Prerequisites

To complete this guide, you will need the following:

1. Create a Next.js Project

Follow the prompts on the create-next-app CLI to create a new project, and then change into the directory of your project.

yarn create next-app <project-name>
cd <project-name>

2. Write an Edge Function

For this guide we will be making use of the App Router inside of Next.js.

Create a new file in the app/api/request/route.ts that creates a Bitcoin Lightning Charge (payment request) with the following code:

3. Create payment request locally

Run function locally:

npx next dev

Opening your browser to the following URL: http://localhost:3000/api/request should return a JSON response with a payment request.

You can also test this using curl command:

curl http://localhost:3000/api/request

You’re looking for the data.invoice.request property in the JSON response. It starts with lnbc1 and is the payment request anyone in the Bitcoin Lightning Network can use to pay you.

lnbc1u1pjdlax9pp5t7jhkd7h2wntd4f2v7xp22dknmjxp0q8nm7hfcny4p7a5mr7x3rsdp9f4hkueteypshggrfde6x2unwv46zqumsv4jkgcqzzsxqzjcsp5dsayu6m6632p28rnkeeqsr7d54amrkv6wh46yrv42gdgca8xl8gs9qyyssqgj2zrkax733rzulfkzc5mqsr8fpwrva82stpa7e0frw32722trv37jlq8mvlqfp8y75lr6mz63zd7qnxar8hhsehuy22pvfq6wjxwqqqa60lx3
Charges and payment requests are usually shown to users as QR codes that can be scanned by mobile apps (e.g. ZBD). Read Callbacks to understand how to receive updates about your payment asynchronously.

4. Create payment request in production

Deploy your project to Vercel:

vercel

Opening your browser to the following URL: https://project-name.vercel.app/api/request should now return this in production.

You can also test this using curl command:

curl https://project-name.vercel.app/api/request

5. Try it yourself

You can now begin receiving instant Bitcoin payments on the edge with Vercel + ZBD!