LND Channel Rebalancing Strategies

Why Rebalancing Matters

Unbalanced channels prevent routing. Too much local = cannot receive. Too much remote = cannot send. Rebalancing restores both directions.

Circular Rebalancing with lncli

lncli sendpayment \
  --dest=$(lncli getinfo | jq -r .identity_pubkey) \
  --amt=100000 \
  --last_hop=PEER_PUBKEY

Using bos (Balance of Satoshis)

npm install -g balanceofsatoshis
bos rebalance \
  --out PEER_A_PUBKEY \
  --in PEER_B_PUBKEY \
  --amount 200000 \
  --max-fee-rate 500

Loop Out (off-chain to on-chain)

loop out --amt 500000 --max_swap_routing_fee 1000

Cost Guidelines

Max 100-500 ppm (0.01-0.05%). Never pay more than 0.5% to rebalance — it defeats the purpose. Let natural flow fix imbalances first when possible.

Check All Channel Balances

lncli listchannels | python3 -c "
import json,sys
for c in json.load(sys.stdin)['channels']:
    print(c['peer_alias'], c['local_balance'], c['remote_balance'])
"