What struck me first was its lightning-fast loading speed, followed by a wealth of features that this client offers. Nostrudel has seamlessly integrated some of the most popular Nostr tools, making it a must-try for Nostr enthusiasts. The left-side navigation menu includes the usual suspects like notifications, messages, relays, profile, and more. But what sets it apart is the additional links it offers – Badges, Streams, Lists, Communities, Goals, Emojis, and Tools (which includes third-party options). Most of these are self-explanatory, but some are worth exploring further.

The attention to detail in Nostrudel.ninja is quite impressive. Badges, for example, was initially a sensation that lost some of its shine over time. Nostrudel, however, has made it incredibly easy to dive back into the world of Nostr Badges by providing a convenient link that takes you to a page showcasing a plethora of well-known and popular badges in the Nostr community.

But what really caught my attention was the "Stream" link. It seamlessly integrates Zap.Stream right into the client without requiring you to open another browser tab. Moreover, when you visit any user's profile, you'll find a tab that neatly organizes and categorizes information about that profile. One of these categories is "Stream," and clicking on it reveals all the current and past streams associated with that specific profile. This is further enhanced by the "Goals" link, which displays the current zap goals set by those you follow for their streams. It's all incredibly convenient.

A couple other links that are worth mentioning include the Emoji link. It provides you with a list of popular and animated emojis that you can link to and associate with your Nostr profile, allowing you to use them with clients that support their use, such as Zap.Stream and Nostrudel itself. These clients give users the freedom to react to notes with a wide variety of emojis, far more customizable than the standard options like 👍, 🤙, or ♥.
Lists allows you to view, create and modify any lists you may have such as mute lists for example.

I like for clients to have a well functioning search and their search function works very well.

In summary, Nostrudel.ninja is a feature-packed tool that's well worth exploring. If you're looking to enhance your Nostr experience, I highly recommend giving it a try.

On various levels, it's captivating. Now, don't get me wrong, the loss of human life isn't captivating, but the conflicts are. It's like being in high school when a fight breaks out. A crowd gathers to watch. It's terrible, it's dreadful, but it's fascinating. Very fascinating. The common announcement during such events was often, 'Something's happening, check it out!' No matter how terrible it was, we always went to see it.

Usually, it was just a scuffle with no serious injuries. However, for the rest of the week, it became a topic of conversation. If someone did get seriously hurt, people would express sympathy and say all the appropriate things, 'How awful, did you hear about so and so? It's just not right,' giving people a chance to take a moral high ground and proclaim their purity. Regardless, in any case, and no matter one's standpoint, it remained the talk of the town.

If it wasn't a fight, it was some rumor about a person and their actions. For those individuals, a new topic of conversation was like a breath of fresh air, providing some distractions and relief from their circumstances.

It wouldn't take too long before something else came along and become the new topic of conversation. People are always looking for some new juicy topic to gossip about.

Humans are predictable; even when we're aware of being manipulated by propaganda, our attraction to it remains unshaken, leading us spiraling down the rabbit hole, leaving us dazed, confused and hypnotized.

Features:

Coracle boasts a few unique features worth noting:

Chat Tab - This is a distinctive element I haven't encountered on other clients. Coracle provides a tab where users can create or join chat rooms based on topics of interest. Regrettably, this feature hasn't gained the popularity the team had hoped for. As a result, it's likely to be phased out soon to allow the team to focus on higher-priority tasks.

Explore Tab - This tab features topic-curated, chatroom-like instances that anyone can create. Users can curate related events, share them, and discuss them with others who find the topics interesting. The tab has a Reddit-like ambiance, fostering communities built around common interests.

Music Player - That's right, a built-in music player has been added to Coracle, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. While it doesn't allow users to select specific songs or upload their own, it serves as a platform to showcase music created and shared by Nostr artists. This feature enhances the experience of scrolling through your feed and simultaneously offers an easy way to discover new music you might otherwise miss.

Search - Initially, I wasn't impressed with Coracle's search functionality, especially when compared to Iris.to's more responsive search engine. However, that has changed. Coracle's search now performs as well as any other I've encountered. It's highly responsive, and I can usually find who I'm looking for with ease. That said, when it comes to searching for specific words or phrases, Iris.to remains my preferred option.

In conclusion, Coracle is a well-crafted client that's definitely worth sliding your keys into and taking for a spin.

