draft
optional
author:pablof7z
This NIP describes kind:31989
and kind:31990
: a way to discover applications that can handle unknown event-kinds.
Nostr's discoverability and transparent event interaction is one of its most interesting/novel mechanics. This NIP provides a simple way for clients to discover applications that handle events of a specific kind to ensure smooth cross-client and cross-kind interactions.
There are three actors to this workflow:
- application that handles a specific event kind (note that an application doesn't necessarily need to be a distinct entity and it could just be the same pubkey as user A)
- Publishes
kind:31990
, detailing how apps should redirect to it
- Publishes
- user A, who recommends an app that handles a specific event kind
- Publishes
kind:31989
- Publishes
- user B, who seeks a recommendation for an app that handles a specific event kind
- Queries for
kind:31989
and, based on results, queries forkind:31990
- Queries for
{
"kind": 31989,
"pubkey": <recommender-user-pubkey>,
"tags": [
[ "d", <supported-event-kind> ],
[ "a", "31990:app1-pubkey:<d-identifier>", "wss://relay1", "ios" ],
[ "a", "31990:app2-pubkey:<d-identifier>", "wss://relay2", "web" ]
]
}
The d
tag in kind:31989
is the supported event kind this event is recommending.
Multiple a
tags can appear on the same kind:31989
.
The second value of the tag SHOULD be a relay hint. The third value of the tag SHOULD be the platform where this recommendation might apply.
{
"kind": 31990,
"pubkey": <pubkey>,
"content": "<optional-kind:0-style-metadata>",
"tags": [
[ "d", <random-id> ],
[ "k", <supported-event-kind> ],
[ "web", "https://..../a/<bech32>", "nevent" ],
[ "web", "https://..../p/<bech32>", "nprofile" ],
[ "web", "https://..../e/<bech32>" ],
[ "ios", ".../<bech32>" ]
]
}
-
content
is an optionalmetadata
-like stringified JSON object, as described in NIP-01. This content is useful when the pubkey creating thekind:31990
is not an application. Ifcontent
is empty, thekind:0
of the pubkey should be used to display application information (e.g. name, picture, web, LUD16, etc.) -
k
tags' value is the event kind that is supported by thiskind:31990
. Using ak
tag(s) (instead of having the kind onf the NIP-33d
tag) provides:- Multiple
k
tags can exist in the same event if the application supports more than one event kind and their handler URLs are the same. - The same pubkey can have multiple events with different apps that handle the same event kind.
- Multiple
-
bech32
in a URL MUST be replaced by clients with the NIP-19-encoded entity that should be loaded by the application.
Multiple tags might be registered by the app, following NIP-19 nomenclature as the second value of the array.
A tag without a second value in the array SHOULD be considered a generic handler for any NIP-19 entity that is not handled by a different tag.
A user A who uses a non-kind:1
-centric nostr app could choose to announce/recommend a certain kind-handler application.
When user B sees an unknown event kind, e.g. in a social-media centric nostr client, the client would allow user B to interact with the unknown-kind event (e.g. tapping on it).
The client MIGHT query for the user's and the user's follows handler.
User A might be a user of Zapstr, a kind:31337
-centric client (tracks). Using Zapstr, user A publishes an event recommending Zapstr as a kind:31337
-handler.
{
"kind": 31989,
"tags": [
[ "d", "31337" ],
[ "a", "31990:1743058db7078661b94aaf4286429d97ee5257d14a86d6bfa54cb0482b876fb0:abcd", <relay-url>, "web" ]
]
}
User B might see in their timeline an event referring to a kind:31337
event
(e.g. a kind:1
tagging a kind:31337
).
User B's client, not knowing how to handle a kind:31337
might display the event
using its alt
tag (as described in NIP-31). When the user clicks on the event,
the application queries for a handler for this kind
:
["REQ", <id>, '[{ "kinds": [31989], "#d": ["31337"], 'authors': [<user>, <users-contact-list>] }]']
User B, who follows User A, sees that kind:31989
event and fetches the a
-tagged event for the app and handler information.
User B's client sees the application's kind:31990
which includes the information to redirect the user to the relevant URL with the desired entity replaced in the URL.
Alternatively, users might choose to query directly for kind:31990
for an event kind. Clients SHOULD be careful doing this and use spam-prevention mechanisms to avoid directing users to malicious handlers.
["REQ", <id>, '[{ "kinds": [31990], "#k": [<desired-event-kind>], 'authors': [...] }]']