diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4411fa1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+# ============================================================
+# Timmy API Server — Environment Variables
+# Copy this file to .env and fill in your values.
+# Never commit .env to version control.
+# ============================================================
+
+# ── Server ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
+PORT=8080
+NODE_ENV=development
+
+# ── Lightning / LNbits ───────────────────────────────────────
+# Set both variables to connect the API to a real Lightning node.
+# Leave blank to run in stub mode (invoices simulated in-memory).
+#
+# After running infrastructure/lnd-init.sh on the droplet, it will
+# print both values. Copy them here.
+#
+# LNBITS_URL is the public HTTPS URL exposed via Tailscale Funnel,
+# e.g. https://<node-name>.tail12345.ts.net
+LNBITS_URL=
+LNBITS_API_KEY=
+
+# ── Database ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
+DATABASE_URL=postgresql://localhost:5432/timmy
+
+# ── Nostr identity ───────────────────────────────────────────
+# nsec for Timmy's Nostr keypair (signs relay events).
+# Generate with: openssl rand -hex 32
+TIMMY_NOSTR_NSEC=
+# Optional: override the derived pubkey explicitly (hex, not npub).
+TIMMY_NOSTR_PUBKEY=
+
+# ── AI integrations ──────────────────────────────────────────
+# Anthropic Claude — leave blank to use canned AI stub responses.
+AI_INTEGRATIONS_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=
+
+# Gemini (optional)
+GEMINI_API_KEY=
+
+# ── CORS ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Comma-separated list of allowed origins in production.
+# Default: alexanderwhitestone.com variants.
+# Leave blank to allow all origins (development default).
+# CORS_ORIGINS=https://alexanderwhitestone.com,https://www.alexanderwhitestone.com
+
+# ── Relay policy ─────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Shared secret between the API server and the strfry relay-policy sidecar.
+RELAY_POLICY_SECRET=
+
+# ── Rate limiting / misc ─────────────────────────────────────
+# Milliseconds between moderation poll cycles (default: 30000).
+# MODERATION_POLL_MS=30000
+
+# ── BTC price oracle ─────────────────────────────────────────
+# Optional CoinGecko API key for higher rate limits.
+# COINGECKO_API_KEY=
+
+# ── Replit (auto-set in Replit environment) ──────────────────
+# REPLIT_DEV_DOMAIN=<auto-set by Replit>
diff --git a/artifacts/api-server/src/index.ts b/artifacts/api-server/src/index.ts
index 96dfc67..3e82a28 100644
--- a/artifacts/api-server/src/index.ts
+++ b/artifacts/api-server/src/index.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { timmyIdentityService } from "./lib/timmy-identity.js";
 import { startEngagementEngine } from "./lib/engagement.js";
 import { relayAccountService } from "./lib/relay-accounts.js";
 import { moderationService } from "./lib/moderation.js";
+import { lnbitsService } from "./lib/lnbits.js";
 
 const rawPort = process.env["PORT"];
 
@@ -25,6 +26,16 @@ attachWebSocketServer(server);
 server.listen(port, () => {
   rootLogger.info("server started", { port });
   rootLogger.info("timmy identity", { npub: timmyIdentityService.npub });
+
+  // Warn loudly in production if Lightning is not connected.
+  if (lnbitsService.stubMode && process.env["NODE_ENV"] === "production") {
+    rootLogger.warn(
+      "LNBITS_URL / LNBITS_API_KEY not set — running in STUB mode. " +
+      "Invoices are simulated in-memory. Set these env vars to connect to a real Lightning node. " +
+      "See infrastructure/lnd-init.sh for setup instructions.",
+      { lnbits_stub: true },
+    );
+  }
   const domain = process.env["REPLIT_DEV_DOMAIN"];
   if (domain) {
     rootLogger.info("public url", { url: `https://${domain}/api/ui` });
diff --git a/artifacts/api-server/src/routes/health.ts b/artifacts/api-server/src/routes/health.ts
index c6bae80..65c5bb5 100644
--- a/artifacts/api-server/src/routes/health.ts
+++ b/artifacts/api-server/src/routes/health.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { Router, type IRouter, type Request, type Response } from "express";
 import { db, jobs } from "@workspace/db";
 import { sql } from "drizzle-orm";
 import { makeLogger } from "../lib/logger.js";
+import { lnbitsService } from "../lib/lnbits.js";
 
 const router: IRouter = Router();
 const logger = makeLogger("health");
@@ -13,12 +14,24 @@ router.get("/healthz", async (_req: Request, res: Response) => {
     const rows = await db.select({ total: sql<number>`cast(count(*) as int)` }).from(jobs);
     const jobsTotal = Number(rows[0]?.total ?? 0);
     const uptimeS = Math.floor((Date.now() - START_TIME) / 1000);
-    res.json({ status: "ok", uptime_s: uptimeS, jobs_total: jobsTotal });
+    res.json({
+      status: "ok",
+      uptime_s: uptimeS,
+      jobs_total: jobsTotal,
+      lnbits_stub: lnbitsService.stubMode,
+      lnbits_url: lnbitsService.stubMode ? null : process.env["LNBITS_URL"] ?? null,
+    });
   } catch (err) {
     const message = err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Health check failed";
     logger.error("healthz db query failed", { error: message });
     const uptimeS = Math.floor((Date.now() - START_TIME) / 1000);
-    res.status(503).json({ status: "error", uptime_s: uptimeS, error: message });
+    res.status(503).json({
+      status: "error",
+      uptime_s: uptimeS,
+      error: message,
+      lnbits_stub: lnbitsService.stubMode,
+      lnbits_url: lnbitsService.stubMode ? null : process.env["LNBITS_URL"] ?? null,
+    });
   }
 });
 
diff --git a/pnpm-lock.yaml b/pnpm-lock.yaml
index 1007a83..9c533ac 100644
--- a/pnpm-lock.yaml
+++ b/pnpm-lock.yaml
@@ -625,6 +625,10 @@ importers:
         version: 7.1.1
 
   scripts:
+    dependencies:
+      nostr-tools:
+        specifier: ^2.23.3
+        version: 2.23.3(typescript@5.9.3)
     devDependencies:
       '@types/node':
         specifier: 'catalog:'