Welcome to ZapTracker! This guide will help you unlock the full potential of your all-in-one Bitcoin Lightning and Nostr dashboard.
New to the codebase? Check out STRUCTURE.md for the technical organization of the project.
- First Steps
- Understanding Your Dashboard
- Wallet Operations
- Content Creation
- Media Management
- Growing Your Audience
- Running Campaigns
- Analytics Deep Dive
- Tips & Best Practices
- Troubleshooting
Before diving in, make sure you have:
- A Nostr Identity - Your cryptographic identity on the Nostr network
- A NIP-07 Browser Extension - Such as Alby, nos2x, or Flamingo
- A NWC-Compatible Wallet - For Lightning payments (Alby, Coinos, LNBits, etc.)
Step 1: Connect Your Nostr Identity
- Navigate to Settings from the sidebar
- Click Connect Nostr
- Your browser extension will prompt you to approve the connection
- Once approved, ZapTracker loads your profile and begins syncing your zap history
Step 2: Connect Your Wallet (NWC)
- Open your NWC-compatible wallet
- Navigate to Settings → Connect Apps
- Copy your Nostr Wallet Connect URL (starts with
nostr+walletconnect://) - In ZapTracker, go to Settings → Wallet Connection
- Paste your NWC URL
Your wallet balance will now appear in real-time on your dashboard.
Privacy Note: All data stays in your browser's local storage. ZapTracker never stores your information on external servers.
The Dashboard is your command center. Here's what each metric tells you:
| Metric | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Total Zaps | Number of zaps you've received |
| Total Sats | Cumulative satoshis from all zaps |
| Average Zap | Mean amount per zap - shows engagement quality |
| Unique Supporters | Individual people who've zapped you |
| Wallet Balance | Current Lightning wallet balance (if NWC connected) |
The 30-day activity chart reveals patterns:
- Spikes often correlate with viral content or campaign activity
- Consistent levels indicate steady community engagement
- Drops might signal time for fresh content or outreach
With NWC connected, your balance updates in real-time. The wallet view shows:
- Current balance in sats
- Recent transactions
- Send/receive options
- Go to Wallet in the sidebar
- Click Send
- Enter a Lightning invoice or LNURL
- Confirm the amount and send
- Go to Wallet
- Click Receive
- Generate an invoice for a specific amount (or leave open for any amount)
- Share the QR code or invoice string
All your wallet transactions appear in the wallet view, showing:
- Amount (in/out)
- Timestamp
- Payment description (if available)
ZapTracker supports multiple content types for Nostr publishing.
Quick thoughts, updates, or announcements:
- Go to Content or Notes
- Write your message
- Add mentions using
@username - Click Publish
Your note broadcasts to connected relays immediately.
For in-depth content like tutorials, essays, or newsletters:
- Go to Content → New Article
- Use the rich text editor for formatting
- Add a title and summary
- Include images or media embeds
- Publish when ready
Long-form content is ideal for building authority and earning meaningful zaps.
After publishing, track how your content performs:
- Zaps received per piece
- Total sats earned from each
- Engagement patterns over time
See use_cases.md for real-world content strategies.
ZapTracker includes a built-in media library powered by Blossom — a decentralized file storage protocol for Nostr.
- Go to Media in the sidebar
- Drag files onto the upload zone, or click to browse
- Supported types: images, video, audio
- Files upload to your configured Blossom servers
Switch between two views:
- Grid view — visual cards with thumbnails, hover actions, and selection checkboxes
- List view — compact table with columns for type, size, date, and server count
Filter by type (All, Images, Video, Audio) and sort by date or size.
- Preview — click any file to open a fullscreen lightbox (keyboard nav: arrow keys, Esc to close)
- Copy URL — grab the Blossom URL for embedding in notes or articles
- Download — save the file locally
- Delete — remove from your Blossom servers
- Bulk select — check multiple files, then delete in batch
Files can be stored on multiple Blossom servers. A server badge shows how many servers host each file. Manage your server list in Settings.
Navigate to Audience to see:
- Your follower count
- Recent followers
- Audience growth over time
- Engagement statistics
Follow Lists help you curate and share groups of Nostr users:
Creating a Follow List:
- Go to Audience → Follow Lists
- Click Create New List
- Add users by searching their npub or username
- Name and describe your list
- Save and optionally publish to share with others
Use Cases for Follow Lists:
- Curate "Best Bitcoin Developers" lists
- Create community starter packs for newcomers
- Build topical lists (photographers, musicians, educators)
- Share your recommended follows with your audience
See use_cases.md for more Follow List strategies.
ZapGoals let you run Kickstarter-style funding campaigns with Bitcoin zaps.
- Navigate to Campaigns
- Click Create Campaign
- Fill in:
- Title - Clear, compelling name
- Goal Amount - Target in sats
- Description - What you're funding and why
- Duration - When the campaign ends
- Publish your campaign
Once live, share your campaign:
- Direct link to the campaign page
- Embed in your Nostr notes
- Share on other platforms
The campaign dashboard shows:
- Current amount raised
- Percentage of goal
- Number of contributors
- Time remaining
- Recent zaps to the campaign
The Analytics section provides detailed insights into your zap activity.
Understand your audience:
- Top Supporters - Your most generous zappers
- Zap Distribution - Size breakdown of incoming zaps
- Peak Times - When your audience is most active
- Identify top content - What topics earn the most?
- Find optimal posting times - When does your audience engage?
- Recognize loyal supporters - Who consistently supports you?
- Consistency matters - Regular content keeps supporters engaged
- Respond to zappers - Thank your supporters publicly
- Use campaigns strategically - Tie campaigns to specific deliverables
- Cross-promote - Share ZapTracker stats in your notes
- Use a dedicated NWC wallet - Don't use your main savings
- Set spending limits - Configure limits in your wallet app
- Regular withdrawals - Move earned sats to cold storage periodically
- Mix formats - Short notes for engagement, long-form for depth
- Include calls-to-action - Let people know they can zap you
- Track what works - Use analytics to refine your approach
Symptoms: NWC URL not recognized, balance not showing
Solutions:
- Verify the URL starts with
nostr+walletconnect:// - Check that your wallet app is online and NWC is enabled
- Try regenerating the NWC connection in your wallet
- Clear browser cache and reconnect
Symptoms: Sent/received zaps don't show up
Solutions:
- Wait a few moments - relay syncing can take time
- Check your relay connections in Settings
- Verify your npub is correctly connected
- Refresh the page
Symptoms: Default avatar, missing profile data
Solutions:
- Ensure your NIP-07 extension is unlocked
- Check that you've published a profile to relays
- Verify relay connectivity in Settings
- Try reconnecting your Nostr identity
Symptoms: Connection prompts not appearing, signing fails
Solutions:
- Check that only one NIP-07 extension is active
- Verify the extension has permissions for this site
- Try reloading the extension
- Check extension-specific settings
For technical details on NIP-07 integration, see nip07.md.
- Explore use cases: See use_cases.md for real-world scenarios
- Understand the code: Check STRUCTURE.md for the technical architecture
- Get help: Visit GitHub Discussions
- Report issues: GitHub Issues
This guide is part of the ZapTracker documentation. For installation instructions, see README.md.