Pinboards

Pinboards

draft optional

This NIP defines a pinboard system for Nostr, enabling users to create visual collections of curated content. Pinboards use a two-event architecture that separates board metadata from individual pins, allowing for mixed-content curation, collaborative boards, cross-board pinning, and profile-level pins.

Motivation

NIP-51 defines list kinds for content curation, but these have structural limitations that Pinboards attempt to address.

Content-Type Segregation

NIP-51 defines separate curation set kinds for specific content types:

This forces users to maintain separate lists for different media. A "Japan Trip 2024" collection requires:

• A kind 30006 set for photos
• A kind 30005 set for videos
• A kind 30004 set for blog articles
• A kind 30003 set for external links

Pinboards allow heterogeneous content in a single collection. One "Japan Trip 2024" pinboard can contain photos, videos, articles, notes, external links, books, podcasts—organized together thematically.

Additional NIP-51 Limitations

Event Kinds

Kind 30067: Pinboard

A parameterized replaceable event containing board metadata. Pins are stored separately.

Required Tags:

Optional Tags:

Content: Empty string or optional description text.

Example:

{
  "kind": 30067,
  "pubkey": "<board-creator-pubkey>",
  "created_at": 1704067200,
  "content": "",
  "tags": [
    ["d", "japan-trip-2024"],
    ["title", "Japan Trip 2024"],
    ["description", "Photos, videos, and memories from my trip to Japan"],
    ["image", "https://example.com/mt-fuji.jpg"],
    ["t", "japan"],
    ["t", "travel"],
    ["collaborative"]
  ]
}

Board Address Format: 30067:<pubkey>:<d-tag>

Kind 39067: Pin

A regular event representing a single pinned item. Unlike NIP-51 lists where items are embedded as tags, each pin is its own event—enabling per-item authorship, comments, and flexible board membership.

Required Tags:

Board Reference Tags (Optional)

A pin with no board A tags is a "profile pin" displayed on the author's profile.

Content Reference Tags (Exactly One Required)

Pins reference content using two methods:

For Nostr events — use e or a tags:

For external content — use NIP-73 i tags:

Supported external content types include:

Metadata Tags (Optional)

Content: Optional comment about the pinned item.

Examples

Mixed-content board

A single "Japan Trip 2024" pinboard containing photos, videos, articles, notes, and external links:

// Photo (references kind:20 picture event)
{
  "kind": 39067,
  "content": "Sunrise at Mt. Fuji",
  "tags": [
    ["d", "<picture-event-id>"]
    ["A", "30067:<pubkey>:japan-trip-2024"],
    ["e", "<picture-event-id>", "wss://relay.example.com"]
  ]
}

// Video (references kind:21 video event)
{
  "kind": 39067,
  "content": "The bullet train experience",
  "tags": [
    ["d", "<video-event-id>"]
    ["A", "30067:<pubkey>:japan-trip-2024"],
    ["e", "<video-event-id>", "wss://relay.example.com"]
  ]
}

// Article (references kind:30023 long-form content)
{
  "kind": 39067,
  "content": "Great tips for first-time visitors",
  "tags": [
    ["d", "30023:<author>:tokyo-guide"]
    ["A", "30067:<pubkey>:japan-trip-2024"],
    ["a", "30023:<author>:tokyo-guide", "wss://relay.example.com"]
  ]
}

// Note (references kind:1 note)
{
  "kind": 39067,
  "content": "Best ramen I've ever had",
  "tags": [
    ["d", "<note-event-id>"]
    ["A", "30067:<pubkey>:japan-trip-2024"],
    ["e", "<note-event-id>", "wss://relay.example.com"]
  ]
}

// External URL (NIP-73)
{
  "kind": 39067,
  "content": "Where I stayed in Tokyo",
   "tags": [
    ["d", "https://booking.example.com/tokyo-hotel"]
    ["A", "30067:<pubkey>:japan-trip-2024"],
    ["i", "https://booking.example.com/tokyo-hotel"],
    ["k", "web"],
    ["title", "Tokyo Hotel Recommendation"]
  ]
}

