Nostr-Protocol
A censorship-resistant alternative to Twitter
What is Nostr?
"nostr" stands for "Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays" and is an open protocol for censorship-resistant global networks created by @fiatjaf. A decentralized network based on cryptographic key pairs and that is not peer-to-peer, a simple open protocol that is able to create a censorship-resistant network. Nostr does not rely on any trusted central server.
What are Relays?
Relays are (so far) application agnostic. You can run your own or use any or all of the public instances.Everybody runs a client. It can be a native client, a web client, etc. To publish something, you write a post, sign it with your key and send it to multiple relays (servers hosted by someone else, or yourself). To get updates from other people, you ask multiple relays if they know anything about these other people. Anyone can run a relay. A relay is very simple, it does nothing besides accepting posts from some people and forwarding to others. Relays don't have to be trusted. Signatures are verified on the client side.
What is a NIP?
A NIP is a Nostr Improvement Proposal; these are basically tech specs that are proposed as upgrades for the Nostr protocol.NIP-05 is a verification method for your Nostr account across all clients. Think of it as the blue checkmark on Twitter or Instagram, but instead of meeting Twitter and later Instagram’s requirements to be verified, you can simply do it yourself, and Nostr clients will respect it.
To get your account NIP verified, you will need a:
Nostr public key
A web server – Hosting and domain
The ability to set a static file on your domain
Spam Issue
Spam is annoying, but it’s also a threat. While many of us might think we’re savvy enough to recognize any form of it, spammers regularly update their methods and messages to trick potential victims. Most of the time however spam is used to broadcast a message to as many people as possible in the hope that a small percentage will engage to make it financially profitable.
The Problem with Twitter and other platforms:
Twitter has ads
Twitter bans users
Twitter shadow bans users
Users are attached to domain names controlled by third-parties;
Nostr Features :
No registration required. Creating an account on Nostr doesn’t require a phone number, email, or name.
Censorship-resistant. Built on open internet protocols, there is no platform that can ban or censor you. You are in control of your data & speech. A relay can block a user from publishing anything there, but that has no effect on them as they can still publish to other relays. Since users are identified by a public key, they don't lose their identities and their follower base when they get banned.
Encrypted. Private messaging that uses end-to-end encryption thus keeping corporations out of your private messages.
Zaps. At the moment you can tip your friend’s post using Lightning, Bitcoin’s layer 2.
Clients and Relays. Each user runs a client. Anyone can run a relay. (Google, Youtube, Etc
User Public Key. Every user is identified by a public key. Every post is signed. Every client validates theses signatures.
Relays. Clients fetch data from relays of THEIR CHOICE and publish data to other relays of their choice. A relay doesn’t talk to another relay, only directly to users.
Spam. If there are unnatural posts(Spam) on a relay, it can easily be unlisted by clients
How To Use Nostr
Websites that use Nostr-Protocol:
Damus - a Twitter-like Nostr client for IOS an MacOS
Astral - a Branle fork with global feed and UI makeover
Branle - a Twitter-like client with chat.
Iris - a Nostr web client
Amethyst - an Android client for Nostr written in Kotlin
Snort - a Nostr web Client
Browser Extension for Signing Transactions
Allows you to sign Nostr events on web-apps without having to give them your keys.
Alby - Bitcoin Lightning app with Nostr Support
Alby
Pay 2 Relay Service Providers
Pay 2 Relay is the concept that Users pay infrastructure providers a small fee in order to access higher quality services on Nostr. Whilst anyone can run their own relay it is impractical to expect everyone to do so, instead Relay operators are whitelisting accounts when they make payment to use their services.
REMINDER!! Pay 2 Relay allow for payments in Sats using the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
Umbrel
An OS for running a server in your home.
Self-host open source apps like Nostr Relay, Bitcoin/Lightning node, and more
₿itcoin/Lightning Wallets
Muun - a self-custodial wallet for bitcoin and lightning
Wallet Of Satoshi - the world’s simplest bitcoin lightning wallet
Zeus LN - an open-source, non custodial Bitcoin wallet
Nostr Community
You can reach out to one of the following projects, and they will help you with verification via their owned domain.
Community
Outside of nostr itself, you find the community on:
nostr telegram group - a telegram group for nostr protocol discussion
nostr español/spanish telegram group - a spanish telegram group for nostr
nostr reddit - a subreddit for nostr related discussion
nostr discord - a discord server for nostr enthusiasts and developers
Tutorials/ Tools
Step-by-Step guide to set up a relay on your server (AWS, DigitalOcean, RaspBerry... )
How to: Run your own nostr relay (nostr-rs-relay, Caddy, no Docker)
nostr.directory - searchable database of nostr users and their other social media links.
Nostr.build - nostr image uploader
nostrplebs - A NIP-05 ID registration service.
nostrich.fun -- A feature-rich directory of nostr projects.
Nostrovia Podcast - A Nostr podcast covering all the new projects, all the new cool stuff, all the new NIPs
nostr.directory - searchable database of nostr users and their other social media links.
Jester - Chess over nostr
Awesome-Nostr - a curated list on Nostr projects and resources
Github
Nostr Home:
Example
Create a private/public keypair using a nostr client like astral.ninja. The client will ask you whether you want to create such a key pair, and if you agree, it will create that for you. This is used as a 'self-sovereign' identity in the Nostr system.
Save the private key: Once you have created a private/public key pair, you should keep or save the private key somewhere, and keep it secret. Also, if you lose your newly created private key, you can always generate a new one, however you may lose access to your old private messages and such, but not public messages.
Create multiple keys if needed: The same key can be used on all nostr clients. If you want to create multiple identities or accounts, you can create new such key pairs.
Update your profile: From the client you're using, you should be able to update your profile name, picture etc. This depends on the client whether and how much you can update. Typically you can add your name, about me section and profile picture.
Make posts: The client should also show you some posts by others. Also it should allow you to create posts, follow others. ( astral damus etc clients do allow you to follow others; anigma.io doesn't since its like telegram and has a public chat rooms).
Find users: Astral.ninja has a global feed where you can see posts by others. The page nostr.io/stats shows some of the more prolific users. The page damus.io/channels shows some of the more active public channels.