NCC Client PoC: Infrastructure Management & Discovery Without DNS

A reference implementation and Proof of Concept (PoC) for the Nostr Community Conventions (NCC), specifically focusing on NCC-02 (Trust and Discovery) and NCC-05 (Identity-Bound Service Locators).

This client demonstrates how to build a decentralized infrastructure where Nostr Identities (Pubkeys) replace traditional DNS Hostnames.

🛰️ Core Concept: Nostr Community Conventions (NCC-00)

The NCC-00 convention establishes the framework for Nostr Community Conventions. It defines the standards for how specific protocols (like service discovery or location) are proposed, identified, and interoperably implemented across the Nostr ecosystem without requiring changes to the core protocol.

Implementation Logic (NCC-02 & NCC-05)

Building on the framework defined in NCC-00, this project implements a "No-DNS" model:

1. Ownership (NCC-02): An identity publishes a record (Kind 30059) claiming ownership of a service identifier (e.g., relay).
2. Location (NCC-05): The identity publishes dynamic locator records (Kind 30058) containing the physical endpoints (IPs, Tor .onion addresses).
3. Trust: Users verify ownership and can optionally require third-party attestations (Kind 30060) or Web of Trust (WoT) validation before connecting.

✨ Key Features

🔍 Discovery & Social Trust (WoT)

• Hierarchical Discovery: Group results by Publisher -> Service -> Endpoints.
• Social Graph Filtering: Enable "Network Only" mode to only see services authored or attested by people you follow (Kind 3).
• Social Proof: View "✓ Trusted by X in your network" badges to identify socially validated infrastructure.
• Aggressive Resolution: Discover infrastructure via npub using an identity-centric resolution engine that scans both public service records and private locators.

🔐 Privacy-First Publishing

• Targeted Private Locators: Publish service endpoints that are encrypted (NIP-44) for a specific list of authorized npubs.
• NIP-07 Support: Seamlessly decrypt private records using browser extensions like Alby without exposing your private key.
• Session-Only Security: Private keys are stored in sessionStorage and cleared automatically when the tab is closed.

📦 Infrastructure Management (My Inventory)

• Live Fleet Scan: View all active NCC records published by your primary account and auxiliary service identities.
• One-Click Renewal: Automatically bump created_at and exp tags to keep your services active and prevent them from appearing as "Expired".
• JSON Editor: Directly modify service metadata or endpoint lists with an integrated record editor.
• Identity Swapping: Manage multiple "owned" identities (via stored nsecs) from a single dashboard.

🚀 Sidecar & Tor Integration

• Deep Sidecar Integration: One-click import of local onion services detected from your running ncc-sidecar (localhost:3005).
• Auto-Bridging: Onion addresses are automatically wrapped in the local Tor bridge URL for immediate browser reachability.
• Endpoint Probing: Test real-world latency and reachability of any service endpoint before committing to a connection.
• Real-time Bridge Monitor: Navbar indicator showing the health of your local Tor-to-WebSocket bridge.

🚀 Getting Started

1. Prerequisites

• Node.js: v18+
• Tor (Optional): Required for .onion support. A local Tor daemon must be running (default port 9050).
• Nostr Extension: Alby or nos2x (recommended for secure signing).

2. Installation & Usage

Development Mode (with Hot Refresh):

npm install
npm run dev

The app will be available at http://localhost:5173.

Production Mode (Optimized & Stable):

npm install
npm run build
npm start

The production server will be available at http://localhost:5173. In both modes, the Tor bridge will start automatically on port 3001.

🛠 Usage Workflows

How to Find a Trusted Relay

1. Go to Discovery.
2. Enable Network Only (WoT) to filter by your social graph.
3. Use Global Search or enter a specific npub.
4. Look for the "Network Trusted" badge and click an endpoint to connect.

How to Publish a Private Service

1. Go to Publish.
2. (Optional) Click "Detect Local Services" to import from your sidecar.
3. Toggle "Private Discovery".
4. Paste the npubs of your authorized users.
5. Click "Publish Private".

How to Manage Your Fleet

1. Go to My Inventory.
2. Click "Add Identity" to include your auxiliary service nsecs.
3. Use "Renew" to refresh expiring records or "Edit" to rotate physical endpoints.

🧪 Testing & Debugging

• npm test: Runs logic and connectivity unit tests.
• npm run check-bridge: Verifies the local Tor bridge is reachable.
• npx tsc --noEmit: Performs a full TypeScript type check.

Built as a Proof of Concept for the Nostr Community Conventions.