diff --git a/modules/bitcoind.nix b/modules/bitcoind.nix
index 8e30664..234846e 100644
--- a/modules/bitcoind.nix
+++ b/modules/bitcoind.nix
@@ -187,6 +187,7 @@ in {
           chown '${cfg.user}:${cfg.group}' '${cfg.dataDir}'
         fi
         cp '${configFile}' '${cfg.dataDir}/bitcoin.conf'
+        chmod o-rw  '${cfg.dataDir}/bitcoin.conf'
         echo "rpcpassword=$(cat /secrets/bitcoin-rpcpassword)" >> '${cfg.dataDir}/bitcoin.conf'
       '';
       serviceConfig = {
diff --git a/modules/clightning.nix b/modules/clightning.nix
index a8cbb4c..f971e07 100644
--- a/modules/clightning.nix
+++ b/modules/clightning.nix
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ with lib;
 
 let
   cfg = config.services.clightning;
-  home = "/var/lib/clightning";
   configFile = pkgs.writeText "config" ''
     autolisten=false
     network=bitcoin
@@ -32,16 +31,25 @@ in {
         Bitcoin RPC user
       '';
     };
+    dataDir = mkOption {
+      type = types.path;
+      default = "/var/lib/clightning";
+      description = "The data directory for bitcoind.";
+    };
   };
 
   config = mkIf cfg.enable {
       users.users.clightning =
         {
           description = "clightning User";
-          createHome  = true;
+          group = "clightning";
           extraGroups = [ "bitcoinrpc" "keys" ];
-          inherit home;
+          home = cfg.dataDir;
       };
+      users.groups.clightning = {
+        name = "clightning";
+      };
+
       systemd.services.clightning =
         { description = "Run clightningd";
           path  = [ pkgs.bash pkgs.clightning pkgs.bitcoin ];
@@ -49,15 +57,19 @@ in {
           requires = [ "bitcoind.service" ];
           after = [ "bitcoind.service" ];
           preStart = ''
-            mkdir -p ${home}/.lightning
-            rm -f ${home}/.lightning/config
-            cp ${configFile} ${home}/.lightning/config
-            chmod +w ${home}/.lightning/config
-            echo "bitcoin-rpcpassword=$(cat /secrets/bitcoin-rpcpassword)" >> '${home}/.lightning/config'
+            mkdir -m 0770 -p ${cfg.dataDir}
+            rm -f ${cfg.dataDir}/config
+            chown 'clightning:clightning' '${cfg.dataDir}'
+            cp ${configFile} ${cfg.dataDir}/config
+            chown 'clightning:clightning' '${cfg.dataDir}/config'
+            chmod +w ${cfg.dataDir}/config
+            chmod o-rw ${cfg.dataDir}/config
+            echo "bitcoin-rpcpassword=$(cat /secrets/bitcoin-rpcpassword)" >> '${cfg.dataDir}/config'
             '';
           serviceConfig =
             {
-              ExecStart = "${pkgs.clightning}/bin/lightningd";
+              PermissionsStartOnly = "true";
+              ExecStart = "${pkgs.clightning}/bin/lightningd --lightning-dir=${cfg.dataDir}";
               User = "clightning";
               Restart = "on-failure";
               RestartSec = "10s";
diff --git a/modules/nixbitcoin.nix b/modules/nixbitcoin.nix
index a5ef907..9707368 100644
--- a/modules/nixbitcoin.nix
+++ b/modules/nixbitcoin.nix
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ in {
   };
 
   config = mkIf cfg.enable {
+    # Add bitcoinrpc group
     users.groups.bitcoinrpc = {};
 
     # Tor
@@ -69,15 +70,28 @@ in {
     };
 
     # Define a user account. Don't forget to set a password with ‘passwd’.
-    users.users.guest = {
+    users.users.operator = {
       isNormalUser = true;
+      extraGroups = [ "clightning" config.services.bitcoind.group ];
+
     };
+    environment.interactiveShellInit = ''
+      alias bitcoin-cli='bitcoin-cli -datadir=${config.services.bitcoind.dataDir}'
+      alias lightning-cli='sudo -u clightning lightning-cli --lightning-dir=${config.services.clightning.dataDir}'
+    '';
+    # Unfortunately c-lightning doesn't allow setting the permissions of the rpc socket
+    # https://github.com/ElementsProject/lightning/issues/1366
+    security.sudo.configFile = ''
+      operator    ALL=(clightning) NOPASSWD: ALL
+    '';
+
+    # Give root ssh access to the operator account
     systemd.services.copy-root-authorized-keys = {
       description = "Copy root authorized keys";
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
       path  = [ ];
       serviceConfig = {
-        ExecStart = "${pkgs.bash}/bin/bash -c \"mkdir -p ${config.users.users.guest.home}/.ssh && cp ${config.users.users.root.home}/.vbox-nixops-client-key ${config.users.users.guest.home}/.ssh/authorized_keys && chown -R guest ${config.users.users.guest.home}/.ssh\"";
+        ExecStart = "${pkgs.bash}/bin/bash -c \"mkdir -p ${config.users.users.operator.home}/.ssh && cp ${config.users.users.root.home}/.vbox-nixops-client-key ${config.users.users.operator.home}/.ssh/authorized_keys && chown -R operator ${config.users.users.operator.home}/.ssh\"";
         user = "root";
         type = "oneshot";
       };