Nostr

Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays
Communication protocol
A common logo used to represent Nostr
AbbreviationNostr
PurposeDecentralized social networking
Developer(s)fiatjaf
IntroductionMarch 2020; 4 years ago (2020-03)[1]
Port(s)443, 80
Websitegithub.com/nostr-protocol/nostr/

Nostr (acronym for Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays) is an open protocol for decentralized message transmission, with the intention to be able to resist internet censorship[2] while maintaining session integrity. The protocol achieves decentralization through users publishing content via a cryptographic key pair to various "relays", a WebSocket server which produces an activity stream of received content from users that subscribe to it. This allows the network to verify users and achieve account portability on Nostr, as users have to sign all posts using their key pair to utilize its identity. This requires users maintaining personal copies of their keys to have complete control over its identity, however services using Nostr can "remember" a private key for repeated use.[3]

The Nostr protocol was first written in 2020 by Brazilian open source developer Giovanni Torres Parra, known by the pseudonym "fiatjaf".[4][5] Nostr was created as a result of perceived moderation issues on Twitter, as well as technical and cultural disagreements with other similar protocols such as ActivityPub and Secure Scuttlebutt.[6]

  1. ^ "basic server relay code. · nostr-protocol/nostr@6158017 · GitHub". GitHub.
  2. ^ nostr - Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays, nostr-protocol, January 6, 2024, retrieved January 6, 2024
  3. ^ "nips/01.md at master · nostr-protocol/nips · GitHub". GitHub.
  4. ^ Long, Katherine (June 6, 2024). "Jack Dorsey gave $10 million to an anonymous founder with a deep devotion to a fascist 'guru'". Business Insider. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  5. ^ Castillo, Michael del. "Meet @Fiatjaf, The Mysterious Nostr Creator Who Has Lured 18 Million Users And $5 Million From Jack Dorsey". Forbes. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  6. ^ "nostr - Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays". fiatjaf.com. Retrieved July 31, 2024.