Primal

Nostr client with built-in Bitcoin wallet. Available on web, iOS, and Android.

Overview

Primal combines social networking with Bitcoin payments in one polished app. Known for its smooth UI and excellent onboarding, it's often recommended for Nostr newcomers.

Key Features

Easy Onboarding

• Simple account creation
• No technical knowledge required
• Guided setup process
• Pre-configured relay list

Built-in Bitcoin Wallet

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              Primal App                  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                         │
│  ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    │
│  │   Social    │    │   Wallet    │    │
│  │    Feed     │    │   (Sats)    │    │
│  └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘    │
│         │                  │            │
│         └────────┬─────────┘            │
│                  │                      │
│            ┌─────▼─────┐               │
│            │   Zaps    │               │
│            │  ⚡ Easy  │               │
│            └───────────┘               │
│                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

• Custodial Lightning wallet built-in
• Send/receive sats without external apps
• One-tap zapping
• NWC support for external wallets

Content Discovery (v2.0+)

Tab	Content
Home	Your follows' posts
Reads	Long-form articles
Explore	Trending content
Search	Advanced queries

Feed Marketplace

Discover and subscribe to curated feeds created by others — like RSS for social media.

Premium Features ($7/month)

• Primal Name — Custom NIP-05 identifier
• Verified badge
• Power user tools
• Support development

Platforms

Platform	Status
Web	primal.net
iOS	App Store
Android	Google Play

Content Experience

Short-form

Standard microblogging posts with:

• Text up to 10,000 characters
• Images and media
• Hashtags and mentions
• Reactions and zaps

Long-form (Reads)

Dedicated reading experience:

• Clean article layout
• Bookmarking
• Separate bookmark list
• (Composition on desktop only)

Media

• Inline players for YouTube, Spotify, Tidal, X
• Image galleries
• Video support (links on mobile)

Recent Updates (v2.1+)

• NWC support — Connect external wallets
• Improved feeds — Richer, smoother experience
• Better embeds — More platform support
• Android signer — Amber integration (v2.2.13)

Getting Started

Web

1. Go to primal.net
2. Click "Create Account" or import keys
3. Follow suggested accounts
4. Start posting

Mobile

1. Download from App Store / Google Play
2. Create account or scan nsec QR
3. Set up wallet (optional)
4. Explore content

Architecture

Primal runs its own caching infrastructure:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│            Primal Client                 │
└─────────────────┬───────────────────────┘
                  │
                  ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│          Primal Cache Servers           │
│  (Index, search, recommendations)       │
└─────────────────┬───────────────────────┘
                  │
                  ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           Nostr Relays                  │
│      (Decentralized storage)            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

This provides:

• Fast search
• Trending algorithms
• Social graph analysis
• Quick feed loading

Open Source

All Primal apps are open source:

• primal-web-app
• primal-android-app
• primal-ios-app

Comparison

Feature	Primal	Damus	Amethyst
Platform	All	iOS	Android
Built-in wallet	Yes	No	No
Caching layer	Yes	No	No
Reads tab	Yes	No	No
Open source	Yes	Yes	Yes

Links

• Website: primal.net
• iOS: App Store
• Android: Google Play
• GitHub: PrimalHQ

See Also

• Nostr Protocol — The protocol
• Damus — iOS-native client
• Amethyst — Android-native client
• nostr-tools — Build your own