Just in case you're not in the know, Apple issued a stern warning to the makers of the popular iOS app 'Damus.' The tech giant threatened to expel the app from their App Store unless the 'zaps' functionality, associated with posted notes, was removed. The rationale provided was vaguely along the lines of 'a requirement for Apple Pay integration.' Consequently, Damus took the requisite steps, adjusting the app to ensure its continued availability to the wider audience on the App Store.

t didn't take long for the ingenious minds populating the Nostr community to devise a workaround that didn't "violate" any of Apple's "policies." Hence, ZapplePay was born. This astute website enables users to link their GetAlby wallet to their Nostr accounts, which in turn provides a seamless ability to zap anyone from any Nostr client using their favorite emoji as the trigger. If you're interested in learning more about ZapplePay and how to set it up, take a look at this YEGHRO blog post for a comprehensive, yet easy-to-follow guide.

With that, the flow of zaps is back, reaching new heights. If you're a fan of data and statistics, Nostr.Band is a great resource for a visual take on what's going on in the Nostr network. Just hit their 'Stats' tab.

The brilliant minds behind Nostr have thus far tackled every obstacle thrown their way. I, for one, am curious and eager to see what challenge they will conquer next.

Stay calm and Zap on.

Primal offers several interesting features worth exploring. For example, their in-depth statistics tab shows useful information about what’s trending across Nostr, which accounts are receiving the most zaps, which notes are getting the most attention, the total number of users on the network, the total number of reactions, and so on. You can find all of this under their ‘Explore’ tab. Viewing these statistics provides a fascinating insight into the ecosystem.

Custom feeds are another great feature that Primal offers on their client. You can see what's popular and trending in multiple different ways. For example, do you want to know which accounts are getting the most zaps? There's a custom feed for that. Interested in seeing what someone else's feed looks like? You can visit their profile and create a custom feed for yourself. Curious about what's trending across your network, including your followers and those you follow, as well as those they follow? There's a custom feed for that as well. You can even follow hashtags or specific keywords if you prefer, and turn them into a custom feed. The level of customization and the way your media is presented to you is clearly a key area of focus for the Primal team.

Primal has recently released the beta version of its iOS app. It’s not yet available on the App Store. However, if you’re interested in trying it out, you can visit https://primal.net/downloads After signing up and downloading “TestFlight”, you’ll be able to take the app for a test run or “flight,” if you will.
One aspect that immediately stood out to me when first using the app was their excellently implemented Zaps integration. Primal guides you through the process of linking your GetAlby account with the app, facilitating frictionless zapping and creating a seamless experience. I find myself using the Primal app as frequently as I use Damus. Currently, these two apps are my go-to options for iOS.

I'm eagerly anticipating how Primal will evolve and grow as they refine and perfect their client.

Zaps just keep getting better and better, particularly with the advent of Zap.Stream! This website truly lives up to its name by empowering users to not only stream live video but also utilize zaps—powered by Bitcoin’s remarkable lightning network—to support creators for their content. If you’re unsure about what zaps are, we invite you to explore our blog post titled ‘Tag, You’re It: Nostr, Pure Vida‘ for more details.

The site is currently very new, so there isn’t a lot of content available just yet. However, this presents an opening or opportunity for creators who have faced challenges in navigating the treacherous maze of censorship prevalent across various content streaming platforms. We finally have a platform that harnesses the power of Nostr’s censorship resistance. Allowing creators to do just that: create and express their craft without constantly judging themselves based on whether their content will be deemed ‘inappropriate’ or ‘in violation’ of some ‘terms of service’ that the platform itself, at times, cannot even point to due to its seemingly nonexistent nature.

So, if you’re a creator, equip yourself with a pair of Nostr keys and seize this fantastic opportunity to share your craft and creativity without restrictions, within the bounds of some morality, I would hope.

LNBits Relays

"LNBits has implemented what I believe to be the simplest way to set up a Nostr relay. You'll need LNBits' lightning accounting system installed and ready to use before you can establish a relay. If you're starting from scratch, this process might require a touch more technical acumen. For those running an Umbrel Bitcoin node, the whole process is a breeze. Simply go to Umbrel's app store, search for LNBits, and click 'install.' That's all there is to it. Now you're ready to connect to your Nostr relay.

If you don't have an Umbrel or other all-in-one Bitcoin/Lightning implementation, I recommend reading our post titled 'What is LNBits? And How To...' for a comprehensive guide on installing and configuring LNBits on a Linux machine using Docker.

Setting Things Up

Assuming you have LNBits operational and connected to your Bitcoin Lightning node, the initial step in setting up a Nostr relay within LNBits is to log in as an Admin and install the relay plugin. To do this, open your web browser and navigate to http://localhost:5000. Then, click on the 'Extensions' button located on the left. If you're unsure what an Admin account is, read "What is LNBits? And How To..." for clarification.

