From 788f0e916ba16e8268c14c88426e6b8d09c371e7 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Christian Decker Date: Wed, 14 May 2025 10:15:22 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] docs: Add a simple FaQ entry about fee budgets --- docs/src/about/faq.md | 30 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 30 insertions(+) diff --git a/docs/src/about/faq.md b/docs/src/about/faq.md index 6186b0a13..fa8c89a2f 100644 --- a/docs/src/about/faq.md +++ b/docs/src/about/faq.md @@ -67,3 +67,33 @@ not require a client certificate, thus avoiding these connectivity issues. [grpc-web]: https://github.com/grpc/grpc-web + + +## Payments + +### Why am I getting a warning about fee budgets? + +When you make a payment on the Lightning Network using Greenlight, the +payment often needs to be routed through several other nodes in the +network to reach the recipient. These intermediate nodes facilitating +the payment charge a small fee for their service. + +Lightning Network fees consist of two parts: + + - A base fee: A small fixed amount charged per forwarded payment. + - A proportional fee: A percentage of the payment amount. + +These fees are added on top of the amount you wish to send. If the +value of your payment is very close to your total available balance in +your Greenlight node, there might not be enough remaining funds to +cover the fees charged by all the nodes along the payment path. In +such cases, even though Greenlight will attempt to send the payment, +it is highly likely to fail because the total amount required +(payment + fees) exceeds your available funds. + +For situations where you need to move your entire balance, dedicated +draining mechanisms exist, such as swapping funds out to an on-chain +Bitcoin wallet. These methods are designed to transfer the entire +available amount and handle the associated fees differently, typically +deducting them from the total amount being moved rather than requiring +them to be available beforehand as an extra buffer.