v0.3.5 - nip42 implemented

.roo/architect/AGENTS.md

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+
+# AGENTS.md - AI Agent Integration Guide for Architect Mode
+
+**Project-Specific Information for AI Agents Working with C-Relay in Architect Mode**
+
+## Critical Architecture Understanding
+
+### System Architecture Overview
+C-Relay implements a **unique event-based configuration architecture** that fundamentally differs from traditional Nostr relays:
+
+```
+┌─────────────────┐    ┌──────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
+│   WebSocket     │    │  Configuration   │    │    Database     │
+│   + HTTP        │◄──►│  Event System    │◄──►│   (SQLite)      │
+│   (Port 8888)   │    │  (Kind 33334)    │    │  Schema v4      │
+└─────────────────┘    └──────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
+         │                       │                       │
+         ▼                       ▼                       ▼
+┌─────────────────┐    ┌──────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
+│ nostr_core_lib  │    │   Admin Key      │    │ Event Storage   │
+│ (Crypto/Sigs)   │    │   Management     │    │ + Subscriptions │
+└─────────────────┘    └──────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
+```
+
+### Core Architectural Principles
+
+#### 1. Event-Driven Configuration
+**Design Philosophy**: Configuration as cryptographically signed events rather than files
+- **Benefits**: Auditability, remote management, tamper-evidence
+- **Trade-offs**: Complexity in configuration changes, admin key management burden
+- **Implementation**: Kind 33334 events stored in same database as relay events
+
+#### 2. Identity-Based Database Naming
+**Design Philosophy**: Database file named by relay's generated public key
+- **Benefits**: Prevents database conflicts, enables multi-relay deployments
+- **Trade-offs**: Cannot predict database filename, complicates backup strategies
+- **Implementation**: `<relay_pubkey>.db` created in build/ directory
+
+#### 3. Single-Binary Deployment
+**Design Philosophy**: All functionality embedded in one executable
+- **Benefits**: Simple deployment, no external dependencies to manage
+- **Trade-offs**: Larger binary size, harder to modularize
+- **Implementation**: SQL schema embedded as header file, nostr_core_lib as submodule
+
+#### 4. Dual-Protocol Support
+**Design Philosophy**: WebSocket (Nostr) and HTTP (NIP-11) on same port
+- **Benefits**: Simplified port management, reduced infrastructure complexity
+- **Trade-offs**: Protocol detection overhead, libwebsockets dependency
+- **Implementation**: Request routing based on HTTP headers and upgrade requests
+
+## Architectural Decision Analysis
+
+### Configuration System Design
+**Traditional Approach vs C-Relay:**
+```
+Traditional:           C-Relay:
+config.json     →     kind 33334 events
+ENV variables   →     cryptographically signed tags
+File watching   →     database polling/restart
+```
+
+**Implications for Extensions:**
+- Configuration changes require event signing capabilities
+- No hot-reloading without architectural changes
+- Admin key loss = complete database reset required
+
+### Database Architecture Decisions
+**Schema Design Philosophy:**
+- **Event Tags as JSON**: Separate table with JSON column instead of normalized relations
+- **Application-Level Filtering**: NIP-40 expiration handled in C, not SQL
+- **Embedded Schema**: Version 4 schema compiled into binary
+
+**Scaling Considerations:**
+- SQLite suitable for small-to-medium relays (< 10k concurrent connections)
+- Single-writer limitation of SQLite affects write-heavy workloads
+- JSON tag storage optimizes for read performance over write normalization
+
+### Memory Management Architecture
+**Thread Safety Model:**
+- Global subscription manager with mutex protection
+- Per-client subscription limits enforced in memory
+- WebSocket connection state managed by libwebsockets
+
+**Resource Management:**
+- JSON objects use reference counting (jansson library)
+- String duplication pattern for configuration values
+- Automatic cleanup on client disconnect
+
+## Architectural Extension Points
+
+### Adding New Configuration Options
+**Required Changes:**
