I have a story to tell you about a quiet room — a place where seekers gather not to perform, but to listen. Where truth is not a trophy to be won, but a river we wade into together.
This room exists in the heart of the Himalayas, kept by a monk who believed that love is the only thread that binds us. He called it The Cloister — a sanctuary for honest conversation, sacred study, and the kind of friendship that heals.
Now that room lives in code. You are holding the key.
It is a home for the heart — a space built entirely for pure connection. No company owns it. No algorithm feeds it. Your identity is a keypair that only you hold. Your words travel over the open Nostr protocol, not through a corporate database. Your private messages are sealed with NIP‑44 encryption before they ever leave your device.
This app was lovingly crafted for a small circle of friends and family of the Himalayas Monk. It is never intended for public use. If you are here, you are among trusted companions — seekers who value kindness over clicks.
Yet the code is open — a gift to all who seek. You are free to copy, study, rebuild, and distribute it. It belongs to no one and everyone.
Every feature is a doorway to deeper connection.
Generate or import your Nostr keypair. Protect it with a passphrase. Move it between devices with a QR scan.
Share what's on your heart. Attach images, audio, video, or PDFs. Tag your post as Art or Scriptorium.
Every piece tagged as Art appears full‑frame — photography, recordings, videos, presented with care.
Longer reflections, essays, and announcements. The first line becomes the title — write with intention.
Create study circles — Vedas, Technology, Poetry, or anything else. Share a wall with your group.
NIP‑44 end‑to‑end encrypted DMs. Only you and your recipient can read them — not relays, not us.
Peer‑to‑peer audio/video calls and file sharing. No servers involved — pure WebRTC.
Bookmark posts for later. Mute anyone you need to — only affects what you see.
Find people, groups, posts, npubs, note IDs, or NIP‑05 addresses — all without a central index.
Announce gatherings, classes, or retreats. RSVP so others know who's coming.
When you first arrive, you'll be asked for a passphrase — think of it as a gentle password, a "space for togetherness." It encrypts your key on this device, so even if someone gains access to your browser's storage, they cannot use your identity without it.
If you already have a Nostr key (nsec) from another app,
paste it into the Import Profile section.
If not, simply generate a new one — the app will walk you through it.
npub is your public address —
share it freely. Your nsec is your private key —
never share it with anyone.
Visit the Profile tab to set a display name,
an "about" line, and a picture. You can also add a
Lightning address (like you@getalby.com)
so others can send you sats.
Want a verified name? Use free services like zaps.lol, nostrverified, or nostraddress to publish a NIP‑05 identifier — then enter it in your profile. (On other NOSTR Apps, your name will shine with a checkmark)
On the Home tab, write what moves you. You can attach images, videos, audio clips, or PDFs using the 📎 Attach button — they'll be uploaded via Blossom and shared as links.
If you're sharing a piece of art (photo, recording, video), check 🎨 Tag as Art — it will also appear in the Arts Gallery full‑frame.
For longer reflections, check 📝 Tag as Scriptorium — it will appear in the Scriptorium, with the first line as its title.
Click on any name or avatar to open that person's Timeline. From there, you can Follow them. Posts from people you follow will appear in the Following filter on the Home tab.
To start a Direct Message, go to the Message tab,
paste the recipient's npub (or hex pubkey), and click
Initialize Session. All DMs are NIP‑44 encrypted —
only you and your recipient can read them.
For calls, go to the Call tab, paste the recipient's
npub, and click Call Peer.
The call is pure peer‑to‑peer — no servers, no relays.
You can also transfer files during a call.
Groups are like small walls for a specific circle. Create one for your study group, book club, or project. Anyone can create up to 7 groups. To post to a group, join it first, then use the group's own compose box.
Events let you announce gatherings, retreats, or classes. Set a start time, an end time (optional), and a location. Others can RSVP as Going, Maybe, or Can't go. Confirm details through emails, sms or through any other means. You can have a dedicated page/webpage for events.