If you are logged in with an Admin account, you should have the capability to install any of the apps listed. To find the Nostr Relay plugin, scroll through the options or do a search for "Nostr Relay", then click 'manage,' and proceed with the installation.

Enable & Config

Now that it's installed, this plugin will be available for any new user or wallet you create. This means you don't need to use an Admin account from this point forward. Open a new tab in your browser, navigate to localhost:5000, and create a fresh new wallet. Then click the 'Extensions' button on the left. You should see the Nostr Relay plugin available. Click 'enable'.

You should now see Nostr Relay plugin listed above "Extensions".

Clicking on the Nostr Relay extension will open a page where you can create your relay.
Click the 'New Relay' button, fill in the information you like, and then start up the relay.

When you're done filling in your information, simply click 'create relay,' and your new relay will be listed under relays.

Clicking the plus (+) sign next to the relay will reveal all the available settings you can adjust.

Finalizing

You can run the relay as is without entering any more information if you prefer. Just flip the 'Active' button to 'On'. Save the 'Web Socket Link,' as that is the address you will add to your Nostr clients to allow them to connect and store event data.
This setup is ideal for having your own private relay for friends and family to use.

I recommend looking through all the available tabs in your relay to familiarize yourself with everything. Filling out the rest of the information should be self-explanatory from this point. The 'Payments' tab is where you set up your paid relay. The 'Config' tab can be confusing, but you don't necessarily need to make any changes there for things to work. The 'Accounts' tab is for adding or blocking accounts from your relay.

If you want to set up a paid relay, you will need to make sure your LNBits is connected to a funding source, such as a Lightning Node, so you can receive Bitcoin-Lightning payments from users.
If you want to make the relay publicly available to everyone, you will need a domain name (e.g., www.WhatEverYourDomainIs.com) to link to your new relay. Alternatively, you can give out your public IP address, but I DO NOT advise this, as it leaves you vulnerable to attacks.

That's the short and sweet for setting up a Nostr relay using LNBits.

What is LNBits?

This is the easy part. LNBits is a wallet/account system that operates on top of your Bitcoin node. It’s powered by the Lightning Network, meaning you should also have a Lightning node running along side your Bitcoin node to use LNBits. Assuming you have both a Bitcoin and Lightning node up, with open lightning channels to allow for lightning transactions, setting up LNBits is not difficult. It’s the configuration after the setup that can be a bit confusing for some, including myself.

If you don’t have a Bitcoin and/or Lightning node, I suggest you join groups like “Nodestrich” on Telegram. This community is very helpful and will provide all the guidance you need to get one running and open channels. It may sound complicated, but it’s easier than you might imagine. Umbrel and Start9 are two easy-to-set-up options among many that can streamline the whole process.

How To Setup

The easiest way to set up LNBits is through Umbrel or Start9 implementation, where you get an all-in-one package system that includes an app store to handle all the back-end tasks for you. On Umbrel or Start9, you can simply visit their app store, search for and download the app, and it will install it for you. With this approach, you’re only left with having to fine-tune LNBits with your desired plugins to achieve the system you require. More on that later.

For the purposes of this guide, I will describe the process of installing LNBits in a Docker container running on a Linux machine. If you’re using a Windows machine, most of this information should still be applicable, as Docker works similarly in both environments.

Install Docker

So assuming you’re on an Ubuntu Linux machine, you’ll first need to install Docker if you don’t have it already. Simply run the following command in your terminal app to install:

sudo apt-get install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

If you run into any errors, you may need to follow the full install instructions found on Docker’s official site. Once installed, we’ll need to download a copy of LNBits. First, make a new directory to perform all these actions in:

mkdir lnbits && cd lnbits

Install LNBits

Now copy and paste the following to install the LNBits docker container and get it up and running:

docker pull lnbitsdocker/lnbits-legend
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lnbits/lnbits/main/.env.example -O .env
mkdir data
docker run --detach --publish 5000:5000 --name lnbits --volume ${PWD}/.env:/app/.env --volume ${PWD}/data/:/app/data lnbitsdocker/lnbits-legend

If all goes well you should have a locally running instance of LNBits on your Linux machine. You can test it out by visiting http://localhost:5000 in your browser. Create a new wallet by entering a name for it and clicking the “ADD A NEW WALLET” button. Copy the wallets user id found in the browser address bar. See image below:

Before we continue we should prepare the .env file by typing in the following from within the lnbits folder you should still be in. Paste the following into your terminal:

cp .env.example .env

You will now have a .env file which you wont see unless you use the command “ls -a”.

