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The RGB Lightning DEX API allows interaction with an RGB Lightning Service Provider (RGB-LSP) that provides liquidity on request and enables swap functionalities. The swap protocol operates on a taker-maker model, where clients can subscribe to trading pairs, receive real-time price updates, and initiate swaps. The API also supports the RGB LSPS1 (Lightning Service Provider Specification) for managing channels and liquidity services.

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Key Features

  • RGB LSPS1 (Lightning Service Provider Specification) Support: Liquidity services and swap functionalities.
  • Real-time Market Data: WebSocket-based subscription for price updates.
  • Swap Protocol: Taker-maker model for initiating and executing swaps.
  • Asset and Trading Pair Management: Comprehensive API for fetching supported assets and pairs.
Proceed to Getting Started to begin.

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Two Sub-APIs

The KaleidoSwap API is split into two distinct services:
Sub-APIBase PathPurpose
Maker API/api/v1/Market data, quotes, swap orders, and LSPS1 channel operations
RLN API/rln/v1/RGB Lightning Node operations — wallet, channels, and payments
The Maker API is publicly accessible and handles all trading and liquidity operations. The RLN API connects to your own RGB Lightning Node and requires a running node instance.

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Which API do I need?

GoalAPIEndpoint group
Get available assets or trading pairsMaker APIMarket APIs
Get a price quote for a swapMaker APIMarket APIs
Create or track a swap orderMaker APISwap APIs
Order a Lightning channel from an LSPMaker APIRGB LSPS1 APIs
Stream real-time pricesMaker API (WebSocket)Swap Protocol
Check wallet balance or node infoRLN APIRequires your own node
Send/receive BTC or RGB assetsRLN APIRequires your own node
Open or close Lightning channelsRLN APIRequires your own node
The interactive API playground below runs against the Signet environment (https://api.signet.kaleidoswap.com). Use it for exploration and testing. For production, use the mainnet URL once available.

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Authentication

Current state: No authentication is required for most Maker API endpoints. Public market data (assets, pairs, quotes) and swap creation are open. Planned: Bearer token authentication (Authorization: Bearer <token>) will be introduced for rate-limited or permissioned endpoints in a future release. The API playground is pre-configured with bearer auth for when it is required.

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Base Response Format

All API responses follow a consistent JSON structure. Successful responses return the requested data directly as a JSON object or array. Error responses use the following format: 
{
  "error": "error_code",
  "message": "Human-readable description of the error"
}
HTTP status codes follow standard conventions:
StatusMeaning
200Success
400Bad request — invalid parameters
404Resource not found
422Unprocessable entity — validation error
500Internal server error
See Error Handling for a complete list of error codes.

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Rate Limits

Rate limits apply to all API endpoints. Requests that exceed the limit receive a 429 Too Many Requests response. Specific limits vary by endpoint and environment. When building integrations, implement exponential backoff for retries and cache static data (assets, pairs) locally where possible.

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Using the SDK

Instead of calling the REST API directly, you can use the official KaleidoSwap SDKs that wrap these endpoints with type safety and convenience methods:

TypeScript SDK

Auto-generated typed client from the OpenAPI spec with client.maker.* and client.rln.* sub-clients

Python SDK

Synchronous Python client with Pydantic models, using the same sub-client architecture