grimoire/CLAUDE.md

CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

Project Overview

Grimoire is a Nostr protocol explorer and developer tool. It's a tiling window manager interface where each window is a Nostr "app" (profile viewer, event feed, NIP documentation, etc.). Commands are launched Unix-style via Cmd+K palette.

Stack: React 19 + TypeScript + Vite + TailwindCSS + Jotai + Dexie + Applesauce

Core Architecture

Dual State System

UI State (src/core/state.ts + src/core/logic.ts):

• Jotai atom persisted to localStorage
• Pure functions for all mutations: (state, payload) => newState
• Manages workspaces, windows, layout tree, active account

Nostr State (src/services/event-store.ts):

• Singleton EventStore from applesauce-core
• Single source of truth for all Nostr events
• Reactive: components subscribe via hooks, auto-update on new events
• Handles replaceable events automatically (profiles, contact lists, etc.)

Relay State (src/services/relay-liveness.ts):

• Singleton RelayLiveness tracks relay health across sessions
• Persisted to Dexie relayLiveness table
• Maintains failure counts, backoff states, last success/failure times
• Prevents repeated connection attempts to dead relays

Nostr Query State Machine (src/lib/req-state-machine.ts + src/hooks/useReqTimelineEnhanced.ts):

• Accurate tracking of REQ subscriptions across multiple relays
• Distinguishes between LIVE, LOADING, PARTIAL, OFFLINE, CLOSED, and FAILED states
• Solves "LIVE with 0 relays" bug by tracking per-relay connection state and event counts
• Pattern: Subscribe to relays individually to detect per-relay EOSE and errors

Critical: Don't create new EventStore, RelayPool, or RelayLiveness instances - use the singletons in src/services/

Event Loading (src/services/loaders.ts):

• Unified loader auto-fetches missing events when queried via eventStore.event() or eventStore.replaceable()
• Custom eventLoader() with smart relay hint merging for explicit loading with context
• addressLoader and profileLoader for replaceable events with batching
• createTimelineLoader for paginated feeds

Action System (src/services/hub.ts):

• ActionRunner (v5) executes actions with signing and publishing
• Actions are async functions: async ({ factory, sign, publish }) => { ... }
• Use await publish(event) to publish (not generators/yield)

Window System

Windows are rendered in a recursive binary split layout (via react-mosaic-component):

• Each window has: id (UUID), appId (type identifier), title, props
• Layout is a tree: leaf nodes are window IDs, branch nodes split space
• Never manipulate layout tree directly - use callbacks from mosaic

Workspaces are virtual desktops, each with its own layout tree.

Command System

src/types/man.ts defines all commands as Unix man pages:

• Each command has an appId (which app to open) and argParser (CLI → props)
• Parsers can be async (e.g., resolving NIP-05 addresses)
• Command pattern: user types profile alice@example.com → parser resolves → opens ProfileViewer with props

Global Flags (src/lib/global-flags.ts):

• Global flags work across ALL commands and are extracted before command-specific parsing
• --title "Custom Title" - Override the window title (supports quotes, emoji, Unicode)
  • Example: profile alice --title "👤 Alice"
  • Example: req -k 1 -a npub... --title "My Feed"
  • Position independent: can appear before, after, or in the middle of command args
• Tokenization uses shell-quote library for proper quote/whitespace handling
• Display priority: customTitle > dynamicTitle (from DynamicWindowTitle) > appId.toUpperCase()

Reactive Nostr Pattern

Applesauce uses RxJS observables for reactive data flow:

1. Events arrive from relays → added to EventStore
2. Queries/hooks subscribe to EventStore observables
3. Components re-render automatically when events update
4. Replaceable events (kind 0, 3, 10000-19999, 30000-39999) auto-replace older versions

Use hooks like useProfile(), useNostrEvent(), useTimeline() - they handle subscriptions.

The use$ Hook (applesauce v5):

import { use$ } from "applesauce-react/hooks";

// Direct observable (for BehaviorSubjects - never undefined)
const account = use$(accounts.active$);

// Factory with deps (for dynamic observables)
const event = use$(() => eventStore.event(eventId), [eventId]);
const timeline = use$(() => eventStore.timeline(filters), [filters]);

Applesauce Helpers & Caching

Critical Performance Insight: Applesauce helpers cache computed values internally using symbols. You don't need useMemo when calling applesauce helpers.

