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Nostr.watch

Monitor and discover Nostr relays. Real-time status, NIP support, and performance metrics.

Overview​

Nostr.watch is a comprehensive relay monitoring platform. It discovers relays across the network, checks their status, validates NIP support, and provides detailed information for users and developers choosing relays.

Key Features​

Relay Discovery​

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Nostr.watch Discovery                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                 │
│  Sources:                                                       │
│  ├── Known relay lists                                         │
│  ├── NIP-65 relay recommendations                              │
│  ├── User submissions                                          │
│  └── Network scraping                                          │
│                                                                 │
│  For each relay:                                                │
│  ├── Liveness check (WebSocket)                                │
│  ├── NIP-11 info document                                      │
│  ├── Geographic location                                       │
│  ├── SSL certificate status                                    │
│  └── NIP compliance testing                                    │
│                                                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Relay Information​

FieldDescription
StatusOnline/offline
LocationGeographic region
Supported NIPsProtocol features
LatencyResponse time
UptimeHistorical availability
PaymentFree/paid status

NIP Compliance​

Tests relays against their advertised NIPs:

  • Verifies actual NIP support vs claims
  • Identifies broken or incomplete implementations
  • Helps users choose compliant relays

Monitoring Dashboard​

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Relay Status Board                           │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                 │
│  Relay                    Status   Latency   NIPs               │
│  ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────  │
│  wss://relay.damus.io     ✓ UP     45ms     01,02,04,09...     │
│  wss://nos.lol            ✓ UP     52ms     01,02,04,11...     │
│  wss://relay.nostr.band   ✓ UP     38ms     01,02,04,09...     │
│  wss://relay.example      ✗ DOWN   ---      ---                 │
│                                                                 │
│  Total: 847 relays | Online: 623 | Offline: 224                │
│                                                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

NIP-66 Support​

Implements NIP-66 for relay monitoring events:

  • Publishes relay status to Nostr
  • Aggregates data from multiple monitors
  • Enables decentralized relay discovery

Use Cases​

For Users​

  • Find reliable relays
  • Check if your relay is online
  • Discover relays in your region
  • Verify NIP support before connecting

For Relay Operators​

  • Monitor your relay's status
  • See how you compare to others
  • Identify issues quickly
  • Track uptime history

For Developers​

  • Test NIP implementations
  • Find relays supporting specific NIPs
  • Build relay recommendation systems

Technical Details​

  • Built in TypeScript
  • Deno runtime (Node.js being phased out)
  • Extensible library architecture
  • Open source

See Also​