FAQ

Short answers about Fiber Studio, local nodes, channels, Lightning / CCH, and first-launch warnings.

  • What is Fiber Studio?

    A desktop app for Fiber Network payments on Nervos CKB. It runs the official Fiber Network Node (fnn) on your computer and gives you a UI for setup, channels, assets, Fiber payments, and Bitcoin Lightning swaps via a Cross-Chain Hub — without living in a terminal.

  • Is this a hosted wallet?

    No. Fiber Studio is local-first. Your CKB key stays on disk, your wallet password is stored in the OS keychain, and fnn runs on your machine. There is no Fiber Studio account and no hosted custody.

  • Can I pay with UDTs, not just CKB?

    Yes. Fiber Studio supports multi-asset channels and payments for tokens in your node’s udt_whitelist (for example RUSD and cWBTC on testnet). Use Assets to see on-chain and in-channel balances, pick an asset when you open a channel or create an invoice, and choose CKB or a UDT for keysend.

    On mainnet, Fiber’s official template currently whitelists USDI only. Public mainnet liquidity for UDT channels is still limited — testnet is where multi-UDT flow is practical today.

  • Can I pay Bitcoin Lightning invoices?

    Yes, as a CCH client. Fiber’s Cross-Chain Hub bridges Fiber (cWBTC) and Bitcoin Lightning with atomic HTLC swaps. In Fiber Studio:

    • Set a hub JSON-RPC URL under Settings → Cross-chain
    • Hold cWBTC in a channel with a path to the hub
    • On Payments → Send → Lightning, paste a BOLT11 invoice (lnbc… / lntb…), review the hub quote, and pay the Fiber leg
    • To receive BTC as cWBTC, use Receive → Receive BTC and share the Lightning invoice the hub returns

    Fiber Studio does not run LND or the hub itself — it talks to an operator’s CCH RPC, then uses your local node for the Fiber side. See the Cross-Chain HTLC guide and testnet cWBTC faucet.

  • Can I use mainnet?

    Not yet. The setup wizard supports Testnet only. Mainnet may appear in the UI but is not available for setup today. Both sides of a payment must be on the same network (testnet).

  • Which platforms are supported?

    macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows 64-bit, and Linux (x64 and ARM64). Grab the installer for your machine on the Download page.

  • Are the macOS and Windows downloads signed?

    Yes. Publish releases are Apple Developer ID–signed and notarized on macOS, and Authenticode-signed on Windows. Notarized macOS builds should open normally after install.

    If Gatekeeper still blocks the app, do not click Move to Bin — use System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway, or right-click in Finder → Open. On Windows, SmartScreen may warn for a new publisher even when signed — choose More info → Run anyway until reputation builds. Details are on Download.

  • What’s the difference between a peer and a channel?

    A peer connection is a P2P link on Network. A channel is the off-chain lane you open on Channels — for CKB or a whitelisted UDT. You need a connected peer and a channel in state Ready before you can send or receive. Connecting alone is not enough.

    Bootnodes under discovery help you find the network; you cannot open payment channels with them.

  • How much CKB do I need to open a channel?

    Capacity is at least 1,000 CKB. For a 1,000 CKB open, plan on about 1,109 CKB available on-chain (capacity + reserve + fee buffer). Fund the on-chain wallet shown on Channels before you open.

  • Why can’t I send or receive yet?

    Check these in order:

    • Top bar shows fnn running
    • Your saved peer on Network is Connected
    • A channel on Channels shows State: Ready
    • Sender has enough in-channel balance for the amount plus fees

    Walk through the full path on Get started.

  • Can two people pay if they’re not on the same Wi‑Fi?

    Yes. On the same LAN you can open a direct channel with each other. Far apart on normal home internet, the usual path is multi-hop: each person opens a channel with the same public hub (for example official testnet node1/node2), then payments route through that hub.

    Direct over the internet needs a dialable multiaddr (often port forwarding on 8228). Pubkey alone is usually not enough for a fresh home node.

  • Which release files should I download?

    Only the installer for your OS: .dmg, -setup.exe, .msi, .AppImage, .deb, or .rpm. Ignore .sig files, latest.json, and *.app.tar.gz — those are for in-app updates, not manual install.

  • How do updates work?

    After install, Fiber Studio can check for updates on launch and from Settings → Updates. In-app updates use a separate Tauri signing key — that is not the same as Apple or Windows code signing for the first download.

  • Where can I get help?

    Start with Get started and Download. For bugs or questions, open an issue on GitHub. Protocol details live in the Fiber docs.

Ready to try it?

Install Fiber Studio, start your local node, open a channel, then send or receive on testnet.