Nostr Web Client

There are a bunch of Nostr clients on iOS, and figuring out which one to use can be a bit much. I’ve been trying out Damus, Primal, and Nostur—each has its own vibe, with some hits and some misses.

Here's what I’ve noticed.

- Damus has a sleek UI and well-structured settings, but its Explore feature is weak.

- Primal is clean, with solid search and a useful trending Explore page, but you're tied to their wallet (unless on web), and the feed uses proprietary caching.

- Nostur offers deep relay control and customization but has a steeper learning curve due to its dense interface.

My current iOS rankings:

1. Damus

2. Primal

3. Nostur

Nostr is still early, but I'm optimistic. Just wanted to share my first impressions.

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#nostr #asknostr #grownostr

Dikaios1517 9mo ago

Probably solid observations, from what I have gleaned.

Back when I had an iPad I was using Damus in TestFlight. That was back before Primal was even released, let alone Nostur. Ditched the iPad shortly after that, partially because of what Apple did to nostr:npub1xtscya34g58tk0z605fvr788k263gsu6cy9x0mhnm87echrgufzsevkk5s with Zaps on Damus, and partially because I was tired of not being able to install whatever apps I want on my own device. To this date, one of the most common questions in AskNostr is, "How come I can't zap posts on Damus?" Makes my blood boil all over again every time.

This is also why Primal locks you into only using their wallet on iOS. We can connect any wallet with Nostr Wallet Connect to Primal Android, and I know the Primal team would do the same on iOS in a heartbeat if Apple would let them.

nostr:npub1n0sturny6w9zn2wwexju3m6asu7zh7jnv2jt2kx6tlmfhs7thq0qnflahe is maybe flying under the radar with Nostur in that regard? Are you able to connect any wallet you like and easily zap posts in Nostur?

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Discussion

Jovany 9mo ago

Apple and their 30% cut 🤦🏽‍♂️

You can actually zap on Damus with iOS. This website runs a script that lets.

https://zap.army

Nostur lets you connect your wallet yet I can’t zap any one. 😔

Dikaios1517 9mo ago

Oh, I am aware of how to activate zapping individual posts on Damus. It just frustrates me that this extra step even has to be done. They can't even mention it in the Damus UI anywhere, so there are surely a lot of users who try out Damus, get frustrated they can't zap posts at all, and go back to Primal. It's only the ones who think to ask if there is a way to activate zapping that end up getting informed about zap.army.

As for Nostur, my bet is that nostr:npub1n0sturny6w9zn2wwexju3m6asu7zh7jnv2jt2kx6tlmfhs7thq0qnflahe had to do the same thing as Damus, and you can only zap profiles, not posts.

Dikaios1517 9mo ago

Case in point. Yet another one:

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzqxfsdy3prr5xlgzw5qnvgp8sdvlg2e3usgnpnmt74xt4w8qxdzxjqy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyv9kh2uewd9hj7qgswaehxw309ahx7um5wghx6mmd9uqzqfrvakwya5mc736nnl8rppgmpn3wwhg88akqky9xavtu9uxyhkcsjcmsd3

Helpful folks have already answered, but how many are there that never ask?

Jovany 9mo ago

Or there never looked up how. There should be a pinned comment or something that everyone who asked that question can go to.

I know I struggled looking for answers related to Nostr. I would use reddit, forums and even twitter.

Dikaios1517 9mo ago

I have been thinking about putting together a FAQ based on the things that are asked over and over again in AskNostr from the time I have spent there. It's one of those things I just don't have time to do unless I can somehow figure out how to make a non-dev living helping to improve Nostr and educate folks about how to use it.

Jovany 9mo ago

That’s tough—I totally get the struggle of wanting to do something but not having time for it because it doesn’t pay.

Your FAQ idea sounds great and it might be a good idea to post the FAQ using the # asknostr hashtag, hoping people will find it or it becomes popular enough that others start redirecting to it whenever someone asks a common question.

jb55 9mo ago

Unless it’s in the app it will be an eternal struggle, not to mention if it becomes popular enough there’s a good chance apple will force us to remove that as well.

I think the best solution is to do some kind of apple pay ingame currency that converts to sats automatically when zapping. I can’t think of anything else.

Dikaios1517 9mo ago

Damus-coin 🤣

Only if the mascot for it is a moose.

Garbage nsec 9mo ago

>If it becomes popular enough there’s a good chance apple will force us to remove that as well.

For sure, or worse.

Dikaios1517 9mo ago

Good thing nostr:npub1yaul8k059377u9lsu67de7y637w4jtgeuwcmh5n7788l6xnlnrgs3tvjmf is releasing a solid NIP-07 signer for iOS. Apple may just kill native clients over there altogether, or hamstring them so much they aren't worth bothering with.

Garbage nsec 9mo ago

It's all on the in-app purchase side. X, Bluesky, Rumble, they all have the rails for zaps on posts of one implementation or another. Zaps ln posts are not complex. It's all about Section 3 of the App Store guidelines.