HHootA terminal client for Nostr

Connecting a Lightning Wallet

Send sats (satoshis) to other users via Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC). This lets you tip without revealing your node details.

What is NWC?

Nost Wallet Connect is a protocol that connects your Lightning wallet to apps like Hoot. Instead of exposing your node IP, you share a connection URI that apps use to request payments on your behalf.

Important: You’re approving a specific connection; the app can’t spend freely.

Supported Wallets

  • Alby — Browser extension, recommended for most users
  • Mutiny — Self-custodial wallet
  • Coracle — Web wallet
  • Any wallet supporting NWC

Set Up Alby

  1. Install the Alby browser extension
  2. Create an account or connect your Lightning node
  3. Click the Alby icon → Connect apps → Nostr Wallet Connect
  4. Copy the connection URI (starts with nostr+walletconnect://...)

Connect to Hoot

Via TUI

  1. Launch Hoot and log in
  2. Select Tip someone
  3. Enter the recipient’s npub or Lightning address
  4. Enter the amount in sats

But first, you need to connect your wallet:

Via CLI

  1. Save your NWC URI:
hoot -nwc "nostr+walletconnect://pubkey?relay=wss://relay.example.com&secret=..."
  1. Verify it saved:
# Check config was created
cat ~/.config/nostr-cli/nwc.txt

Save NWC in TUI

Currently, NWC setup requires the CLI. After saving the URI via CLI, the TUI tip feature will use it automatically.

Sending a Tip

By Lightning Address

hoot -tip 100 -user alice@getalby.com

Hoot will:

  1. Resolve the Lightning address from Alice’s Nostr profile
  2. Fetch an invoice for 100 sats
  3. Pay it via your connected wallet

By npub

hoot -tip 50 -user npub1abc123...

Hoot looks up the user’s profile, finds their Lightning address, and pays.

By Hex Public Key

hoot -tip 100 -user 3f2a... (hex pubkey)

Troubleshooting

“No NWC URI configured”

You haven’t saved your NWC connection yet. Run:

hoot -nwc "nostr+walletconnect://..."

“Could not find lightning address”

The user hasn’t set a Lightning address in their profile. Ask them to add one (typically lud16 field).

“Payment failed”

Common causes:

  • Insufficient balance in your wallet
  • Wallet disconnected (check Alby extension is active)
  • Invoice expired (try again)

“Connection timeout”

  • Check your internet connection
  • Verify the NWC relay URL is accessible
  • Try a different relay

Verify Wallet Connection

Check if your NWC URI is properly saved:

# Linux/macOS
cat ~/.config/nostr-cli/nwc.txt

# Windows
type %APPDATA%\nostr-cli\nwc.txt

The file should contain your full nostr+walletconnect://... URI.