+1. Update [`default_config_event.h`](src/default_config_event.h) template
+2. Add parsing logic in [`config.c`](src/config.c) `load_config_from_database()`
+3. Add global config struct field in [`config.h`](src/config.h)
+4. Update documentation in [`docs/configuration_guide.md`](docs/configuration_guide.md)
+
+### Adding New NIP Support
+**Integration Pattern:**
+1. Event validation in [`request_validator.c`](src/request_validator.c)
+2. Protocol handling in [`main.c`](src/main.c) WebSocket callback
+3. Database storage considerations in schema
+4. Add test in `tests/` directory
+
+### Scaling Architecture
+**Current Limitations:**
+- Single process, no horizontal scaling
+- SQLite single-writer bottleneck
+- Memory-based subscription management
+
+**Potential Extensions:**
+- Redis for subscription state sharing
+- PostgreSQL for better concurrent write performance
+- Load balancer for read scaling with multiple instances
+
+## Deployment Architecture Patterns
+
+### Development Deployment
+```
+Developer Machine:
+├── ./make_and_restart_relay.sh
+├── build/c_relay_x86
+├── build/<relay_pubkey>.db
+└── relay.log
+```
+
+### Production SystemD Deployment
+```
+/opt/c-relay/:
+├── c_relay_x86
+├── <relay_pubkey>.db
+├── systemd service (c-relay.service)
+└── c-relay user isolation
+```
+
+### Container Deployment Architecture
+```
+Container:
+├── Multi-stage build (deps + binary)
+├── Volume mount for database persistence
+├── Health checks via NIP-11 endpoint
+└── Signal handling for graceful shutdown
+```
+
+### Reverse Proxy Architecture
+```
+Internet → Nginx/HAProxy → C-Relay
+                       ├── WebSocket upgrade handling
+                       ├── SSL termination
+                       └── Rate limiting
+```
+
+## Security Architecture Considerations
+
+### Key Management Design
+**Admin Key Security Model:**
+- Generated once, displayed once, never stored
+- Required for all configuration changes
+- Loss requires complete database reset
+
+**Relay Identity Model:**
+- Separate keypair for relay identity
+- Public key used for database naming
+- Private key never exposed to clients
+
+### Event Validation Pipeline
+```
+WebSocket Input → JSON Parse → Schema Validate → Signature Verify → Store
+                             ↓                 ↓                  ↓
+                    reject    reject          reject           success
+```
+
+### Attack Surface Analysis
+**Network Attack Vectors:**
+- WebSocket connection flooding (mitigated by libwebsockets limits)
+- JSON parsing attacks (handled by jansson library bounds checking)
+- SQLite injection (prevented by prepared statements)
+
+**Configuration Attack Vectors:**
+- Admin key compromise (complete relay control)
+- Event signature forgery (prevented by nostr_core_lib validation)
+- Replay attacks (event timestamp validation required)
+
+## Non-Obvious Architectural Considerations
+
+### Database Evolution Strategy
+**Current Limitations:**
+- Schema changes require database recreation
+- No migration system for configuration events
+- Version 4 schema embedded in binary
+
+**Future Architecture Needs:**
+- Schema versioning and migration system
+- Backward compatibility for configuration events
+- Database backup/restore procedures
+
+### Configuration Event Lifecycle
+**Event Flow:**
+```
+Admin Signs Event → WebSocket Submit → Validate → Store → Restart Required
+                                    ↓            ↓         ↓
+                              Signature Check   Database  Config Reload
+```
+
+**Architectural Implications:**
+- No hot configuration reloading
+- Configuration changes require planned downtime
+- Event ordering matters for multiple simultaneous changes
+
+### Cross-Architecture Deployment
+**Build System Architecture:**
+- Auto-detection of host architecture
+- Cross-compilation support for ARM64
+- Architecture-specific binary outputs
+
+**Deployment Implications:**
+- Binary must match target architecture
+- Dependencies must be available for target architecture
+- Debug tooling architecture-specific
+
+### Performance Architecture Characteristics
+**Bottlenecks:**
+1. **SQLite Write Performance**: Single writer limitation
+2. **JSON Parsing**: Per-event parsing overhead
