The basics
What your vault is
Most Nostr apps only read and write to other people's relays. Nostr Vault also runs one on your device. Your vault is a personal Nostr relay and a Blossom media server, and it keeps a copy of:
- Your own notes, everything you post, like, zap and save.
- Notes that mention you, from people you trust (see Who Can Reach You).
- Your direct messages, still encrypted.
- Recent notes from people you follow, so your feed loads fast. Older ones are cleared out over time.
- Your media, in its Blossom media server.
The vault's address (ws://127.0.0.1:…) only works on that device, so nobody else can
connect to it. Your notes still go to your normal relays too. The vault is the copy you own.
To see it explained in the app, open Settings → Help → Tutorials and play Vault in Your Pocket or How Your Vault Works.
iPhone and Android
The Vault tab
The Vault tab shows how your vault is doing. At the top it says Your vault is running, starting, paused or needs a restart, with how long it's been up. If it stops, a button lets you start it again so it catches up on new notes and messages. The menu on that card has Copy Address, Restart, Stop and Start.
Below that:
- Who can reach you: how many people can send to your inbox.
- In your vault: how many events it holds and how much space notes, media and cache use. The cache is other people's media kept for quick loading, and you can clear it.
- Keep it full: Import notes, import media, back up media and export notes.
- Vault settings: shortcuts to Relays, Who Can Reach You, Media Servers and starting automatically.
On Android the same screen is called Vault Dashboard.
Settings
Vault settings
Everything about the vault is grouped under Settings → Your Vault Relay. The card at the top of Settings shows whether it's running, with a Start Relay button if it isn't.
- Start Relay Automatically: start the vault when the app opens. Leave it on.
- Sync with Vault on Mac: send your notes and photos to Nostr Vault on your Mac (see The mesh).
- Who Can Reach You: who may send to your inbox and messages. More.
- Import Notes: fill the vault with your past notes. See below.
- Backup & Restore: save or restore your vault as a file. More.
Bring your history
Import your past notes
A new vault starts empty. Import Notes pulls your old notes, and notes where you are tagged, from your other relays into the vault, starting at a date you pick.
- Open Settings → Your Vault Relay → Import Notes and set the Start Date.
- On iPhone, run it from the Vault tab: Keep it full → Import notes. On Android, tap Start Import on the same page.
It reads from the relays that have Import switched on in Settings → Relays. Notes that tag you are kept only if they come from people you trust, or if they reply to or quote your own posts.
Where it runs
Phone, Mac and web
| Where the vault runs | What's different | |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone | Inside the app | Vault tab with the full dashboard. |
| Android | Inside the app | Same as iPhone; the dashboard is called Vault Dashboard. |
| Mac | Inside the menu bar app | A simpler Relay Dashboard. Domain & Port lets you give the vault your own domain so your other devices can reach it, and Startup has Launch at Login. |
| Web | In your browser's storage | No relay settings. Import with Import from my relays. Signing out deletes this browser's copy; your phone's vault is untouched. |
A vault on the web is a copy, not a backup. It lives in that browser. Use Sign out and delete this browser's copy on a shared computer, and keep real backups with Backup & Restore.