Now comes the configuration part. We need a funding source for our LNBits so we can use all of its great tools. In the same LNBits folder you should still be in, you will have a file named “.env.”

Configure LNBits

Enter the following into your terminal:

nano .env

You may need to sudo in to be able to save changes:

sudo nano .env

This will open the file in a text editor, allowing you to change its contents. I recommend looking through this document carefully, as it holds many very useful options that can be enabled. Options like “Admin UI” will give you more control over how your LNBits instance will function, including the ability to choose what apps will be allowed, and who can and cannot use what, and so forth.

If you want to allow access to LNBits from other devices on your local network, I’d recommend changing the HOST to 0.0.0.0; otherwise, setting it to 127.0.0.1 will only allow local access from your current host machine.

Funding Source

Among these settings—if you scroll down a bit—you’ll find the line “LNBITS_BACKEND_WALLET_CLASS=.” See the image below:

Choose your funding source, scroll down and input the necessary data to allow your LNBits instance to connect.
Example image below:

You can connect your LNBits to multiple different funding sources, even other LNBits instances. For the purpose of this guide, I’ll be connecting this LNBits instance to LNBits.com directly, as they provide a public implementation of their software for testing and trying out. To do so, all you need to do is go to legend.LNBits.com, give your wallet a name, click the “ADD A NEW WALLET” button, copy the wallet’s admin key and paste it over to your .env file.

To use one of the other options, refer to this guide from LNBits, which provides examples of how to configure the other available funding source options. There is a helpful Youtube video worth watching that helps visualize the process.

Admin UI

Earlier, I mentioned the “Admin UI” option in the “.env” file. I would recommend turning that setting on and using it to install the plugins you’re interested in using and allowing others to use (if you’re planning on others using it). It should look something like this:

Find and add this user id we copied from your web browser earlier to the admin list inside the .env file. It should look something like this when done:

LNBITS_ADMIN_USERS="c5c4e57503504ea38f0c218e4e30a840"

Now in your terminal restart your docker container with:

docker restart lnbits

You can once again open your browser and type in the address localhost:5000. You should see the landing page of your LNBits instance. If all your settings have been input correctly, you should be able to create a wallet to which you may receive funds.

But what about the Admin UI stuff? To get access to the Admin UI, you need to open your web browser and type in the address to your LNBits instance with the user ID we configured to be the Admin. It should look something like this:

http://localhost:5000/wallet?usr=c5c4e57503504ea38f0c218e4e30a840.  

The segment /wallet?usr=c5c4e57503504ea38f0c218e4e30a840 is the important part. This should open the Admin user wallet with the “manage server” option available on the left side of your screen.
Example image below:

From here, you can click on the “manage server” button and start fine-tuning your LNBits. Install the apps you’d like to use, allow others to use them, and even limit which users are allowed to use LNBits.

Hopefully this guide is help without being too overwhelming. If you have any questions or comments find us Nostr, YEGHRO@nodestrich.com or just search YEGHRO and you should find the account.

LNBits and Nostr

The people behind LNBits and those behind Nostr have a history together, and both sides played a part in the birthing of the Nostr protocol. Lucky for us! LNBits has been there for Nostr's growth and has been implementing fantastic plugins that allow us to do great things within the Nostr ecosystem. If you're new to Nostr and want to better understand it, check out our post "Nostr and Bitcoin"

Nostr Market

One of their more recent developments is the Nostr Market plugin. This lovely little app lets you create your own market stall where you can list items you'd like to sell, kind of like opening a kiosk in a public square or mall. And because this is LNBits, you have the power to easily accept Bitcoin payments for all the items for sale in your stall (kiosk). What's exciting is that this is all done over Nostr's censorship-resistant and permissionless protocol (the public square). It's all just so beautifully designed.

With this plugin, getting started with an online store has never been easier. Its intuitive marketplace client (storefront) comes complete with a shopping cart, giving you everything you need to showcase your offerings and tempt potential buyers. And, as an added bonus, the platform includes a simple messaging tool that makes it a breeze to communicate with your customers via Nostr, whether you're discussing orders or simply chatting.

Setup Your Stall

Setting up and getting started with a Nostr Market stall is quite straightforward. The plugin operates alongside another tool named "Nostr Client," which facilitates Nostr Market's interaction with the broader Nostr ecosystem. I won't delve into the setup process in this post, as I believe the Nostr Market team has already provided a comprehensive walkthrough. If you're looking for a detailed step-by-step guide on configuring everything, I recommend visiting their official GitHub page.

The guide covers everything you need from the necessary basics to the customization or the look and feel of your stall.