Umbrel + Alby browser extension

Guides
1

The Alby browser extension builds the bridge between my Umbrel node and the various Lightning web apps. It is open-source and allows me to connect various wallets and nodes to spend and earn sats on the web in a non-custodial and convenient way.

This guide describes how to connect your Umbrel node to the Alby browser extension.

Let´s start:

Step 1: Install the Alby extension in your browser

Make sure to pin the icon of the Alby extension to your browser bar for easier access

Note: If you already installed Alby, simply add a new account within the Alby extension

Step 2: Open the Alby browser extension and follow the steps in the instruction

Step 3: Select the Umbrel connector to connect your Umbrel node

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Step 4: You will need the lndconnect URL

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Step 5: In your Umbrel dashboard open the app Lightning Node

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Step 6 : Select REST (Tor) and copy the lndconnect URL

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Step 7: Copy and paste the lndconnect URL to Alby

Step 8: Download and install the Alby companion app to connect to your Umbrel behind Tor and click on 'Continue '.

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Congratulations! You have successfully connected your Umbrel node to Alby.
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Alby´s goal is to create the best online experience to consume and reward content and services online. They are very open for feedback. You can file a Github issue or use the Feedback board for feature requests and bug reports.

1 Like
2

Failed to install the Alby companion App. Using Kiwi browser on Samsung Tab S8 Ultra. Any hints?

1 Like
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What operating system are you running on the Samsung Tab?
Feel free to DM me: moritz@getalby.com

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Android 13

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5

The Alby companion app is currently only available for Windows, MacOS and Linux, sadly. But I successfully tested a connection via Lightning Node Connect. it is a product from Lightning Labs and natively integrated in the Alby browser extension.

6

I tried to connect Alby with Umbrel using the Extension via the Impervious browser but it doesn’t want to connect. When I do the same by using Chrome it works but I don’t want to use Chrome. Would anyone have suggestions for this?

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With Alby you can use any Chromium based browser (e.g. Chrome, Edge, Brave, etc.) or Firefox based browser (e.g. Firefox itself or Tor browser).

8

Hi @Moritz – Thank you for this guide. However I am using Core Lightning via Umbrel and cannot seem to figure out how to run the Commando plugin to receive the required Rune to connect to Alby. I located ‘lightning-cli’ in the umbrel directory but running ‘lightning-cli commando’ suggests that the Commando plugin is not installed. Do you know the best way to address this?

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The commando plugin should ship natively with Core Lightning. Are you on the latest version of Core Lightning and have you tried lightning-cli commando-rune to generate a rune?

10

It must be something more basic going on. I had trouble even finding lightning-rpc in the Umbrel installation at first, but when I go to use it, it’s acting as if it’s not there:

server@server-MS-7885:~/umbrel/app-data/core-lightning/data/lightningd/bitcoin$ ls
accounts.sqlite3 crash.log.20230610130750 emergency.recover gossip_store hsm_secret lightningd.sqlite3 lightning-rpc
server@server-MS-7885:~/umbrel/app-data/core-lightning/data/lightningd/bitcoin$ sudo ./lightning-rpc command-rune
sudo: ./lightning-rpc: command not found