Last updated: June 21, 2026
linkstr is a private link-sharing app built on Nostr. You create or join private sessions, share links inside those sessions, and react with emoji. This page describes the current shipped behavior in plain language.
- Open linkstr.
- Choose Create account for a new account, or import an existing secret key (
nsec). - If you create a new account, copy the displayed
nsecand store it somewhere safe. - Optionally set a public profile name.
Your active account is stored in the device keychain. If you use iCloud Keychain, iOS may also sync that keychain item across your devices.
- Open the Contacts tab.
- Tap the add-contact button.
- Paste an
npubor scan a QR code. - Optionally save a private alias.
- Tap the top-right add icon.
Adding the same contact again updates the saved alias instead of creating a duplicate. To edit an alias later, tap the contact row.
The bottom footer shows validation and relay status only. The keyboard return key advances from the public key field into alias and submits from alias.
- Open the Sessions tab.
- Tap the compose button in the top-right corner.
- Enter a session name.
- Optionally add contacts now, or start solo and add them later.
- Tap the top-right create icon.
After creation, linkstr opens the session immediately.
The bottom footer shows validation and relay status only. The keyboard return key advances from the name field into member search and submits immediately when there are no contacts yet.
The You tab shows your current public key (npub), QR code, and published profile name. You can copy the public key or update the profile name that other Nostr apps can see.
Profile name changes can be submitted with either the keyboard return key or the save button.
- Open a session.
- Tap the compose button in the top-right corner.
- Paste a link.
- Optionally add a note.
- Tap the top-right send icon.
Generic web URLs are valid posts too. In-app playback, local caching, and save/export options depend on the provider and the specific URL. The composer indicates when an in-app view is available.
The bottom footer shows validation and relay status only. The keyboard return key on the link field advances into the note field.
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| React to a post | Open a post and tap 👍, 👎, 👀, or … for the emoji picker. |
| Remove a reaction | Tap the same emoji again. |
| Share into linkstr | Use the iOS share sheet from another app, choose linkstr, then choose share link. linkstr opens with the link prefilled, an optional note, and a separate searchable picker of active sessions. |
| Save shared media | Use the iOS share sheet from another app, choose linkstr, then choose save media. linkstr saves supported media directly to your photo library. |
| Share a deep link | Open post detail and tap the share button in the top-right corner. The shared link carries only the normalized URL; linkstr fetches preview metadata again when the recipient opens it. |
| Delete your own post | Long-press the post row in the session view. |
| Archive or unarchive a session | Open a session, tap the members button, and use Archive Session or Unarchive Session. |
| View archived sessions | Tap the archive icon in the sessions header. |
| Rename a session | Open a session, tap the members button, and edit the session name. |
| Delete a session | Open a session, tap the members button, and use Delete Session in the manage sheet. |
| Add or remove members | Open a session and use the members button. |
Only the session creator can rename sessions, delete them, or change session membership.
Open Settings to manage relays.
- If you have not changed relays, linkstr uses the current default relay set.
- You can add your own relay URLs.
- Enabled relays can be toggled on or off.
- Relay rows can be removed.
- Reset defaults puts you back on the current default relay set.
linkstr accepts normal web URLs, but in-app playback is provider-dependent.
Extraction-preferred (local playback attempted first, embed fallback available):
- TikTok videos
- Instagram Reels
- Facebook Reels
- Twitter/X statuses — only when provider metadata confirms video is present
Embed-only (web player only, no local extraction):
- YouTube
- Rumble
- Instagram video posts
- Facebook video posts
- Twitter/X non-video statuses — only when the official tweet embed is available
Browser fallback covers everything else, plus any provider URL that blocks extraction or embed playback at runtime.
When local extraction succeeds, linkstr can cache the media on-device and offer Save to Photos or Save to Files. Embed-only playback stays network-backed and does not offer local export controls.
linkstr is session-first. A session is a private shared feed with a name, a creator, a member list, and root link posts. Reactions and deletes belong to those root posts.
Membership is snapshot-based. When the creator adds or removes people, linkstr publishes the full member list as it exists at that moment. The latest valid snapshot defines the current member set.
- Adding someone later does not retroactively share older posts with them. It only makes them eligible to receive content sent while they are an active member.
- Removing someone stops future delivery but cannot erase content they already received.
Validation happens before anything is applied locally.
- A post must belong to a real session and come from someone who was a valid member when it was sent.
- A reaction must pass the same membership check and point to a real root post.
- A delete must match the original root sender before it becomes authoritative.
Relay ordering is not guaranteed. A post may arrive before the session snapshot that makes it valid, and a reaction may arrive before its root post. linkstr handles this by temporarily staging those events in memory and retrying them when the missing dependency arrives. If another relay connects later in the same live session, linkstr widens backfill coverage and retries once the missing history arrives. Recovery still depends on whether your relays can replay that history.
Deduplication is automatic. Duplicate relay delivery is normal. linkstr deduplicates by event ID, so reconnects and backfill do not create duplicate posts or reactions.
No offline outbox exists. If a send fails, the app shows an error instead of quietly pretending the post or reaction was sent.
Nostr is a decentralized protocol. Your encrypted session payloads move through the relays you connect to, and your account key can also work in other Nostr apps.
Session content is end-to-end encrypted before it reaches relays. Only session members can decrypt posts, reactions, and membership updates. Your secret key (nsec) stays on your device unless you choose to copy or export it.
linkstr uses an APNs push service for iOS notifications. That service stores your APNs device token, your Nostr pubkey, archived conversation IDs used to suppress notifications for archived sessions, and lightweight push-dedupe bookkeeping so the same event is not pushed repeatedly.
