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Basics

Nostr Basics

Start here if Nostr still feels abstract. You get the simple map first: what your key does, why clients and relays are separate, how to stay safe, and where to go next.

Read What is Nostr? Follow the first path Search a term

Use this hub when

You want the map before the maze.

If you are new, read the first links in order. If you already know the basics, jump into a reading path or search for the exact term, app or protocol idea you came for.

Read first

Choose your route

Useful next

Your first 20 minutes

Read just enough to stop feeling lost.

You do not need every NIP first. You need the mental model: public key, private key, client, relay and signed event. Once that clicks, the rest of the archive becomes a map instead of a maze.

  1. 01 Understand the idea Start with the plain-language explanation. Open What is Nostr?
  2. 02 Get your first safe path Learn what to try, what to avoid and why private keys stay private. Open Getting started
  3. 03 Decode the words Use the glossary when npub, relay, event or signer suddenly appears. Open the glossary
  4. 04 Choose the next door Go into apps, people, relays, privacy, wallets or standards when your question gets specific. Back to the 12 doors

The model

Four ideas carry most of the weight.

Public keyYour public identity. People can find it across apps. Private keyYour signing secret. Never paste it into a website. ClientsThe apps you use to read, post, search and build. RelaysThe servers that carry signed events between clients.
Portable identity should feel like walking into the room with your own name.
A social graph is useful only when real people can actually use it.
Nostr becomes easier when the first door looks like daily life, not a server diagram.
The app is just the surface. The community is the point.
We read open protocol through people, rooms, access and culture.

Learning compass

You are in Basics

Beginner path. Start with the simple model, then use search or the 12 doors when you want a specific answer.

Use this page to Learn the first Nostr concepts, find the right next page and avoid unsafe key handling from the beginning.
Continue the pathOpen related concepts without losing your place

Basics contribution

Help make the first steps clearer.

Ask a question, suggest a missing source or tell us where the beginner path still feels confusing. The canonical archive stays stable; useful contributions go into review.

Basics Start Exploring 13 pages in this routeCore concepts, Reading paths Browse pagesClose shelf

Core concepts

Reading paths