Nostr Relay Infrastructure Guide¶
Personal and self-hosted relay solutions for sovereign Nostr usage.
Table of Contents¶
- Overview
- Personal Relay Solutions
- Haven - Multi-relay system
- Citrine - Mobile relay app
- Public Relay Strategies
- Relay Comparison
Overview¶
While Nostr is protocol-based and "dumb relays" are the norm, personal relays offer sovereignty, backup, and advanced features for power users.
Why Personal Relays?¶
- Data sovereignty - Your notes, your server
- Backup - Never lose your content
- Privacy - Private notes stay on your relay
- Performance - Faster access to your own data
- Advanced features - Web of trust, filtering, media hosting
Personal Relay Solutions¶
Haven¶
GitHub: bitvora/haven
Tagline: "High Availability Vault for Events on Nostr"
What it is: Haven is the most comprehensive personal relay solution. It's essentially 4 relays + a media server in one deployment.
The Four Relays:
| Relay Type | Purpose | Access |
|---|---|---|
| Private Relay | Drafts, eCash, sensitive notes | Owner only (Auth protected) |
| Chat Relay | DMs and group chats | Web of Trust only (Auth protected) |
| Inbox Relay | Zaps, reactions, mentions | Writes: anyone tagging owner. Reads: anyone pulling owner's tags |
| Outbox Relay | Owner's public notes | Owner writes, anyone reads. Blasts to other relays |
Key Features: - 🔐 Web of Trust - Spam protection via WoT - 🗂️ Access Control - Whitelist/blacklist npubs - 📥 Inbox Pull - Auto-imports notes where you're tagged - 📤 Blastr - Auto-broadcasts to other relays - 💾 Import/Export - JSONL backup/restore - 🖼️ Blossom Media Server - Built-in image/video hosting - ☁️ Cloud Backups - Automatic encrypted backups
Use Case: Best for power users who want complete control and advanced features. Runs as a server (Docker, VPS, or home server).
Deployment: - Docker container - Self-hosted on VPS or home server - Cloud backup integration (S3 compatible)
Citrine¶
GitHub: greenart7c3/Citrine
Tagline: "A Nostr relay in your phone"
What it is: Citrine turns your Android phone into a personal Nostr relay. No server needed - your phone is the relay.
Current Features: - 📤📥 Export/Import database (full backup) - 👤 Account-only export - Just your events - ⚙️ Relay management - Port config, icon, user settings, start/stop - 📡 Broadcast - Auto-publishes events when back online - 🔌 Content resolvers - Plugin system
How it works: Any Nostr client that supports Android can connect to Citrine as a relay. The relay runs locally on your phone and stores events in a local database.
Use Case: Perfect for mobile-first users who want: - Offline capability (relay is local) - Easy backup/restore - No server maintenance - Portability - your relay travels with you
Platform: - Android only (via APK or Zapstore) - Open source (Kotlin)
Public Relay Strategies¶
Even with a personal relay, you need public relays for: - Discovery - Being found by others - Redundancy - If your relay goes down - Network effects - Reaching wider audiences
Recommended Setup¶
- Personal relay (Haven/Citrine) - Primary storage
- 2-3 public relays - For discovery and redundancy
- Outbox blasting (Haven) - Auto-sync to public relays
Popular Public Relays¶
wss://relay.damus.io- Most popularwss://relay.nostr.band- Good for searchwss://nos.lol- General purposewss://relay.primal.net- Primal's relay
Relay Comparison¶
| Feature | Haven | Citrine | Public Relay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform | Server/VPS | Android | Cloud |
| Setup | Docker/VPS | APK install | None |
| Privacy | Maximum (4 relay types) | High (local) | Low (public) |
| WoT/Filtering | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Media Server | ✅ Blossom | ❌ No | Varies |
| Backup | ✅ Cloud + JSONL | ✅ Export | ❌ No |
| Mobile | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Multi-device | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Best for | Power users | Mobile users | Everyone |
Advanced: Haven Web of Trust¶
Haven's WoT system protects your inbox and chat relays:
How it works: 1. Define trust depth (e.g., 2 hops from follows) 2. Haven calculates WoT from your follow list 3. Only WoT members can DM you or write to inbox 4. Automatically updates as you follow/unfollow
Benefits: - Eliminates DM spam - Protects inbox relay from spam - Dynamic - no manual whitelist maintenance
Quick Start Recommendations¶
Mobile-First User¶
→ Citrine on Android + 2 public relays
Power User / Content Creator¶
→ Haven (4-in-1 relay) + Blossom media server
Minimalist¶
→ 3-4 public relays (no personal relay)
Privacy Focused¶
→ Haven private relay + minimal public outbox blasting
Last updated: 2026-02-19