50 Nostr Questions

Nostr offers portable identities and independently operated relays, but keys, moderation, and message privacy still require care. These 50 questions cover the protocol, clients, relays, security, and daily use. Each entry opens the full guide.

50 Nostr questions

1. What is Nostr?
2. Is Nostr an app or a protocol?
3. How do Nostr clients and relays work together?
4. What are Nostr public and private keys?
5. How do I create a Nostr identity?
6. Are my Nostr posts anonymous?
7. Are Nostr direct messages private?
8. Can a relay censor my posts?
9. Can I change my Nostr private key?
10. Can I delete a Nostr post everywhere?
11. Can I edit a Nostr post after publishing it?
12. Can I run my own Nostr relay?
13. Can I use Nostr through Tor?
14. Can I use the same identity in multiple Nostr clients?
15. Do I need a Lightning wallet to use Nostr?
16. Do I need to pay to use a relay?
17. Does NIP-05 prove someone’s real-world identity?
18. How can I tell whether an account is impersonating someone?
19. How do follows work across clients?
20. How do I back up my follows and relay settings?
21. How do I choose relays?
22. How do I control who can access files I share?
23. How do I find people on Nostr?
24. How do I keep my Nostr private key safe?
25. How do I move from one Nostr client to another?
26. How do I protect myself from spam on Nostr?
27. How do I set up my Nostr profile?
28. How do Nostr communities work?
29. How does moderation work without one central operator?
30. How long do relays keep posts?
31. How portable is my Nostr content if a client or relay shuts down?
32. What are NIPs, and why do they matter?
33. What can a relay learn about my activity?
34. What can relays learn about encrypted messages?
35. What do npub and nsec mean?
36. What does it take to secure a relay?
37. What happens if I lose my private key?
38. What happens when I mute or block someone?
39. What is a NIP-05 identifier?
40. What is a Nostr event?
41. What is a Nostr relay?
42. What is a Nostr signer?
43. What is a Nostr zap?
44. What is NIP-07 browser signing?
45. What is remote signing, and when is it useful?
46. What is the difference between legacy DMs and NIP-17 messages?
47. What is the difference between read and write relays?
48. Where are images and videos in Nostr posts stored?
49. Why are some of my posts missing?
50. Why do features work in one Nostr client but not another?

Keep your private key safe and check the privacy properties of each feature before relying on it. A protocol's openness gives you options; it does not remove the need for informed choices.