Broadcastr is a free, open-source Nostr relay tool for people who run relays or want their posts to reach more of the network. Written in Rust and released under the MIT license, it takes events that arrive at one relay and passes them along to other relays, so content is not tied to a single server. The current version is 0.0.3, and the code was last updated on July 24, 2026, which places the project in early development rather than a finished release.
If you are new to Nostr, think of it as a network of independent servers, called relays, that store and pass along short signed messages. Broadcastr focuses on the distribution step: it decides what to forward, where to send it, and how to avoid being blocked for sending too much. It suits operators comparing Windows-compatible Nostr software, but read the setup notes below before relying on it.
What Is a Nostr Relay, and Why Does Forwarding Matter?
Nostr is an open protocol for social messaging. Users sign their events with a private key, and relays store and serve those events. No single company or server controls the network, so a user's posts exist wherever relays carry them.
A relay that holds an event is only one copy of it. If that relay goes offline, slows down or drops content, the event may disappear for readers who relied on it. Forwarding solves this problem by copying events from one relay to others, which improves availability and reach.
Forwarding also creates duplicates and extra traffic. A good forwarding tool therefore needs to know what is already published, which relays to skip and how often it can send. These are the questions Broadcastr is built around.
Who Broadcastr Is For
Broadcastr is aimed mainly at people who operate relays. That includes individuals running a personal relay for their own accounts, small communities that want shared content to survive across several servers, and developers who need to test how events travel between relays.
If you only read and post through a Nostr client, you probably do not need a forwarding tool. Clients handle the everyday work of signing and displaying events. Broadcastr works one layer below, on the relay side, where the distribution decisions are made.
The tool also suits anyone who cares about privacy of network location. Its Tor and onion relay support gives those operators another option. Because the project is still early, it is most appropriate for technically comfortable users who can review settings and check their results.
How Forwarding Plays Out in Everyday Use
Consider a community relay maintained by a few moderators. They want posts from a set of trusted members to reach a wider group of relays. With an author filter and a short list of event kinds, the relay forwards only that material, and the rest stays local.
Another scenario is a researcher who wants to archive public notes from a few accounts. Narrow subscriptions keep the archive manageable, and duplicate checks prevent the same event from being stored and sent again and again. The ignore list can keep the process away from servers that rejected earlier attempts.
A third case involves an operator who wants to reach relays through Tor. Onion relays can be included in the forwarding set, which keeps part of the traffic on a different path. Testing with a small set of relays before scaling up helps you see how timing and rate limits affect your results.
Key features
Relay discovery
Spam filtering
Event filtering
Automatic subscription and distribution
Protected event handling
Tor and onion relays
Relay ignore list
Rate-limit awareness and duplicate checks
Supported coins
Broadcastr works within the Nostr network. Nostr is a protocol for signed social messages rather than a coin or blockchain network, so the tool's scope is the relay layer: receiving, filtering and forwarding events between servers. It does not handle wallets or coin transactions.
How to install Broadcastr on Windows
- 1
Check for a ready-made Windows build
Open the project's GitHub repository at github.com/codonaft/broadcastr and look at the Releases page. Download only from the official website or the GitHub Releases page, and avoid copies from other sites. Windows support is listed as likely, so a build for your system may or may not be posted.
- 2
Verify the file
Compare the SHA-256 checksum of the downloaded file with the value published alongside the release. If no checksum or signature is posted, do not run the file. In that case, building from source is the more cautious choice.
- 3
Install the executable
Place the verified file in a dedicated folder, such as one under your user profile, so it is easy to find and update. Run it from Command Prompt or PowerShell to confirm it starts correctly before you configure any relays.
-
Build from source with Cargo if needed
If no suitable Windows build exists, install the Rust toolchain using the official rustup installer. Then run cargo install --locked --force --git https://github.com/codonaft/broadcastr in a terminal. The --locked flag uses the project's lock file for reproducible dependencies, and --force replaces an existing installation. Rust is needed only for building, not for running the finished program.
System requirements
- A Rust toolchain is needed only if you build from source with Cargo, not to run a ready-made binary.
- If the relay sits behind a reverse proxy and you want it to see client IP addresses, the proxy must pass the X-Forwarded-For or X-Real-IP request header.
How to use Broadcastr
Broadcastr is configured around three questions: where events come from, which events move on, and where they go. Set these up before you start the relay, and test with a small group of authors so you can see the effects clearly.
- Decide which relays should receive forwarded events, and start with a short list you know well.
- Set the author filter to the accounts whose events you want to carry forward.
- Choose the event kinds to include, such as short notes, and leave out kinds you do not need.
- Add any relays you want to avoid to the ignore list, including ones that repeatedly reject your events.
- Enable relay discovery only after your basic setup works, so you understand where new relays come from.
