Ketab Protocol

Ketab Protocol (LIBRARY-01) is a Nostr-based protocol for organizing native books and library curation.

Core Concept

Three-Actor Model: Ketab Protocol is built on three distinct roles (a single pubkey owner can play multiple roles):

• Authors publish books (Book events, kind 38891) organizing NIP-23 chapters into books
• Librarians publish library entries (Library Entry events, kind 38892) to curate books with personal metadata (notes, rating, tags, read status)
• Readers publish comments (kind 1) and snippets (kind 9802) to engage with chapters

Native Publishing Only: Ketab Protocol only supports native Nostr book publishing. Books must be created and published directly on Nostr using NIP-23 chapters. The protocol does not support importing or bringing existing books from external sources (PDFs, EPUBs, etc.) onto Nostr.

Event Kinds

Kind	Name	Description
38890	Library Event	Book curation container (replaceable)
38891	Book Event	Book metadata and chapter organization (replaceable)
38892	Library Entry	Library-specific metadata about a curated book (replaceable)

Standard Nostr Kinds for Engagement

Chapters (NIP-23 events) support engagement through standard Nostr kinds:

• Kind 1 - Text Note (reader comments)
• Kind 9802 - Highlights (reader snippets/quotes, NIP-84)
• Kind 9735 - Zap Receipt (zap reactions, NIP-57)
• Kind 6 - Repost (sharing books/chapters, NIP-18)

Protocol Integration

NextBlock City Integration

Ketab Protocol is integrated into NextBlock City through the KetabAdapter. When enabled, the city automatically subscribes to Ketab Protocol events (kinds 38890-38892) and provides hooks for library, book, and library entry events.

Configuration:

const city = new NextBlockCity({
  signer: window.nostr,
  protocols: {
    ketab: true,  // Enable Ketab Protocol hooks (default: true)
  },
});

await city.enter();

// Access Ketab adapter
const ketab_adapter = city.ketab_adapter;  // If exposed

// Register handlers
ketab_adapter.on_library_event(async (ctx) => {
  console.log('Library:', ctx.content.name);
});

ketab_adapter.on_book_event(async (ctx) => {
  console.log('Book:', ctx.content.title);
});

ketab_adapter.on_library_entry_event(async (ctx) => {
  console.log('Library Entry:', ctx.content.notes);
});

ketab_adapter.start();

Integration Details:

• Adapter: KetabAdapter in @nextblock/city/packages/city/src/adapters/ketab.ts (to be implemented)
• Event Kinds: 38890 (Library), 38891 (Book), 38892 (Library Entry)
• Hooks: on_library_event(), on_book_event(), on_library_entry_event()

Integration Status: Ketab Protocol integration is planned. The adapter will be implemented following the pattern established by ATTN, City, and Dynasty protocols.

See NextBlock City Protocol Integration Guide for details on how protocols integrate.

City Protocol Integration

Ketab Protocol integrates with City Protocol for block synchronization. Library events reference City block events for timing:

Block Event Coordinate: 38808:<clock_pubkey>:org.cityprotocol:block:<height>:<hash>

This allows libraries to operate on Bitcoin time without needing their own block event infrastructure.

Packages

This monorepo contains the core Ketab Protocol packages:

• @ketab/protocol - LIBRARY-01 specification (markdown docs only)
• @ketab/core - TypeScript types and constants (no runtime code)
• @ketab/sdk - Event construction utilities, Nostr signing/publishing

Development

This project uses npm workspaces for local development.

Setup

npm install

Type Check

npm run typecheck

Working with Workspaces

• Install dependency in specific package: npm install <package> --workspace=@ketab/core
• Run script in specific package: npm run <script> --workspace=@ketab/core
• Run script in all packages: npm run <script> (from root)

Related Projects

• City Protocol - Block-aware domain protocol that Ketab Protocol references for timing
• ATTN Protocol - Decentralized attention marketplace
• Nostr Protocol

License

MIT