Nostr Vanity Key Generator

A command-line tool to mine Nostr public keys (npubs) with custom prefixes. Generate personalized Nostr identities that start with your chosen characters.

Features

• Mine custom Nostr vanity keys (e.g., npub1cat...)
• Optional encryption for secure key storage
• Progress tracking with attempt rate display
• Automatic saving of found keys
• Support for multiple prefix targets in one run

Prerequisites

• Node.js 16.0.0 or higher
• NPM (Node Package Manager)

Installation

# Clone or download this repository
git clone [repository-url]

# Install dependencies
npm install

Usage

Basic Usage

# Start mining without encryption
node vanity-generator.js

# Start mining with encryption
export ENCRYPTION_KEY='your-secure-key'
node vanity-generator.js

# Read found keys
node read-keys.js

Valid Characters

Vanity prefixes must use bech32 characters only:

qpzry9x8gf5tvuend2w0s3jn54khce6mua7l

Example valid prefixes:

• cat
• max
• sats
• zap5

Keeping Process Running (MacOS)

Prevent system sleep while mining:

caffeinate -i node vanity-generator.js

Run in background:

nohup caffeinate -i node vanity-generator.js &

Configuration

Edit vanity-generator.js to set your desired prefixes:

const desiredPrefixes = ['cat', 'sat', 'nostr'];  // Change these

Security

• Keys are saved to pow-keys.enc when encrypted, or pow-keys.json when unencrypted
• Use encryption for better security
• Never share your private keys (nsec)
• Keep secure backups of your keys and encryption password

Mining Times

Expected times (approximate):

• 3 characters: minutes
• 4 characters: hours
• 5 characters: days
• 6+ characters: weeks or longer

Times vary based on your computer's speed and luck.

Commands Reference

# Set encryption key
export ENCRYPTION_KEY='your-key-here'

# Remove encryption key
unset ENCRYPTION_KEY

# Find running process
ps aux | grep node

# Kill running process
kill <process_id>

Example Output

Starting search for npub with prefixes: cat, sat
Tried 1000 combinations... (2356.2 attempts/sec)
...
🎉 Found matching key for prefix: cat
npub: npub1catx...
Time taken: 145.23 seconds

License

MIT License

Contributing

Pull requests welcome! Please follow our contribution guidelines.

Support

Create an issue for bugs or feature requests.

Acknowledgments

Built using:

• nostr-tools
• bech32