diff --git a/artifacts/api-server/src/routes/index.ts b/artifacts/api-server/src/routes/index.ts
index ed68a82..34e15ab 100644
--- a/artifacts/api-server/src/routes/index.ts
+++ b/artifacts/api-server/src/routes/index.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import sessionsRouter from "./sessions.js";
 import demoRouter from "./demo.js";
 import devRouter from "./dev.js";
 import testkitRouter from "./testkit.js";
+import { lnbitsService } from "../lib/lnbits.js";
 import uiRouter from "./ui.js";
 import nodeDiagnosticsRouter from "./node-diagnostics.js";
 import metricsRouter from "./metrics.js";
@@ -34,7 +35,13 @@ router.use(uiRouter);
 router.use(nodeDiagnosticsRouter);
 router.use(worldRouter);
 
-if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== "production") {
+// Mount dev routes when NOT in production OR when LNbits is in stub mode.
+// Stub mode means there is no real Lightning backend — payments are simulated
+// in-memory. The testkit relies on POST /dev/stub/pay/:hash to simulate payment
+// confirmation, so we expose it whenever stub mode is active regardless of NODE_ENV.
+// In real production with a live LNbits backend, stubMode is false, so these
+// routes remain unexposed.
+if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== "production" || lnbitsService.stubMode) {
   router.use(devRouter);
 }