Welcome to Hoot
Hoot is a native desktop email/messaging client built on the Nostr protocol using Rust and egui. It provides familiar email functionality over a decentralized protocol, featuring a modern interface for private communication.Hoot uses NIP-59 (gift wrap) for all private messages, ensuring end-to-end encryption for your communications.
Why Hoot?
Hoot combines the familiar experience of traditional email clients with the benefits of the Nostr protocol:- Decentralized: No central authority controls your messages
- Private: End-to-end encryption using NIP-59 gift wrapping
- Secure: Platform-specific secure key storage (Keychain on macOS, Credential Manager on Windows, Secret Service on Linux)
- Native: Fast, lightweight desktop application built with Rust
- Open Protocol: Built on Nostr, an open protocol with multiple relay options
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Quickstart
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Features
Explore what Hoot can do for you
Core architecture
Hoot is built with a modular architecture:- Relay system: Manages WebSocket connections to multiple Nostr relays with automatic reconnection (5s intervals) and keepalive pings (30s)
- Encrypted database: SQLite with SQLCipher for local storage of messages and metadata
- Account manager: Handles Nostr keypairs with platform-specific secure storage
- Mail events: Custom kind 2024 events with to/cc/bcc, subject, and threading support
Hoot stores your data locally in a SQLite database with SQLCipher encryption, giving you full control over your messages.
Technical specifications
- Language: Rust (edition 2021)
- GUI Framework: egui (immediate-mode GUI)
- Protocol: Nostr protocol v0.37.0
- Database: SQLite with bundled SQLCipher
- Supported Platforms: Linux, macOS, Windows