LND Watchtower Setup -- Protect Channels While Offline

What is a Watchtower?

A Lightning watchtower monitors your channels while you are offline. If a counterparty broadcasts an old revoked state, the watchtower broadcasts a justice transaction to protect your funds.

Enable Watchtower Client in lnd.conf

[watchtower]
active=true

[wtclient]
active=true

Add a Watchtower Server

lncli wtclient add <watchtower_uri>

Get a watchtower URI from a trusted node operator or public watchtower service.

List Active Towers

lncli wtclient towers

Check Tower Stats

lncli wtclient stats

Run Your Own Watchtower Server

[watchtower]
active=true
external-ip=your.ip.address

# Restart LND, then share:
lncli tower info

Common Issues

- "no active watchtower" — wtclient not enabled or no towers added

- Tower offline — add multiple towers for redundancy

- High latency — watchtower still works, just may take longer to respond

Best Practice

Add at least 2-3 watchtowers. Use public towers like altruist.org or run your own on a always-on server. Verify towers are online before going offline for extended periods.