Push alerts use generic text. Tapping a push alert opens the relevant session. Old push notifications are not replayed during historical restore.
Yes. Your nsec is a Nostr secret key, not a linkstr-only credential.
- Log out (keep local data) removes the active identity from memory and keychain state but keeps the signed-in account's local sessions, posts, contacts, and caches on the device.
- Log out and clear local data removes the active identity and deletes that account's local data, including caches, from the device.
Deleting the account is relay-gated. linkstr only finishes the delete flow when it can reach a writable relay and get relay acceptance for the account-removal events.
When that succeeds, linkstr clears your local data on this device, logs you out, publishes an empty follow list, and sends a Nostr vanish request to your enabled relays.
Deleting the account does not invalidate the nsec itself. If you still have that key, you can sign in again later.
Yes. Open the session and tap the members button. That sheet shows the session name and current members for everyone. If you are the session creator, you can edit the name there and save to publish the updated name to all current members.
Yes. Open the session, tap the members button, and use Archive Session or Unarchive Session.
Archive only changes whether the session appears in the active or archived list on this device. It does not delete the session or its posts.
Adding someone publishes a new session snapshot with the full member list. That person can receive content sent after they become an active member. Older posts are not retroactively shared with them.
Removing someone publishes another full snapshot. They stop receiving future posts and reactions, but anything they already received remains theirs.
If you are removed, linkstr keeps the session as local history. The session becomes read-only — you can still view prior posts and reactions but not send new ones.
Most send failures come down to one of these:
- No enabled relays.
- Only read-only relays are connected.
- The app could not get relay acceptance before the send timeout.
- You are no longer an active member of that session.
linkstr does not queue failed sends for later automatic retry. If a send fails, the composer stays open and shows an error.
The most common reason is relay ordering. linkstr may receive a reaction before the root post it belongs to, or a post before the session snapshot that makes it valid. In that case the app stages the event and retries it once the missing dependency arrives.
Delete notices are even stricter: linkstr waits until it can match the delete to the original root sender before applying it.
Yes, but linkstr is local-first and relay-backed, so there are a couple of limits:
- Export the
nsecfrom the first device. - Import the same
nsecon the second device. - Make sure both devices can connect to relays.
New posts and reactions should sync when both devices reconnect to relays. Historical restore depends on relay retention and what each device can replay from relay history.
If you delete and reinstall the app without restoring its local data, linkstr rebuilds what it can from relay history. Replayed older posts are treated as history, not as fresh unread posts.
Yes. Open the session, tap the members button, and use Delete Session in the manage sheet.
Delete is creator-only and requires confirmation. When it succeeds, linkstr removes the session from active and archived lists on this device, sends an encrypted delete notice to known members, and tries a best-effort relay-side delete for older transport copies when possible.
Delete is permanent for linkstr UX. There is no restore flow.
Yes. Long-press the contact row and choose Remove contact. linkstr publishes an updated follow list to relays and removes the contact locally.
Yes, for content you have the right to save. Save and export are available only when linkstr can extract and cache a local media file. Embed-only playback is provider-dependent and may not offer save or export even if the post plays in-app.
linkstr stores account-scoped sessions, member snapshots and intervals, session deletion tombstones, posts, reactions, read state, archive state, contacts, and media cache references on the device. Sensitive content fields are encrypted at rest with local per-owner keys.
In the device keychain, with iOS-controlled protection. Simulator fallback storage is used only when simulator keychain access is unavailable.
Downloaded media and generated previews are stored in app-owned local storage. Video cache is treated as disposable device cache and trims itself automatically. Media saved via the share sheet goes to your photo library. Settings can clear cached videos or saved preview metadata if you want to free space or force a preview rebuild.
| Permission | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Camera | Scanning contact QR codes |
| Photos (add-only) | Exporting saved videos to Photos |
| Notifications | APNs alerts for new posts and active reactions |
| Network access | Relay sync and media playback |
Archived sessions do not send notifications.
- Confirm your internet connection works.
- Open Settings and check that at least one relay is enabled.
- If needed, use Reset defaults in the relays section to go back to the current default relay set.
- Bring the app back to the foreground and leave it open for a few seconds. linkstr treats this like a light reopen: it stops relay runtime whenever the app leaves the foreground and does one clean rebuild from a disconnected baseline when it becomes active again.
- If it still does not recover, force-quit and reopen the app.
- Confirm both devices are signed in with the same
nsec. - Confirm both devices can connect to relays.
- Leave the app open long enough for relay sync to complete after reconnect.
Historical replay depends on relay retention. linkstr can retry out-of-order posts, reactions, and deletes locally, but it still needs the missing relay history to arrive.
- Check your network connection.
- Switch between Try local playback and Try embed playback.
- If a cached copy was auto-trimmed, try local playback again to re-cache it.
- Try local playback again to clear a stale local failure and force a fresh retry.
- Use the refresh button in post detail if that post's metadata seems stale or missing.
- Use Open in browser if the provider blocks embedded playback.
- Use the refresh button in post detail to re-fetch metadata for that post.
- Open the session, the post detail, or the shared-link screen and let linkstr rebuild the preview if metadata is still missing.
- Settings can clear saved preview metadata if you want linkstr to rebuild it.
- If the provider itself is serving bad metadata, use Open in browser.
- Check camera permission in iOS Settings.
- Use better lighting and a steady camera.
- Paste the
npubmanually if needed.
- GitHub issues: https://github.com/therealparmesh/linkstr
- Email: parmesh@hey.com
By using linkstr, you agree to respect content creators' intellectual property rights and comply with applicable laws and platform terms when saving or sharing content.
linkstr is provided as-is. The developer is not responsible for user-generated content or misuse of saving features.
linkstr is open-source software built on the Nostr protocol.