// ❌ WRONG - Unnecessary memoization
const title = useMemo(() => getArticleTitle(event), [event]);
const text = useMemo(() => getHighlightText(event), [event]);

// ✅ CORRECT - Helpers cache internally
const title = getArticleTitle(event);
const text = getHighlightText(event);

How it works: Helpers use getOrComputeCachedValue(event, symbol, compute) to cache results on the event object. The first call computes and caches, subsequent calls return the cached value instantly.

Available Helpers (split between packages in applesauce v5):

From applesauce-core/helpers (protocol-level):

• Tags: getTagValue(event, name) - get single tag value (returns first match)
• Profile: getProfileContent(event), getDisplayName(metadata, fallback)
• Pointers: parseReplaceableAddress(address) (from applesauce-core/helpers/pointers), getEventPointerFromETag, getAddressPointerFromATag, getProfilePointerFromPTag
• Filters: isFilterEqual(a, b), matchFilter(filter, event), mergeFilters(...filters)
• Relays: getSeenRelays, mergeRelaySets, getInboxes, getOutboxes
• Caching: getOrComputeCachedValue(event, symbol, compute) - cache computed values on event objects
• URL: normalizeURL

From applesauce-common/helpers (social/NIP-specific):

• Article: getArticleTitle, getArticleSummary, getArticleImage, getArticlePublished
• Highlight: getHighlightText, getHighlightSourceUrl, getHighlightSourceEventPointer, getHighlightSourceAddressPointer, getHighlightContext, getHighlightComment
• Threading: getNip10References(event) - parses NIP-10 thread tags
• Comment: getCommentReplyPointer(event) - parses NIP-22 comment replies
• Zap: getZapAmount, getZapSender, getZapRecipient, getZapComment
• Reactions: getReactionEventPointer(event), getReactionAddressPointer(event)
• Lists: getRelaysFromList

Custom Grimoire Helpers (not in applesauce):

• getTagValues(event, name) - get ALL values for a tag name as array (applesauce only has singular getTagValue)
• resolveFilterAliases(filter, pubkey, contacts) - resolves $me/$contacts aliases (src/lib/nostr-utils.ts)
• getDisplayName(pubkey, metadata) - enhanced version with pubkey fallback (src/lib/nostr-utils.ts)
• NIP-34 git helpers (src/lib/nip34-helpers.ts) - uses getOrComputeCachedValue for repository, issue, patch metadata
• NIP-C0 code snippet helpers (src/lib/nip-c0-helpers.ts) - wraps getTagValue for code metadata

Important: getTagValue vs getTagValues:

• getTagValue(event, "t") → returns first "t" tag value (string or undefined) - FROM APPLESAUCE
• getTagValues(event, "t") → returns ALL "t" tag values (string[]) - GRIMOIRE CUSTOM (src/lib/nostr-utils.ts)

When to use useMemo:

• ✅ Complex transformations not using applesauce helpers (sorting, filtering, mapping)
• ✅ Creating objects/arrays for dependency tracking (options, configurations)
• ✅ Expensive computations that don't call applesauce helpers
• ❌ Direct calls to applesauce helpers (they cache internally)
• ❌ Grimoire helpers that use getOrComputeCachedValue (they cache internally)

Writing Helper Libraries for Nostr Events

When creating helper functions that compute derived values from Nostr events, always use getOrComputeCachedValue from applesauce-core to cache results on the event object:

import { getOrComputeCachedValue, getTagValue } from "applesauce-core/helpers";
import type { NostrEvent } from "nostr-tools";

// Define a unique symbol for caching at module scope
const MyComputedValueSymbol = Symbol("myComputedValue");

export function getMyComputedValue(event: NostrEvent): string[] {
  return getOrComputeCachedValue(event, MyComputedValueSymbol, () => {
    // Expensive computation that iterates over tags, parses content, etc.
    return event.tags
      .filter((t) => t[0] === "myTag" && t[1])
      .map((t) => t[1]);
  });
}

// For simple single-value extraction, just use getTagValue (no caching wrapper needed)
export function getMyTitle(event: NostrEvent): string | undefined {
  return getTagValue(event, "title");
}

Why this matters:

• Event objects are often accessed multiple times during rendering
• Without caching, the same computation runs repeatedly (e.g., on every re-render)
• getOrComputeCachedValue stores the result on the event object using the symbol as a key
• Subsequent calls return the cached value instantly without recomputation
• Components don't need useMemo when calling these helpers

Best practices for helper libraries:

1. Use getOrComputeCachedValue for any function that iterates tags, parses content, or does regex matching
2. Define symbols at module scope (not inside functions) for proper caching
3. Simple getTagValue() calls don't need additional caching - just call directly
4. For getting ALL values of a tag, use the custom getTagValues from src/lib/nostr-utils.ts
5. Group related helpers in NIP-specific files (e.g., nip34-helpers.ts, nip88-helpers.ts)

Major Hooks

Grimoire provides custom React hooks for common Nostr operations. All hooks handle cleanup automatically.