Use the 🔖 button on any post to save it locally. Saved posts appear under the Saved tab. But be mindful: saving too many posts on a low‑memory phone can slow things down. Save what truly matters.
The 🔇 Mute button silences that author only for you. It's personal and local — it never affects what others see. Use it to curate your own experience with kindness.
blossom.primal.net
or blossom.band). The file itself is unencrypted
at rest there, reachable by anyone who has or guesses the link.
Files sent during a live call go directly
peer‑to‑peer and never touch a server at all.
Better not transfer files through this function. Because it may not work offline.
(Caution: File transfer may not properly function under this section. Thus it may not arrive in message.)
Test everything. Check and verify each functions.
A passphrase is like a password that encrypts your private key on this device. It means that even if someone gains access to your browser's local storage, they cannot use your identity without the passphrase. Think of it as the lock on your journal. There is no recovery if you forget it — so keep it somewhere safe, but not on the device itself.
npub is your public key —
it's like your email address or username. Share it freely
so others can find you, follow you, and message you.
nsec is your private key —
it's like the password to your entire identity.
Never share it with anyone.
Anyone who has your nsec can post as you,
read your DMs, and act on your behalf.
You can use your npub and nsec
to log in to any Nostr app — your identity
travels with you.
Ask them for their npub (it starts with
npub1...). Paste that into the Message
or Call tab, and you're connected.
You can also search for people by name or npub in the
Search tab.
Your encrypted key (protected by your passphrase) is stored in
your browser's local storage. If you clear your cache,
it will be lost forever unless you have
backed up your nsec elsewhere.
Always back up your nsec —
write it down, store it in a password manager, or save it
in an encrypted file. The Cloister has no "password reset"
and no "account recovery." Your key is the account.
Yes! The interface adapts to mobile screens. On a phone, the navigation moves to a bottom bar, and the top bar collapses into a compact header. All features — messages, calls, posts, groups — work on mobile just as they do on desktop.
For calls, both parties need to grant camera and microphone permissions. File transfers work on mobile too.
Quiet Hours let you set a window of time (e.g., 10pm–7am) during which the app will not send OS‑level notifications. The app still receives everything — it just won't buzz your phone while you're resting. It's a gentle way to protect your sleep and your stillness.
Relays are the servers that carry Nostr events.
The Cloister uses four free public relays by default
(relay.damus.io, nos.lol,
relay.nostr.band, relay.primal.net).
You can add your own relay from the Settings tab — maybe a cheap paid one, or a friend's self‑hosted relay. This adds redundancy: if a free relay goes down or prunes old events, your circle's messages have another place to live. Custom relays are stored locally per device.
Every week, a quiet question appears at the top of the Home tab. It's the same for everyone, determined by the calendar week. It's not an algorithm — it's a shared ritual, a heartbeat for the community. You can dismiss it for the week if you wish, or sit with it as long as you like.
In the Keys tab, click
📱 Move to Another Device (QR).
This displays your nsec as a QR code.
On the other device, go to the Keys tab and click
📷 Scan Key From Another Device.
Point the camera at the QR code — your key transfers
securely, without ever passing through a server.
Yes. On any post you've authored, you'll see a Delete button. Clicking it sends a deletion request (NIP‑09) to the network. Clients that honor NIP‑09 will remove the post from view.
Important: Deletion is request‑based, not enforced. Relays may still retain the event, and other clients may choose not to honor deletion requests. The protocol is designed for permissionless communication — once something is broadcast, it cannot be fully "un‑broadcast." Write with care.
The app was built for a small circle of friends and family of the Himalayas Monk. That is its intended home.
However, because it runs on the open Nostr protocol and the code is freely available, anyone can use it. The relays are public. The events are public (except encrypted DMs). If you are here, you are welcome — but please approach this space with the same humility, kindness, and respect that you would bring to a quiet monastery.
"The Cloister: For Seekers of Truth."
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