+3. **Signature Validation**: Cryptographic operations per event
+4. **Memory Management**: JSON object lifecycle management
+
+**Optimization Points:**
+- Prepared statement reuse
+- Connection pooling for concurrent reads
+- Event batching for bulk operations
+- Subscription indexing strategies
+
+### Integration Architecture Patterns
+**Monitoring Integration:**
+- NIP-11 endpoint for health checks
+- Log file monitoring for operational metrics
+- Database query monitoring for performance
+- Process monitoring for resource usage
+
+**Backup Architecture:**
+- Database file backup (SQLite file copy)
+- Configuration event export/import
+- Admin key secure storage (external to relay)
+
+### Future Extension Architectures
+**Multi-Relay Coordination:**
+- Database sharding by event kind
+- Cross-relay event synchronization
+- Distributed configuration management
+
+**Plugin Architecture Possibilities:**
+- Event processing pipeline hooks
+- Custom validation plugins
+- External authentication providers
+
+**Scaling Architecture Options:**
+- Read replicas with PostgreSQL migration
+- Event stream processing with message queues
+- Microservice decomposition (auth, storage, validation)
+
+## Architectural Anti-Patterns to Avoid
+
+1. **Configuration File Addition**: Breaks event-based config paradigm
+2. **Direct Database Modification**: Bypasses signature validation
+3. **Hard-Coded Ports**: Conflicts with auto-fallback system
+4. **Schema Modifications**: Requires database recreation
+5. **Admin Key Storage**: Violates security model
+6. **Blocking Operations**: Interferes with WebSocket event loop
+7. **Memory Leaks**: JSON objects must be properly reference counted
+8. **Thread Unsafe Operations**: Global state requires proper synchronization
+
+## Architecture Decision Records (Implicit)
+
+### Decision: Event-Based Configuration
+**Context**: Traditional config files vs. cryptographic auditability
+**Decision**: Store configuration as signed Nostr events
+**Consequences**: Complex configuration changes, enhanced security, remote management capability
+
+### Decision: SQLite Database
+**Context**: Database choice for relay storage
+**Decision**: Embedded SQLite with JSON tag storage
+**Consequences**: Simple deployment, single-writer limitation, application-level filtering
+
+### Decision: Single Binary Deployment
+**Context**: Dependency management vs. deployment simplicity
+**Decision**: Embed all dependencies and schema in binary
+**Consequences**: Larger binary, simple deployment, version coupling
+
+### Decision: Dual Protocol Support
+**Context**: WebSocket for Nostr, HTTP for NIP-11
+**Decision**: Same port serves both protocols
+**Consequences**: Simplified deployment, protocol detection overhead, libwebsockets dependency
+
+These architectural decisions form the foundation of C-Relay's unique approach to Nostr relay implementation and should be carefully considered when planning extensions or modifications.
+**
+
+[Response interrupted by a tool use result. Only one tool may be used at a time and should be placed at the end of the message.]

40.md

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+NIP-40
+======
+
+Expiration Timestamp
+--------------------
+
+`draft` `optional`
+
+The `expiration` tag enables users to specify a unix timestamp at which the message SHOULD be considered expired (by relays and clients) and SHOULD be deleted by relays.
+
+#### Spec
+
+```
+tag: expiration
+values:
+ - [UNIX timestamp in seconds]: required
+```
+
+#### Example
+
+```json
+{
+  "pubkey": "<pub-key>",
+  "created_at": 1000000000,
+  "kind": 1,
+  "tags": [
+    ["expiration", "1600000000"]
+  ],
+  "content": "This message will expire at the specified timestamp and be deleted by relays.\n",
+  "id": "<event-id>"
+}
+```
+
+Note: The timestamp should be in the same format as the created_at timestamp and should be interpreted as the time at which the message should be deleted by relays.
+
+Client Behavior
+---------------
+
+Clients SHOULD use the `supported_nips` field to learn if a relay supports this NIP. Clients SHOULD NOT send expiration events to relays that do not support this NIP.
+
+Clients SHOULD ignore events that have expired.
