Satori is a nostr client that runs on the server instead of in your browser. No SPA, no framework, no application JavaScript: the server sends HTML, the browser renders it, and you move around with links and forms. The only client code is two small libraries (helm.js and hext.js), and nothing else of mine ships to the browser.
It still behaves like a modern client. Likes register the moment you tap them, the feed
scrolls without paging, images open full-screen, the composer completes @-mentions and
:emoji as you type. That is plain HTML and CSS with those two libraries doing the work.
With JavaScript off you can still read, post, zap, and message.
A nostr key is your whole identity, so I didn't want Satori anywhere near mine. It never sees your key: you sign with a NIP-46 bunker or a NIP-07 extension, and the server only ever handles the signed result. No nsec login, no stored secrets, no Lightning spending key. Keeping the browser thin is part of the same idea, less code running there is less that can leak or be turned against you, and a strict CSP stops the page from loading anything off-origin or running inline script.
It also doesn't fish for your attention. There are no like or repost counts, reactions are off by default, and the home feed ends: when you're caught up it says so instead of refilling forever. The look is sumi-e, ink on paper, and the build follows the Taoist uncarved block, leave out whatever doesn't need to be there.
And it's yours to run. Satori is a single-user daemon that lives on your own machine, and you can reach it from anywhere over Tor as a hidden service only your key can open.
The browser loads two scripts. I wrote both for Satori, but neither depends on it:
- helm.js is a small htmx-style hypermedia engine: swap a fragment, poll, toggle a class. It works on any server-rendered site.
- hext.js wires your signer and wallet into the page without giving them up: the server sends an unsigned event, your bunker or extension signs it, and the signed copy comes back to be verified and published. Any HATEOAS nostr app can use it for NIP-07 signing and WebLN payment.
The rest is ordinary hypermedia. An action returns new HTML and helm.js swaps it into place. An optimistic state is just a CSS class flipped on click and corrected when the server replies. Infinite scroll is an "older" link that fires when it scrolls into view; the lightbox is pure CSS. Because none of it is custom client code, it degrades to plain links and forms, and it is all reusable.
Close to a full client: feeds, threads, profiles, long-form articles, polls, private DMs, search, zaps, notifications, drafts, bookmarks, follows, and mutes. Pictures, video, calendar events, classifieds, podcasts, highlights, and custom NIPs render as proper cards instead of sending you off to another app. Media goes through the daemon so your browser never connects to a stranger's host (and a dead image can be refetched by its hash), anything the server fetches can be routed over Tor, your reads and posts can go through a private relay only you run, and a short undo window holds a post before it is actually sent.
No build step. Node runs the TypeScript directly.
npm install
npm start # http://127.0.0.1:8787Requires Node 22.6 or newer. Sign in with a bunker:// string or a NIP-07 extension
(Alby, nos2x, and friends).
Prefer Docker? This also brings up a Tor sidecar for .onion relays:
docker compose up -d --build # http://127.0.0.1:8787
docker compose logs -f satorinpm run dev restarts on change; npm run typecheck is the gate.
Run the production stack and it is yours:
docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d --buildLock sign-in to yourself with SATORI_OWNER=npub1you (or let the first sign-in claim
it). To reach it from anywhere, the stack publishes a Tor .onion, and port 8787 never
touches the internet. Add Tor client authorization (sh tor/gen-client-auth.sh) and the
address becomes invisible to anyone without your key. Everything except the login page
requires a session, so a stranger who finds the address meets a wall, not your data.
Running a Start9 server? Satori is packaged for StartOS 0.4.0+ at Letdown2491/satori-startos, so you can install it as a service on your own sovereign hardware.
MIT © 2026 Letdown2491 · changes are tracked in CHANGELOG.md.