API Keys

Every LNbits wallet has an Admin key (full access) and an Invoice key (receive-only). Use the right key for each operation.

Every LNbits wallet has two API keys with different permission levels.

Key types

Key	Header	Permissions
Admin key	X-Api-Key: <admin_key>	Full access - send, receive, read, manage
Invoice key	X-Api-Key: <invoice_key>	Limited - create invoices, read wallet info

Admin key

The admin key grants full control over a wallet:

• Create invoices (receive payments)
• Pay invoices (send payments)
• Read wallet balance and transaction history
• Manage wallet settings
• Access extension APIs that modify data

curl -H "X-Api-Key: ADMIN_KEY" \
  https://your-lnbits.com/api/v1/wallet

WARNING

Treat the admin key like a password. Anyone with this key can spend your wallet balance.

Invoice key

The invoice key has read + receive permissions only:

• Create invoices (receive payments)
• Read wallet balance and transaction history
• Access extension APIs that only read data

curl -H "X-Api-Key: INVOICE_KEY" \
  https://your-lnbits.com/api/v1/wallet

Use the invoice key when you only need to receive payments - for example, in a point-of-sale terminal or a public payment page.

Finding your keys

1. Log in to LNbits
2. Select a wallet from the sidebar
3. Click the API info section
4. Click the eye icon to reveal each key

Key rotation

API keys can be regenerated from the wallet settings. Regenerating a key immediately invalidates the old one.

Bearer tokens

LNbits also supports Bearer token authentication for user-level operations:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  https://your-lnbits.com/api/v1/wallet

Access tokens are obtained through the authentication API.

Related Pages

• Wallets & Accounts
• Authentication
• Security