NOTE: THIS IS OUTDATED. bitcoind back-end has been merged into master and install instructions updated.
This guide assumes you are an experienced lnd tester who has built it from source by cloning it from Github, and that you know your way around the command line. It also assumes you're using a Linux variant. The following are the necessary steps to begin testing with bitcoind as a back end for lnd.
When you install bitcoind, you'll need to test in either testnet or regtest mode. bitcoind does not support simnet. In addition, you'll need to turn on ZMQ for raw blocks and (if you want unconfirmed tx support) raw transactions so that lnd can subscribe to notifications.
The following is a sample bitcoin.conf:
testnet=1
txindex=1
server=1
daemon=1
zmqpubrawblock=tcp://127.0.0.1:18501
zmqpubrawtx=tcp://127.0.0.1:18501
Start bitcoind and allow it to synchronize.
In your lnd source directory under your GOPATH, you'll want to check out PR 447:
cd $GOPATH/src/github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd
git fetch origin pull/447/head:bitcoind-backend
git checkout bitcoind-backend
Then, you'll want to update your vendored files:
rm -rf vendor && glide install
Now, you can build lnd:
go install . ./cmd/...
You'll need to edit your lnd.conf file (or change your lnd launch command accordingly). If you've enabled neutrino, you'll need to disable it. Then add the following line to lnd.conf:
bitcoin.node=bitcoind
This enables the Bitcoin Core (bitcoind) back end for lnd. Please note that this is currently only supported for Bitcoin testnet and regtest; it is not supported for simnet, mainnet, or any Litecoin network.
If you discover any issues with this, please submit them to https://github.com/aakselrod/lnd/issues