LND Autopilot vs Manual Channel Management

LND includes an autopilot feature that opens channels automatically. But manual management usually gives better results for routing nodes. Here is when to use each.

Enable Autopilot

[autopilot]
active=true
maxchannels=5
allocation=0.6
min-channel-size=20000
max-channel-size=16777215

Check Autopilot Status

lncli autopilot status

Modify Autopilot Settings at Runtime

lncli autopilot modify --enable
lncli autopilot modify --disable

Manual Channel Opening

# Open a channel
lncli openchannel --node_key <pubkey> --local_amt 1000000

# With custom fee
lncli openchannel --node_key <pubkey> --local_amt 1000000 --sat_per_vbyte 5

When to Use Autopilot

- New node just starting out

- Do not want to research peers manually

- Small node with limited capital

When to Use Manual Management

- Running a routing node for fee income

- Need channels to specific peers or services

- Want to optimize liquidity placement

Find Good Peers Manually

# Use amboss.space or 1ml.com to find high-connectivity nodes
# Look for: high uptime, many channels, good capacity
lncli getnodeinfo <pubkey>

Common Autopilot Issues

- Opens channels to low-quality peers — disable and manage manually

- Drains on-chain funds unexpectedly — set lower allocation

- Does not open channels — insufficient on-chain balance or maxchannels already reached