Skip to main content
The Settings page allows you to customize Hoot’s behavior, manage your Nostr profiles, configure relay connections, and verify your identity.

​
Your profiles

The Profiles section displays all Nostr accounts you’ve added to Hoot.

​
Viewing account information

For each account, you can view:
  • Key ID: Your public key in npub format (e.g., npub1...)
  • Display name: Your profile’s display name
  • NIP-05 identifiers: Email-like addresses associated with your key

​
Managing multiple accounts

Hoot supports multiple Nostr identities. Each account:
  • Has its own keypair stored in your system keychain
  • Can send and receive messages independently
  • Has separate profile metadata
  • Can have multiple NIP-05 identifiers

​
Removing accounts

1

Find the account to remove

Locate the account in the Profiles section.
2

Click 'Remove Key'

Click the “Remove Key” button next to the Key ID.
3

Confirm removal

The account is removed from:
  • Your system keychain
  • The local database
  • The in-memory key list
Removing an account deletes the private key from your system keychain. Make sure you have a backup of your nsec (private key) before removing an account, or you’ll lose access to that identity permanently.

​
Profile metadata

​
Editing display name

To update your display name:
1

Click 'Edit' next to Display Name

Find your account and click the “Edit” button.
2

Update the name

Type your new display name in the text field.
3

Save changes

Click “Save” to publish the updated metadata to Nostr relays, or “Cancel” to discard changes.
When you save, Hoot creates a kind 0 metadata event and broadcasts it to all connected relays. Other Nostr users will see your updated name.

​
Understanding profile metadata

Nostr profile metadata (kind 0 events) includes:
  • display_name: Your friendly name
  • name: Your username or handle
  • picture: URL to your profile picture
  • about: Bio or description
  • website: Your website URL
  • nip05: Verified NIP-05 identifier
Metadata is:
  • Public: Anyone can see your profile metadata
  • Decentralized: Stored on Nostr relays, not controlled by any single server
  • Cached: Hoot caches metadata locally for fast access
  • Updated automatically: When relays send new metadata events

​
NIP-05 identifiers

NIP-05 provides human-readable identifiers for Nostr public keys, similar to email addresses.

​
What is NIP-05?

A NIP-05 identifier:
  • Looks like an email address: [email protected]
  • Maps to your Nostr public key via a JSON file hosted at https://domain.com/.well-known/nostr.json
  • Makes it easier for people to find and message you
  • Can be verified to prove ownership

​
Adding a NIP-05 identifier

1

Enter your NIP-05 address

In the NIP-05 Identifiers section under your profile, type your identifier in the text field (e.g., [email protected]).
2

Click 'Verify & Add'

Hoot validates the format and saves the identifier to your local database.
3

Background verification

Hoot automatically attempts to verify the NIP-05 by:
  1. Querying https://example.com/.well-known/nostr.json
  2. Checking if your public key is listed under the username
  3. Updating the verification status
Verification happens in the background. The status icon updates automatically when verification completes.

​
NIP-05 status indicators

Each NIP-05 identifier has a status icon:
  • ✓ (Green): Verified - the identifier successfully resolves to your public key
  • ⏳ (Yellow): Pending - verification in progress
  • ✗ (Red): Failed - verification failed (domain unreachable or key mismatch)

​
Managing NIP-05 identifiers

For each identifier:
  • Remove: Click to delete the identifier from your profile
  • Verify: Click to re-verify the identifier manually
  • (own): Indicates this is marked as your own identifier

​
Setting up NIP-05 on your domain

To make a NIP-05 identifier work:
1

Create the JSON file

Create a file at https://yourdomain.com/.well-known/nostr.json with this structure:
{
  "names": {
    "username": "<your-public-key-in-hex>"
  }
}
Replace username with your desired username and <your-public-key-in-hex> with your actual public key.
2

Configure CORS headers

Ensure your web server sends the appropriate CORS headers to allow Nostr clients to fetch the file:
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *
3

Add to Hoot

Enter [email protected] in Hoot’s NIP-05 section and click “Verify & Add”.

​
Using NIP-05 when sending messages

When composing a message, you can select which identity to send as:
  • Raw key: Send without NIP-05 (shows as hex/npub)
  • NIP-05 identity: Send with your verified NIP-05 (shows as [email protected])
Recipients may see your NIP-05 identifier depending on their client.