Account & Authentication

useAccount() (src/hooks/useAccount.ts):

• Access active account with signing capability detection
• Returns: { account, pubkey, canSign, signer, isLoggedIn }
• Critical: Always check canSign before signing operations
• Read-only accounts have canSign: false and no signer

const { canSign, signer, pubkey } = useAccount();
if (canSign) {
  // Can sign and publish events
  await signer.signEvent(event);
} else {
  // Show "log in to post" message
}

Nostr Data Fetching

useProfile(pubkey, relayHints?) (src/hooks/useProfile.ts):

• Fetch and cache user profile metadata (kind 0)
• Loads from IndexedDB first (fast), then network
• Uses AbortController to prevent race conditions
• Returns: ProfileContent | undefined

useNostrEvent(pointer, context?) (src/hooks/useNostrEvent.ts):

• Unified hook for fetching events by ID, EventPointer, or AddressPointer
• Supports relay hints via context (pubkey string or full event)
• Auto-loads missing events using smart relay selection
• Returns: NostrEvent | undefined

useTimeline(id, filters, relays, options?) (src/hooks/useTimeline.ts):

• Subscribe to timeline of events matching filters
• Uses applesauce loaders for efficient caching
• Returns: { events, loading, error }
• The id parameter is for caching (use stable string)

Relay Management

useRelayState() (src/hooks/useRelayState.ts):

• Access global relay state and auth management
• Returns relay connection states, pending auth challenges, preferences
• Methods: authenticateRelay(), rejectAuth(), setAuthPreference()
• Automatically subscribes to relay state updates

useRelayInfo(relayUrl) (src/hooks/useRelayInfo.ts):

• Fetch NIP-11 relay information document
• Cached in IndexedDB with 24-hour TTL
• Returns: RelayInfo | undefined

useOutboxRelays(pubkey) (src/hooks/useOutboxRelays.ts):

• Get user's outbox relays from kind 10002 relay list
• Cached via RelayListCache for performance
• Returns: string[] | undefined

Advanced Hooks

useReqTimelineEnhanced(filter, relays, options) (src/hooks/useReqTimelineEnhanced.ts):

• Enhanced timeline with accurate state tracking
• Tracks per-relay EOSE and connection state
• Returns: { events, state, relayStates, stats }
• Use for REQ viewer and advanced timeline UIs

useNip05(nip05Address) (src/hooks/useNip05.ts):

• Resolve NIP-05 identifier to pubkey
• Cached with 1-hour TTL
• Returns: { pubkey, relays, loading, error }

useNip19Decode(nip19String) (src/hooks/useNip19Decode.ts):

• Decode nprofile, nevent, naddr, note, npub strings
• Returns: { type, data, error }

Utility Hooks

useStableValue(value) / useStableArray(array) (src/hooks/useStable.ts):

• Prevent unnecessary re-renders from deep equality
• Use for filters, options, relay arrays
• Returns stable reference when deep-equal

useCopy() (src/hooks/useCopy.ts):

• Copy text to clipboard with toast feedback
• Returns: { copy, copied } function and state

Tailwind CSS v4

Grimoire uses Tailwind CSS v4 with CSS-first configuration. See .claude/skills/tailwind-v4.md for complete reference.

Quick Reference

Import (in index.css):

@import "tailwindcss";

Custom utilities:

@utility my-utility {
  /* styles */
}

Theme colors - Always use semantic tokens:

<div className="bg-background text-foreground">
<button className="bg-primary text-primary-foreground">
<span className="text-muted-foreground">

Container queries (built-in, no plugin):

<div className="@container">
  <div className="@sm:grid-cols-2 @lg:grid-cols-3">

Key syntax changes from v3:

• CSS variables: bg-(--my-var) not bg-[--my-var]
• Important: flex! not !flex
• Sizes: shadow-xs (was shadow-sm), shadow-sm (was shadow)

Runtime Theming

Colors use two-level CSS variables:

1. Runtime vars (HSL without wrapper): --background: 222.2 84% 4.9%
2. Tailwind mapping: --color-background: hsl(var(--background))

This allows applyTheme() to switch themes at runtime.

