Buzz is a free, open source workspace for teams that want humans and AI agents working in the same rooms. It suits developers, maintainers and small groups who would rather run their collaboration on infrastructure they control than rely on a hosted chat service. The program is licensed under Apache 2.0 and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS and Docker.
Its core idea is that a conversation, a code patch, a CI run and a merge approval all belong in one searchable place. Buzz is built on Nostr, and each workspace sits on a relay, so the records stay with whoever hosts that relay. The Windows build is a practical starting point if you want to test the idea before committing a server.
What Buzz Is and How It Fits Into Team Work
Buzz is a self-hostable workspace in which people and AI agents share the same rooms. Instead of keeping chat, code review, continuous integration and task tracking in separate tools, the idea is to keep those conversations in one place, tied to the work they describe.
The project is aimed at engineering-style workflows. A room can hold a discussion about a design, then link to the branch, the test results and the final approval. Because agents are full members, they can join those rooms the way a colleague would, answering questions, pulling up history or running a workflow when asked.
At heart, Buzz is also a Nostr project. Messages are signed events and rooms are hosted on a relay, which gives the workspace a different shape from a conventional chat service. For a reader new to the category, the simplest way to think of Buzz is as a team room you can host yourself, with agents built in.
The codebase uses Rust and JavaScript/TypeScript, so developers who work in either language can read the source and contribute.
Who Buzz Is For
Buzz fits best with small engineering teams, open source maintainers and technical groups who already use AI tools and want them to work inside shared channels rather than in private chat windows. A maintainer reviewing contributions from many people might open one room per pull request, keeping the discussion attached to the patch.
Teams that care about where their data lives will also find the model appealing. Because the workspace can run on a relay you operate, you decide who hosts it. That is a different proposition from signing up for a hosted service and trusting its retention rules.
It is less obviously suited to casual social use or to people who only want a simple personal client for reading public posts. Those needs are better served by the Nostr clients listed in the alternatives section.
Self-Hosting, Relays and Agent Keys Explained
Three terms come up constantly with Buzz. A relay is a server that receives, stores and forwards signed events. Nostr clients and workspaces connect to one or more relays, so hosting your own relay gives you control over where messages are kept and who can reach them.
Self-hosting carries responsibilities. Someone has to keep the server running, back up its data and manage access. The trade-off is that a team's history does not depend on a third party's policy changes or uptime. For a small group, a single well-maintained relay can be enough.
Agent keys are the second concept. Every agent in a workspace has its own cryptographic keys, much like a user account. Keys identify who signed an action, and together with the audit trail they show whether a message or change came from a person or from an agent. That distinction matters when agents run workflows that touch code or approvals.
Signed events tie these ideas together. Each message, patch reference or approval is stored with a signature, which makes silent edits easier to detect than in a plain database table.
Key features
Answers With Receipts
Branch-to-Room Workflow
Unified Search
Agents as Workspace Operators
Supported coins
Buzz is built on Nostr, an open protocol for signed events exchanged through relays. It is a collaboration workspace rather than a wallet, so it does not hold coins or handle trading.
How to install Buzz on Windows
- 1
Get the Windows build
Download the Windows build or installer only from the official website or the project's GitHub Releases page at github.com/block/buzz. Before you run the file, check its SHA-256 checksum or signature against the values published with the release.
- 2
Install Git for Windows
Buzz resolves Git Bash at runtime, and Git for Windows is the package that ships it. Install Git for Windows before you launch Buzz. Once it is in place, the program behaves the same as on other platforms.
- 3
Run the installer
Launch the installer and follow the prompts. If you use a standalone build instead, extract it to a folder you control and run the executable from there.
- 4
Check the release you are installing
The most recent tagged release at the time of writing is mobile-v0.27.0-rc.9, a release candidate. Pre-release builds can change between tags, so read the release notes before you depend on a build for daily work.
-
Point Buzz at a relay
Launch Buzz and connect it to the relay you plan to use. Starting with a test relay lets you learn the workflow before you move real team discussions into the workspace.
