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Readme

Nostr Web Publisher

🚀 Publish and manage static websites on the Nostr network - Deploy, version, monitor, and maintain decentralized websites with a comprehensive CLI toolkit.

Nostr Web Publisher (nw-publisher) is a full-featured CLI tool for managing static websites on Nostr. Deploy sites as signed Nostr events, track versions, monitor relay status, sync across relays, and clean up old deployments - all from one command-line interface.

🌐 Browser Extension

To view sites published with nw-publisher, install the Nostr Web Browser extension:

Features

📦 Deploy static sites - Publish HTML, CSS, JS to Nostr relays
🔒 Content-addressed - SHA256 hashes for all assets
📝 Version management - Track, compare, and query site versions
🔗 Multi-relay publishing - Parallel uploads with retry logic
💾 Smart caching - Reuse unchanged assets between deploys
🔄 Cross-relay sync - Ensure all relays have complete data
🧹 Event cleanup - Remove old or orphaned events
📊 Status monitoring - Check relay connectivity and site health
📄 DNS TXT generation - Ready-to-paste records for your domain

Installation

npm (Recommended)

Install globally from npm:

npm install -g nw-publisher

This installs the nw-publisher command globally.

From Source

If you want to contribute or need the latest development version:

git clone https://github.com/Shugur-Network/nw-publisher.git
cd nw-publisher
npm install
npm link

Quick Start

1. Install

npm install -g nw-publisher

2. Create Your Site

Create your HTML/CSS/JS files in a directory:

mkdir my-website
cd my-website
# Create index.html, style.css, etc.

3. Configure Environment

Generate a Nostr keypair and create a .env file:

# Generate keypair with nostr-tools
npx nostr-tools keygen

# Create .env file with your private key
echo "NOSTR_SK_HEX=your_private_key_hex" > .env
echo "RELAYS=wss://relay.damus.io,wss://nos.lol" >> .env

4. Deploy Your Site

nw-publisher deploy .

5. Set Up DNS (Optional)

The publisher outputs _nweb.txt with instructions. Copy the JSON value into a TXT record:

Host: _nweb.yourdomain.com
Type: TXT
Value: {"pk":"npub1...","relays":["wss://relay.damus.io",...]}

How It Works

Publishing Flow

Static Site Folder
  ├─> Scan files (HTML, CSS, JS)
  ├─> Compute SHA256 hashes
  ├─> Sign as Nostr events
  │     └─> Kind 1125: All assets (HTML, CSS, JS, etc.)
  ├─> Publish to relays (parallel)
  ├─> Create page manifests (kind 1126)
  ├─> Update site index (kind 31126)
  └─> Update entrypoint (kind 11126)

Smart Caching

Immutable assets (kind 1125) are deduplicated by querying relays:

Cache source: Nostr relays (queries on every deploy)
Cache key: ${kind}:${content-hash} (content-addressed)
Behavior: If file unchanged and found on relays, reuses cached event ID
Benefit: Only publishes new/changed assets
Reliability: Always reflects true relay state, no stale local files

Addressable events (31126 - Site Index) and replaceable events (11126 - Entrypoint) are republished when content changes. This ensures:

Extension detects which site is newest
Multiple sites with same pubkey stay synchronized
DNS changes propagate immediately

SHA256 Integrity

All assets include SHA256 tags for verification:

{
  "kind": 1125,
  "tags": [
    ["m", "text/html"],
    ["x", "abc123..."],
    ["alt", "Home Page"]
  ],
  "content": "<!DOCTYPE html>..."
}

Commands

Core Commands

`nw-publisher deploy <site-folder>`

Deploy your website to Nostr relays.

Options:

--version=X.Y.Z - Set a custom version (e.g., 2.0.0)
--rebuild-cache - Force rebuild cache from relays

# Basic deployment
nw-publisher deploy .
nw-publisher deploy ./my-site
nw-publisher deploy examples/hello-world

# Deploy with custom version
nw-publisher deploy . --version=2.0.0

# Rebuild cache from relays
nw-publisher deploy . --rebuild-cache

Version Management:

Without --version: Automatically increments based on changes
- patch (0.0.x): Content changes only
- minor (0.x.0): New routes added/removed
With --version: Uses your specified version (format: X.Y.Z)

`nw-publisher status [npub|hex]`

Check relay connectivity and deployment status.