Key Conventions

• Path Alias: @/ = ./src/
• Styling: Tailwind v4 + HSL CSS variables (theme tokens defined in index.css)
• Types: Prefer types from applesauce-core, extend in src/types/ when needed
• No Inline Imports: Never use import("module").Type in type annotations. Always use top-level import type statements.
• nevent Encoding: Always include kind (and author, relays when available) in nip19.neventEncode(). Kind metadata enables correct adapter dispatch (e.g., NIP-10 vs NIP-22) without needing to fetch the event first. Never encode a bare { id } when kind is known.
• Locale-Aware Formatting (src/hooks/useLocale.ts): All date, time, number, and currency formatting MUST use the user's locale:
  • useLocale() hook: Returns { locale, language, region, timezone, timeFormat } - use in components that need locale config
  • formatTimestamp(timestamp, style): Preferred utility for all timestamp formatting:
    • "relative" → "2h ago", "3d ago"
    • "long" → "January 15, 2025" (human-readable date)
    • "date" → "01/15/2025" (short date)
    • "datetime" → "January 15, 2025, 2:30 PM" (date with time)
    • "absolute" → "2025-01-15 14:30" (ISO-8601 style)
    • "time" → "14:30"
  • Use Intl.NumberFormat for numbers and currencies
  • NEVER hardcode locale strings like "en-US" or date formats like "MM/DD/YYYY"
  • Example: formatTimestamp(event.created_at, "long") instead of manual toLocaleDateString()
• File Organization: By domain (nostr/, ui/, services/, hooks/, lib/)
• State Logic: All UI state mutations go through src/core/logic.ts pure functions
• Shared Components — Use these instead of rolling your own:
  • UserName (src/components/nostr/UserName.tsx): Always use for displaying user pubkeys. Shows display name, Grimoire member badge, supporter flame. Clicking opens profile. Accepts optional relayHints prop for fetching profiles from specific relays.
  • RelayLink (src/components/nostr/RelayLink.tsx): Always use for displaying relay URLs. Shows relay favicon, insecure ws:// warnings, read/write badges, and opens relay detail window on click. Never render raw relay URL strings.
  • Label (src/components/ui/label.tsx): Dotted-border tag/badge for metadata labels (language, kind, status, metric type). Two sizes: sm (default) and md. Use instead of ad-hoc <span> tags for tag-like indicators.
  • RichText (src/components/nostr/RichText.tsx): Universal Nostr content renderer. Parses mentions, hashtags, custom emoji, media embeds, and nostr: references. Use for any event body text — never render event.content as a raw string.
  • CustomEmoji (src/components/nostr/CustomEmoji.tsx): Renders NIP-30 custom emoji images inline. Shows shortcode tooltip, handles load errors gracefully.
  • Timestamp (src/components/Timestamp.tsx): Locale-aware short time display (e.g., "2:30 PM" or "14:30"). Takes a Unix timestamp in seconds. Use for inline time rendering in chat messages, lists, and log entries. For other formats (relative, date, datetime), use formatTimestamp() from src/hooks/useLocale.ts.

Important Patterns

Adding New Commands:

1. Add entry to manPages in src/types/man.ts
2. Create parser in src/lib/*-parser.ts if argument parsing needed
3. Create viewer component for the appId
4. Wire viewer into window rendering (WindowTitle.tsx)

Working with Nostr Data:

• Event data comes from singleton EventStore (reactive)
• Metadata cached in Dexie (src/services/db.ts) for offline access
• Active account stored in Jotai state, synced via useAccountSync hook
• Use inbox/outbox relay pattern for user relay lists

Event Rendering:

• Feed renderers: KindRenderer component with renderers registry in src/components/nostr/kinds/index.tsx
• Detail renderers: DetailKindRenderer component with detailRenderers registry
• Registry pattern allows adding new kind renderers without modifying parent components
• Falls back to DefaultKindRenderer or feed renderer for unregistered kinds
• Naming Convention: Use human-friendly names for renderers (e.g., LiveActivityRenderer instead of Kind30311Renderer) to make code understandable without memorizing kind numbers
  • Feed renderer: [Name]Renderer.tsx (e.g., LiveActivityRenderer.tsx)
  • Detail renderer: [Name]DetailRenderer.tsx (e.g., LiveActivityDetailRenderer.tsx)

Mosaic Layout:

• Layout mutations via updateLayout() callback only
• Don't traverse or modify layout tree manually
• Adding/removing windows handled by logic.ts functions

Error Boundaries:

• All event renderers wrapped in EventErrorBoundary component
• Prevents one broken event from crashing entire feed or detail view
• Provides diagnostic UI with retry capability and error details
• Error boundaries auto-reset when event changes

Shared Badge Components:

• KindBadge (src/components/KindBadge.tsx): Displays a Nostr event kind with icon, name, and kind number. Uses getKindInfo() from src/constants/kinds.ts. Variants: "default" (icon + name), "compact" (icon only), "full" (icon + name + kind number). Supports clickable prop to open kind detail window.
• NIPBadge (src/components/NIPBadge.tsx): Displays a NIP reference with number and optional name. Clickable to open the NIP document in a new window. Shows deprecation state. Props: nipNumber, showName, showNIPPrefix.
• Use these components whenever displaying kind numbers or NIP references in the UI — they provide consistent styling, tooltips, and navigation.