- Start the relay, watch the output for rejected or duplicate events, and adjust filters if the traffic looks wrong.
Keep a log of changes so you can roll back a filter that causes problems. Expanding the relay list slowly gives you time to notice rate-limit warnings from other servers.
Pros & cons
- Free and released under the MIT license, so the code can be read, modified and redistributed.
- Source code is public on GitHub, which lets technical users inspect how it works.
- Built-in spam filtering and event filtering by author and event kind.
- Tor and onion relay support for operators who want a different network path.
- Checks for duplicate events and aims to reduce the risk of rate-limiting.
- Version 0.0.3 is early, so expect rough edges and changes between releases.
- Windows support is listed as likely rather than confirmed, so check the Releases page first.
- Without a prebuilt file, you need the Rust toolchain to build from source.
- It is a relay-side tool for operators and does not replace a Nostr client for everyday posting.
Is Broadcastr safe?
Broadcastr is a network tool rather than a wallet, but it still handles signed events and sits on your network connection, so treat installation with care. Download only from the official website or the GitHub Releases page, and verify the SHA-256 checksum or signature before running the file. Avoid copies from third-party download sites, which may be altered.
Never enter a private key or any account secret on a third-party website, including sites claiming to offer a relay service or a Windows build. The project's MIT license and public code make review possible, and reading the source before you run a build is a reasonable step for relay operators. The last code update was on July 24, 2026, so the project is not abandoned, but it is early. Check the latest version on the official website before installing.
- Official source only. Download from github.com/codonaft/broadcastr. Ignore ads and lookalike domains.
- Check the SHA-256. Compare the installer hash with the value the developer publishes before running it.
- Never share your seed phrase. No developer, support agent or website — including CryptApps — will ever ask for it.
Alternatives
Most Nostr entries in this catalog are clients, such as Amethyst, Coop, Gossip, Vega and Blockcore Notes. These are built for reading, posting and messaging. Broadcastr is different because it works on the relay side, moving events between servers rather than displaying them to a person. Gossip is a desktop Nostr client written in Rust, so it shares a language with Broadcastr, but the two serve different roles.
NAK and Nostr Commander RS are command-line tools. NAK is a general-purpose utility for working with Nostr, while Nostr Commander RS is a CLI client for sending and reading. Nostr VPN is another category altogether, a mesh VPN built on Nostr signaling. For a relay operator, Broadcastr is the closest match in purpose, and it is best used alongside a client rather than in place of one.
Specifications
- Price
- Free
- Type
- Open source
- License
- MIT
- Latest version
- 0.0.3
- Last update
- 24 Jul 2026
- Windows support
- Likely (builds for Windows; check releases)
- Source code
- github.com/codonaft/broadcastr
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Broadcastr is listed as free and released under the MIT license. That license lets you use, copy, modify and redistribute the code, including for personal or commercial relay operations. Keep the license notice if you share modified copies, and review the repository for the exact terms.
It can be, provided you handle the download carefully. Use only the project's own GitHub pages, check the SHA-256 checksum or signature, and avoid third-party copies. Version 0.0.3 is early, so test it with a small relay setup before trusting it with important traffic. The safety section covers the details.
If a Windows build appears on the GitHub Releases page, download it, verify the checksum and run the executable. If no build is available, install the Rust toolchain and run cargo install --locked --force --git https://github.com/codonaft/broadcastr in a terminal. Rust is needed only for building, so the finished program can run without it.
Yes. Broadcastr can work with relays reachable through Tor onion addresses. This helps operators who want to reduce direct exposure of their network location. Expect slower connections, because traffic travels through the Tor network, and test your forwarding setup to confirm that onion relays behave as you expect.
A Nostr relay is a server that receives, stores and passes along signed events from the Nostr network. Users connect their clients to one or more relays to read and publish posts. Because relays are independent, content can be copied across several of them, which is where forwarding tools like Broadcastr come in.
It includes spam filtering that screens events before they are forwarded, which reduces the chance of passing junk content to other relays. No filter catches everything, so combine it with your own author lists and event kind filters. Review the ignore list regularly so that relays which complain about your traffic are removed or adjusted.
No. Broadcastr runs on the relay side, moving events between servers. It does not provide the reading and posting interface that a Nostr client offers. Most people who run a relay will still use a client for their own accounts, and Broadcastr helps the relay spread that content more widely.
Verdict
Broadcastr for Windows suits technically comfortable people who run Nostr relays and want to forward selected events to other servers. It is free, MIT-licensed and open source, with spam filtering, event filters, Tor support and duplicate checks. Its early version number and unconfirmed Windows build status mean it is best tested with a small setup first. If you mainly want to post and read, pair a Nostr client with a relay instead of relying on this tool alone.