​
Relays

Relays are servers that transmit and store Nostr events. You need to connect to relays to send and receive messages.

​
Understanding relays

In Nostr:
  • Decentralized: No single relay controls the network
  • Multiple connections: You can connect to many relays simultaneously
  • Redundancy: Connecting to multiple relays improves message delivery and availability
  • User choice: You control which relays you use

​
Adding a relay

1

Enter the relay URL

In the “Add New Relay” field, enter the relay’s WebSocket URL. Relay URLs typically start with wss:// (secure WebSocket).Example: wss://relay.damus.io
2

Click 'Add Relay'

Hoot connects to the relay immediately and adds it to your relay list.

​
Relay connection status

Each relay displays a colored status indicator:
  • Green: Connected - actively sending and receiving events
  • Yellow: Connecting - attempting to establish connection
  • Red: Disconnected - connection failed or lost
Hoot automatically attempts to reconnect to disconnected relays every 5 seconds. When a relay is disconnected, you’ll see “Attempting reconnect in X seconds”.

​
Relay keepalive

Hoot sends keepalive pings to connected relays every 30 seconds to maintain the connection and detect disconnections quickly.

​
Removing a relay

1

Find the relay

Locate the relay in the “Your Relays” list.
2

Click 'Remove Relay'

The relay is immediately disconnected and removed from your relay pool.
Popular Nostr relays include:
  • wss://relay.damus.io
  • wss://relay.nostr.band
  • wss://nos.lol
  • wss://relay.snort.social
  • wss://nostr.wine
For best results, connect to 3-5 well-established relays. More relays improve message delivery but increase bandwidth usage.

​
Relay subscriptions

When connected to a relay, Hoot automatically:
  • Subscribes to messages addressed to your public key(s)
  • Subscribes to profile metadata updates
  • Listens for new events in real-time
  • Sends keepalive pings every 30 seconds

​
Application storage

Hoot stores data in platform-specific locations:
  • Database: {storage_dir}/hoot.db (SQLite with SQLCipher encryption)
  • Storage directory: Varies by platform
    • Linux: ~/.local/share/hoot/
    • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/hoot/
    • Windows: %APPDATA%\hoot\

​
What’s stored locally

  • Events: All Nostr events (messages, metadata) you’ve received
  • Contacts: Your contact list with petnames
  • Drafts: Unsent message drafts
  • Sender status: Allowed/junked sender preferences
  • NIP-05 data: Your NIP-05 identifiers and verification status
  • Profile cache: Cached profile metadata for faster loading
Your private keys are stored separately in your system keychain, not in the database.

​
Database encryption

Hoot encrypts your local database using SQLCipher:
  • Password protection: The password you set during onboarding
  • AES-256 encryption: Industry-standard encryption
  • Local only: The database never leaves your device
If you forget your database password, you cannot recover your locally stored messages. Your Nostr identity (keypair) is stored separately and can be exported/imported, but message history will be lost.

​
Privacy and security

​
What’s private

  • Private keys: Never leave your device, stored in system keychain
  • Database: Encrypted with your password
  • Message contents: Encrypted with NIP-59 gift wrap
  • Metadata: Relay servers cannot see who you’re messaging

​
What’s public

  • Public keys: Visible to anyone (required for Nostr)
  • Profile metadata: Public information (display name, picture, etc.)
  • Relay connections: Relays know your public key and IP address
  • Message existence: Relays know encrypted messages exist (but not contents or recipients)

​
Troubleshooting

​
Relay won’t connect

  • Check the relay URL is correct (should start with wss://)
  • Verify the relay is operational (try accessing it in a web browser)
  • Check your internet connection and firewall settings

​
Profile updates not appearing

  • Ensure you’re connected to at least one relay
  • Wait a few moments for updates to propagate
  • Try manually refreshing the profile

​
NIP-05 verification fails

  • Verify the JSON file is accessible at https://domain.com/.well-known/nostr.json
  • Check that CORS headers are configured correctly
  • Ensure the public key in the JSON matches your actual public key (hex format)

​
Next steps

  • Learn about sending messages using your configured profiles
  • Add contacts to build your network
  • Explore advanced features like multiple accounts and NIP-05 identities

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us