check_balance

Check your current Lightning balance in satoshis. Works with both operator and agent keys.

SERVERLightning Wallet SOURCElightning-wallet-mcp

Low RISK CLASS

Category Read

Parameters 00 required

Recommended Allowedsee the rule below

Registry record Grade F, identity unverified Pull the record →

This record as markdown: /tools/io-github-lightningfaucet-lightning-wallet-mcp/check-balance.md

WHAT IT DOES

What check_balance does on Lightning Wallet

AI agents call check_balance to retrieve information from Lightning Wallet without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

RISK

Why check_balance is rated Low

This tool retrieves account balance information without modifying, deleting, or executing operations. It is a pure read operation analogous to checking an account statement. The low severity reflects minimal blast radius—an AI agent misusing this can only view balance data, posing no financial risk or destructive capability.

From the tool's definition Tool name 'check_balance' and description 'Check your current Lightning balance' indicate a query/retrieval operation with no side effects. The phrase 'Check your current' confirms it is read-only.

Attacks that exploit this kind of access

RECOMMENDED RULE

The rule that runs check_balance safely

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Lightning Wallet, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For check_balance, this is the rule to start with:

check_balance Allowed

check_balance is read-only, so it stays allowed. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

View as policy code

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "check_balance": {}
  }
}

ALLOW ONLY THIS TOOL → Instant setup, no code required.

The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Lightning Wallet, apply this rule, and every check_balance call is checked against it from then on.

FAQ

Questions about check_balance

What does the check_balance tool do? +

Check your current Lightning balance in satoshis. Works with both operator and agent keys. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Lightning Wallet MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on check_balance? +

Register the Lightning Wallet MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for check_balance: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Lightning Wallet. Nothing to install.

What risk level is check_balance? +

check_balance is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.

Can I rate-limit check_balance? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the check_balance rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.

How do I block check_balance completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for check_balance. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.

What MCP server provides check_balance? +

check_balance is provided by the Lightning Wallet MCP server (lightning-wallet-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

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