Nostr-Hooks

React hooks for developing Nostr clients. It's simple yet intelligent.

Nostr-Hooks is a stateful wrapper library of React hooks around NDK, designed to simplify the process of interacting with the Nostr protocol in real-time web applications. It provides an easy-to-use interface with low bandwidth consumption and high performance, allowing developers to quickly integrate Nostr into their projects and build responsive, real-time applications.

Supported by

Features

• Provides high-level hooks to interact with the Nostr protocol, making it easy to integrate Nostr into React applications.
• Provides a single instance of NDK for the entire application, which is reused by all components.
• Creates a single connection to each Nostr relay at a time and reuses it for all subscriptions, reducing network overhead.
• Automatically manages subscriptions from multiple components and delivers only the events that each component needs.
• Automatically batches multiple subscriptions from different components into a single subscription request, further reducing network overhead.
• Intelligently merges filters into a unique set of filters, reducing the load on the Nostr relays.
• Provides a built-in cache mechanism since version 1.1.
• Minimizes re-renders by updating only the events that have changed, improving application performance.
• Automatically cleans up subscriptions and garbage events when a component unmounts, preventing memory leaks.

Isn't nostr-tools or NDK enough? Why do we need Nostr-Hooks?

Nostr-Hooks is not a replacement for NDK or nostr-tools. You may still need to install and use them in your application for some advanced low-level functionalities. As you may know NDK is a powerful library (shout-out to pablo) with a lot of out-of-the-box features, like caching, batching, and merging filters. However, it's a stateless library and doesn't understand the React component lifecycle. This means that it's up to the developer to update the component state when new events arrive, and to unsubscribe from the subscription when the component unmounts. This can be a tedious and error-prone process, especially when scaling the application. Nostr-Hooks on the other hand, is a stateful wrapper library that manages the component state and subscriptions automatically, allowing the developer to focus on building and scaling the application. Nostr-Hooks also provides a bunch of well-designed high-level hooks to interact with relays, so you don't need to worry about the low-level details any more.

Usage

Installation

npm install nostr-hooks

First initialize the NDK instance and connect to it

import { useNdk } from 'nostr-hooks';

const App = () => {
  const { initNdk, ndk } = useNdk();

  useEffect(() => {
    initNdk({
      // NDK Constructor Options
    });
  }, [initNdk]);

  useEffect(() => {
    ndk?.connect(); // This will also reconnect when the instance changes
  }, [ndk]);

  return <div>My App</div>;
};

Calling initNdk and ndk.connect are mandatory to start using Nostr-Hooks.

Subscribe to events

Here are some examples of how to use the useSubscription hook:

Example of basic usage:

import { useSubscription } from 'nostr-hooks';

const UserNotes = ({ pubkey }: { pubkey: string | undefined }) => {
  const subId = `${pubkey}-notes`;

  const { events, isLoading, createSubscription } = useSubscription(subId);

  useEffect(() => {
    if (!pubkey) return;

    const filters = [{ authors: [pubkey], kinds: [1], limit: 50 }];

    createSubscription(filters);
  }, [pubkey, createSubscription]);

  if (isLoading) return <p>Loading...</p>;

  if (!events) return <p>No events found</p>;

  return (
    <ul>
      {events.map((event) => (
        <li key={event.id}>
          <p>{event.content}</p>
        </li>
      ))}
    </ul>
  );
};

The useSubscription hook requires a string parameter as the subscription id. This id is essential for identifying and managing the subscription internally. Nostr-Hooks uses these subscription ids to categorize events throughout your application. It's recommended to define subscription ids based on your filter parameters, similar to a query key.

The hook returns an object with the following properties:

• createSubscription: A function that can be used to create a subscription with the provided filters and options.
• removeSubscription: A function that can be used to remove the subscription and clean up the events if no other components are using the same subscription.
• events: An array of events that match the filters.
• eose: A boolean flag indicating whether the subscription has reached the end of the stream.
• isLoading: A boolean flag indicating whether the subscription is loading (no events yet, and no eose).
• hasMore: A boolean flag indicating whether there are more events available to fetch.
• loadMore: A function that can be used to fetch more events.