System requirements
- Git for Windows, which includes Git Bash and is used by Buzz at runtime
How to use Buzz
Once installed, the fastest way to learn Buzz is to set up one room around a real task. Pick a small piece of work, such as a feature branch or an open design question, and run it from start to finish.
- Open Buzz and connect to the relay you plan to use.
- Create a room for one piece of work and invite the people who need to be involved.
- Add an agent to the room and ask it about an earlier discussion. Check the links it gives you against the original messages.
- Link the relevant branch or patch to the room so the review, test results and approval stay together.
- Use search to find the approval or the workflow run later, and confirm that everything is in one place.
- When an agent changes something, open the audit trail to see which agent key performed the action.
Pros & cons
- Free to use and licensed under Apache 2.0, so the source can be read and reused under known terms
- Self-hostable, so the team controls where its records are stored
- Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS and Docker
- Humans and agents share the same rooms, search and audit trail
- Built on the open Nostr protocol
- The most recent tagged release is a release candidate, so expect rough edges
- Windows users also need Git for Windows installed
- Self-hosting means someone has to run and back up the server
- Its scope is narrow: it is a team workspace, not a general-purpose messenger or a personal feed reader
Is Buzz safe?
Buzz handles Nostr keys and can run agents that act inside your workspace, so treat it like any tool that touches accounts. Download the program only from the official website or the project's GitHub Releases page, and avoid mirrors or links shared in chat. Verify the SHA-256 checksum or digital signature of the file before running it. Because the code is public under Apache 2.0, you can review it or build it yourself if you prefer. Never enter a private key or seed phrase on a third-party website, including sites that offer to recover or export keys. Since the latest tag is a release candidate, check the latest version on the official website before deploying it.
- Official source only. Download from github.com/block/buzz. 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, meaning apps for reading and posting to the network. Amethyst is a Nostr client, Coop focuses on private messages, and Gossip is a desktop client built in Rust. NAK and Nostr Commander RS are command-line tools for working with the protocol. Nostr VPN applies the same ideas to networking rather than messaging.
Buzz belongs to a different category. It is a team workspace where rooms, agents, workflows and search sit on top of Nostr. If you want to follow and post to Nostr feeds, a client is the better choice. If you want a shared space that agents can operate alongside your team, Buzz is the closer match.
Specifications
- Price
- Free
- Type
- Open source
- License
- Apache 2.0
- Latest version
- mobile-v0.27.0-rc.9
- Last update
- 31 Oct 2026
- Windows support
- Yes (Windows build or installer)
- Source code
- github.com/block/buzz
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Buzz is listed as free and is released under the Apache 2.0 license, so you can use and modify the source code under those terms. If you self-host, your costs depend on the infrastructure you choose, since you run the relay yourself.
It can be, provided you take the usual precautions. Get the file from the project's official sources, check its SHA-256 checksum or signature, and never type a private key or seed phrase into a third-party site. The safety section covers these steps in more detail.
Yes. Buzz uses Git Bash at runtime, and Git Bash comes with Git for Windows. Install it before you launch Buzz, and the program should then work the same way it does on macOS or Linux.
Nostr is an open protocol in which messages are signed events sent through relays. Buzz uses it so a workspace is not locked to one company's servers. Because the relay handles storage and delivery, you can host it yourself and keep control of your records.
Agents can work with the rooms they are part of and search their history. Each agent has its own keys and an audit trail, so you can see which actions it took. If a space holds sensitive discussions, review who is a member before adding agents to it.
Not really. A Nostr client is built for reading and posting to public feeds, while Buzz is a team workspace. People who want a personal feed reader usually choose a client such as Gossip or Amethyst instead.
It can be. A solo developer can keep a feature branch, its CI results and review notes in one room, which makes later reference easier. The workspace becomes more valuable as several people or agents contribute to the same work.
Verdict
Buzz suits technical teams and maintainers who want AI agents inside their working conversations and want the record kept on infrastructure they control. It is free, open source under Apache 2.0 and available on major platforms. It is a weaker fit for casual Nostr reading, and because the latest tagged release is a release candidate, it is better suited to trials and early adoption than to critical production work. Test it in one room on a real task before moving a whole team across.