# Your site (uses .env)
nw-publisher status

# Another site (no private key needed)
nw-publisher status npub1abc123...

`nw-publisher versions <command> [npub|hex]`

Manage and query site versions.

nw-publisher versions list
nw-publisher versions show 1.0.0
nw-publisher versions compare 0.9.0 1.0.0
nw-publisher versions list npub1abc123...

`nw-publisher sync`

Ensure all versions exist on all configured relays.

nw-publisher sync

`nw-publisher cleanup [options]`

Remove events from Nostr relays (all events, orphaned events, or a specific version).

nw-publisher cleanup                    # Delete all events (with confirmation)
nw-publisher cleanup --version 0.1.0    # Delete a specific version
nw-publisher cleanup --orphans          # Delete orphaned events only
nw-publisher cleanup --dry-run          # Preview without deleting
nw-publisher cleanup --relay wss://...  # Target specific relay(s)

Options:

--all, -a - Delete all events (default)
--orphans, -o - Delete only orphaned events
--version <ver>, -v - Delete a specific version and its assets
--relay <url>, -r - Target specific relay(s) (can be used multiple times)
--dry-run, -d - Show what would be deleted without deleting

Usage Examples

Deploy a Website

nw-publisher deploy .

Check Status

# Your own site
nw-publisher status

# Another site
nw-publisher status npub1abc123...

Sync Across Relays

# After adding new relays
nw-publisher sync

Clean Up Old Deployments

# Preview what will be deleted
nw-publisher cleanup --orphans --dry-run

# Delete orphaned events
nw-publisher cleanup --orphans

# Delete a specific version
nw-publisher cleanup --version 0.1.0

# Delete version from specific relay
nw-publisher cleanup --version 0.2.0 --relay wss://relay.example.com

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Description	Example
`NOSTR_SK_HEX`	Yes	Nostr private key (hex)	`a1b2c3d4...`
`RELAYS`	Yes	Comma-separated relay URLs	`wss://relay1.com,...`
`NWEB_HOST`	No	Your domain (for DNS record)	`yourdomain.com`

File Structure

Input (static site):

my-site/
  ├─ index.html       # Home page
  ├─ style.css        # Stylesheet
  ├─ app.js           # JavaScript
  └─ about.html       # Subpage (optional)

Output:

my-site/
  ├─ _nweb.txt        # DNS setup instructions
  └─ _nweb.txt.json   # DNS TXT JSON (ready to paste)

Published to Nostr:

Asset events (1125) → HTML, CSS, JS, fonts, images
Page manifests (1126) → Per-route metadata
Site index (31126) → Route mapping (addressable)
Entrypoint (11126) → Points to current site index

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Description	Example
`NOSTR_SK_HEX`	✅ Yes	Nostr private key (64-char hex)	`a1b2c3d4...`
`RELAYS`	✅ Yes	Comma-separated relay URLs	`wss://shu01.shugur.net,...`
`NWEB_HOST`	⚠️ Recommended	Your domain	`yourdomain.com`

Deployment Architecture

nw-publisher queries relays on every deployment to check for existing assets and versions:

Asset deduplication: Content-addressed matching (SHA256) prevents re-uploading unchanged files
Version history: Reconstructed from site index events (kind 31126) on relays
No local cache files: Relays are the single source of truth
Multi-project safe: Different projects can coexist without cache conflicts

Why no local cache?

