Nostr

P2P Protocol

Open protocol for decentralized, censorship-resistant social networking using cryptographically signed messages distributed via relay servers

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Details

License Public Domain (unlicensed)
Dev Status 🟢 Active
Dev Status Detail Released / Active — widely deployed open protocol defined by NIPs; 250+ client apps and relay implementations; NIP-01 core stable; active NIP development for extensions including private DMs (NIP-17), file storage (NIP-96), and remote signing (NIP-46)
Owner fiatjaf (pseudonymous creator, identified as Giovanni Torres Parra) / Community-maintained
Owner - List
  • Nostr community
Governing Body None (community NIP process; no formal standards body or legal entity)
Governing Body - List
  • Nostr community
Country Brazil (creator location) / International
Start Year 2020
Stack Multi-language (JavaScript, Rust, Go, C#, Python implementations)
Funding Donations (Jack Dorsey $245k BTC in Dec 2022 direct to fiatjaf; $10M to OpenSats in May 2023)
Last Investigated Jan 15, 2026

Topology view

This tool in the centre and the things it is directly related to. Each line names the kind of relationship.

Topology view: NostrThis tool in the centre and the things it is directly related to. Each line names the kind of relationship.NostrATproto (Basis for)ATprotoMarmot Protocol (Basis for, Protocol spoken by)MarmotProtocolSpasm (Basis for, Based on)SpasmAgora (Hosts, Protocol spoken by, Storage for)AgoraBitchat (Hosts, Protocol spoken by)BitchatBuzz (Hosts, Protocol spoken by, Storage for)BuzzChorus (Hosts, Protocol spoken by, Storage for)ChorusDivine (Hosts, Protocol spoken by, Storage for)DivineFlotilla (Hosts, Protocol spoken by, Storage for)Flotillangit (Hosts, Protocol spoken by, Storage for)ngitSpasm Forum (Hosts)Spasm ForumWhite Noise (Hosts, Protocol spoken by, Storage for)White Noise
  • ATproto (Tool): Basis for
  • Marmot Protocol (Tool): Basis for, Protocol spoken by
  • Spasm (Tool): Basis for, Based on
  • Agora (Tool): Hosts, Protocol spoken by, Storage for
  • Bitchat (Tool): Hosts, Protocol spoken by
  • Buzz (Tool): Hosts, Protocol spoken by, Storage for
  • Chorus (Tool): Hosts, Protocol spoken by, Storage for
  • Divine (Tool): Hosts, Protocol spoken by, Storage for
  • Flotilla (Tool): Hosts, Protocol spoken by, Storage for
  • ngit (Tool): Hosts, Protocol spoken by, Storage for
  • Spasm Forum (Tool): Hosts
  • White Noise (Tool): Hosts, Protocol spoken by, Storage for

3 more related entities are not drawn; see the list below or open the Graph Explorer.

Open in Graph Explorer

Use Case Domains

Communication Identity & Trust

Affordances

End-to-end encrypted Protocol federation Consent-based audiences Sovereign identity

P2P Protocol Attributes

Owner - List
  • Nostr community
Origins Social networking / Microblogging
Database Relay-specific (typically SQLite, PostgreSQL)
Query Language Custom (Nostr filters/subscriptions via WebSocket)
Data Formats JSON (Nostr Events)
Collaborative Live Editing N/A (broadcast protocol, not collaborative editing)
Rich Text Editing Application-level (clients can support Markdown, etc.)
Mobile Support Yes (Damus, Amethyst, etc.)
Web Support Yes (web clients available)
Native Apps Yes (mobile and desktop clients)
Terms Self-hosting (relays) + Free relays + Paid relays
Funds $10.25M+ (cumulative: ~$245k BTC direct to fiatjaf Dec 2022 + $10M to OpenSats May 2023)
Based On N/A (original protocol)
Governing Body - List
  • Nostr community
P2P Architecture Relay-based (WebSocket relays, not pure P2P)
Overlay Network User-defined (clients choose which relays to use)
Content Addressing Event-based (events identified by hash)
Local-First N/A (relay-dependent, not local-first)
E2EE Supported via NIPs (NIP-04, NIP-44 for encrypted DMs)
CRDTs Lib N/A (append-only event log, not CRDTs)
Byzantine Fault Tolerance Event signatures (prevents tampering, not consensus)
Signature Schnorr signatures (secp256k1, same as Bitcoin)
Permissions Relay-level (relays set their own acceptance rules)
Semantic Web Compatibility N/A (custom JSON schema)
Smart Contract N/A (no smart contract capability)
Protocol Stack Position Application-layer (built on TCP/IP)
Asset / Value Embedding None — Nostr is a bare relay-and-client messaging protocol with no native token. Zaps (Lightning Network micropayments via NIP-57) are an optional application-layer convention layered on top of the protocol, not a protocol-native economic mechanism.
Protocol Maturity / Standardization De Facto Standard (NIP process — community-driven specification via Nostr Implementation Possibilities; no formal standards body; wide adoption)

Relationships

How this tool connects to other tools and organizations, from relationships reviewed by the OpenHaven data steward. They describe how projects connect, not how good they are.

Based on
Developed by
  • Nostr community
Stewarded by
  • Nostr community
Interoperates with
Basis for
Hosts
Protocol spoken by
Storage for