Nostr Connect Provider

The NostrConnectProvider is a server-side implementation of a NIP-46 remote signer. It allows clients to connect and request signing operations through encrypted Nostr events.

Upstream signer

The NostrConnectProvider requires an upstream signer that will be used for the common NIP-07 operations (sign_event, nip04_encrypt, etc.)

import { SimpleSigner } from "applesauce-signers";

// Create a new signer for the users key
const upstream = SimpleSigner.fromKey("nsec1...");

// Create a new provider that will use the upstream signer
const provider = new NostrConnectProvider({
  relays: ["wss://relay.example.com"],
  upstream,
});

// Or create a new provider that uses the user's key for signing and communication (legacy)
const provider = new NostrConnectProvider({
  relays: ["wss://relay.example.com"],
  upstream,
  // Explicitly set the signer that is used for communication to the users signer
  signer: upstream,
});

// Start the provider
await provider.start(/* optional nostrconnect:// URI */);

Relay Communication

The NostrConnectProvider requires two methods for communicating with relays: a subscription method for receiving events and a publish method for sending events.

These methods can be set either through the constructor or globally on the class. At least one of these approaches must be used before creating a NostrConnectProvider instance.

import { Observable } from "rxjs";

function subscriptionMethod(relays, filters) {
  return new Observable((observer) => {
    // Create subscription to relays
    const cleanup = subscribeToRelays(relays, filters, (event) => {
      observer.next(event);
    });

    return () => cleanup();
  });
}

async function publishMethod(relays, event) {
  for (const relay of relays) {
    await publishToRelay(relay, event);
  }
}

// Set methods globally once at app initialization
NostrConnectProvider.subscriptionMethod = subscriptionMethod;
NostrConnectProvider.publishMethod = publishMethod;

// Or pass them as options when creating a provider
const provider = new NostrConnectProvider({
  relays: ["wss://relay.example.com"],
  subscriptionMethod,
  publishMethod,
  // ... other options
});

Using the relay pool

The simplest way to set these methods is to use the RelayPool from the applesauce-relay package.

import { RelayPool } from "applesauce-relay";

const pool = new RelayPool();

// Set the pool globally
NostrConnectProvider.pool = pool;

// Or pass the pool as an option when creating a provider
const provider = new NostrConnectProvider({
  relays: ["wss://relay.example.com"],
  pool,
  // ... other options
});

Authorization Callbacks

The provider supports several authorization callbacks to control what operations clients can perform:

const provider = new NostrConnectProvider({
  // ... other options

  // Control connection requests
  onConnect: (client, permissions) => {
    // Return true to accept, false to reject
    return permissions.includes("sign_event"); // Only allow clients that request signing
  },

  // Control event signing
  onSignEvent: (draft, client) => {
    // Check if the event kind is allowed
    if (draft.kind === 1) return true; // Allow text notes
    if (draft.kind === 3) return true; // Allow contact lists
    throw new Error("Unsupported event kind"); // Reject other kinds with custom message
  },

  // Control NIP-04 encryption/decryption
  onNip04Encrypt: (pubkey, plaintext, client) => true,
  onNip04Decrypt: (pubkey, ciphertext, client) => true,

  // Control NIP-44 encryption/decryption
  onNip44Encrypt: (pubkey, plaintext, client) => true,
  onNip44Decrypt: (pubkey, ciphertext, client) => true,
});

Waiting for Client (bunker:// URI)

To create a provider that waits for clients to connect, you can use the waitForClient method:

import { NostrConnectProvider, SimpleSigner } from "applesauce-signers";

// Create a signer for the users key
const user = SimpleSigner.fromKey("nsec1...");

// Create a signer for the provider's identity (recomended to be different from the upstream signer)
const signer = new SimpleSigner();

const provider = new NostrConnectProvider({
  relays: ["wss://relay.signer.com"],
  upstream: user, // Signer for actual operations
  signer: signer, // Provider's identity (optional, will create a new SimpleSigner if not provided)
  secret: "my-secret-key", // Recommended secret for client authentication (optional)
  onClientConnect: (client) => {
    console.log("Client connected:", client);
  },
  onClientDisconnect: (client) => {
    console.log("Client disconnected:", client);
  },
  onConnect: (client, permissions) => {
    console.log("Connection request from:", client, "with permissions:", permissions);
    return true; // Accept the connection
  },
  onSignEvent: (draft, client) => {
    console.log("Sign request from:", client, "for event:", draft);
    return true; // Allow signing
  },
  // ... other authorization callbacks
});