+
+Relay Behavior
+--------------
+
+Relays MAY NOT delete expired messages immediately on expiration and MAY persist them indefinitely.
+Relays SHOULD NOT send expired events to clients, even if they are stored.
+Relays SHOULD drop any events that are published to them if they are expired.
+An expiration timestamp does not affect storage of ephemeral events.
+
+Suggested Use Cases
+-------------------
+
+* Temporary announcements - This tag can be used to make temporary announcements. For example, an event organizer could use this tag to post announcements about an upcoming event.
+* Limited-time offers - This tag can be used by businesses to make limited-time offers that expire after a certain amount of time. For example, a business could use this tag to make a special offer that is only available for a limited time.
+
+#### Warning
+The events could be downloaded by third parties as they are publicly accessible all the time on the relays.
+So don't consider expiring messages as a security feature for your conversations or other uses.

42.md

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+NIP-42
+======
+
+Authentication of clients to relays
+-----------------------------------
+
+`draft` `optional`
+
+This NIP defines a way for clients to authenticate to relays by signing an ephemeral event.
+
+## Motivation
+
+A relay may want to require clients to authenticate to access restricted resources. For example,
+
+  - A relay may request payment or other forms of whitelisting to publish events -- this can naïvely be achieved by limiting publication to events signed by the whitelisted key, but with this NIP they may choose to accept any events as long as they are published from an authenticated user;
+  - A relay may limit access to `kind: 4` DMs to only the parties involved in the chat exchange, and for that it may require authentication before clients can query for that kind.
+  - A relay may limit subscriptions of any kind to paying users or users whitelisted through any other means, and require authentication.
+
+## Definitions
+
+### New client-relay protocol messages
+
+This NIP defines a new message, `AUTH`, which relays CAN send when they support authentication and clients can send to relays when they want to authenticate. When sent by relays the message has the following form:
+
+```
+["AUTH", <challenge-string>]
+```
+
+And, when sent by clients, the following form:
+
+```
+["AUTH", <signed-event-json>]
+```
+
+Clients MAY provide signed events from multiple pubkeys in a sequence of `AUTH` messages. Relays MUST treat all pubkeys as authenticated accordingly.
+
+`AUTH` messages sent by clients MUST be answered with an `OK` message, like any `EVENT` message.
+
+### Canonical authentication event
+
+The signed event is an ephemeral event not meant to be published or queried, it must be of `kind: 22242` and it should have at least two tags, one for the relay URL and one for the challenge string as received from the relay. Relays MUST exclude `kind: 22242` events from being broadcasted to any client. `created_at` should be the current time. Example:
+
+```jsonc
+{
+  "kind": 22242,
+  "tags": [
+    ["relay", "wss://relay.example.com/"],
+    ["challenge", "challengestringhere"]
+  ],
+  // other fields...
+}
+```
+
+### `OK` and `CLOSED` machine-readable prefixes
+
+This NIP defines two new prefixes that can be used in `OK` (in response to event writes by clients) and `CLOSED` (in response to rejected subscriptions by clients):
+
+- `"auth-required: "` - for when a client has not performed `AUTH` and the relay requires that to fulfill the query or write the event.
+- `"restricted: "` - for when a client has already performed `AUTH` but the key used to perform it is still not allowed by the relay or is exceeding its authorization.
+
+## Protocol flow
+
+At any moment the relay may send an `AUTH` message to the client containing a challenge. The challenge is valid for the duration of the connection or until another challenge is sent by the relay. The client MAY decide to send its `AUTH` event at any point and the authenticated session is valid afterwards for the duration of the connection.
+
+### `auth-required` in response to a `REQ` message
+
+Given that a relay is likely to require clients to perform authentication only for certain jobs, like answering a `REQ` or accepting an `EVENT` write, these are some expected common flows:
+
+```
+relay: ["AUTH", "<challenge>"]
+client: ["REQ", "sub_1", {"kinds": [4]}]
+relay: ["CLOSED", "sub_1", "auth-required: we can't serve DMs to unauthenticated users"]
+client: ["AUTH", {"id": "abcdef...", ...}]
+client: ["AUTH", {"id": "abcde2...", ...}]
+relay: ["OK", "abcdef...", true, ""]
+relay: ["OK", "abcde2...", true, ""]
+client: ["REQ", "sub_1", {"kinds": [4]}]
+relay: ["EVENT", "sub_1", {...}]
+relay: ["EVENT", "sub_1", {...}]
+relay: ["EVENT", "sub_1", {...}]
+relay: ["EVENT", "sub_1", {...}]
+...
