adolf/docs/channels/nostr.md

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Nostr DM channel via NIP-04 encrypted messages	You want OpenClaw to receive DMs via Nostr You're setting up decentralized messaging	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

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):

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

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):

# Using nak
nak key generate

2. Add to config:

{
  channels: {
    nostr: {
      privateKey: "${NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY}",
    },
  },
}

3. Export the key:

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:

{
  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

{
  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.

{
  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

# Start strfry
docker run -p 7777:7777 ghcr.io/hoytech/strfry

{
  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 — all supported channels
• Pairing — DM authentication and pairing flow
• Groups — group chat behavior and mention gating
• Channel Routing — session routing for messages
• Security — access model and hardening