Install Buzz, create your identity, and — the part people skip — back up your key properly. Ten minutes, and step 3 is the one that matters.
Your identity is a pair of keys. The npub is public —
share it freely, that's how we add you. The nsec is secret —
it is your account. Anyone who has it can post as you.
Nobody will ever legitimately ask you for your nsec.
Not us, not an admin, not support. If someone does, they're stealing your identity.
Grab the build for your platform from the latest release:
| Platform | File |
|---|---|
| macOS | .dmg |
| Linux | .AppImage or .deb |
| Windows | .exe |
Install it like any other app. It's open source — the whole thing is on GitHub if you'd rather build it yourself.
Launch the app. On first run it walks you through onboarding and generates a fresh keypair for you — no email, no password, no account signup. The key is the account.
Already have a Nostr identity you want to reuse? Onboarding has an import
option — paste your existing nsec there instead of generating a new one.
Onboarding includes a backup step that tells you plainly:
Your unique identity key has been created. This key is stored in your system keychain, but save it some place safe.
On that screen your key is masked by default. There's a reveal toggle (the eye icon) and a copy button. The key isn't even loaded into the screen until you press reveal — that's deliberate, so it can't be read over your shoulder or caught by a screen recorder you forgot was running.
Press reveal, press copy, and put it somewhere safe right now.
Nobody can recover this key for you — not us, not the Buzz developers. There is no "forgot password" flow, because there's no password and no server holding your account. Lose the key and that identity is simply gone; you'd start over with a new one and get re-added.
Buzz stores your key in your operating system's secure keystore rather than a plaintext file:
| Platform | Stored in |
|---|---|
| macOS | Keychain |
| Windows | Credential Manager |
| Linux | Secret Service — gnome-keyring or kwallet |
If no keyring is available, it falls back to an owner-only
0600 file. That's still your machine only — but it's a reason to make
sure you have that backup.
Your own backup still matters. The keychain protects the key on the machine you're using now. It does nothing for you when that machine is lost, wiped, or replaced.
In the app, click Join a community. That screen shows your public key with a copy button — grab it there.
It starts with npub1 and is the public half, so it's safe to paste
anywhere: email, chat, a public form. Send it to us and we'll add you.
Applying for the first time? There's an optional field for it on the application form — filling it in gets you approved in one step instead of two.
Before you send it, look at the first five characters.
npub1 — correct, that's the public one.
nsec1 — stop. That's your secret key. Don't send it.
If you already sent it to anyone, generate a brand new identity and abandon that
one; it can't be made safe again.
Once we've told you you're in, go back to that same Join a community screen and enter:
wss://relay.gmhello.comSign in with the identity whose npub you sent us. Same screen where
you copied the key — you're just returning to it with our relay address.
Almost always one of two things: you haven't been added yet, or you're signed
in with a different identity than the key you sent — easy to do if you created a
second one while exploring. Check the npub in your profile against what
you sent us, and tell us if they don't match.