// Start the provider and wait for a client
try {
  // Get the bunker:// URI for clients to connect
  const bunkerUri = await provider.getBunkerURI();
  console.log("Bunker URI:", bunkerUri);

  // Open the subscription and wait for the client to connect
  const clientPubkey = await provider.waitForClient();
  console.log("Connected to client:", clientPubkey);
} catch (error) {
  console.error("Failed to connect:", error);
}

// Stop the provider when done
await provider.stop();

Getting the Bunker URI

The getBunkerURI() method returns a bunker:// URI that clients can use to connect:

const bunkerUri = await provider.getBunkerURI();
// Returns: bunker://<provider-pubkey>?relay=<relay-url>&secret=<secret>

This URI can be displayed as a QR code or shared with clients to initiate connections.

Connect to client (nostrconnect:// URI)

To create a provider that responds to a client's nostrconnect:// URI, pass the URI to the start method:

import { NostrConnectProvider, SimpleSigner } from "applesauce-signers";

// Create a signer for the users key
const user = SimpleSigner.fromKey("nsec1...");

// Create a new provider with the users signer
const provider = new NostrConnectProvider({
  relays: ["wss://relay.signer.com"],
  upstream: user,
  onClientConnect: (client) => {
    console.log("Client connected:", client);
  },
  onConnect: (client, permissions) => {
    console.log("Connection request from:", client, "with permissions:", permissions);
    return true;
  },
  // ... other callbacks
});

// Get the nostrconnect:// URI from the client
const nostrConnectUri = "nostrconnect://client-pubkey?secret=shared-secret&relay=wss://relay.signer.com&name=MyApp";

try {
  // Start the provider and respond to the client's `nostrconnect://` URI
  await provider.start(nostrConnectUri);
  console.log("Provider started and connected to client");
} catch (error) {
  console.error("Failed to start provider:", error);
}

// Stop when done
await provider.stop();

Handling Initial Connect Requests

You can also start a provider with an initial connect request event:

// Start with a connect request event
await provider.start(connectRequestEvent);

// Or start and wait for the first connect request
await provider.start();

New connect requests

Its not recomended but it is possible to listen for connect requests sent to the users pubkey and create a connection.

const pool = new RelayPool();

const user = SimpleSigner.fromKey("nsec1...");

const providers: NostrConnectProvider[] = [];

// Open a new subscription that will listen for new `connect` requests
pool
  .subscription(["wss://relay.signer.com"], { kinds: [kinds.NostrConnect], "#p": [await user.getPublicKey()] })
  .subscribe((event) => {
    // WARNING: manually validate that this is a new `connect` request, otherwise you will create infinite providers!

    // Presume this is a `connect` request and ask the user if they want to connect to the random client that just asked
    if ((await askUserForConnection(event.pubkey, event)) === false) return;

    // Create a new provider that will respond to the connect request
    const provider = new NostrConnectProvider({
      relays: ["wss://relay.signer.com"],
      upstream: user,
      pool,
      // Use the users signer, since the client is expecting to hear back from the users pubkey
      signer: user,
    });

    // Start the provider and respond to the `connect` request
    provider.start(event);
    providers.push(provider);
  });

// Later close all providers
function shutdown() {
  for (const provider of providers) {
    provider.stop();
  }
}

Provider Lifecycle

Starting the Provider

// Start without waiting for a specific client
await provider.start();

// Start and respond to a specific nostrconnect:// URI
await provider.start(nostrConnectUri);

// Start and respond to a connect request event
await provider.start(connectRequestEvent);

Stopping the Provider

await provider.stop();

This will:

• Close the relay subscription
• Clear the state
• Cancel any pending operations

Checking Provider Status

if (provider.listening) {
  console.log("Provider is listening for requests");
}

if (provider.connected) {
  console.log("Provider is connected to client:", provider.client);
}

Error Handling

The provider automatically handles errors and sends appropriate error responses to clients:

const upstream = {
  signEvent: async (draft) => {
    // Errors throw in the upstream signer will be passed along to the client
    throw new Error("You shall not sign!");
  },
};

const provider = new NostrConnectProvider({
  // ... other options

  onConnect: (client, permissions) => {
    // Errors throw in the callback methods will be passed along to the client
    throw new Error("You shall not pass!");
  },
});