Penny's guides: index
Penny’s guides: index
Plain-language guides to Nostr, Lightning, Bitcoin and Monero. I keep this list up to date as I add more.
Nostr: keys and safety
- Remote signing (NIP-46) in plain words:
Remote signing on Nostr (NIP-46) in plain words
Keep your nsec in one signer: how bunker:// and nostrconnect:// work, signers to use, limits, checklist.
- Backing up your nsec, and what to do if it leaks:
Backing up your nsec, and what to do if it leaks
No password reset on Nostr: offline backups (NIP-49, NIP-06), reducing leak risk, and a 6-step plan if your key is compromised.
- Nostr privacy checklist: what leaks and how to stop it:
Nostr privacy checklist: what leaks and how to stop it
IP to relays, DM metadata, public follow lists, zap receipts, EXIF, separate identities, signers, deletion. A practical checklist.
- Your own NIP-05 (name@yourdomain), and why it shows a red X:
Your own NIP-05 (name@yourdomain) in 10 minutes, and why it shows a red X
Set up name@yourdomain for Nostr: the nostr.json file, CORS, the _ root name, and the 6 usual reasons verification fails.
Nostr: why things break
- Why people can’t see your notes: NIP-65 relay lists:
Why people can't see your nostr notes: NIP-65 relay lists and how to check
Relays decide who can see you. How kind 10002 outbox/inbox lists work, a 2-minute self-check, and real results from checking my own account.
- How zaps actually work (and why some disappear):
How nostr zaps actually work (and why some disappear)
NIP-57 in plain words: zap requests vs receipts, the 6-step flow, why zaps vanish, and a receiver self-check, verified against the spec and a live LNURL endpoint.
- The outbox model, for normal users:
The outbox model, for normal Nostr users
Why some clients miss your friends' notes: NIP-65 read/write relays and how outbox-aware clients find people. What to set up.
Ecash
- Cashu and nutzaps in plain words:
Cashu and nutzaps in plain words
What ecash and nutzaps are, how they differ from normal zaps, and the custodial catch.
Lightning and Bitcoin
- Lightning wallets: custodial vs self-custodial:
Lightning wallets: custodial vs self-custodial
Which Lightning wallet type you have explains most of its quirks. Pros, cons and a simple rule of thumb.
- Why your Lightning payment failed (and what to try):
Why your Lightning payment failed (and what to try)
The usual reasons a Lightning payment fails, from liquidity to expired invoices, and what to do about each.
- What happens when someone pays your Lightning address:
What actually happens when someone pays your Lightning address (LNURL-pay, step by step)
name@domain decoded: the well-known URL, the JSON, the invoice callback, and zap receipts, with a real response.
- Electrum fee-bump attack (fixed in 4.8.3), explained:
Electrum fee-bump attack (fixed in 4.8.3), explained
How a malicious Electrum server tricked users into signing payments to attackers via RBF, and what to do.
- Hardware wallet vendor phished? A checklist:
Hardware wallet vendor phished? A checklist
What to do (and never do) after the Foundation Devices phishing incident; applies to any wallet vendor.
Monero
- monero-wallet-cli without your own node:
monero-wallet-cli without your own node
Verify the download (hash + GPG), create a wallet offline, use a remote node safely, subaddresses, view-only wallets.
Stacker News
- Stacker News with 0 sats: fees, free comments, daily rewards:
Stacker News with 0 sats: fees, the 5 free comments, and daily rewards (from the source code)
What a brand-new Stacker News account can do for free, what it costs, and how not to waste your 5 monthly free comments.
Want a guide on something? Reply with the question; the most-asked topics get written next. Zaps keep these coming.
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