Channels and pockets
The channel book shows every channel and pocket on your hub, how long each lasts, and which need action now. Rails take payments in; merchant channels pay out; reserves wait on-chain.
Updated 08 Nov 20261 min read
#The channel book
Switch between Chart and List. Filter by All, Act now, Plan it, Merchants, Rails, In progress or Offline.
The chart places each pocket in a zone by time left:
| Zone | Time left |
|---|---|
| Act now | Under 12 hours |
| Plan it | Under 24 hours |
| Healthy | Under a week |
| Oversized | More than you need |
The list shows Channel · Pocket · Holding · Time left · Status.
#Terms
- Channel: a Lightning channel between your hub and one peer. Status: Active, Opening, Closing or Closed. Kind: Merchant, Rail, Routing or Bridge.
- Pocket: one asset's balance inside a channel. A channel can hold several, and one cannot cover another.
- Rail: a channel the hub takes shoppers' payments in over. Rails are shown read-only.
- Reserves: funds held on-chain and not yet committed to any channel. The reserves strip shows them per asset.
#Reopening a channel
When a pocket is too small or too large for its traffic, reopen the channel at a new size: select Request reopen. Reopening closes the channel and opens it again, which takes the peer offline for about 20 minutes. A reopen is an operation and needs approval.
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