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Pillar · Nostr

Nostr

Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays: keys as identity, clients as lenses, relays as interchangeable pipes.

Identity is a keypair

On Nostr, your npub/nsec pair is the account. There is no central password reset. That is liberating and unforgiving — treat nsec like a wallet seed. Prefer signing devices or secure OS keystores where clients support them. Never paste an nsec into a random web form.

Clients vs relays

Clients render your social graph; relays store and forward events. You can change clients without changing identity. You can add or drop relays without “migrating an account” in the Web2 sense. Write to several relays; read from several; assume any single relay can vanish.

NIP-11 in plain language

Relays can publish a JSON document (NIP-11) when asked with Accept: application/nostr+json. It often includes a human name, software, and version — useful for operators and curious users, not a trust seal. We sample a handful of public relays on this page and on /metrics. Soft-fail when a relay is quiet.

Live NIP-11 sample

5/5 responded · 11 Sept 2026, 10:43 SAST

  • relay.damus.iodamus.io · git+https://github.com/hoytech/strfry.git · 1.1.0-158-gb705403ddf49
  • nos.lolnos.lol · git+https://github.com/hoytech/strfry.git · 1.1.3
  • relay.snort.socialmemlay · https://github.com/v0l/memlay · 0.2.0
  • nostr.winenostr.wine · https://nostr.wine · 0.3.3
  • offchain.puboffchain.pub · git+https://github.com/hoytech/strfry.git · 1.1.0

Not a ranking. Verify yourself before relying on any relay.

Public relays to try

Commonly referenced public relays. Availability changes. CryptoDecentral does not operate a relay product.

  • wss://relay.damus.io
  • wss://nos.lol
  • wss://relay.primal.net
  • wss://nostr.wine (often paid / filtered — read their terms)
  • wss://relay.snort.social
  • wss://offchain.pub

Clients worth knowing

  • Damus — iOS-native culture, strong relay UX.
  • Primal — polished multi-platform client with caching.
  • Snort / Iris — web clients for quick starts.
  • Amethyst — Android-focused client lineage.

Zaps

Zaps are Lightning value signals attached to Nostr notes. They fit our Bitcoin & Lightning framing: receive gratitude without turning CryptoDecentral into a payment processor. We do not run NIP-05 checkout or custodial zap wallets.

Operational habits

  • Back up nsec offline before you publish anything you care about.
  • Use multiple write relays; do not assume one host is permanent.
  • Treat “support” DMs asking for keys as scams — same as wallet phishing.

Boundaries

No self-hosted relay product on this site. No NIP-05 sales funnel. No scammer-hunter product. Directory listings may mention clients and relays; sponsorships are labelled. See also Directory.