@openclaw/ndr

OpenClaw channel plugin for nostr-double-ratchet - forward-secure end-to-end encrypted messaging over Nostr.

Compatible with chat.iris.to.

Features

• Forward secrecy - Past messages remain secure even if keys are compromised
• Double ratchet encryption - Based on Signal's proven protocol
• Nostr transport - Messages sent via Nostr relays
• Interactive onboarding - openclaw onboard walks you through setup
• Group chats - NDR group fan-out with shared-channel invites

Prerequisites

Install Rust and the required CLIs:

curl -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh && cargo install ndr hashtree-cli

• ndr - Required for double ratchet encryption
• hashtree-cli - Optional, for encrypted media uploads via hashtree

Installation

Note: OpenClaw's plugin system is under active development. These instructions may change.

From GitHub:

openclaw plugins install https://github.com/mmalmi/openclaw-ndr

From a local clone:

git clone https://github.com/mmalmi/openclaw-ndr
openclaw plugins install -l ./openclaw-ndr

Setup

Run the interactive onboarding:

openclaw onboard

Select the NDR channel when prompted. The onboarding will:

1. Check if ndr CLI is installed
2. Ask you to paste a chat invite URL from chat.iris.to
3. Accept the invite and send a hello message
4. Configure your owner pubkey (so only you can control the agent)

Getting a chat invite URL

1. Go to chat.iris.to
2. Click the + (New Chat) button
3. Click Copy your chat link
4. Paste it into the onboarding prompt

Start the gateway

openclaw gateway run

Configuration

The onboarding writes config to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json. You can also edit it manually:

{
  channels: {
    ndr: {
      // Owner's pubkey - only messages from this npub are handled as commands
      ownerPubkey: "npub1...",

      // Optional: Nostr relays (defaults shown below)
      relays: [
        "wss://temp.iris.to",
        "wss://relay.snort.social",
        "wss://relay.primal.net",
        "wss://relay.damus.io",
        "wss://offchain.pub"
      ],

      // Optional: Path to ndr CLI (default: "ndr" in PATH)
      ndrPath: "/path/to/ndr",

      // Optional: Custom data directory for ndr (default: ~/.openclaw/ndr-data)
      dataDir: "~/.openclaw/ndr-data",

      // Optional: Group policy ("open" | "allowlist" | "disabled")
      groupPolicy: "open",

      // Optional: Allowed senders in groups (npub/hex, "*" allows anyone)
      groupAllowFrom: ["npub1...", "abcdef..."],

      // Optional: Allowed group IDs (UUIDs). Can be an array or a map.
      groups: ["11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111"]
    }
  }
}

Authorization:

• Only messages from ownerPubkey are handled as agent commands
• Messages from other pubkeys are logged but ignored
• If ownerPubkey is not set, all messages are handled

Usage

Check channel status

openclaw channels status --channel ndr

List active chats

ndr chat list

Groups (NDR)

NDR groups are managed by the ndr CLI. This plugin listens for group_message events and can reply in groups when allowed by groupPolicy (default: open). Group invites are not auto-accepted; if the inviter matches ownerPubkey, the plugin auto-accepts, otherwise it notifies the owner to decide.

# Create a group (members are hex pubkeys)
ndr group create --name "My Group" --members <hex_pubkey,hex_pubkey>

# List groups (get group IDs)
ndr group list

# Send a group message
ndr group send <group_id> "hello"

How it works

1. Listening - Runs ndr listen to receive incoming messages
2. Receiving - Decrypts messages using the double ratchet session
3. Sending - Uses ndr send to encrypt and publish messages
4. Session management - ndr handles key rotation automatically
5. Groups - ndr group fan-out with shared-channel invites

Security

• Forward secrecy - Each message uses a unique encryption key
• Session isolation - Each chat has its own ratchet state
• No key exposure - Private keys are managed by the ndr CLI

Troubleshooting

"ndr: command not found" / "hashtree-cli: command not found"

Install both (requires Rust):

curl -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh && cargo install ndr hashtree-cli

Media attachments not working

Make sure hashtree-cli is installed: hashtree-cli --version

"Failed to send message"

Check that:

1. You have an active chat session with the recipient
2. The relay is reachable
3. ndr CLI is working: ndr chat list

Group messages not showing up

Check that:

1. groupPolicy is open (default) or allowlist with a matching groupAllowFrom
2. The group ID is included in groups if you configured a group allowlist
3. Your NDR client is in the group and has accepted it