<p>I thought we had that question before but the only one similar I could find was this one <a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/85460/1ml-shows-larger-number-of-nodes-comparing-to-other-lightning-network-explorers">1ML shows larger number of nodes comparing to other lightning network explorers</a> which was not quite the same.</p>

<p>So to answer your question: listchannels depicts information your node knows from the gossip protocol. If your node is new this could take some time which is most likely the reason for your lower number. </p>

<p>I once had a corrupted gossip_store file in .lightning folder after upgrading a node in that case shutdown your node delete the gossip store file and restart for a new sync. Pay attention not to delete any other files in that directory as they are critical to access your funds</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-20T10:30:46.440Z
The problem was solved after updating the version. I'm not sure but this can be relevant. https://github.com/ElementsProject/lightning/issues/2504 Thanks.
zono
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-27T16:39:19.087Z
2019-03-27T16:39:19.087Z
Rene Pickhardt
<p>I have my own c-lightning node. listchannels returns 11,455 but explorers, e.g <a href="https://explore.casa/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://explore.casa/</a> show around 39,000. Do I need to set something to get all channel info?</p>

<pre><code>$ lightning-cli listchannels | grep source | wc
  11455   22910  996585
</code></pre>

<p>I'm thinking "initial_routing_sync" might be relevant. But I can't find how to use it.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>upon receiving an init message with the initial_routing_sync flag set to 1:
  SHOULD send gossip messages for all known channels and nodes, as if they were just received.</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lightning-rfc/blob/master/07-routing-gossip.md" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lightning-rfc/blob/master/07-routing-gossip.md</a></p>

<hr>

<p>Update 1</p>

<p>I restarted clightning 3 hours ago but still the count is 8,433. And seems the number stays at the almost same number.</p>

<p>What I did:</p>

<pre><code>1. Stop lightningd
2. Delete /home/lightningd/.lightning/gossip_store
3. Start lightningd
4. Connect to a peer

$ lightning-cli connect 03efccf2c383d7bf340da9a3f02e2c23104a0e4fe8ac1a880c8e2dc92fbdacd9df@144.76.235.20:9735

5. Wait for 3 hours
6. Check the count

$ lightning-cli listchannels | grep source | wc
   8433   16866  733671
</code></pre>

<lightning-network><core-lightning>
Total channel count differs from explorers
zono
# Total channel count differs from explorers

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-03-27)

I have my own c-lightning node. listchannels returns 11,455 but explorers, e.g <https://explore.casa/> show around 39,000. Do I need to set something to get all channel info?

```
$ lightning-cli listchannels | grep source | wc
  11455   22910  996585

```

I'm thinking "initial\_routing\_sync" might be relevant. But I can't find how to use it.

> upon receiving an init message with the initial\_routing\_sync flag set to 1:
> SHOULD send gossip messages for all known channels and nodes, as if they were just received.

<https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lightning-rfc/blob/master/07-routing-gossip.md>

---

Update 1

I restarted clightning 3 hours ago but still the count is 8,433. And seems the number stays at the almost same number.

What I did:

```
1. Stop lightningd
2. Delete /home/lightningd/.lightning/gossip_store
3. Start lightningd
4. Connect to a peer

$ lightning-cli connect 03efccf2c383d7bf340da9a3f02e2c23104a0e4fe8ac1a880c8e2dc92fbdacd9df@144.76.235.20:9735

5. Wait for 3 hours
6. Check the count

$ lightning-cli listchannels | grep source | wc
   8433   16866  733671

```

**Tags:** lightning-network, core-lightning


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-03-27. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

I thought we had that question before but the only one similar I could find was this one [1ML shows larger number of nodes comparing to other lightning network explorers](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/85460/1ml-shows-larger-number-of-nodes-comparing-to-other-lightning-network-explorers) which was not quite the same.

So to answer your question: listchannels depicts information your node knows from the gossip protocol. If your node is new this could take some time which is most likely the reason for your lower number.

I once had a corrupted gossip\_store file in .lightning folder after upgrading a node in that case shutdown your node delete the gossip store file and restart for a new sync. Pay attention not to delete any other files in that directory as they are critical to access your funds

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: The problem was solved after updating the version. I'm not sure but this can be relevant. https://github.com/ElementsProject/lightning/issues/2504 Thanks.  

---

