auth-signers

name

auth-signers

description

Signer abstraction patterns in Amethyst. Use when working with event signing, choosing between a local keypair (`NostrSignerInternal`), a remote NIP-46 bunker signer (`NostrSignerRemote`), or a NIP-55 Android external-app signer (`NostrSignerExternal`). Covers the abstract `NostrSigner` base class, `SignerResult` contract, how to wire a new flow that needs to sign events, and the security/UX trade-offs between signer kinds.

Auth & Signers

Any time Amethyst produces a signed Nostr event, it goes through a NostrSigner. There are three kinds; all three implement the same abstract contract so feature code doesn't care which one the user has configured.

When to Use This Skill

• Adding a new flow that publishes an event (follow, post, react, zap, profile edit).
• Reviewing whether a feature works when the user has a remote bunker signer or an external Android signer.
• Debugging "Sign request approved but nothing happens" / timeouts on sign operations.
• Onboarding a new signer kind (hardware signer, browser extension, etc.).
• Understanding the NIP-46 bunker request/response taxonomy.

The Abstract Contract

quartz/src/commonMain/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/quartz/nip01Core/signers/NostrSigner.kt:

abstract class NostrSigner(val pubKey: HexKey) {
    abstract fun <T : Event> sign(
        template: EventTemplate<T>,
        onReady: (T) -> Unit,
    )
    abstract fun nip04Encrypt(plaintext: String, toPubKey: HexKey, onReady: (String) -> Unit)
    abstract fun nip04Decrypt(ciphertext: String, fromPubKey: HexKey, onReady: (String) -> Unit)
    abstract fun nip44Encrypt(...)
    abstract fun nip44Decrypt(...)
    abstract fun decryptZapEvent(event: LnZapRequestEvent, onReady: (LnZapRequestEvent) -> Unit)
}

Sibling files in the same folder:

• NostrSignerInternal.kt — in-process signer with the user's seckey in memory. Fastest; used for locally-stored accounts.
• NostrSignerSync.kt — blocking wrapper for scripts / migrations / tests where callbacks are inconvenient.
• EventTemplate.kt — the unsigned holder passed to sign().
• SignerExceptions.kt — the error taxonomy (user denied, timeout, unsupported method, etc.).
• caches/ — request cache so duplicate sign/encrypt requests coalesce.

Concrete implementations

• Local (in-process): NostrSignerInternal — direct Secp256k1Instance.signSchnorr + NIP-44 inline. Used by accounts created/imported into Amethyst.
• Remote (NIP-46 bunker): quartz/.../nip46RemoteSigner/signer/NostrSignerRemote.kt. Talks to a bunker service over Nostr DMs using the BunkerRequest* / BunkerResponse* event taxonomy (BunkerRequestConnect, BunkerRequestSign, BunkerRequestNip44Encrypt, …).
• Android external (NIP-55): quartz/src/androidMain/.../nip55AndroidSigner/client/NostrSignerExternal.kt. Uses Android intents + content provider to delegate to another app on the same device. Launcher: ExternalSignerLogin.kt, IActivityLauncher.kt. Install-check: IsExternalSignerInstalled.kt.

The SignerResult Contract

Signers return via callback (and internally track via SignerResult sealed types in nip46RemoteSigner/signer/SignerResult.kt and nip55AndroidSigner/api/SignerResult.kt). Result variants cover success, user-denied, timeout, remote-disconnected, unsupported. Feature code should:

1. Pass a callback that handles success.
2. Trust the cache/timeout behavior — don't roll your own retry.
3. Surface SignerExceptions to the user with actionable messaging (e.g. "Bunker disconnected — reconnect?").

Typical Flow (Feature Code)

// High-level: Account methods already do this internally.
val signer: NostrSigner = account.signer     // whichever kind the user configured

val template = reactionEventTemplate(noteId, authorPubKey, "+")

signer.sign(template) { signed ->
    account.sendToRelays(signed)             // or similar pipeline
}

Most feature code should go through Account's mutation methods (account.sendReaction, account.follow) rather than touching the signer directly — the account layer handles signing + publishing + local state update atomically. Reach for the signer directly only when Account doesn't have a helper.

Choosing a Signer at Sign-Up

Entry points:

• Existing private key (nsec, 32-byte hex, file) → NostrSignerInternal.
• Bunker URL (bunker://...) → NostrSignerRemote.fromBunkerUri(bunkerUri, localSigner, client) in nip46RemoteSigner/signer/NostrSignerRemote.kt parses the URI and returns a NostrSignerRemote; then call its suspend fun connect() to perform the NIP-46 handshake.
• Installed external signer app (Amber, nos2x, etc. on Android) → ExternalSignerLogin.launch(...) opens the signer app; approval yields a NostrSignerExternal.

The UI hosts both flows via amethyst/.../ui/screen/loggedOff/login/ — look there for ExternalSignerButton.kt and the bunker-URL paste screen.

Trade-offs

Signer	Latency	Offline OK?	Security	UX
Internal	µs	Yes	Key in app memory	No confirmation prompts
Remote (NIP-46)	100ms–seconds	No (needs bunker reachable)	Key never touches Amethyst	Occasional approval prompts
External (NIP-55)	100–500ms	Yes	Key in separate app	Prompt on every sign by default (configurable)

Gotchas

• Callbacks may never fire. External signers can be dismissed without result; remote signers can time out. Use SignerExceptions / timeout handling at every call site or rely on the Account layer's wrapping.
• nip04Encrypt is legacy for NIP-04 DMs. New DM code should use NIP-17 gift-wrap → nip44Encrypt path.
• Don't cache signer output beyond the caches/ that quartz already maintains. Stale cache entries lead to duplicate publishes.
• Remote signer disconnects need explicit reconnection UX — RemoteSignerManager exposes state; hook into it for an account-switching warning.
• External signer launch requires an Activity context — it can't happen from a background service. Structure flows so signing is on the main dispatcher through an activity-scoped launcher.
• NostrSignerSync is rare. If you reach for it, you're probably in a test or migration — production code uses the async API.

References

• references/nip46-remote-signer.md — the NIP-46 bunker message taxonomy and connection lifecycle.
• references/nip55-android-signer.md — Android intent-based external signer flow.
• Complements: nostr-expert/references/crypto-and-encryption.md (the crypto under all signers), account-state (which wraps signer calls), android-expert (intent launcher patterns).