NIPs are Nostr Implementation Possibilities. They document ways Nostr-compatible clients, relays and services can interoperate. They are not a command that every app must implement every feature.
How to read the NIP repository
The NIP repository is both essential and easy to misunderstand. It is not a polished consumer manual. It is a shared standards workspace. Some NIPs are mandatory to the base protocol, many are optional, some are draft status and some may be deprecated or superseded.
High-priority NIPs for most products
A serious product should understand NIP-01 for events, NIP-05 for readable identifiers, NIP-07 and NIP-46 for signing, NIP-19 for display formats, NIP-57 for zaps, NIP-65 for relay list metadata, NIP-44 for encrypted payloads and NIP-98 where HTTP auth matters.
- Identity. NIP-01, NIP-05, NIP-19, NIP-07, NIP-46.
- Publishing. NIP-23, NIP-25, NIP-51, NIP-65.
- Payments. NIP-57, NIP-47.
- Trust and access. NIP-42, NIP-44, NIP-58, NIP-98.
- Media. NIP-94 and file storage-related patterns.
Crays standard selection
Crays should not implement a NIP simply because it exists. It should choose the standards that support user-owned identity, safe signing, zaps, status, venue access, search, content publishing, local relays and future governance.
NIP pages in this archive
This archive splits the main NIPs into individual pages so creators, operators and developers can navigate without reading the whole standards repository on day one.