Nostr Web Client

nostr:nprofile1qyt8wumn8ghj7cnfw33k76twv4ezuum0vd5kzmqpr9mhxue69uhkgctndqhx6mmrdd5kuemeda6jucm0d5qzpycvemcjxuka9utq2l8u2ncdhk2rxhvt2x6wyumjx6cqe2m33lxens7txx

one question about searching for a node or id on Iroh/rostra:

(rostra.me is built on Iroh, fyi)

So my id on rostra is rsut5j319xfrsr8ud3rgua8nmxm6kegcjjggijc6te5ein4tyjw8my

I understand its some ed25xx public key, which is some 64 bit number, and it also gets used on Iroh.

Using just this id, anyone can find this ‘user’ on the Iroh network, if I understand this correctly.

Then, my question is, lets say I only had the first 32 bits of this id, would I be able to find this user or endpoint on the Iroh/rostra network?

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Discussion

Nuh 1mo ago

It is not 64 bits its 256 bits or 32 bytes (52 characters in text). And the answer is no you can't use a truncation of the key to lookup the node, unless you;

1) use an indexer that offers this translation from the truncated key to the full key.

2) the truncation has to be large enough to avoid someone creating another key with the same short prefix and now no one knows which is the key that the user wanted.

So let's say your truncated key is made of the first 10 characters... It wouldn't take long for me to find a key with the same first 10 characters and now I can pretend to be you.

It is best to just use the full keys and let the software locally handle the pet names, like your phone contacts where you are never writing people's phone numbers, you just start writing their name and your phone is giving you the suggestions you are looking for.