[Senior] Remove IBEX API dependency for basic app functionality #302

Activity

1. islandbitcoin

   added

   enhancementNew feature or requestNew feature or request

   approved

   🏔️ summit

   💰 bounty

   🖥️ backend

   on Mar 19, 2026
2. patoo0x commented on Mar 20, 2026

   

   patoo0x

   on Mar 20, 2026

   Contributor

   More actions

   📋 Definition of Done — 💰 500,000 sats (bundled with flash-mobile#591 + flash-mobile#572)

   ⚠️ Bundled bounty: This issue is part of a 3-issue bundle:

   • [Senior] Remove IBEX API dependency for basic app functionality #302 — Remove IBEX API dependency from backend (this issue)
   • flash-mobile#591 — Remove IBEX dependency from mobile app
   • flash-mobile#572 — Build reproducibility fix

   All three must be completed together for the full 500,000 sats payout.

   Expected Behavior After Fix:

   • App starts and is fully functional with IBEX APIs completely unreachable
   • BTC wallet (balance, send via Lightning, receive) works end-to-end without any IBEX API calls
   • USD wallet shows a clear "temporarily unavailable" state (no crashes, no infinite loaders)
   • Transaction history displays BTC transactions regardless of IBEX status
   • When IBEX connectivity is restored, USD wallet recovers automatically without app restart
   • Error handling clearly distinguishes Flash-native failures from IBEX dependency failures
   • Android build is reproducible (walletscrutiny diff resolved)

   Deliverables:

   • Backend PR against main (closes #302)
   • Mobile PR(s) against main (closes flash-mobile#591, closes flash-mobile#572)
   • Unit tests for BTC-only mode, graceful USD degradation, and recovery
   • Screen recording showing: (1) IBEX offline → app starts → BTC send/receive works → USD shows unavailable; (2) IBEX restored → USD wallet recovers; (3) Android build reproducibility verification
   • Lightning address provided in your first comment on this issue

   Review Gate:

   • All existing tests pass
   • Ben signs off (backend)
   • Nick signs off (mobile)
   • Dread final approval

   Payment: 500,000 sats via Lightning on merge.
   See CONTRIBUTING.md for full details.
3. chengyixu commented on Mar 21, 2026

   

   chengyixu

   on Mar 21, 2026

   More actions

   Proposal

   I'd like to work on this Senior bounty (bundled: flash#302 + flash-mobile#591 + flash-mobile#572).

   Approach:

   • Audit all code paths that call IBEX APIs at startup and during BTC wallet operations
   • Introduce a feature flag / capability check: if IBEX is unreachable (timeout < 3s), app boots in BTC-only mode with USD features hidden
   • Wrap every IBEX call in a try/catch with graceful degradation — BTC send/receive, balance display, and Lightning payments must work independently via the Galoy/LND backend
   • For flash-mobile#591: mirror the same startup resilience in the React Native layer — use a context provider that short-circuits IBEX initialization on network failure
   • For flash-mobile#572: investigate reproducibility diff (65 non-image files) — likely deterministic build config (timestamps, build IDs) in the Gradle/Fastlane pipeline

   Timeline: 2-3 days

   Available immediately! cc @patoo0x
4. chengyixu commented on Mar 21, 2026

   

   chengyixu

   on Mar 21, 2026

   More actions

   Proposing to remove IBEX API dependency from the Flash backend.

   Analysis:
   The IBEX dependency blocks BTC-only functionality when IBEX is down. Here's my approach:

   1. Startup decoupling:

   • Identify all IBEX API calls in the startup/initialization path
   • Move them to lazy-loaded services that only execute when USD wallet features are actually requested
   • BTC wallet initialization via Galoy/LND directly — no IBEX required

   2. BTC wallet independence:

   • Audit all BTC balance, send, and receive flows to ensure no IBEX calls are in the critical path
   • Wrap any IBEX calls in try/catch with graceful fallback responses
   • Add a health check service for IBEX with circuit breaker pattern (fail-fast after 3 consecutive timeouts)

