# Get Started

## Install Loop <a href="#docs-internal-guid-a15d1019-7fff-cd65-8961-f4145a3bd0d5" id="docs-internal-guid-a15d1019-7fff-cd65-8961-f4145a3bd0d5"></a>

Loop comes bundled with [Lightning Terminal](/lightning-network-tools/lightning-terminal.md) (`litd`). If you are already running `litd`, you can access Loop through the command line or the [Lightning Terminal UI](/lightning-network-tools/lightning-terminal/connect.md) and may skip the steps below.

[Follow this guide to install Lightning Terminal](/lightning-network-tools/lightning-terminal/get-lit.md)

## Installation

To run Loop you need to be running LND from the[ binary releases](https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/releases), or compile from source with the command make install `tags="signrpc walletrpc chainrpc invoicesrpc"`

### Run the Binary <a href="#docs-internal-guid-42583cca-7fff-ed7e-46c6-2304f786c1e8" id="docs-internal-guid-42583cca-7fff-ed7e-46c6-2304f786c1e8"></a>

You can run Loop directly from the binary releases, [which you can find here](https://github.com/lightninglabs/loop/releases).

### Compile from source

You can compile Loop from source. This requires Golang. Instructions for how to install Go can be found in the [LND installation guide](/lightning-network-tools/lnd/run-lnd.md).

`git clone https://github.com/lightninglabs/loop.git`\
`cd loop`\
`make && make install`

## Configuration

By default, the `loopd.conf` is placed in `~/.loop/mainnet/` If you are starting `loopd` on another network (e.g. `loopd --network=signet`), the configuration file is expected in the relevant directory (e.g. `~/.loop/signet`). You may also pass a custom directory with the `--configfile=` flag.

#### External Loopd

You may run `loopd` on a separate machine and network as LND. You may have to first configure LND to listen on external IPs with `lnd.rpclisten=0.0.0.0:10009`, add your LND machine's IP address(es) to the TLS certificate with `tlsextraip=`, delete your existing `tls.key` and `tls.cert` and restart LND to regenerate the certificates.

In your `loopd.conf`, define the LND host (`lnd.host=<ip>:10009`), copy the LND admin macaroon and TLS certificate over and specify their path with `lnd.macaroonpath=/path/to/admin.macaroon` and `lnd.tlspath=/path/to/tls.cert`


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.lightning.engineering/lightning-network-tools/loop/get-started.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.
