NIP-82 defines a software-application event so Nostr clients can render applications (Android APKs, iOS apps, web apps, desktop binaries) as first-class objects in feeds and discovery surfaces. The spec replaces the older approach of describing apps through generic kind 1 notes or NIP-89 handler recommendations with a dedicated, structured event that carries application metadata, screenshots, repository links, and author identity.

How it works

A NIP-82 software application is a single replaceable event addressed by author pubkey and d tag. The event carries:

  • name, description, icon, image tags for display
  • repository and web tags for source and homepage URLs
  • platforms tag enumerating supported targets (android, ios, web, linux, macos, windows)
  • download tags for each platform-specific binary or web URL
  • screenshots tags carrying image URLs for the application screenshots
  • t topic tags for categorization
  • version tag for the current published version

A client browsing a NIP-82 feed can show the application card, link to the canonical repository, and surface screenshots without falling back to scraping a Nostr long-form post or a third-party app store. The author pubkey is the source of truth for the application, so a client can verify the publisher matches the expected developer identity before promoting a download link.

Feed semantics

NIP-82 events are addressable, so each application has one canonical replaceable event per author. A developer publishing a new version replaces the previous event in place, and subscribers see the update without managing event history. Clients that want a change log can subscribe to the addressable event and render version bumps as activity on the application surface.

The spec composes with NIP-89 (Application Handlers): a NIP-82 event describes the application as an artifact, while a NIP-89 event describes that the application can handle specific event kinds. Clients can use one without the other, but the pair gives a discovery surface (NIP-82) and a delegation surface (NIP-89) that work together.

Implementations

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