fix(lnd): retry channel opens during LND startup + calm non-red notice

LND's RPC answers before its p2p server finishes loading, so connect/open
during that window failed red with the raw "server is still in the
process of starting". Now: quiet ~30s retry first; if still starting, a
calm amber "still finishing its startup" notice instead of an error.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

core/archipelago/src/api/rpc/lnd/channels.rs

@@ -5,6 +5,21 @@ use tracing::info;
 
 use super::LND_REST_BASE_URL;
 
+/// LND rejects RPCs with "server is still in the process of starting" for a
+/// short window after wallet unlock (p2p/graph subsystems still loading).
+/// Transient by design — match it so callers retry and, if it persists,
+/// surface a calm notice instead of a scary failure. The exact phrase below
+/// is what the frontend keys its softer (non-red) styling on.
+fn lnd_still_starting(msg: &str) -> bool {
+    let m = msg.to_ascii_lowercase();
+    m.contains("in the process of starting") || m.contains("server is still starting")
+}
+
+/// User-facing text for the still-starting state. Deliberately calm: this is
+/// a "wait a moment", not an error.
+const LND_STARTING_MSG: &str = "Your Lightning node is still finishing its startup — this \
+     usually takes a minute or two after the node comes online. Please try again shortly.";
+
 #[derive(Debug, Serialize)]
 struct ChannelInfo {
     chan_id: String,
@@ -251,25 +266,45 @@ impl RpcHandler {
                 "perm": false,
                 "timeout": "30"
             });
-            let connect_resp = client
-                .post(format!("{LND_REST_BASE_URL}/v1/peers"))
-                .header("Grpc-Metadata-macaroon", &macaroon_hex)
-                .json(&connect_body)
-                .timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(35))
-                .send()
-                .await
-                .context("Failed to connect to peer")?;
+            // Right after wallet unlock, LND's RPC answers while its p2p
+            // server is still spinning up, and every connect attempt gets
+            // "server is still in the process of starting". That's a
+            // transient state, not a failure — it clears in seconds — so
+            // retry quietly for ~30s before surfacing a calm, non-scary
+            // notice (the frontend styles LND_STARTING_MSG as info, not red).
+            let mut attempt = 0u32;
+            loop {
+                let connect_resp = client
+                    .post(format!("{LND_REST_BASE_URL}/v1/peers"))
+                    .header("Grpc-Metadata-macaroon", &macaroon_hex)
+                    .json(&connect_body)
+                    .timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(35))
+                    .send()
+                    .await
+                    .context("Failed to connect to peer")?;
 
-            if !connect_resp.status().is_success() {
+                if connect_resp.status().is_success() {
+                    break;
+                }
                 let body: serde_json::Value = connect_resp.json().await.unwrap_or_default();
                 let msg = body
                     .get("message")
                     .and_then(|v| v.as_str())
                     .unwrap_or("Unknown error");
                 // LND returns an error if we already have this peer — that is fine
-                if !msg.contains("already connected") {
-                    return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to connect to peer: {}", msg));
+                if msg.contains("already connected") {
+                    break;
                 }
+                if lnd_still_starting(msg) && attempt < 5 {
+                    attempt += 1;
+                    info!(attempt, "LND still starting — retrying peer connect in 6s");
+                    tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(6)).await;
+                    continue;
+                }
+                if lnd_still_starting(msg) {
+                    return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("{LND_STARTING_MSG}"));
+                }
+                return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to connect to peer: {}", msg));
             }
         }
 
@@ -305,6 +340,9 @@ impl RpcHandler {
                 .get("message")
                 .and_then(|v| v.as_str())
                 .unwrap_or("Unknown error");
+            if lnd_still_starting(msg) {
+                return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("{LND_STARTING_MSG}"));
+            }
             return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to open channel: {}", msg));
         }