name: nostr description: Knowledge about the Nostr protocol. Use to view up-to-date NIPs, discover capabilities of the Nostr protocol, and to implement Nostr functionality correctly. license: CC-BY-SA-4.0

Nostr Protocol

Nostr is a simple, open protocol that enables truly censorship-resistant and global social networks using cryptographic keys and signatures.

Finding Nostr Documentation

All Nostr protocol documentation is maintained in the NIPs (Nostr Implementation Possibilities) repository. To access this information:

Reading Individual NIPs

Individual NIPs can be fetched from:

https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/blob/master/{NIP}.md

For example, NIP-01 (the basic protocol specification) is available at:

https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/blob/master/01.md

Finding Event Kinds

Documentation for Nostr event kinds is spread across one or more NIPs. There is no direct relationship between the NIP number and the kind number.

To find which NIPs document a specific event kind:

1. First, fetch the README:

   https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/blob/master/README.md
   

2. Reference the "Event Kinds" table in the README to find which NIP(s) document the kind you're looking for

Discovering Existing Capabilities

The README should be consulted to:

• View the list of NIPs - Use this to discover what capabilities already exist on the Nostr network
• Review client and relay messages - Understand the communication protocol
• Check the list of tags - See what standardized tags are available
• Decide on using existing NIPs - Before implementing a feature, check if an existing NIP already covers it

Best Practices

Always start by fetching and reviewing the README to understand the current state of the protocol and avoid reinventing existing functionality.