e.g. for macOS run:
```
cp $GOPATH/bin/lnd ./assets/bin/darwin
npm run electron-pack
```
The packaged app will then be available in the `dist` directory. The packaged version of the app will run on Bitcoin mainnet.
### Starting the Packaged App (light client)
To run the packaged version of the app e.g. for macOS run:
```
./dist/mac/Lightning.app/Contents/MacOS/Lightning
```
The app is configured for mainnet by default but you can opt-in to testnet:
**N.B. This is still early technology and there’s a risk of losing all of your funds. We recommend not putting in more money than you are willing to lose.**
