Zelo.news is a modern, censorship-resistant blogging platform powered by the Nostr protocol. Write, publish, and share long-form content without intermediaries or platform restrictions. Your content lives on a decentralized network, giving you true ownership and freedom of expression.

✨ Features

📝 Long-form Publishing: Write and publish articles using NIP-23 (long-form content)
💬 Comments & Engagement: Built-in comment system with threaded discussions
⚡ Lightning Zaps: Support your favorite writers with instant Bitcoin payments
🔐 Censorship-Resistant: Content stored across multiple Nostr relays
🎨 Beautiful Design: Clean, distraction-free reading experience with light/dark themes
👤 User Profiles: Follow writers and build your audience
🌐 Multi-Relay Support: Connect to any Nostr relay for maximum reach
📱 Responsive: Optimized for all devices - desktop, tablet, and mobile

<EFBFBD> Quick Start

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/mroxso/zelo-news.git
cd zelo-news

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start development server
npm run dev

# Build for production
npm run build

🛠 Technology Stack

React 18.x: Modern React with hooks and concurrent rendering
TypeScript: Full type safety for robust code
TailwindCSS 3.x: Utility-first styling with custom design system
Vite: Lightning-fast build tool and development server
Nostrify: Comprehensive Nostr protocol implementation
shadcn/ui: Beautiful, accessible UI components
TanStack Query: Powerful data fetching and caching
React Router: Seamless client-side navigation
Markdown Support: Full markdown rendering for articles

📖 How It Works

Zelo.news leverages the Nostr protocol to create a truly decentralized blogging platform:

Content Publishing: Articles are published as NIP-23 events (long-form content)
Distributed Storage: Content is stored across multiple Nostr relays
User Identity: Writers and readers use Nostr key pairs (npub/nsec)
Comments: NIP-10 threaded comments enable discussions
Monetization: NIP-57 Lightning zaps allow instant micropayments
No Central Server: No single point of failure or censorship

<EFBFBD> Key Features for Writers

Publishing Tools

Rich Text Editor: Write with markdown support for formatting
Draft Management: Save and edit posts before publishing
Media Uploads: Add images and media via Blossom servers (NIP-94)
SEO Friendly: Articles include metadata for better discoverability
Version History: All edits preserved on the Nostr network

Monetization

Lightning Zaps: Receive instant Bitcoin tips from readers
Wallet Connect: Support for WebLN and NWC (NIP-47)
Transparent: No platform fees or middlemen

Audience Building

Profile Pages: Showcase your published articles
User Profiles: Display name, bio, avatar, and social links
Engagement Metrics: See comments and zaps on your content
Multi-Account: Manage multiple writer identities

🔑 Key Features for Readers

Discovery & Reading

Clean Interface: Distraction-free reading experience
Infinite Scroll: Seamless browsing through articles
Search & Filter: Find content by author, topic, or relay
Responsive Design: Perfect reading on any device

Engagement

Comments: Participate in threaded discussions (NIP-10)
Zap Authors: Support writers with Lightning payments
Save & Share: Bookmark articles and share via Nostr identifiers
Follow Authors: Keep track of your favorite writers

Privacy & Control

No Tracking: No analytics or data collection
Relay Choice: Choose which relays to read from
Key Management: Use browser extensions or your own keys
True Ownership: Your identity and data belong to you

🌐 Nostr Protocol Integration

Zelo.news implements several Nostr Improvement Proposals (NIPs):

NIP-01: Basic protocol flow and event structure
NIP-07: Browser extension signing (Alby, nos2x, etc.)
NIP-10: Threaded comment system
NIP-19: Identifier routing (npub, note, naddr, nevent)
NIP-23: Long-form content (blog posts)
NIP-25: Reactions and likes
NIP-44: Encrypted messaging
NIP-57: Lightning zaps and monetization
NIP-94: File metadata and uploads

🔐 Privacy & Security

Self-Sovereign Identity: You control your keys, you control your content
No Account Creation: Use existing Nostr keys or browser extensions
Encrypted Options: Support for private content via NIP-44
Open Source: Fully transparent codebase for security audits
Multi-Relay: Content distributed across multiple relays for redundancy

📁 Project Structure

src/
├── components/          
│   ├── ui/              # 48+ shadcn/ui components
│   ├── auth/            # Login and account management
│   ├── comments/        # Comment system
│   ├── BlogHeader.tsx   # Site header with navigation
│   ├── BlogPostForm.tsx # Article editor
│   └── MarkdownContent.tsx # Markdown renderer
├── hooks/               
│   ├── useNostr.ts      # Nostr protocol integration
│   ├── useBlogPosts.ts  # Fetch articles
│   ├── useAuthor.ts     # User profile data
│   ├── useComments.ts   # Comment functionality
│   └── useZaps.ts       # Lightning payments
├── pages/               
│   ├── BlogHomePage.tsx # Homepage with article feed
│   ├── ArticlePage.tsx # Individual article view
│   ├── CreatePostPage.tsx # Article editor
│   └── EditPostPage.tsx # Edit existing articles
├── contexts/            # React context providers
└── lib/                 # Utility functions

💻 Development

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+ and npm
A Nostr browser extension for testing (optional but recommended)

Local Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start development server
npm run dev

# Run tests
npm run test

# Build for production
npm run build

# Preview production build
npm run preview

Environment Variables

Create a .env file for custom configuration:

# Optional: Default relay URL
VITE_DEFAULT_RELAY=wss://relay.nostr.band

# Optional: App name
VITE_APP_NAME=zelo.news

🚀 Deployment

Deploy to Netlify/Vercel

# Build the project
npm run build

# The dist/ folder contains your static site

Deploy to NostrDeploy

npm run deploy

The app is a static site and can be hosted anywhere that supports single-page applications.

🤝 Contributing

Zelo.news is open source and welcomes contributions! Whether you're fixing bugs, adding features, or improving documentation, we'd love your help.

How to Contribute

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
Make your changes and test thoroughly
Run tests: npm run test
Commit your changes: git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'
Push to your branch: git push origin feature/amazing-feature
Open a Pull Request

Development Guidelines

Write TypeScript with proper types (no any)
Follow the existing code style
Add tests for new features
Update documentation as needed
Test on multiple relays

📚 Resources

Nostr Protocol: nostr.com
NIPs Repository: github.com/nostr-protocol/nips
NIP-23 Long-form Content: github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/blob/master/23.md
shadcn/ui Components: ui.shadcn.com
React Documentation: react.dev

🐛 Bug Reports & Feature Requests

Found a bug or have an idea? Open an issue on GitHub!

Bug Reports: Include steps to reproduce, expected behavior, and actual behavior
Feature Requests: Describe the feature and why it would be useful
Questions: Join the Nostr community or open a discussion

🌟 Acknowledgments

Built with:

MKStack - Nostr development framework
Nostrify - Nostr protocol implementation
shadcn/ui - UI component library
The entire Nostr community

💬 Connect

GitHub: github.com/mroxso/zelo-news

Made with ⚡ and 💜 for the decentralized web

Write freely. Publish independently. Own your content forever.

README.md Unescape Escape

Zelo.news