Nostr development starts with a small core and expands through NIPs. The temptation is to implement everything. The better path is to choose the minimum standards that serve the product and then test interoperability carefully.
Core developer reading order
Start with NIP-01. Then understand NIP-19 display formats, NIP-05 identifiers, NIP-07 and NIP-46 signing, NIP-65 relay lists and NIP-57 zaps. If your product touches wallets, study NIP-47. If it touches HTTP APIs, study NIP-98. If it touches media, study file metadata and current file storage work.
Tooling categories
Useful developer tools include command-line publishing and querying tools, relay frameworks, client libraries, signer libraries, indexing services, web-of-trust experiments, search tools and test relays.
- nak. Command-line work with events and relays.
- Relay frameworks. Khatru and other server libraries help teams run opinionated relays.
- Client libraries. Language-specific libraries reduce protocol boilerplate.
- Indexers. Search and recommendation require more than raw relay fetches.
Implementation rules
Treat Nostr as infrastructure, not magic. Validate events. Handle relay errors. Avoid private-key exposure. Build migration paths. Test with multiple relays and clients. Expect partial support because NIPs are optional unless a product depends on them.
Crays developer priorities
For Crays, the first developer priorities are safe identity, signer UX, Crays.net profile events, content access, zaps or Lightning payment hooks, badge/status representation, award voting, venue relay topology and API authentication.