nips/69.md

NIP-69
======

Nostr Offer STRings
-------------------

`wip` `optional`

This NIP proposes a format for static payment codes in Nostr as a successor to LNURL-Pay, enabling users to initiate Lightning Network payments by scanning or clicking a string. 

## Motivation

Reliance on LNURL has led to centralization via custodial solutions due to the legacy baggage of IP4-NAT/Domain/SSL requirements. Nostr's use-cases are already centered around Lightning, whether as a wallet connector, zap receipts, or its overlapping network effects, rendering Nostr as a de facto "3rd layer" for Lightning and a natural successor to LNURL.

When layered over kind 21000, NWC, or other potential Lightning RPCs, this specification enables a seamless user experience similar to legacy LNURL-Pay, without the domain and SSL requirements. Additionally, the signed nature of Nostr communications eliminates the trust requirements inherent in LNURL when a node must outsource the serving of web requests.

## Specification

### Static Payment Code Format

The static payment code is a bech32 (per NIP-19) encoded string prefixed with `noffer`. The encoded string will include the following TLV (Type-Length-Value) items:

- `0`: The 32 bytes of the receiving services public key, encoded in hex.
- `1`: The relay URL where the receiving service subscribes to payment requests
- `2`: The offer string

## Process Flow

1. **Payer Scans or Clicks the Static Payment Code**

2. **Payers wallet decodes the payment code**

3. **Payers wallet sends a Nostr event to the specified relay, addressed to the receiver's public key, containing the identifier string.**
   - Event Type: Ephemeral Kind 21001 | NIP-44 Encrypted
   - Optional: Include additional payer data

4. **Receiver Responds with Lightning Invoice**
   - Upon receiving the payment request event, the receiver generates a Lightning invoice and responds with a Nostr event containing the invoice details.
   - Event Type: Ephemeral Kind 21001 | NIP-44 Encrypted
   - Optional: Include additional purchase data

5. **Payer Pays the Invoice**
   - The payer completes the payment by settling the Lightning invoice.

6. **Optional: Receiver Emits Payment Receipt**
   - This step is out of scope for this NIP, but potential receipt considerations include:
     a. Nostr Event as Receipt: Emitting a public Nostr event as a "zap" receipt for verifiable record-keeping.
     b. Lightning Pre-Image: Sharing the Lightning pre-image as proof of payment.
     c. External / WebHook: The receiver may finalize the flow out-of-band.

### Nostr Event

This NIP specifies the use of event kind `21001` with the following structure:

- `content`: NIP-44 encrypted payment details
- `tags`: 
  - `p`: Receiver's public key (encoded in hex)
  - `relay`: URL of the relay for receiving payment requests
  - `offer`: Unique identifier for the payment purpose

Example event:
```json
{
  "id": "<event_id>",
  "pubkey": "<sender_pubkey>",
  "created_at": 1234567890,
  "kind": 21001,
  "tags": [
    ["p", "<receiver_pubkey>"],
    ["e", "<event_id>"] // used only in response by the receiver to identify the original payment request
  ],
  "content": "<NIP-44 encrypted offer id and optional payer data>",
  "sig": "<signature>"
}
```

The `content` field should contain a stringified JSON object with the following structure:

```json
{
    "offer_id": "<offer_id>",
    "payer_data": "<payer_data>"
}
```

## Client Behavior

Clients implementing this NIP must:

1. Decode and validate the structure of the `noffer` bech32-encoded static payment code.
2. Use NIP-44 encryption for all communication between payer and receiver.
3. Generate and send kind 21001 events as specified in this NIP.
4. Parse the `content` field of received events by decrypting and JSON-parsing the stringified content.
5. Handle potential errors gracefully, providing clear feedback to users.
6. Respect the `relay` tag specified in the static payment code for sending payment request events.

Clients implementing this NIP may:

1. Support both this protocol and LNURL for backward compatibility during the transition period.
2. Implement additional features such as multi-recipient payments or integration with other Lightning-related NIPs.

Clients implementing this NIP MUST NOT:

1. Send unencrypted sensitive information in event content or tags.
2. Ignore or modify any fields from the encoded static payment code.

## Notes

### Transition from LNURL

LNURL services wishing to migrate to Nostr Offer STRings should consider adding a `noffer` tag to their responses.

### Future Considerations

Future versions of this NIP may consider additional features such as:

1. Multi-recipient payments
2. Integration with other Lightning-related NIPs
3. Extended metadata for more complex payment scenarios

## Reference Implementation

Lightning.Pub / ShockWallet offers branch