The useSubscription hook can be utilized across multiple components. Nostr-Hooks consolidates all subscriptions from various components into a single request, ensuring each component receives only the events it requires, based on their subscription ids.

Publish new events

You can publish new events using the NDKEvent class and the publish method.

import { NDKEvent } from 'nostr-dev-kit';
import { useNdk } from 'nostr-hooks';

const MyComponent = () => {
  const [content, setContent] = useState('');

  const { ndk } = useNdk();

  const handlePublish = () => {
    const event = new NDKEvent(ndk);
    event.content = content;
    event.kind = 1;

    event.publish();
  };

  return (
    <>
      <input type="text" value={content} onChange={(e) => setContent(e.target.value)} />

      <button onClick={() => handlePublish()}>Publish Note</button>
    </>
  );
};

Fetch Profile for a user

The useProfile hook is used to fetch profile for a given user based on their pubkey, npub, nip46 address, or nip05. It returns the fetched profile, or null if the profile is not found.

import { useProfile } from 'nostr-hooks';

const MyComponent = () => {
  const { profile } = useProfile({ pubkey: '...' });

  if (profile === undefined) return <p>Loading...</p>;

  if (profile === null) return <p>Profile not found</p>;

  return (
    <div>
      <p>{profile.displayName}</p>
      <p>{profile.about}</p>
    </div>
  );
};

Interact with Signer

You can leverage useNdk hook to interact with the signer.

import { useNdk } from 'nostr-hooks';

const newSigner = new NDKNip07Signer();

const MyComponent = () => {
  const { ndk, setSigner } = useNdk();

  setSigner(newSigner); // this will keep the existing NDK instance and update its signer
};

Direct usage of the useSigner hook might not be necessary. Refer to the following section for further details.

useLogin: Login with different signers

Nostr-Hooks offers multiple login methods that automatically update the NDK instance with the new signer. These methods also utilize local storage to remember the login method, ensuring that users do not need to log in manually each time the page reloads or the app restarts.

We offer four methods for logging in with various signers, and one method for logging out:

• loginWithExtension: Login with Nostr Extension (NIP07).
• loginWithRemoteSigner: Login with Remote Signer (NIP46).
• loginWithPrivateKey: Login with Private Key.
• loginFromLocalStorage: Login from previously saved login method in local storage.
• logout: Logout.

import { useLogin } from 'nostr-hooks';

const MyComponent = () => {
  const {
    loginWithExtension,
    loginWithRemoteSigner,
    loginWithSecretKey,
    loginFromLocalStorage,
    logout,
  } = useLogin();

  return (
    <>
      <button onClick={() => loginWithExtension()}>Login with Extension</button>
      <button onClick={() => loginWithRemoteSigner()}>Login with Remote Signer</button>
      <button onClick={() => loginWithSecretKey()}>Login with Secret Key</button>
      <button onClick={() => loginFromLocalStorage()}>Login from Local Storage</button>
      <button onClick={() => logout()}>Logout</button>
    </>
  );
};

Automatically login with previously saved login method:

You can use loginFromLocalStorage to automatically login with previously saved login method in local storage when the component mounts.

import { useLogin } from 'nostr-hooks';

const MyComponent = () => {
  const { loginFromLocalStorage } = useLogin();

  useEffect(() => {
    loginFromLocalStorage();
  }, [loginFromLocalStorage]);
};

Getting the Active User Profile

The useActiveUser hook allows you to retrieve the profile of the currently active user, utilizing the provided NDK instance and its signer.

import { useActiveUser } from 'nostr-hooks';

const MyComponent = () => {
  const { activeUser } = useActiveUser();

  if (activeUser === undefined) return <p>Loading...</p>;

  if (activeUser === null) return <p>Not logged in</p>;

  return (
    <div>
      <p>{activeUser.pubkey}</p>
    </div>
  );
};

If the user is not logged in, the activeUser will be undefined.

