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@ ZD
2023-09-14 14:44:02This note is for nostr newbies. I hope after reading this note, you are a little better equipped to optimise your experience on nostr. And I also hope you will stick around to make nostr a more interesting place.
At the time of writing, I have been using nostr for a little over two weeks. So you can say I am still a newbie. I tried nostr a long time ago when Damus launched in iOS TestFlight. I left after a while. Not Damus's fault in any way. But if this note was available to me back then, I may have stayed.
We will discuss a few topics. 1. Basic principles 2. Onboarding 3. User name / user handle 4. Password 5. Password management 6. User discovery
Basic principles
- "nostr" is an abbreviation - NOSTR: "Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relay".
- nostr is a protocol. It is not a company, platform, or app. In nostr ecosystem, apps and servers communicate with each other using the protocol.
- You join nostr through nostr apps. In nostr jargon, these are the nostr clients. You can use mobile apps or web apps.
- The apps / nostr clients connect to many servers at the same time. In nostr jargon, these servers are the nostr relays, as in the "relay" in "transmitted by relay" above.
- User identification and authentication is self-managed. You say who you are as you want to.
- Compare nostr with other networks. The identification and authentication at Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc are centralised. They are the gatekeepers. They check if you match your identity. If yes, they let you into their network. The identification and authentication at Mastodon, Pleroma, etc are federated. The server / community you join are the gatekeepers. In nostr, you are the gatekeeper to your own identity.
- Three different approaches and each has its own benefits and concerns. The more you use nostr, the more you can get a feel for the benefits and concerns for your unique circumstances.
Welcome to nostr / onboarding
- You will need to use a nostr client or nostr app. Type "nostr app" in your favourite search engine and there are many pages that list them.
- Setting up a new account in nostr app is very easy. There is no need to enter email nor phone number nor even name. Completely anonymous.
- Instead, a new user gets a "public key" - usually visible in the user interface - and a "private key" - usually protected. But you always have access to this.
- Your nostr app generates both the public key and the private key using white magic. Eh sorry, I mean mathematical method.
- The nostr protocol is open source. Most nostr apps / clients and relays are also open source. If you are not familiar with what "open source" means, then worry not; you can ignore it. But if you are curious to learn, search "open source" in Wikipedia.
- The list of nostr apps is getting longer and developers are coming up with interesting takes.
- Unlike centralised social media platforms, there is no vendor lock-in. If I am not happy with one app, I can log in to another app with my private key and still use / manage the same account.
- It is easy to switch apps while retaining your same nostr account. It is as easy as trying out different email apps on your phone for your personal email. And like email, you can even use more than one app for the same nostr account.
User handle / user name = Public key
- "Public key" is a public user identifier. Somewhat like a user name or a social media handle (in other platforms).
- The public key is system-generated. It is long and cryptic and almost impossible to remember.
- You cannot change this long and cryptic key.
- If you do not like your public key, you need to create a new account to get a new public key. But it will still be as long and cryptic. So no point to worry about it.
- In your nostr app, you can set your display name to anything you fancy. And you can change it anytime.
- Public key is not the same as display name. Public key is unique. Display name is not.
- People can find you using your public key, but not your display name. For example, if I use Iris nostr app, then the address is iris.to/npub123_cooluser_key. (Not a real key.) This is akin to twitter.com/npub123_cooluser_key.
- The public key also works in other nostr apps, as long as you adjust to their scheme. E.g. the same user public key above is also valid at satellite.earth/@npub123_cooluser_key. Or primal.net/p/npub123_cooluser_key. Different apps, but same public key / same user.
Password = Private key
- "Private key" is secret. It is like the password to your nostr account.
- Like public key, the private key is system-generated. It is long and cryptic and almost impossible to remember.
- Like public key, you cannot change this long and cryptic key.
- You use your private key to log in to any nostr platform. They all honour your public key and your private key.
- There are nostr-specific secret managers. At the moment, they only exist as browser extension. There is one for Apple Safari that you can get from the App Store: "Nostore". It is available for iOS and macOS. For Chrome-based browsers, there are a couple extensions in the Chrome store: nos2x and Alby.
- These nostr-specific secret managers work for nostr keys only, not for typical passwords. If you can tolerate having yet another app, it might be worth your while to use it. Especially if you need to use several nostr accounts (e.g. for business and for personal) and/or several apps.
Danger zone - password management
- You should protect your private key very well. And do not share it.
- If other people have access to your private key, they can log in and post as you.
- Nobody can reset your account and give you a new private key that will work for your existing public key. The only way out is to create a new account (with new public key and new private key). But whoever got your private key, can still post to your old account as you. 😳
- In nostr, you cannot delete your account. The keys existence cannot be undone. Once public key and private key are in use, anyone who has access to the private key can use it.
- If you lose your private key, it is not recoverable.
- Make well-guarded backup of your private key somewhere else other than your device. For example, someone steals your device or your device falls into the sea. When you get a new device, you will need your private key to log in and post to your existing nostr account.
User discovery / nostr address
- If you want to tell your friends that you are on nostr, you need to give them your public key. And they can search your public key in the nostr app of their choice.
- The only way to do this is by copying and pasting your long and cryptic public key. Be careful that you do not copy and paste your private key!
- Or you can also get a nostr "address". The nostr jargon is NIP-05 identifier / address. The benefit is that you and your friends can remember this easier than the long and cryptic public key. This helps discovery. But only if you want this.
- The format looks like email address. For example, name@example.com.
- You cannot change your long and cryptic public key, but you can change your NIP-05 identifier.
- You can get NIP-05 identifier from some nostr apps. If your nostr app does not provide this service, you can get it from third party provider.
- If you own and manage your own web domain and you have the technical skill and access, there is an alternative. You can create the NIP-05 identifier on your web server. It has something to do with serving a JSON file at a specific location at your domain. The benefit is that you can have the same domain for your email and your NIP-05 identifier.
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I hope this note is useful. Please let other newbies find this note, so they can enjoy nostr better. And let us make nostr enjoyable.