Recently Zeus team released (for early testers) a new important version v0.13-alpha coming with new powerful features and a brand new LN node implementation - LDK.

Read Zeus release notes here

So I jumped in to test in details this new version and also give feedback to devs team, to help them have a well tested version before official release.

What I've tested:What I've tested:

• new onboarding process - this is really nice and welcome! The new users will be walk-through a series of questionnaires to decide the way they will gradually start using Zeus. Yes, now Zeus is so complex that you cannot imagine. It could start with basic features for total noobs and end up with powerful advanced features for more experienced users. LITERALLY it have it all you need.
• full function for new LDK node
• full backup / restore LDK node (yes, including existing channels, so no more closing channels on restore)
• cashu wallet - all functions and restore (is coming with new CDK and easy keys backup on nostr)
• full function for new LND Sqlite DB node
• full backup / restore (yes, including existing channels, so no more closing channels on restore)
• monitoring user data occupied, for each LN node type
• monitoring device battery usage for each LN node, with and w/out persistent mode
• making / receiving payments with all features available
• using the LN address provided linked to cashu wallet and then redeemed to self-custody (LN channels)
• swaps in/out for LN channels
• opening / closing channels and also force closing situations (yes, many will say that these tests require to spend sats, but it is what it is, we have to test it IRL situations).
• now the node and network info is coming together in the same options menu, for easy access with two tabs.

So yeah, after testing all these main features I could say that is a "good to release" version, fully functional. Maybe there are more little touches but are not important or affecting main usage for daily basis. Is still alpha stage, so will come a short beta phase and later final release.

Before we begin with more details, here I made a comparison table of LDK and LND features so users will know what to choose from the start:

LDK nodeLDK node

With this new node is very simple, fast, straight forward !
No more slow neutrino connection, no more confusing pings to peers, no more waiting to sync and waiting for graph sync.

The initial LN node setup and sync takes few clicks and exactly less than 10 seconds to be up and ready.

You are provided to backup 12 words seed and that is enough to backup everything, including the open LN channels. The LN channels are backed up on a VSS server managed by Zeus team, encrypted, every time there's a change in the channel status. Later will be provided an option to backup on user's local storage, but for now is enough to start. Important is that the LDK node is running ON YOUR OWN DEVICE.

You can open channels with LSP or any other LN node you wish. The whole LSP processes are the same as usual, you can have channels "just-in-time", "on-demand" or with your own funds (as described in details in this guide)

Restoring a LDK node on a new device or on the same, after a total wipe, is so easy that even a kid can do it and without any hassle.

LDK restore process:

• once you install Zeus, select "advanced setup" on the welcome screen
• Click on ·+· to add new node
• select "LDK node" from the drop down list (it is LDK by default)
• DO NOT click on "new mainnet" but instead click on "restore" button. It have to be selected LDK in order to let you insert the 12 words seed.
• insert the previously saved 12 words and click on "restore" button.
• wait few moments to check your keys and everything will be back online, with your channels online.
• if you had previously a cashu wallet, just reactivate ecash in settings. All mints and balances will be restored instantly without doing anything else, due to the new CDK process.

You will see that with the LDK node the user data occupied will be around 10MB, yes is really small the db. It could increase few more MB in time, but will not achieve GB like it was with old LND BoltDB. This will imply also that battery usage will be less even in persistent mode.

NOTE:

• you cannot migrate existing LND node to LDK
• you cannot migrate existing cashu wallet to new LDK node from an existing LND node (are separate keys)
• you can migrate LN address manually, contacting Zeus team support (email, nostr or telegram)
• you cannot migrate existing channels from a LND node to LDK node
• you can run multiple LDK and / or LND nodes on the same device, but not simultaneously
• you can use NWC server with sub-accounts for the new LDK node. If you want to send / receive with the sub-accounts in real time, you have to activate persistent mode for NWC and LDK. I didn't test it yet with Stacker News "wallets system" but I suppose will work as any other NWC account. I test it with some other NWC wallets and nostr cliennts and works perfectly fine (send/receive).

New LND SQliteDBNew LND SQliteDB

The new LND v0.20.1 is coming with the option to run the channelsDB on SQlite, that is faster, lighter and more efficient.

Here are some mentions to keep in mind (please pay attention):

• old LND nodes with boldDB will not be migrated (automatically or manually) to new SQliteDB. Is not worth it and is much easier and efficient to start with a new LND node on SQlite. Old LND BoltDB are heavier, sometimes even 45GB DB size and will be a mess to upload them to Olympus server or even on local device. Users will not know how tot transfer these huge files to another devices and could be a mess.
• new SQliteDB nodes can and is easy to move to another device with full backup of channels (no force closure), because the size of the file is still in MB range (around 200MB raw and few MB zipped).
• so if you have an old LND node on Zeus, and you want to migrate is better to start a new LND Sqlite and follow the instructions I will explain bellow. If you are comfortable with your existing LND node, you DO NOT HAVE TO migrate. Migration is totally optional and if your working node is fine, just keep using it.
• all new LND nodes will start on SQlite mode. No more boltDB.
• IMPORTANT - you cannot export old boltDB channels and restore it on another device. That procedure is available ONLY for SQliteDB versions.
• you CAN restore your Zeus LND SQlite channels.backup into a desktop LND node but only if you started the instance with SQlite.
• you cannot (yet) restore this LND Sqlite node into Blixt wallet for example. Blixt is still using BoltDB. Or vice-versa. Once Blixt will support SQliteDB version, then yes, will be possible, both ways to restore.
• IMPORTANT: once you start a full restore of a LND SQlite node, the old one will be locked ! That means you cannot use it anymore until you restore it into another device (or wipe it on actual device) and re-activate the channels and wallet on the new one. This restriction is because users will try to restore it on 2 devices simultaneously and that will trigger the force closure of the channels.

The new LND SQliteDB works the same as previous as main functionalities. The only thing you will notice is that is faster and lighter.

The cashu wallet is also upgraded to CDK and easy restore process, NWC server for sub-accounts works the same.

A nice new feature to mention: LUD18, "receiver name" was added for invoices.

This means, that when you create a LN invoice, you can add a "receiver name" that will appear in the invoice comments to the payer. Is optional, but quite handy for merchants. Comments are a separate thing.

LND SqliteDB restore procedure:

• you can do the full channels backup from two options: in the backup seed screen and also in tools section - export channels to another device.
• the process is straight forward with detailed instructions to follow
• you will need some space on local device or patience to compress and upload to Olympus server the channelsDB backup. If you choose to use local device as backup`destination, you will need to find a way to transfer that file to your new device. I found the app LocalSend very handy and easy to use for such operation. You can find it on ZapStore.dev app - strongly recommended to use ZapStore for all your Bitcoin apps.
• once you have the backup zip file on your new device you can proceed to restore the full LND node from your old device.
• start the nnew instance of Zeus or go to accounts / nodes and click on "+" to add a new connection. Select LND and hit the restore button. You will be prompted with more instructions to insert the seed + backup file. Or select download backup from Olympus, if you previously choose that option for backup.
• it will take some time to restore, wait patiently.

And done, all your node is fully restored with intact channels.
If you had a cashu wallet too, just go to settings and activate it. It will instantly restore the mints and balances.

And that's it, for the moment. I hope you will pay more attention to this new Zeus version and enjoy it.
Please stop using other bullshit crap apps, faking LN, Now Zeus can offer you all powerful features even if you don't know too much about LN liquidity and management. For a normal BTC user is more than enough to have full self-custody.

If you have any more questions about this new version I am here to answer. Maybe I missed something, idk.

Thank you for your attention in this matter