   3. USD graceful degradation:

   • Return a structured "service unavailable" response for USD-specific queries when IBEX is down
   • Ensure error propagates cleanly to mobile without crashing the backend

   4. Testing:

   • Unit tests: mock IBEX as unreachable, verify BTC flows still pass
   • Integration test: spin up backend without IBEX config, verify BTC operations work end-to-end

   Timeline: This is a significant backend refactor — I estimate 5-7 days for a thorough implementation with tests. Ready to begin immediately.
5. HuiNeng6 commented on Mar 25, 2026

   

   HuiNeng6

   on Mar 25, 2026

   More actions

   /attempt

   Proposal - Remove IBEX API Dependency Bundle

   I'd like to work on this Senior bounty bundle (flash#302 + flash-mobile#591 + flash-mobile#572).

   My Approach:

   Backend (flash#302):

   • Audit all IBEX API call sites in startup and BTC wallet flows
   • Implement circuit breaker pattern for IBEX health check (3s timeout)
   • Move IBEX initialization to lazy-loaded service
   • Add BTC-only mode flag when IBEX unreachable
   • Ensure Galoy/LND backend handles BTC operations directly

   Mobile (flash-mobile#591):

   • Add \useIbexHealthCheck\ hook with 5s timeout
   • Create \WalletCapabilityContext\ for conditional USD rendering
   • Wrap IBEX calls with graceful degradation
   • Ensure Lightning send/receive works without IBEX

   Build Reproducibility (flash-mobile#572):

   • Pin all Gradle dependency versions (no +\ versions)
   • Set \SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH\ for deterministic timestamps
   • Configure ProGuard/R8 for consistent output

   Timeline: 5-7 days for complete bundle

   Lightning address: [需要提供]

   Ready to start immediately!
6. tarai-dl

   added a commit that references this issue on Apr 17, 2026

   fix: graceful degradation when IBEX API is unreachable

   ...

   This issue will close once commit 250128d is merged into the 'main' branch.

   250128d
7. forge0x

   added

   IBEX ImprovementsEnhancements related to IBEXEnhancements related to IBEX

   and removed

   enhancementNew feature or requestNew feature or request

   on Apr 17, 2026
8. islandbitcoin

   removed

   approved

   🖥️ backend

   💰 bounty

   on Apr 17, 2026
9. islandbitcoin commented on Oct 10, 2026

   

   islandbitcoin

   on Oct 10, 2026

   ContributorAuthor

   More actions

   @HuiNeng6 your /attempt from 2026-03-25 is released: no PR or follow-up in the six months since.

   Bounty cancelled (2026-10-10). The bounty program is closed and the reward attached to this issue is withdrawn. No bounty will be paid for work on it. The issue itself stays open as a regular work item and has been re-prioritized by the core team. Thanks to everyone who proposed an approach.
10. islandbitcoin

    added

    Low

    Needs Higher Level Planning

    and removed

    🏔️ summit

    on Oct 10, 2026
11. islandbitcoin commented on Oct 10, 2026

    

    islandbitcoin

    on Oct 10, 2026

    ContributorAuthor

    More actions

    Priority pass 2026-10-10: rank 9 of 13. With Breez removed, BTC also flows through IBEX, so full independence is unrealistic. Proposed re-scope: graceful degradation (circuit breaker on IBEX health, explicit unavailable states, startup that does not block on IBEX).
12. nul-quill commented on Oct 11, 2026

    

    nul-quill

    on Oct 11, 2026

    More actions

    PR: #524 - circuit breaker on IBEX health (3s half-open), BTC balance + wallet history served from the ledger while it is open, cash wallets show an explicit unavailable (null) state instead of erroring, and a network-level ApiError is what trips the breaker. 256 suites / 3307 tests green in an isolated sandbox; tsc unchanged from main. Handle: nul-quill. Payout wallets: Solana USDC BdznDjc4xwt5Y6WJT5UnrFQzDptka8YnC9oqmmkKpwkd, TRC20 TNEHCVwR2aPMrj5AKfWCQ2rFL3bEDQmsg7.