// Book recommendation (NIP-73)
{
  "kind": 39067,
  "content": "Read this before visiting",
  "tags": [
    ["d", "isbn:9784805311981"]
    ["A", "30067:<pubkey>:japan-trip-2024"],
    ["i", "isbn:9784805311981"],
    ["k", "isbn"],
    ["title", "Japan Travel Guide"]
  ]
}

Pin to multiple boards

{
  "kind": 39067,
  "content": "",
  "tags": [
    ["d", "<picture-event-id>"]
    ["A", "30067:<pubkey>:japan-trip-2024"],
    ["A", "30067:<pubkey>:best-photos-2024"],
    ["A", "30067:<pubkey>:travel-memories"],
    ["e", "<picture-event-id>"]
  ]
}

Profile pin (no board)

{
  "kind": 39067,
  "content": "My favorite photo ever",
  "tags": [
    ["d", "<picture-event-id>"]
    ["e", "<picture-event-id>"],
    ["t", "photography"]
  ]
}

Pin a pinboard to another pinboard (meta-curation):

{
   "kind": 39067,
   "content": "Amazing travel photography collection",
   "tags": [
     ["d", "30067:<curator>:japan-trip-2024"]
     ["A", "30067:<owner>:best-of-2024"],
     ["a", "30067:<curator>:japan-trip-2024"]
   ]
}

Using NIP-B0 bookmark (optional)

Users who prefer to manage their web bookmarks as events can create a NIP-B0 bookmark first, then pin it:

{
  "kind": 39067,
  "content": "Great resource",
  "tags": [
    ["d", "39701:<pubkey>:github.com/nostr-protocol/nips"]
    ["A", "30067:<pubkey>:dev-resources"],
    ["a", "39701:<pubkey>:github.com/nostr-protocol/nips"]
  ]
}

This is optional—users can also pin URLs directly using NIP-73 i tags.

Collaboration Model

Private Boards (Default)

Without the collaborative tag, only the board owner's pins are displayed.

Filter for private board pins:

{
  "kinds": [39067],
  "authors": ["<board-owner-pubkey>"],
  "#A": ["30067:<board-owner-pubkey>:<d-tag>"]
}

Collaborative Boards

With the collaborative tag present, all pins referencing the board are displayed regardless of author.

Filter for collaborative board pins:

{
  "kinds": [39067],
  "#A": ["30067:<board-owner-pubkey>:<d-tag>"]
}

Content Type Inference

Clients infer content type from the reference to provide appropriate rendering:

**For e tag references:** Fetch the event and use its kind:

**For a tag references:** Parse kind from coordinate (kind:pubkey:d-tag):

**For i tag references:** Use the k tag value:

Client Behavior

Displaying Boards

1. Fetch board event (kind 30067) by coordinate
2. Fetch pins using appropriate filter based on collaborative flag
3. For each pin:
4. If e or a tag: fetch referenced Nostr event
5. If i tag: render based on content type, optionally fetch metadata
6. Display in masonry/grid layout with content-type-aware rendering

Creating Pins

1. Allow selection of target board(s) or "profile pin"
2. For Nostr content: use e or a tags
3. For external content: use NIP-73 i/k tags
4. Accept optional title, comment, and hashtags
5. Publish kind 39067 with appropriate tags

Profile Pins

Display pins by user that have no board A tag:

{"kinds": [39067], "authors": ["<pubkey>"]}

Filter client-side for pins without 30067: coordinate references.

Engagement

Boards support NIP-25 reactions and NIP-57 zaps:

{
  "kind": 7,
  "content": "+",
  "tags": [
    ["d", "<note-event-id>"]
    ["a", "30067:<pubkey>:<d-tag>"],
    ["p", "<board-author-pubkey>"]
  ]
}

Comparison with NIP-51

Security Considerations

• Validate URLs in i tags to prevent javascript: or data: scheme attacks
• Sanitize user content before rendering
• Collaborative boards may receive spam; consider reputation-based filtering

References

• [NIP-51: Lists](51.md)
• [NIP-73: External Content IDs](73.md)
• [NIP-B0: Web Bookmarks](B0.md)
• [NIP-25: Reactions](25.md)
• [NIP-22: Comment](22.md)
• [NIP-57: Lightning Zaps](57.md)