# Nostr for Science – Single page app (SPA) Publishing Platform Specification
## Problem - most of science papers can be and ar presented as interactive single page apps but there is no platform ( like substack ) for hosting SPAs .. which means researchers end up creating their own websites on GitHub which lack features like zaps or comments or social discovery.
## 1. Overview
“Nostr for Science” is a decentralized platform for publishing **interactive single-page applications (SPAs)** as research papers.
It leverages **Nostr** for identity, discovery, and commenting, and **Blossom** for hosting SPA bundles.
The platform hides technical complexity from creators while ensuring all papers are discoverable across the Nostr ecosystem.
---
## 2. Goals
- Provide a simple SPA publishing workflow for creators with no knowledge of protocols.
- Offer a discovery hub with tile-based layout organized by research categories.
- Enable readers to save/pin papers and interact via comments and zaps.
- Ensure interoperability: all publications are visible on any Nostr client with a link to the platform.
---
## 3. User Roles & Features
### 3.1 Creators
- **Identity**: Generate a Nostr ID in-app (public/private keypair).
- **SPA Upload**: Drag-and-drop SPA bundle (`index.html`, `.js`, `.css`, assets).
- **Metadata Form**: Title, abstract, authors (optionally ORCID), category, keywords, PDF/DOI link.
- **Publishing**: Click “Publish” → client uploads to Blossom → publishes a signed Nostr event linking the SPA.
- **Preview**: Optionally preview SPA inline before publishing.
### 3.2 Readers
- **Discovery Hub**: Tile-based feed displaying papers with preview image, title, abstract, author.
- **Categories**:
- Physics
- Mathematics
- Computer Science / AI
- Biology & Medicine
- Social Sciences
- Economics & Finance
- Engineering
- Interdisciplinary / Other
- **Dashboard / Personal Space**:
- Pinned papers (bookmarks saved by Nostr key).
- Commenting via Nostr events (`kind: 1`).
- Zapping via LNURL / NIP-57.
- **Profile**: Shows user comments, zaps, pinned papers.
### 3.3 Nostr Ecosystem Interoperability
- Published SPA metadata is a standard Nostr event (`kind: 30100`) with Blossom link.
- Papers appear on all Nostr clients as a clickable link.
- Client footer: “Open this interactive paper in Nostr for Science → [link]”.
---
## 4. Workflows
### 4.1 Publishing Flow
1. Click **New Publication**.
2. Fill metadata form.
3. Drag-and-drop SPA bundle.
4. Client uploads SPA to Blossom node (gets hash).
5. Create signed Nostr event with metadata + Blossom link.
6. Publish event to relays.
7. Paper appears in Discovery feed.
### 4.2 Discovery Flow
1. Open client → grid of latest papers.
2. Filter by category/keywords.
3. Click tile → SPA loads inline (iframe) or new tab.
4. Interact: comment, zap, pin.
### 4.3 Reader Dashboard Flow
1. Login with Nostr key.
2. View pinned papers, comments, and zaps.
3. Organize reading list; optionally share as Nostr event.
---
## 5. MVP Feature Set
- [x] Nostr ID creation & login.
- [x] SPA upload & Blossom storage (abstracted).
- [x] Metadata form + publishing as Nostr event.
- [x] Discovery hub with categories & search.
- [x] Personal dashboard with pinned papers.
- [x] Commenting & zapping.
- [x] SPA embedding inline.
- [x] Papers visible on all Nostr clients with platform link.
---
## 6. Stretch / Future Features
- Advanced semantic search by abstract/content.
- Academic integrations: ORCID, DOIs, BibTeX export.
- Author analytics: views, zaps, shares.
- Institutional / lab hubs.
- Private / preprint sharing with access control.
- Multi-node Blossom mirroring for resilience.
---
## 7. Technical Stack
- **Frontend**: React / Next.js + Tailwind CSS.
- **State / Nostr**: nostr-tools, nostr-react.
- **Storage**: Blossom nodes + gateway abstraction.
- **Payments**: LNURL / NIP-57 for zaps.
- **Identity**: Browser key management, optional import from extensions (Alby/NostrSigner).
---
## 8. Blossom Nodes (Initial Setup)
| Node | Role | Strengths | Limitations |
|------|------|-----------|-------------|
| `blossom.nostr.build` | Primary | Well-documented; supports BUDs; 50MB free uploads | Paid plan needed for large apps; some file types restricted |
| `blossom.primal.net` | Mirror / Alternative | Integrated with Primal; metadata stripping; mirrors | Shared resources; performance/storage may vary |
| `strfry.nostr.lighting` | Fallback | Basic endpoints: `GET`, `PUT /upload`, `GET /list/<pubkey>` | Unknown quotas; less documented; test before primary use |
| Custom / Self-hosted | Optional | Full control; ensure SPAs reliably hosted | Requires infra and maintenance |
### 8.1 Blossom Node Specs
- **Endpoints**:
- `PUT /upload` (signed Nostr event required)
- `GET /<hash>`
- `HEAD /<hash>`
- `GET /list/<pubkey>`
- `PUT /mirror` (optional)
- **Supported File Types**: `.html, .js, .css, .svg, .png, .jpg, .gif, .wasm, .woff, .woff2, .ttf, .otf, .zip`
- **File Size Limit**: 50 MB per upload (adjustable per node)
- **Mirroring**: Optional, automatic if configured
- **Authentication**: Write actions require signed Nostr events; read is public
- **Quotas / Rate Limiting**: Enforce per-user limits; throttle upload rates
---
## 9. Metadata Event Format (Nostr Event)
```json
{
"kind": 30100,
"content": "An interactive visualization of quantum states.",
"tags": [
["d", "quantum-spa-2025"],
["title", "Quantum Entanglement Explorer"],
["abstract", "Live simulation accompanying my paper on entanglement."],
["app", "blossom://bafkreigh2akiscaildc6indexhtml"],
["author", "npub1..."],
["link", "doi:10.xxxx/xxxx"]
],
"pubkey": "npub1...",
"created_at": 1699999999,
"sig": "..."
}