feat: Namecoin NIP-05 identity resolution (.bit domains, d/ and id/ namespaces)

[mstrofnone]

Summary

Add decentralised NIP-05-style identity verification via the Namecoin blockchain. Users with .bit domains or d//id/ namespace names can have their Nostr public keys verified without relying on centralised HTTP servers.

What is Namecoin?

Namecoin is a decentralised naming blockchain (the first fork of Bitcoin, launched 2011). Names registered in the d/ (domain) and id/ (identity) namespaces can store arbitrary JSON values, including Nostr public keys. This enables fully decentralised NIP-05 — identity verification that depends on no single server, registrar, or DNS provider.

Architecture

Browser  ──HTTP──▶  Proxy  ──TCP/TLS──▶  ElectrumX  ──▶  Namecoin blockchain
(fetch)           (Node.js)             (nmc2.bitcoins.sk:57001)

Browsers cannot make raw TCP/TLS connections to ElectrumX servers. A lightweight HTTP proxy bridges the gap, handling all ElectrumX protocol details:

1. Build canonical name index script (OP_NAME_UPDATE + name + empty + OP_2DROP OP_DROP OP_RETURN)
2. Compute Electrum-style scripthash (SHA-256, byte-reversed)
3. Query blockchain.scripthash.get_history
4. Fetch raw transaction and parse NAME_UPDATE script
5. Check name expiry against current block height (NAME_EXPIRE_DEPTH = 36000)

Supported Identifier Formats

Input	Namecoin name	Lookup
alice@example.bit	d/example	Look up alice in nostr.names
_@example.bit	d/example	Root entry
example.bit	d/example	Root entry
d/example	d/example	Direct domain lookup
id/alice	id/alice	Identity namespace lookup

Namecoin Value Formats

Domain (d/) — simple:

{"nostr": "hex64pubkey"}

Domain (d/) — NIP-05-like extended:

{"nostr": {"names": {"alice": "hex64pubkey"}, "relays": {"hex64pubkey": ["wss://..."]}}}

Identity (id/) — simple:

{"nostr": "hex64pubkey"}

Identity (id/) — with relays:

{"nostr": {"pubkey": "hex64pubkey", "relays": ["wss://..."]}}

Changes

New files

• packages/shared/src/namecoin.ts — Core resolver module with LRU cache, identifier parsing, value extraction
• packages/shared/src/namecoin.test.ts — Unit tests for parsing and value extraction
• proxy/electrumx-client.mjs — Server-side ElectrumX TCP/TLS client
• proxy/electrumx-proxy.mjs — Standalone HTTP proxy server
• proxy/vite-plugin-namecoin.mjs — Vite dev middleware for zero-setup development

Modified files

• packages/shared/src/utils.ts — Routes .bit domains to Namecoin resolver in fetchNip05PubkeyWithThrow and fetchNostrAddressWithThrow
• packages/shared/src/index.ts — Exports namecoin module
• packages/app/src/Components/User/Nip05.tsx — Amber .bit badge with ⛓ chain-link icon and "Verified via Namecoin blockchain" tooltip
• packages/app/vite.config.ts — Registers Vite proxy plugin for dev

How to Run

Development (zero setup)

The Vite plugin automatically serves /api/namecoin/* during bun run dev, proxying to the default ElectrumX server. No additional configuration needed.

Production

Set VITE_NAMECOIN_PROXY_URL to your hosted proxy URL:

VITE_NAMECOIN_PROXY_URL=https://your-proxy.example.com

Or run the standalone proxy:

node proxy/electrumx-proxy.mjs --port 8089 --host nmc2.bitcoins.sk --electrum-port 57001

Prior Art

• Amethyst (Android): Full Namecoin integration in main branch — source
• Coracle (Svelte): PR #662
• Amethyst iOS: PR #2199
• NIP-05 spec: nostr-protocol/nips/05.md
• Tor Browser Namecoin integration: Tor ticket #31839