Your First Nostr Profile

A Nostr profile is a key pair. Your private key proves you own the public key everyone sees.

How It Works

When you create a profile in Hoot:

1. You provide an nsec (private key in bech32 format, starts with nsec1)
2. Hoot encrypts it with your password and stores it locally
3. Your npub (public key) is derived automatically

Your private key never leaves your machine unless you explicitly share it.

Create a New Key Pair

If you don’t have a Nostr key yet, generate one:

# Generate a random key pair (using nostr CLI tools)
# Or use an online generator like https://nostr.band to get an nsec

Security note: Generating keys online means trusting that site. For production use, generate keys locally or use a hardware wallet.

Add Profile in Hoot TUI

1. Launch Hoot:

   hoot
   

2. Select Create new profile

3. Enter a name for this profile (e.g., “main” or your handle)

4. Enter your nsec1… private key

5. Create a password to encrypt this key locally

   • This password decrypts your key each session
   • It’s stored only on your machine
   • If forgotten, you cannot recover the key

6. You’re logged in and ready to post

Multiple Profiles

Hoot supports multiple profiles. After creating your first:

• Select + Add new profile to add another account
• Use Switch Profile from the home menu to change accounts
• Each profile has its own encrypted key file

What Gets Created

Hoot stores your data in:

Files created:

• profiles.json — encrypted profile metadata
• nwc.txt — NWC wallet connection (if configured)
• relays.txt — your relay list (optional)

Next Steps

Once you have a profile:

• Post your first note
• Set up Lightning tipping