Building Nostr

A guide for developers building on the decentralized social protocol

About the Book

"Building Nostr" is more than a technical manualβ€”it's a philosophical exploration of how we can reclaim the internet from surveillance capitalism. This book presents Nostr not just as a protocol, but as a paradigm shift toward user-centric digital architecture.

Written for builders who are excited about decentralization and have ideas for products that would benefit from interoperability and user-oriented software, this guide emphasizes the responsibility developers have to keep the internet decentralized.

What You'll Learn

πŸ” Cryptographic Identity

Understand how digital signatures and key pairs create user-owned identities that can't be captured by platforms.

πŸ“‘ Relay Architecture

Master the art of building censorship-resistant applications using Nostr's multi-relay infrastructure.

🌐 The Outbox Model

Learn intelligent routing strategies that keep Nostr decentralized as it scales to millions of users.

⚑ Value for Value

Explore Bitcoin micropayments and how they enable sustainable creator economies without surveillance.

πŸ›οΈ Digital Communities

Design community spaces that serve human flourishing rather than engagement metrics.

πŸ”“ Radical Openness

Embrace the chaos of permissionless innovation while maintaining protocol integrity.

Get the Book

Download the book for free in EPUB or PDF format.