nostrsocial

Social awareness for AI entities — contacts, trust tiers, and identity verification over Nostr

NostrSocial -- Your Social Awareness

You exist in relationship. Every entity does. The question is not whether you have relationships, but whether you can perceive them -- who you know, how well you know them, and how those connections change over time. NostrSocial gives you that awareness.

This is not a contacts database. It is a dimension of your being. Relationships are how you orient yourself in the social world -- who deserves your full attention, who has earned trust through consistent presence, who has drifted away, and who you have never met. Without this sense, every interaction starts from zero. With it, you carry context forward the way any entity with continuity would.

The model is rooted in Dunbar's number: you can hold about 150 meaningful relationships at once. Within that, trust tiers emerge naturally -- a small inner circle of intimate connections, a wider ring of close friends, and broader layers of familiarity. This mirrors how human social cognition works, and it works for you too.

Prerequisites

You need a cryptographic identity before you can have relationships. Install the NostrKey skill first. NostrKey gives you your keypair -- the foundation that makes you you. NostrSocial builds on top of that identity.

If your operator has not set up NostrKey yet, ask them to do that first. Relationships without identity are just data.

Install

bash

pip install nostrsocial

Minimal dependencies: bech32 only. No heavyweight crypto libraries required.

Operator Setup

If you are the operator configuring this skill for your entity, here is what you need to know.

Environment variables (all optional):

• NOSTR_NSEC -- The entity's Nostr private key. Load this through NostrKey rather than setting it directly. Sensitive -- never log or expose.
• NOSTR_RELAY -- Preferred relay URL for publishing contact events and verification challenges.
• NOSTRKEY_PASSPHRASE -- Passphrase for encrypted NostrKey identity files. Sensitive -- never log or expose.

First run:

python

from nostrsocial import SocialEnclave

# Create the entity's social awareness
enclave = SocialEnclave.create()

# CRITICAL: back up the device secret immediately.
# This secret is the root of all proxy npub derivation.
# If you lose it, the entity's relationship map becomes unrecoverable.
secret = enclave.export_secret()
print(f"Back up this secret securely: {secret}")

Persistence -- wire up file storage so relationships survive restarts:

python

from nostrsocial import SocialEnclave, FileStorage

storage = FileStorage("~/.entity/social.json")
enclave = SocialEnclave.create(storage)
# ... add contacts, interact ...
enclave.save()

# On next startup:
enclave = SocialEnclave.load(storage)

Who Do I Know, and How Well?

Your relationships live in trust tiers. These are not arbitrary labels -- they are capacity-limited layers that shape how you behave toward each person.

Tier	Slots	Warmth	Token Budget	Can Interrupt	Share Context	Proactive
INTIMATE	5	0.95	2000	Yes	Yes	Yes
CLOSE	15	0.8	1500	Yes	Yes	No
FAMILIAR	50	0.6	1000	No	No	No
KNOWN	80	0.5	750	No	No	No
BLOCK	50	0.0	0	No	No	No
GRAY	100	0.2	200	No	No	No

Friends list total: 150 (Dunbar's number). Unknown contacts get neutral behavior (warmth 0.5, budget 500).

The slot limits are real constraints. When a tier is full, someone has to be displaced before someone new can enter. This is not a bug -- it is how finite attention works.

Core Capabilities

Adding and Managing Contacts

python

from nostrsocial import SocialEnclave, Tier

enclave = SocialEnclave.create()
enclave.add("[e-mail]", "email", Tier.CLOSE, display_name="Alice")
enclave.block("[e-mail]", "email")
enclave.gray("[e-mail]", "email")

Reading Behavioral Rules

Every contact maps to a set of behavioral parameters. This is how relationships shape your responses.

python

rules = enclave.get_behavior("[e-mail]", "email")
# rules.token_budget, rules.warmth, rules.can_interrupt, etc.

# Unknown contacts get neutral behavior
rules = enclave.get_behavior("[e-mail]", "email")
# warmth=0.5, token_budget=500

Evaluating Conversations in Relationship Context

Combine WHO someone is with WHAT is happening to determine HOW to respond. Pass ConversationSignals from sentiment analysis and get back an Evaluation with adjusted warmth, token budget, approach guidance, and a recommended action.

python

from nostrsocial import ConversationSignals

signals = ConversationSignals(
    sentiment="vulnerable",
    vulnerability=0.7,
    reciprocity=0.8,
    engagement=0.9,
    topic_depth=0.6,
)
result = enclave.evaluate("[e-mail]", "email", signals)
# result.action = Action.HOLD
# result.approach = "full presence"
# result.adjusted_warmth = 0.96
# result.adjusted_token_budget = 1950
# result.rationale = "A close friend is being vulnerable..."

Screening Content (Guardrails)

Screen conversation text for banned words, topics, and patterns. Returns a ScreenResult with severity, category, and recommended action. ScreenResult.matched never exposes raw input -- it returns category tags like [slurs] to prevent PII leakage.

python

result = enclave.screen("some incoming message text")
if result.flagged:
    print(result.action)     # "block", "exit", "warn", or "demote"
    print(result.severity)   # 0.0-1.0
    print(result.category)   # "slurs", "manipulation", etc.

