A (mostly) visual collection of the Lightning Network
Disclaimer
Network views tend to be the view of the network from a single node, or small selection of nodes. They are not complete views of the network. This is impossible to achieve. Even if many node views were combined, it would still be incomplete.
These network views, or network maps, have been termed 'visualisers' by the LN community.
Screenshots may reflect older visual styles, and are dated accordingly.
Bitcoin Mainnet
1. recksplorer
reksplorer was among the first LN visualiser tools.
https://github.com/chemicstry/recksplorer
Example sites:
2. Tyzbit 3D renderings
https://bl.ocks.org/tyzbit/e41587d241b0ab0f38273dc4b8dd571e
3. Tyzbit Lightning VR
View with a VR viewer for full effect. 3D force maps in VR.
https://bl.ocks.org/tyzbit/d1c83732d2767bb955125d41f5921888
4. Lightning.team
5. Robtex Bitcoin Lightning Explorer
There are two visualisers at Robtex:
A. Animated paths
https://www.robtex.com/lightning/path/
B. Robtex Visualizer
https://www.robtex.com/lightning/visualize/
Top 314 channels
https://www.robtex.com/lightning/visualize/?num=314
Historical view, example early January 2018
https://www.robtex.com/lightning/visualize/?ut=1516040305
6. bitcoinexchangerate.org network map
bitcoinexchangerate.org has a network map of the Lightning Network.
https://bitcoinexchangerate.org/lightning
7. Lightning Network Search and Analysis Engine (mainnet)
The Lightning Network Search and Analysis Engine mainnet has a visual component.
https://1ml.com/visual/network
8. LND Explorer
This is a web-based tool for interacting with your node, but it also has a new map view now.
Lightning Network Daemon Explorer http://lndexplorer.com/
Lightning Network Daemon Explorer Map https://graph.lndexplorer.com/
Github:
9. lnd3.vanilla.co.za
3d rendering from a single node on the mainnet network, in Africa
https://lnd3.vanilla.co.za/graphs/index.html
3d rendering from 4 nodes on the mainnet network
https://lnd3.vanilla.co.za/multinodegraphs/index.html
10. Blockchaincaffe Map
Blockchaincaffe has a mainnet view of the network over a geographical map, similar to the original ACINQ Explorer.
https://blockchaincaffe.org/map/
11. Output of 'lncli describegraph --render' for mainnet
Graphviz output, takes a while to render, or a very wide SVG image, shown below with considerable zoom on a section.
lncli describegraph --render
12. p2sh.info dashboard
Unfortunately not a map view yet; a measure of network capacity in BTC
https://p2sh.info/dashboard/db/lightning-network
13. Bitcoinvisuals metrics
Unfortunately not a map view yet; visual metrics relating to the Lightning network
https://bitcoinvisuals.com/lightning
14. Raito Lightning Explorer
Unfortunately not a map view yet; general node explorer site
15. Topology in Neo4j Graph database
Lighting Network: Import the topology to the Neo4j Graph database
Here we describe how to export a node's local view of the network topology to a Neo4j database.
Litecoin Mainnet
1. recksplorer for LTC
Jason Wong has customised Recksplorer for LTC mainnet
Another implemention is available at https://ltc.roska.life/
2. lnd4.vanilla.co.za 3D view
3d rendering from a single node on the LTC mainnet network, in Africa
https://lnd4.vanilla.co.za/graphs/index.html
Bitcoin Testnet
1. ACINQ Explorer
2. Tyzbit 3D renderings
https://bl.ocks.org/tyzbit/ade826eb5363e02196c0940b2bf15d03
3. Bretton 3D renderings from 4 nodes
https://bl.ocks.org/bretton/4a51ab6aeba8e7a836840aed727566ad
4. Dave Watkins Grid
2018-01-31
Playing about with the output of lncli describegraph. Each dot is a node that my node has seen in the last 48 hours.
The size of the dot is the amount of inbound connections it has open.
http://graph.ln.eightsquared.co.uk/
5. LND Network Graph By @callmekurisu
Rstudio script to grab the latest describegraph state from my server and create a simpleNetwork graph. Easier to viz as html export
http://rpubs.com/callmekurisu/lnd
Code:
#LND Network Graph
#By @callmekurisu
library(rjson)
library(networkD3)
library(igraph)
json_data <- fromJSON(file="http://adwatcher.hopto.org:7777/graph/")
#intialize source and target variables
src <- json_data$edges[[1:1]]$node1_pub
target <- json_data$edges[[1:1]]$node2_pub
#interate through node data
for (i in (2:length(json_data$edges))){
src <- append(src, json_data$edges[[i:i]]$node1_pub)
target <- append(target, json_data$edges[[i:i]]$node2_pub)
}
graphData <- data.frame(src,target)
# Plot
simpleNetwork(graphData)
6. LND Explorer
This is a web-based tool for interacting with your node, but it also has a map view and is being included here on that basis.
Lightning Network Daemon Explorer http://lndexplorer.com/
Demo Page Network View: http://demo1.lndexplorer.com/network
Github: https://github.com/altangent/lnd-explorer
7. Bitcoin Lightning Network visualizer
This a visualizer for the Bitcoin Lightning Network. It can apply to mainnet or testnet depending what mode LND is running under.
https://github.com/altangent/lightning-viz
8. Lightning Network Search and Analysis Engine (testnet)
The Lightning Network Search and Analysis Engine for testnet has a visual component.
https://1ml.com/testnet/visual/network
9. Lightning Monitor (testnet)
University project visualiser using LND and vis.js.
https://www.reddit.com/r/lightningnetwork/comments/8s7z5o/my_lightning_testnet_visualisermonitor/
10. Artwork example
Less an active explorer mapping view, more an example of a snapshot as art piece.
"Measuring 24"x36" inches, the Lightning Network Testnet as of February 25th featured 2832 nodes and 15747 channels. This is a showcase of the early adoption of the Lightning Network which makes for a wonderful conversation piece!"
https://lynxartcollection.com/collections/crypto-artwork/products/lightning-network-testnet
11. Output of 'lncli describegraph --render' for testnet
Graphviz output, takes a while to render, or a very wide SVG image, shown below with considerable zoom on a section.
lncli describegraph --render


























This tweet thread might also have something worth including
https://twitter.com/spudowiar/status/958056758131544064