Announcing Soapbox Signer: A NIP-07 Browser Extension for Nostr

Your Nostr private key is your identity. It's what proves you are who you say you are across the entire Nostr network. But pasting your private key into every website you visit? That's a recipe for disaster. One compromised site, one phishing attempt, one moment of carelessness—and your identity is gone forever.

Today, we're excited to announce Soapbox Signer—a browser extension that keeps your Nostr keys secure while letting you use any Nostr application seamlessly. Available now for Chrome and Firefox.

Why Use a Browser Extension for Nostr?

When you use Nostr, every action you take—posting, following, reacting, sending encrypted messages—requires cryptographic signatures from your private key. Without a signer extension, you'd need to paste your private key directly into each website. This creates several serious problems:

• Security Risk: Any website with your private key can impersonate you, access your encrypted messages, and take over your entire Nostr identity
• No Revocation: Unlike passwords, you can't change your Nostr private key. If it's compromised, your identity is permanently compromised
• Trust Issues: You have to trust every single website not to steal or leak your key

NIP-07 solves this by defining a standard way for websites to request signatures from a browser extension. The website never sees your private key—it only receives the signed events it needs. You stay in control.

Key Features of Soapbox Signer

Getting Started with Soapbox Signer

Setting up Soapbox Signer takes just a few minutes. Here's how to get started:

Step 1: Install the Extension

Install Soapbox Signer from the Chrome Web Store or Firefox Add-ons. After installation, click the extension icon to open the settings.

Step 2: Add Your Identity

You can either create a brand new Nostr identity or import an existing one using your private key (nsec).

Create a new identity or import an existing one

Advanced settings let you configure your full profile

The advanced settings allow you to configure your complete Nostr profile including:

• Display Name: Your human-readable name shown across Nostr apps
• Username: A short identifier for your account
• NIP-05 Address: Your verified identity (like user@domain.com)
• Profile Image URL: Link to your avatar image
• About: A short bio describing yourself
• Website: Your personal website or link

Step 3: Manage Multiple Identities

One of Soapbox Signer's most powerful features is multi-identity support. You can add as many Nostr identities as you need and switch between them instantly.

Manage multiple identities from one extension

Each identity card shows your profile picture and name. The currently active identity is marked with a green "Active" badge. Simply click "Set as active" on any identity to switch, and all connected websites will use that identity for signing.

Understanding Permission Requests

When a website needs to perform an action on Nostr, Soapbox Signer shows you exactly what it's requesting. You maintain full control over what gets signed.

Clear permission requests show exactly what each site wants to do

Each permission request shows:

• The requesting website (e.g., shakespeare.diy)
• The action type (e.g., "Sign an event")
• The event kind (e.g., KIND 27235 for HTTP Auth)
• A description of what the permission allows
• An "Info for nerds" section with technical details

You have four response options:

Managing Connected Sites

The Connected Sites & Permissions screen gives you a complete overview of which websites have access to your Nostr identities and what permissions they have.

View and manage all website permissions in one place

For each connected site, you can see:

• The domain name (e.g., app.flotilla.social, ditto.pub)
• Access level (Full Access or specific permissions)
• Which identity the site is using
• When access was granted and last used

You can revoke access for individual sites or use the "Revoke All" button to clear all permissions at once. Revoking access means the site will need to request permission again the next time it needs to sign an event.

Backup and Migration

Your Nostr identities are valuable—make sure to back them up! Soapbox Signer provides easy export and import functionality.

Export your identities for backup or migration

Export Options

• Export as JSON: A structured format that preserves all identity data, perfect for importing into another instance of Soapbox Signer
• Export as CSV: A spreadsheet-compatible format for easy viewing and management

Import Options

To restore your identities on a new device or browser, simply choose the JSON or CSV file you exported previously and click "Choose File to Import."

Behavior Settings

The "Reload tabs on identity change" option automatically refreshes all tabs using your Nostr identity when you switch to a different one. This ensures websites always use the correct key without manual page refreshes.

Why Soapbox Signer?

There are several NIP-07 signers available, so why did we build Soapbox Signer? We wanted to create a signer that embodies our principles:

Get Started Today

Soapbox Signer is free, open source, and available now. Install it, add your identity, and start using Nostr applications the secure way.

Learn More

• How to Store and Manage Your Nostr Private Key - Comprehensive guide to key security
• Nostr 101: A Beginner's Guide - Understanding the Nostr protocol
• NIP-07 Specification - Technical details of the signer protocol
• Soapbox Signer Repository - Source code and issue tracker

Your keys, your identity, secured by Soapbox Signer.