boltwork-mcp

mcp-name: io.github.Squidboy30/boltwork-mcp

boltwork-mcp

MCP server for Boltwork — AI services that pay for themselves via Bitcoin Lightning.

Give your AI agent PDF summarisation, code review, translation, web extraction, document comparison, and persistent memory — all paid autonomously in sats. No API keys. No subscriptions. No accounts.

What this is

Boltwork is a pay-per-call AI services API that uses the L402 protocol — your agent makes a request, receives a Lightning invoice, pays it automatically, and gets the result back. No human involved.

This package wraps Boltwork as an MCP server so any MCP-compatible AI (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.) can use it as a tool — with payments handled transparently in the background.

Try it immediately — no wallet required

Two tools work right now with zero setup:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "boltwork": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["boltwork-mcp"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Then ask your AI:

"Use trial_review_code to review this: def add(a, b): return a + b"
"Use trial_summarise to summarise this: <paste any text>"

Real AI results instantly. No Lightning wallet. No setup. Rate limited to 5 calls/hour.

Install

pip install boltwork-mcp

# If using NWC (Alby, Mutiny, Coinos, etc.):
pip install "boltwork-mcp[nwc]"

Or use directly with uvx — no install needed:

uvx boltwork-mcp

Setup — pick a wallet

Four wallet backends are supported. Pick whichever fits your setup:

Option A — NWC / Nostr Wallet Connect (easiest)

Works with Alby, Mutiny Wallet, Coinos, Primal, Cashu.me, and any NWC-compatible wallet.

• Get a connection string:
  • Alby — go to nwc.getalby.com, create a budget, copy the string
  • Mutiny — Settings → Connections → Add connection
  • Coinos — coinos.io → Settings → Nostr Wallet Connect
• Add to your MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "boltwork": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["boltwork-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "NWC_CONNECTION_STRING": "nostr+walletconnect://your-string-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Requires: pip install "boltwork-mcp[nwc]"

Option B — LNbits

Works with lnbits.com or any self-hosted LNbits instance. Popular with BTCPay Server users and home node operators.

• Create a wallet at lnbits.com or your instance
• Go to API info → copy your Invoice/read key

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "boltwork": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["boltwork-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "LNBITS_URL": "https://lnbits.com",
        "LNBITS_API_KEY": "your-invoice-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

For self-hosted: set LNBITS_URL to your instance URL (e.g. https://lnbits.yourdomain.com).

Option C — Strike

Works with a Strike account. Custodial, simple API key setup. Good for US users or anyone who already uses Strike.

• Create an account at strike.me
• Go to dashboard.strike.me/developers/api-keys → create an API key

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "boltwork": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["boltwork-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "STRIKE_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Option D — Phoenixd

Works with Phoenixd — ACINQ's self-hosted Lightning node. Simple REST API, no channel management.

• Install Phoenixd: phoenix.acinq.co/server
• Get your HTTP password from the Phoenixd config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "boltwork": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["boltwork-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PHOENIXD_URL": "http://localhost:9740",
        "PHOENIXD_PASSWORD": "your-password-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

MCP config locations

Client	Config file
Claude Desktop (macOS)	~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Claude Desktop (Windows)	%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Cursor	.cursor/mcp.json in your project
Windsurf	~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

Available tools

Tool	What it does	Cost
trial_summarise	Summarise text — free trial	Free
trial_review_code	Review code — free trial	Free
summarise_pdf	Summarise a PDF from URL	500 sats
summarise_webpage	Summarise any web page	100 sats
review_code	Full code review with bugs, security, quality	2000 sats
review_code_url	Review code from GitHub/GitLab URL	2000 sats
extract_data	Extract structured data from PDF	200 sats
translate	Translate text or document (24 languages)	150 sats
extract_tables	Extract all tables from a PDF	300 sats
compare_documents	Diff two PDFs	500 sats
explain_code	Explain code in plain English	500 sats
memory_store	Store persistent agent memory	10 sats
memory_retrieve	Retrieve agent memory	5 sats
memory_delete	Delete a memory key	Free
run_workflow	Chain multiple services in one call	1000 sats

Payment flow

When your agent calls a paid tool:

• boltwork-mcp calls the Boltwork API
• Receives HTTP 402 with a Lightning invoice
• Pays the invoice automatically using your configured wallet
• Retries the request with the payment proof
• Returns the result to your agent

Your agent never sees this — it just gets the result.

Links

• Boltwork API — live API
• Agent spec — full endpoint documentation
• L402 manifest — machine-readable service discovery
• Cracked Minds — by Cracked Minds