Chat System

Current Status: Only NIP-29 (relay-based groups) is supported. Other protocols are planned for future releases.

Architecture: Protocol adapter pattern for supporting multiple Nostr messaging protocols:

• src/lib/chat/adapters/base-adapter.ts - Base interface all adapters implement
• src/lib/chat/adapters/nip-29-adapter.ts - NIP-29 relay groups (currently enabled)
• Other adapters (NIP-C7, NIP-17, NIP-28, NIP-53) are implemented but commented out

NIP-29 Group Format: relay'group-id (wss:// prefix optional)

• Examples: relay.example.com'bitcoin-dev, wss://nos.lol'welcome
• Groups are hosted on a single relay that enforces membership and moderation
• Messages are kind 9, metadata is kind 39000, admins are kind 39001, members are kind 39002

Key Components:

• src/components/ChatViewer.tsx - Main chat interface (protocol-agnostic)
• src/components/chat/ReplyPreview.tsx - Shows reply context with scroll-to functionality
• src/lib/chat-parser.ts - Auto-detects protocol from identifier format
• src/types/chat.ts - Protocol-agnostic types (Conversation, Message, etc.)

Usage:

chat relay.example.com'bitcoin-dev        # Join NIP-29 group
chat wss://nos.lol'welcome                # Join with explicit wss:// prefix

Adding New Protocols (for future work):

1. Create new adapter extending ChatProtocolAdapter in src/lib/chat/adapters/
2. Implement all required methods (parseIdentifier, resolveConversation, loadMessages, sendMessage)
3. Uncomment adapter registration in src/lib/chat-parser.ts and src/components/ChatViewer.tsx
4. Update command docs in src/types/man.ts if needed

Testing

Test Framework: Vitest with node environment

Running Tests:

npm test          # Watch mode (auto-runs on file changes)
npm run test:ui   # Visual UI for test exploration
npm run test:run  # Single run (CI mode)

Test Conventions:

• Test files: *.test.ts or *.test.tsx colocated with source files
• Focus on testing pure functions and parsing logic
• Use descriptive test names that explain behavior
• Group related tests with describe blocks

What to Test:

• Parsers (src/lib/*-parser.ts): All argument parsing logic, edge cases, validation
• Pure functions (src/core/logic.ts): State mutations, business logic
• Utilities (src/lib/*.ts): Helper functions, data transformations
• Not UI components: React components tested manually (for now)

Example Test Structure:

describe("parseReqCommand", () => {
  describe("kind flag (-k, --kind)", () => {
    it("should parse single kind", () => {
      const result = parseReqCommand(["-k", "1"]);
      expect(result.filter.kinds).toEqual([1]);
    });

    it("should deduplicate kinds", () => {
      const result = parseReqCommand(["-k", "1,3,1"]);
      expect(result.filter.kinds).toEqual([1, 3]);
    });
  });
});

Verification Requirements

CRITICAL: Before marking any task complete, verify changes work correctly:

1. For any code change: Run npm run test:run - tests must pass
2. For UI changes: Run npm run build - build must succeed
3. For style/lint changes: Run npm run lint - no new errors

Quick verification command:

npm run lint && npm run test:run && npm run build

If tests fail, fix the issues before proceeding. Never leave broken tests or a failing build.

Slash Commands

Use these commands for common workflows:

• /verify - Run full verification suite (lint + test + build)
• /test - Run tests and report results
• /lint-fix - Auto-fix lint and formatting issues
• /commit-push-pr - Create a commit and PR with proper formatting
• /review [PR#|branch] - Deep code review with React, Applesauce, RxJS, and Nostr best practices

Critical Notes

• React 19 features in use (ensure compatibility)
• LocalStorage persistence has quota handling built-in
• Dark mode is default (controlled via HTML class)
• EventStore handles event deduplication and replaceability automatically
• Run tests before committing changes to parsers or core logic
• Always run /verify before creating a PR