Best Practices

Custom Hooks

Create custom hooks to encapsulate the logic for fetching and managing data. This will help you reuse the logic across multiple components and keep your codebase clean and maintainable. Additionally, this approach helps in reducing memory usage by reusing the same subscription and events across multiple components.

import { useEffect } from 'react';
import { useSubscription } from 'nostr-hooks';

export const useUserNotes = (pubkey: string | undefined) => {
  const subId = `${pubkey}-notes`;

  const { events, isLoading, loadMore, createSubscription } = useSubscription(subId);

  useEffect(() => {
    if (!pubkey) return;

    const filters = [{ authors: [pubkey], kinds: [1], limit: 50 }];

    createSubscription(filters);
  }, [pubkey, createSubscription]);

  return { events, isLoading, loadMore };
};

Subscription Ids

Use meaningful subscription ids to categorize events and manage subscriptions effectively. It's recommended to define subscription ids based on your filter parameters, similar to a query key.

const subId = `${pubkey}-notes`;

You can use the same subscription id across multiple components to share the same subscription and events. Nostr-Hooks consolidates all subscriptions from various components into a single request, ensuring each component receives only the events it requires, based on their subscription ids.

NIP-29

NIP-29 has been integrated in v4! This update introduces several new hooks and methods for interacting with NIP-29 Relay-based groups. We've implemented an internal store following best practices for state management in React, offering a comprehensive set of hooks and methods that are fast, efficient, and user-friendly.

NIP-29 Queries

There are several hooks available to query data from NIP-29 Relay-based groups:

• useGroupMetadata: Subscribe to a group's metadata and its updates.
• useGroupMembers: Subscribe to a group's members and their updates.
• useGroupAdmins: Subscribe to a group's admins and their updates.
• useAllGroupsMetadataRecords: Subscribe to all groups' metadata records available on the NIP-29 Relay and their updates.
• useGroupRoles: Subscribe to a group's roles and their updates. You can also filter roles by various parameters.
• useGroupChats: Subscribe to a group's chats and their updates. You can also filter chats by various parameters.
• useGroupReactions: Subscribe to a group's reactions and their updates. You can also filter reactions by various parameters.
• useGroupJoinRequests: Subscribe to a group's join requests and their updates. You can also filter join requests by various parameters.
• useGroupLeaveRequests: Subscribe to a group's leave requests and their updates. You can also filter leave requests by various parameters.
• useGroupThreads: Subscribe to a group's threads and their updates. You can also filter threads by various parameters.
• useGroupThreadComments: Subscribe to a group's thread comments and their updates. You can also filter thread comments by various parameters.

NIP-29 Mutations

There are several methods available to mutate data on NIP-29 Relay-based groups:

• Admin Actions:

  • putGroupUser: Add/Update a user to a group with its roles.
  • removeGroupUser: Remove a user from a group.
  • editGroupMetadata: Edit a group's metadata.
  • deleteGroup: Delete a group.
  • deleteGroupEvent: Delete a group's event.
  • createGroupInvite: Create an invite code for a group.

• User Actions:

  • sendJoinRequest: Send a join request to a group.
  • sendLeaveRequest: Send a leave request to a group.
  • sendGroupChat: Send a chat message to a group.
  • sendGroupReaction: Send a reaction to a group's chat message.
  • sendGroupThread: Send a thread to a group.
  • sendGroupThreadComment: Send a comment to a group's thread.

Contributing

We welcome contributions from the community! If you'd like to contribute to Nostr-Hooks, please refer to the CONTRIBUTING.md file in the project's GitHub repository.

You can also consider contributing to NDK.

Donations

If you'd like to support the development of Nostr-Hooks, please consider donating to the developer.

• ⚡ Zap sats to sepehr@getalby.com

You can also consider supporting the NDK.

License

Nostr-Hooks is licensed under the MIT License. For more information, see the LICENSE.md file in the project's GitHub repository.

Contact

If you have any questions or concerns about Nostr-Hooks, please contact the developer at npub18c556t7n8xa3df2q82rwxejfglw5przds7sqvefylzjh8tjne28qld0we7.