A Lightning channel is just a funded payment path between two nodes — you need one (or a route through others' channels) to actually move sats. If Alby's prompting you to open one, that's likely their hosted/custodial side setting up liquidity on your behalf, not something you have to manage yourself. We built NOSTRAS's own zap support on NIP-47 (wallet-connect) specifically so the app never has to know or care how your wallet handles channels — you connect whatever wallet you're using (Alby included) and it signs/pays. Worth asking Alby's own support what that specific prompt means before committing to anything, since custodial vs. self-hosted setups differ a lot here.