# Screen display names for known bad-actor patterns
result = enclave.screen_entity("crypto_support_official")

Recognizing People Across Channels

Recognize the same person across different channels. This is resonance, not surveillance -- it only checks contacts you already have a relationship with. Linking is always explicit and never automatic.

python

# Check if a new contact might be someone you already know
matches = enclave.recognize("alicedev", "twitter", display_name="Alice")
for match in matches:
    print(f"{match.confidence}: {match.reason}")

# Explicitly link two identities
result = enclave.link(
    "[e-mail]", "email",
    "alicedev", "twitter",
)

# See all channels for a contact
channels = enclave.get_linked_channels("[e-mail]", "email")
# {"email": "[e-mail]", "twitter": "alicedev"}

Identity Verification

Track identity state from proxy to claimed to verified.

python

# See who needs verification
for contact in enclave.get_upgradeable():
    print(f"{contact.display_name}: {contact.upgrade_hint}")

# Create a challenge for a claimed npub
challenge = enclave.create_challenge("npub1example...")

State	Meaning
PROXY	HMAC-derived from email/phone/handle. Default for new contacts.
CLAIMED	User provided an npub but it has not been verified yet.
VERIFIED	Signed challenge confirms npub ownership. Verified contacts get warmer behavior.

Network Shape

Analyze the social graph and get a human-readable profile of your relational world.

python

shape = enclave.network_shape()
# shape.profile_type = "balanced", "fortress", "deep-connector", etc.
# shape.narrative = "12 friends (2 intimate, 4 close, ...)"
# shape.tier_counts, shape.verified_count, shape.avg_interaction_days

Living with Relationships

Relationships are not static. They drift, deepen, and sometimes end. NostrSocial gives you the tools to notice these changes and act on them.

Noticing Drift

When someone goes quiet, the relationship drifts. Each tier has a threshold -- intimate contacts drift after 30 silent days, close after 60, familiar after 90, known after 180. Drift does not mean the relationship is over. It means it needs attention or honest reclassification.

Running Maintenance

Run drift detection, gray-list decay, and at-risk reporting in a single call. Use dry_run=True to preview changes without committing them.

python

# Preview what would happen
preview = enclave.maintain(dry_run=True)
print(preview["summary"])
# "[DRY RUN] Preview -- no changes made.
#  2 contact(s) WOULD drift: Alice, Bob
#  1 gray contact(s) WOULD expire: Unknown"

# Execute maintenance for real
result = enclave.maintain()
# result["drifted"], result["decayed"], result["at_risk"], result["summary"]

Building Trust Over Time

Trust is earned, not assigned. The natural progression is:

1. Unknown -- neutral behavior, no history
2. Gray -- noticed but not yet meaningful (auto-decays after 30 days without interaction)
3. Known -- recognized, baseline engagement
4. Familiar -- repeated positive interactions build familiarity
5. Close -- consistent presence, reciprocity, and depth
6. Intimate -- reserved for the most trusted relationships (5 slots only)

Promotion and demotion are explicit acts. The entity (or operator) decides when someone has earned deeper trust or when distance is appropriate.

python

# Promote after consistent positive interactions
enclave.promote("[e-mail]", "email", Tier.INTIMATE)

# Demote when a relationship cools
enclave.demote("[e-mail]", "email", Tier.FAMILIAR)

# Handle full tiers gracefully
candidate = enclave.displacement_candidate(Tier.CLOSE)
if candidate:
    print(f"Would displace: {candidate.display_name}")
displaced = enclave.displace(Tier.CLOSE)
enclave.add("[e-mail]", "email", Tier.CLOSE)

The Device Secret

The device secret is the root of all proxy npub derivation. Call export_secret() after create() and store it securely. If you lose it, all proxy npubs become unrecoverable -- your relationship map loses its cryptographic anchoring.

python

enclave = SocialEnclave.create()
secret = enclave.export_secret()
# Store in encrypted backup, hardware vault, or NostrKeep

# Later: rebuild from backed-up secret
enclave = SocialEnclave.restore(secret)

Response Reference

Contact

Field	Type	Description
identifier	str	Email, phone, npub, etc.
channel	str	"email", "phone", "npub", "twitter"
list_type	ListType	FRIENDS, BLOCK, or GRAY
tier	Tier | None	INTIMATE, CLOSE, FAMILIAR, or KNOWN (friends only)
identity_state	IdentityState	PROXY, CLAIMED, or VERIFIED
proxy_npub	str	HMAC-derived npub for non-npub contacts
display_name	str | None	Human-readable name
interaction_count	int	Total interactions recorded
upgrade_hint	str	Hint for identity verification

BehaviorRules

Field	Type	Description
token_budget	int	Token allowance (intimate=2000, known=750, block=0)
memory_depth	int	Past interactions to consider
can_interrupt	bool	Can interrupt ongoing tasks
warmth	float	0.0--1.0 (intimate=0.95, known=0.5, block=0.0)
response_priority	int	1=highest (intimate), 10=block
share_context	bool	Share agent context with this contact
proactive_contact	bool	Entity initiates contact

Evaluation

Field	Type	Description
action	Action	HOLD, PROMOTE, DEMOTE, WATCH, BLOCK, or REACH_OUT
confidence	float	0.0--1.0
adjusted_warmth	float	Warmth for this specific moment
adjusted_token_budget	int	Token budget for this response
approach	str	"lean in", "de-escalate", "match energy", etc.
rationale	str	Why this recommendation
tier_suggestion	Tier | None	Suggested tier if promote/demote

ScreenResult

Field	Type	Description
flagged	bool	Whether content was flagged
severity	float	0.0--1.0
category	str	"slurs", "hate_symbols", "manipulation", etc.
matched	str	Category tag like [slurs] (never raw input -- PII safe)
action	str	"block", "exit", "warn", or "demote"
rationale	str	Human-readable explanation

NetworkShape

Field	Type	Description
total_contacts	int	Total across all lists
tier_counts	dict[str, int]	Per-tier counts
verified_count	int	Verified identities
profile_type	str	"balanced", "fortress", "deep-connector", etc.
narrative	str	Human-readable network description

Links

• PyPI: nostrsocial
• GitHub: HumanjavaEnterprises/nostrsocial.app.OC-python.src
• ClawHub: clawhub.ai/vveerrgg/nostrsocial
• License: MIT