The zig-nostr ecosystem
zig-nostr is more than a library, it’s a layered ecosystem for building on Nostr in Zig. One audited core, shared by focused utility libraries and by real native apps, so every layer benefits from the same well-tested foundation.
Core library
zig-nostr/nostr: secp256k1 keys and
BIP-340 signing, the NIP-01 event model, relay transport with the outbox model, a
zero-copy local-first store, and the NIP-46 signer protocol. It builds for macOS,
Linux and Windows, and its parsers are fuzzed. It’s the credibility
anchor for everything else, and it keeps growing: more NIPs and capabilities land
with each milestone. See NIP support and the architecture.
Utility libraries
Focused building blocks that layer on the core so apps don’t reinvent the basics. More arrive as the ecosystem grows, they’ll be listed here as they ship.
Native apps
Real products built entirely on the core, proof it holds up under product weight, and the reason the ecosystem exists.
Notary: shipped
A native NIP-46 signer for macOS and Linux: Zig, no Electron, no WebView. Your key lives in
a local daemon, nothing gets signed quietly, and your nsec never leaves it
unless you ask for it. On macOS it waits in the menu bar and shows its window only when a request needs a decision.
→ zig-nostr/notary · read more
Plaza: shipped
The flagship client: read without an account, post in four clicks, with the feed
rendered from disk and reconciled in the background. It opens long-form articles, searches for people by name, adds pictures from a file and covers notes marked sensitive. Your key lives in Notary, a separate
process, or in your own signer.
→ zig-nostr/plaza · read more
deed: shipped
The nostr command line: keys, events, NIP-19 codes, NIP-44, signature checks, relays, a local store that later runs read without a network, and verbs for sync, private messages, a NIP-46 signer, Blossom and NIP-98. One binary of under 3 MB for macOS, Linux and Windows.
→ zig-nostr/deed · read more
On the roadmap
Plaza, Notary and deed are downloadable and keep growing. Next I am adding a C ABI with Swift bindings, Notary for Windows, deed mcp, and an app engine extracted from Plaza that new apps can build on. Private messages, zaps and a wallet, groups, searching notes and playing video remain later work in Plaza.
See the roadmap for what comes next, and for what is deliberately not being built.
Building on zig-nostr? Open an issue or PR on GitHub and we’ll add it here.