diff --git a/src/components/MarkdownContent.tsx b/src/components/MarkdownContent.tsx
index 77c9e28..f63afb2 100644
--- a/src/components/MarkdownContent.tsx
+++ b/src/components/MarkdownContent.tsx
@@ -1,8 +1,11 @@
+import { useMemo } from 'react';
 import ReactMarkdown from 'react-markdown';
 import remarkGfm from 'remark-gfm';
 import { Link } from 'react-router-dom';
 import { nip19 } from 'nostr-tools';
 import { cn } from '@/lib/utils';
+import { useAuthor } from '@/hooks/useAuthor';
+import { genUserName } from '@/lib/genUserName';
 
 interface MarkdownContentProps {
   content: string;
@@ -14,6 +17,36 @@ interface MarkdownContentProps {
  * Used for rendering NIP-23 long-form blog posts
  */
 export function MarkdownContent({ content, className }: MarkdownContentProps) {
+  // Preprocess content to convert plain nostr: URIs into markdown links
+  const processedContent = useMemo(() => {
+    // Regex to find nostr: URIs that are NOT already in markdown link format
+    // This matches nostr:npub1..., nostr:note1..., etc. that aren't part of [text](nostr:...)
+    const nostrUriRegex = /(?<!\]\()nostr:(npub1|note1|nprofile1|nevent1|naddr1)([023456789acdefghjklmnpqrstuvwxyz]+)/g;
+    
+    return content.replace(nostrUriRegex, (match, prefix, data) => {
+      const nostrId = `${prefix}${data}`;
+      
+      try {
+        // Validate it's a proper NIP-19 identifier
+        const decoded = nip19.decode(nostrId);
+        
+        // For npub/nprofile, we'll show @username in the link text
+        // For other types, show the nostr: URI
+        if (decoded.type === 'npub' || decoded.type === 'nprofile') {
+          const pubkey = decoded.type === 'npub' ? decoded.data : decoded.data.pubkey;
+          // We'll use a special format that we can detect in the link component
+          return `[nostr-mention:${pubkey}](/${nostrId})`;
+        } else {
+          // For note, nevent, naddr - show the nostr: URI as link text
+          return `[${match}](/${nostrId})`;
+        }
+      } catch {
+        // If decoding fails, leave it as-is
+        return match;
+      }
+    });
+  }, [content]);
+
   return (
     <div className={cn('prose prose-slate dark:prose-invert prose-headings:font-bold prose-h1:text-4xl prose-h2:text-3xl prose-h3:text-2xl prose-h4:text-xl prose-h5:text-lg prose-h6:text-base max-w-none break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere', className)}>
       <ReactMarkdown
@@ -52,7 +85,13 @@ export function MarkdownContent({ content, className }: MarkdownContentProps) {
           ),
           // Custom link renderer to handle nostr: URIs
           a: ({ node, href, children, ...props }) => {
-            // Handle nostr: URIs
+            // Handle nostr-mention links (generated by preprocessor)
+            if (typeof children === 'string' && children.startsWith('nostr-mention:')) {
+              const pubkey = children.substring(14); // Remove "nostr-mention:" prefix
+              return <NostrMention pubkey={pubkey} href={href} />;
+            }
+            
+            // Handle nostr: URIs in markdown links [text](nostr:npub1...)
             if (href?.startsWith('nostr:')) {
               const nostrId = href.substring(6); // Remove "nostr:" prefix
               
@@ -74,7 +113,19 @@ export function MarkdownContent({ content, className }: MarkdownContentProps) {
               }
             }
             
-            // Regular links open in new tab
+            // Handle internal links (starting with /)
+            if (href?.startsWith('/')) {
+              return (
+                <Link
+                  to={href}
+                  className="text-blue-500 hover:underline break-all"
+                >
+                  {children}
+                </Link>
+              );
+            }
+            
+            // Regular external links open in new tab
             return (
               <a
                 href={href}
@@ -123,8 +174,29 @@ export function MarkdownContent({ content, className }: MarkdownContentProps) {
           ),
         }}
       >
-        {content}
+        {processedContent}
       </ReactMarkdown>
     </div>
   );
 }
+
+// Helper component to display user mentions
+function NostrMention({ pubkey, href }: { pubkey: string; href?: string }) {
+  const author = useAuthor(pubkey);
+  const hasRealName = !!author.data?.metadata?.name;
+  const displayName = author.data?.metadata?.name ?? genUserName(pubkey);
+
+  return (
+    <Link 
+      to={href || `/${nip19.npubEncode(pubkey)}`}
+      className={cn(
+        "font-medium hover:underline",
+        hasRealName 
+          ? "text-blue-500" 
+          : "text-gray-500 hover:text-gray-700"
+      )}
+    >
+      @{displayName}
+    </Link>
+  );
+}