lightning

truly powerful cross-platform bots

the bridge -> the framework -> codeberg ↗

about lightning

lightning is a project developing cross-platform bots, with the underying framework, which allows the easy creation of cross-platform bots with plugins that support several platforms, and the bridge bot, which is battle-tested and can handle thousands of messages per second.

The project has plugins which support the following platforms, which allows it to have a simple core, while allowing new features to be easily added: Discord, Spacebar, Harmony, Fluxer, Stoat, Matrix, Telegram, IRC, Osmium, and more. the bridge is also designed to be flexible, with options to disable pings, setup subscribe-only channels, and more.

The project, and all of its components, are open-source and available to self-host. if you don’t want to self-host, or just want an easier way to try it out, bolt is a hosted version of the bridge bot, hosted and operated by William Horning, free to use, and subject to its own Terms of Service.

the bridge bot

If you’ve ever had a community, chances are you talk to them in many places, Over time, you might end up with a fragmented community, with many people using multiple messaging apps. People eventually grow tired of the differences between apps, switching between them, and things become a mess.

how can I fix this??

Bridging! lightning lets you connect channels across platforms so people can choose what app they want to use, get the same messages, and are on the same page. It currently supports Discord, Spacebar, Harmony, Fluxer, Stoat, Telegram, Matrix, IRC, Osmium and more, while allowing you to bridge as many channels as you like, so you can bring people wherever you’d like. To get started, check out the getting started guide, which will walk you through using Bolt, the hosted version of the Lightning bot. If you want to self-host, read the self-hosting guide.

the framework

The framework allows you to build cross-platform bots without having to worry about platform-specific code. The framework is built in Go, making it easy to work with, and is designed to handle things like commands, events, rate-limits, attachments, and more, all while being battle-tested in Bolt, which has handled millions of messages during just January, 2026.

The framework consists of the core library, which is platform-agnostic, and plugins, which add support for specific platforms. The only platform-specific code is in the plugins, making it possible to support new platforms without modifying your bot’s core logic.

To see a simple example of how to use the framework, check out the framework: hello world guide, which will walk you through creating a simple bot that responds to messages and commands. For the full documentation, check out the framework documentation.