Hello dear readers,
It was a Saturday afternoon, a little cloudy with a pleasant twenty-four degrees outside. I had just eaten rice, beans, and chicken for lunch and was sitting high up in the Andes mountains when my 2 pm call with teammate Mr T began. He was dialing in from Tokyo. He wanted me to write our next blog on NIP-46 and NIP-47. I didnât know jack about it.
T: Go to yakihonne.com. Me: Okay, Iâm here. T: Now log in using Remote Signer.
I clicked the option, and a QR code popped up on my screen which I shared with T over Signal. Less than a minute later, my screen refreshed and just like that I was logged into Angorâs official account.
Me: But how am I logged in without the nsec? T: Exactly. Thatâs NIP-46 at work.
(NIP-46 is the standard that lets one device sign events remotely so your private key never leaves its safe place. Amber is one of the first apps built to do this on Android.)
Me: How did you even do this? T: I used NIP-46. You can do it too for your personal account. You donât need to paste your nsec into random clients anymore. Me: Okay⌠but how? T: You got Android or Apple? Me: Android T: First, forget the Play Store. Download an app called Obtainium. With it, you can grab apps directly from their open-source releases. Here are the links you need:
âhttps://obtainium.imranr.dev/ âhttps://github.com/greenart7c3/Amber/releases
Me: Alright. Is this app only available on Obtainium ? T: Some people use F-Droid or Zapstore (both alternative app stores), but we used Obtainium because it pulls directly from the source and keeps it updated automatically. Itâs open source too. Me: Got it. Amberâs installed.
I opened Amber, tapped Add a nsec bunker, and there it was, my profile picture in the corner. My nsec was now locked safely in a bunker on my phone.
T: Good. Now, head back to yakihonne.com. Click add new account.
I followed his instructions, scanned the QR code with my Amber app, refreshed the page and there it was. My personal account logged in, this time without pasting any private key.
On nostr:npub1yzvxlwp7wawed5vgefwfmugvumtp8c8t0etk3g8sky4n0ndvyxesnxrf8q I now had two accounts side by side, my personal one and Angorâs main profile. Both fully active. Both ready to post, comment, and reply. And at no point had I touched or even seen an nsec.
Me: This is like giving your YouTube editor upload access without handing over the password. T: Except this time, thereâs no Google in the middle. Just NIP-46. Me: This is amazing T: Welcome to the bunker. Thatâs the power of NIP-46. Your nsec stays safe in Amber, but the whole team can still collaborate. Imagine giving access to ten teammates without ever sharing the secret key. If someone leaves, we just revoke their connection.
I laughed to myself. This bunker really is like a safety layer. It keeps the nsec locked away, makes sure nothing leaks out, and still lets you use Nostr freely.
Me: Okay, so I can post as Angor without the nsec. But what about zaps? Can I send sats too? T: Of course. Thatâs where NIP-47 comes in - Nostr Wallet Connect. At Angor we use a GetAlby wallet. Itâs linked to the account through NWC.
(NIP-47 is the standard that lets wallets connect through Nostr events. Think of it as âremote controlâ for Lightning wallets, with built-in permissions and limits.)
I switched back to the Angor account. He shared a connection string with me, and I pasted it into the Nostr Wallet Connect option under Add Wallet. A moment later, I had access to Angorâs wallet balance which had over 500,000 sats!
Me: Whoa. You mean I can zap anyone from the team wallet right now? T: Yep. But hereâs the best part: we set limits. For you, itâs capped at 100k sats per month. The team can zap freely, but nobody can drain the wallet. I manage everything from the GetAlby hub. Me: Thanks T, I actually learnt something new today. T: Youâre welcome. So, remember this: if you want to share a secret, use NIP-46. If you want to share a wallet, use NIP-47. Me: Anything else to add before I write the blog? T: Yes! Every Nostr client should support NIP-46 by now. nostr:npub18m76awca3y37hkvuneavuw6pjj4525fw90necxmadrvjg0sdy6qsngq955 , nostr:npub12vkcxr0luzwp8e673v29eqjhrr7p9vqq8asav85swaepclllj09sylpugg⌠weâre looking at you đ.
The call ended with pleasant goodbyes, and I sat down to reflect. I felt like I had jumped twenty years ahead. Angor had given its teammates access to its own Nostr account without ever exposing the nsec. Pretty cool, right? How often does an organization hand over its socials to all the employees?
notsr:npub19hg5pj5qmd3teumh6ld7drfz49d65sw3n3d5jud8sgz27avkq5dqm7yv9p took it even further. It made me realize how powerful this setup could be for any group, whether it is a podcast crew, a magazine, or even just friends pooling sats together. A shared wallet is indeed a powerful tool.
Curious about the specs? âNIP-46 (Remote signing): https://nostr-nips.com/nip-46 âNIP-47 (Wallet connect): https://nostr-nips.com/nip-47
Do let me know if there are any new NIPs that amuse you. Thanks for reading, and see you next time.
Ciao.
