> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs2.openclaw.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Nostr

Nostr is a downloadable channel plugin (`@openclaw/nostr`) that lets OpenClaw receive and answer NIP-04 encrypted direct messages over Nostr relays. One account per gateway; DMs only.

## Install

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
openclaw plugins install @openclaw/nostr
```

Use the bare package spec to follow the current official release tag. Pin an exact version only when you need a reproducible install.

From a local checkout (dev workflows):

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
openclaw plugins install --link <path-to-local-nostr-plugin>
```

Restart the gateway after installing or enabling plugins. Onboarding (`openclaw onboard`) and `openclaw channels add` surface Nostr from the shared channel catalog once the plugin is installed.

### Non-interactive setup

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
openclaw channels add --channel nostr --private-key "$NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY"
openclaw channels add --channel nostr --private-key "$NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY" --relay-urls "wss://relay.damus.io,wss://relay.primal.net"
```

Use `--use-env` to keep `NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY` in the environment instead of storing the key in config (default account only).

## Quick setup

1. Generate a Nostr keypair (if needed):

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
# Using nak
nak key generate
```

2. Add to config:

```json5 theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
{
  channels: {
    nostr: {
      privateKey: "${NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY}",
    },
  },
}
```

3. Export the key:

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
export NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY="nsec1..."
```

4. Restart the gateway.

## Configuration reference

| Key          | Type      | Default                                     | Description                                              |
| ------------ | --------- | ------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| `privateKey` | string    | required                                    | Private key in `nsec` or hex format; secret refs allowed |
| `relays`     | string\[] | `['wss://relay.damus.io', 'wss://nos.lol']` | Relay URLs (WebSocket)                                   |
| `dmPolicy`   | string    | `pairing`                                   | DM access policy                                         |
| `allowFrom`  | string\[] | `[]`                                        | Allowed sender pubkeys                                   |
| `enabled`    | boolean   | `true`                                      | Enable/disable channel                                   |
| `name`       | string    | -                                           | Display name                                             |
| `profile`    | object    | -                                           | NIP-01 profile metadata                                  |

## Profile metadata

Profile data is published as a NIP-01 `kind:0` event. You can manage it from the Control UI (Channels -> Nostr -> Profile) or set it directly in config.

Example:

```json5 theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
{
  channels: {
    nostr: {
      privateKey: "${NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY}",
      profile: {
        name: "openclaw",
        displayName: "OpenClaw",
        about: "Personal assistant DM bot",
        picture: "https://example.com/avatar.png",
        banner: "https://example.com/banner.png",
        website: "https://example.com",
        nip05: "openclaw@example.com",
        lud16: "openclaw@example.com",
      },
    },
  },
}
```

Notes:

* Profile URLs must use `https://`.
* Importing from relays merges fields and preserves local overrides.

## Access control

### DM policies

* **pairing** (default): unknown senders get a pairing code.
* **allowlist**: only pubkeys in `allowFrom` can DM.
* **open**: public inbound DMs (requires `allowFrom: ["*"]`).
* **disabled**: ignore inbound DMs.

Enforcement notes:

* Inbound event signatures are verified before sender policy and NIP-04 decryption, so forged events are rejected early.
* Pairing replies are sent without decrypting or processing the original DM body.
* Inbound DMs are rate-limited (globally and per sender) and oversized payloads are dropped before decrypt.

### Allowlist example

```json5 theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
{
  channels: {
    nostr: {
      privateKey: "${NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY}",
      dmPolicy: "allowlist",
      allowFrom: ["npub1abc...", "npub1xyz..."],
    },
  },
}
```

## Key formats

Accepted formats:

* **Private key:** `nsec...` or 64-char hex
* **Pubkeys (`allowFrom`):** `npub...` or hex

## Relays

Defaults: `relay.damus.io` and `nos.lol`.

```json5 theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
{
  channels: {
    nostr: {
      privateKey: "${NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY}",
      relays: ["wss://relay.damus.io", "wss://relay.primal.net", "wss://nostr.wine"],
    },
  },
}
```

Tips:

* Use 2-3 relays for redundancy.
* Avoid too many relays (latency, duplication).
* Paid relays can improve reliability.
* Local relays are fine for testing (`ws://localhost:7777`).

## Protocol support

| NIP    | Status    | Description                           |
| ------ | --------- | ------------------------------------- |
| NIP-01 | Supported | Basic event format + profile metadata |
| NIP-04 | Supported | Encrypted DMs (`kind:4`)              |
| NIP-17 | Planned   | Gift-wrapped DMs                      |
| NIP-44 | Planned   | Versioned encryption                  |

## Testing

### Local relay

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
# Start strfry
docker run -p 7777:7777 ghcr.io/hoytech/strfry
```

```json5 theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
{
  channels: {
    nostr: {
      privateKey: "${NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY}",
      relays: ["ws://localhost:7777"],
    },
  },
}
```

### Manual test

1. Note the bot pubkey from gateway logs or `openclaw channels status` (hex; convert to npub in your client if needed).
2. Open a Nostr client (Amethyst, Damus, etc.).
3. DM the bot pubkey.
4. Verify the response.

## Troubleshooting

### Not receiving messages

* Verify the private key is valid.
* Ensure relay URLs are reachable and use `wss://` (or `ws://` for local).
* Confirm `enabled` is not `false`.
* Check gateway logs for relay connection errors.

### Not sending responses

* Check relay accepts writes.
* Verify outbound connectivity.
* Watch for relay rate limits.

### Duplicate responses

* Expected when using multiple relays.
* Messages are deduplicated by event ID; only the first delivery triggers a response.

## Security

* Never commit private keys.
* Use environment variables for keys.
* Consider `allowlist` for production bots.
* Signatures are verified before sender policy, and sender policy is enforced before decrypt, so forged events are rejected early and unknown senders cannot force full crypto work.

## Limitations (MVP)

* Direct messages only (no group chats).
* No media attachments.
* NIP-04 only (NIP-17 gift-wrap planned).

## Related

* [Channels Overview](/channels) — all supported channels
* [Pairing](/channels/pairing) — DM authentication and pairing flow
* [Groups](/channels/groups) — group chat behavior and mention gating
* [Channel Routing](/channels/channel-routing) — session routing for messages
* [Security](/gateway/security) — access model and hardening