Local files can become stale after clean --all or manual deletions
Multiple projects deploying to same pubkey would share/corrupt cache
Relay queries are fast and ensure accuracy
Simplifies workflows (no cache management needed)

Benefits:

✅ No dependency on local files
✅ Works across multiple machines
✅ Team members see the same state
✅ CI/CD doesn't need cache files
✅ Relays are the single source of truth

Troubleshooting

Cleanup Tool

If you need to reset your site, remove old versions, or clean up orphaned events:

# Delete everything (full reset)
nw-publisher cleanup --all

# Delete a specific version
nw-publisher cleanup --version 0.1.0

# Delete orphaned events only
nw-publisher cleanup --orphans

# Preview without deleting
nw-publisher cleanup --version 0.2.0 --dry-run

This will:

Query events from configured relays
Show summary of what will be deleted
Ask for confirmation (type "DELETE")
Send deletion requests (kind 5 events) to all relays
Provide detailed deletion statistics per relay

Cleanup Modes:

--all: Delete all events (full reset)
--version <ver>: Delete a specific version and its assets
--orphans: Delete only unreferenced events (orphaned assets/manifests)

See the cleanup help for more details: nw-publisher cleanup --help

"Cannot find module 'nostr-tools'"

Solution: Run npm install first

"NOSTR_SK_HEX not found"

Solution: Create .env file:

echo "NOSTR_SK_HEX=your_hex_key_here" > .env

"Failed to publish to relays"

Causes:

Relays offline (try different relays)
Events too large (relay limits ~64KB)
Rate limiting (wait a few minutes)

Solution: Use the cleanup tool to remove orphaned events or do a full reset, then republish:

# Option 1: Clean up orphans only
nw-publisher cleanup --orphans
nw-publisher deploy <site-folder>

# Option 2: Full reset
nw-publisher cleanup --all
nw-publisher deploy <site-folder>

Site Not Loading

Check:

DNS TXT record at _nweb.<yourdomain.com>
JSON format valid
Pubkey in DNS matches events
Nostr Web Browser extension installed (Chrome / Firefox)
Extension v0.9.6+ (fetches site index fresh)

Reset: If site is inconsistent, use cleanup tool:

# Clean up orphans
nw-publisher cleanup --orphans
nw-publisher deploy <site-folder>

# Or do a full reset
nw-publisher cleanup --all
nw-publisher deploy <site-folder>

Protocol Details

Event Kinds

Kind	Name	Type	Purpose
`1125`	Asset	Regular	All web assets (HTML, CSS, JS, etc.)
`1126`	Page Manifest	Regular	Links assets per page
`31126`	Site Index	Addressable	Maps routes (content-addressed)
`11126`	Entrypoint	Replaceable	Points to current site index

Regular events (1125, 1126):

Content-addressed by SHA256 (via x tag)
Immutable once published
Cached indefinitely
Never republished if unchanged

Addressable event (31126 - Site Index):

Uses content-addressed d tag (first 7-12 chars of content hash)
Different content = different event
Each version is preserved on relays

Replaceable event (11126 - Entrypoint):

Only latest event per author is kept
Points to current site index via a tag
Updated when site index changes

Tag Structure

Asset (Kind 1125):

{
  "kind": 1125,
  "tags": [
    ["m", "text/html"],
    ["x", "abc123..."],
    ["alt", "Home Page"]
  ],
  "content": "<!DOCTYPE html>..."
}

Page Manifest (Kind 1126):

{
  "kind": 1126,
  "tags": [
    ["route", "/"],
    ["title", "Home"],
    ["e", "html_event_id", "wss://relay.example.com"],
    ["e", "css_event_id", "wss://relay.example.com"],
    ["e", "js_event_id", "wss://relay.example.com"]
  ],
  "content": ""
}

Site Index (Kind 31126):

{
  "kind": 31126,
  "tags": [
    ["d", "a1b2c3d"],
    ["x", "a1b2c3d4e5f6...full-hash..."],
    ["alt", "main"]
  ],
  "content": "{
    \"/\": \"<manifest-event-id-1>\",
    \"/about\": \"<manifest-event-id-2>\"
  }"
}

Entrypoint (Kind 11126):

{
  "kind": 11126,
  "tags": [["a", "31126:<pubkey>:a1b2c3d", "wss://relay.example.com"]],
  "content": ""
}

Development

Running Tests

npm test

Watch Mode

npm run test:watch

Coverage

npm run test:coverage