LND Network Graph -- Explore and Debug the Lightning Network

LND maintains a local copy of the Lightning Network graph. Use these commands to explore topology, find peers, and debug routing issues.

View Graph Summary

lncli getnetworkinfo
# Shows: num_nodes, num_channels, total_capacity, avg_out_degree

Describe a Node

lncli getnodeinfo --pub_key <node_pubkey>
# Shows: alias, addresses, channels, last_update

List All Graph Nodes

lncli describegraph | jq .nodes | length
lncli describegraph | jq .nodes[0]

Find Route to a Destination

lncli queryroutes --dest <pubkey> --amt 1000
# Returns: total_fees, total_amt, hops

Inspect a Specific Channel

lncli getchaninfo --chan_id <channel_id>
# Shows: capacity, policies, last_update, node1, node2

Debug Routing Failures

# Check if a path exists
lncli queryroutes --dest <pubkey> --amt 50000

# If no route: check graph sync
lncli getinfo | grep synced_to_graph
# Must be true

Force Graph Resync

# Restart with graph reset (last resort)
lnd --reset-wallet-transactions  # WARNING: only on-chain

# Or reconnect to well-connected peers
lncli connect <peer_pubkey>@<host>:9735

Common Issues

- synced_to_graph: false — wait for IBD to complete or reconnect peers

- No route found — insufficient liquidity on path, or channel policies too restrictive

- Stale graph — reconnect to more peers to get fresh gossip