Nostr DM Channel Plugin for OpenClaw

Nostr is a downloadable channel plugin (@openclaw/nostr) that enables OpenClaw to receive and reply to NIP-04 encrypted direct messages through Nostr relays. One account per gateway; DMs only.

Install

openclaw plugins install @openclaw/nostr

To follow the current official release tag, use the bare package spec. Only pin an exact version when a reproducible install is needed.

From a local checkout (dev workflows):

openclaw plugins install --link <path-to-local-nostr-plugin>

Installing or enabling the plugin applies it to a running Gateway; check the application result. Once the plugin is installed, onboarding (openclaw onboard) and openclaw channels add surface Nostr from the shared channel catalog.

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"

With --use-env, keep NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY in the environment rather than 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

Profile metadata

Profile data gets published as a NIP-01 kind:0 event. You can manage it either from the Control UI (Channels -> Nostr -> Profile) or by setting 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 checked before sender policy and NIP-04 decryption, so forged events get rejected early.
• Pairing replies go out 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

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

• Make sure the private key is valid.
• Relay URLs must be reachable and should use wss:// (ws:// for local).
• Verify that enabled differs from false.
• Inspect gateway logs for errors connecting to relays.

Not sending responses

• Confirm the relay permits writes.
• Check that outbound connectivity works.
• Keep an eye out for relay rate limits.

Duplicate responses

• This is expected when several relays are in use.
• Event ID deduplication means only the first delivery triggers a response.

Security

• Private keys must never be committed.
• Store keys in environment variables.
• For production bots, consider allowlist.
• Signature verification happens before sender policy, and sender policy runs before decryption, so forged events get rejected early and unknown senders cannot force full crypto work.

Limitations (MVP)

• Only direct messages are supported (no group chats).
• Media attachments are not supported.
• NIP-04 only (NIP-17 gift-wrap is planned).

Related

• Channels Overview, every supported channel
• Pairing, DM authentication and the pairing flow
• Groups, group chat behavior and mention gating
• Channel routing, how messages are routed to sessions
• Security, access model and hardening