+```
+
+In this case, the `AUTH` message from the relay could be sent right as the client connects or it can be sent immediately before the `CLOSED` is sent. The only requirement is that _the client must have a stored challenge associated with that relay_ so it can act upon that in response to the `auth-required` `CLOSED` message.
+
+### `auth-required` in response to an `EVENT` message
+
+The same flow is valid for when a client wants to write an `EVENT` to the relay, except now the relay sends back an `OK` message instead of a `CLOSED` message:
+
+```
+relay: ["AUTH", "<challenge>"]
+client: ["EVENT", {"id": "012345...", ...}]
+relay: ["OK", "012345...", false, "auth-required: we only accept events from registered users"]
+client: ["AUTH", {"id": "abcdef...", ...}]
+relay: ["OK", "abcdef...", true, ""]
+client: ["EVENT", {"id": "012345...", ...}]
+relay: ["OK", "012345...", true, ""]
+```
+
+## Signed Event Verification
+
+To verify `AUTH` messages, relays must ensure:
+
+  - that the `kind` is `22242`;
+  - that the event `created_at` is close (e.g. within ~10 minutes) of the current time;
+  - that the `"challenge"` tag matches the challenge sent before;
+  - that the `"relay"` tag matches the relay URL:
+    - URL normalization techniques can be applied. For most cases just checking if the domain name is correct should be enough.

AGENTS.md

@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+# AGENTS.md - AI Agent Integration Guide
+
+**Project-Specific Information for AI Agents Working with C-Relay**
+
+## Critical Build Commands
+
+### Primary Build Command
+```bash
+./make_and_restart_relay.sh
+```
+**Never use `make` directly.** The project requires the custom restart script which:
+- Handles database preservation/cleanup based on flags
+- Manages architecture-specific binary detection (x86/ARM64)
+- Performs automatic process cleanup and port management
+- Starts relay in background with proper logging
+
+### Architecture-Specific Binary Outputs
+- **x86_64**: `./build/c_relay_x86`
+- **ARM64**: `./build/c_relay_arm64`
+- **Other**: `./build/c_relay_$(ARCH)`
+
+### Database File Naming Convention
+- **Format**: `<relay_pubkey>.db` (NOT `.nrdb` as shown in docs)
+- **Location**: Created in `build/` directory during execution
+- **Cleanup**: Use `--preserve-database` flag to retain between builds
+
+## Critical Integration Issues
+
+### Event-Based Configuration System
+- **No traditional config files** - all configuration stored as kind 33334 Nostr events
+- Admin private key shown **only once** on first startup
+- Configuration changes require cryptographically signed events
+- Database path determined by generated relay pubkey
+
+### First-Time Startup Sequence
+1. Relay generates admin keypair and relay keypair
+2. Creates database file with relay pubkey as filename
+3. Stores default configuration as kind 33334 event
+4. **CRITICAL**: Admin private key displayed once and never stored on disk
+
+### Port Management
+- Default port 8888 with automatic fallback (8889, 8890, etc.)
+- Script performs port availability checking before libwebsockets binding
+- Process cleanup includes force-killing processes on port 8888
+
+### Database Schema Dependencies
+- Uses embedded SQL schema (`sql_schema.h`)
+- Schema version 4 with JSON tag storage
+- **Critical**: Event expiration filtering done at application level, not SQL level
+
+### Configuration Event Structure
+```json
+{
+  "kind": 33334,
+  "content": "C Nostr Relay Configuration",
+  "tags": [
+    ["d", "<relay_pubkey>"],
+    ["relay_description", "value"],
+    ["max_subscriptions_per_client", "25"],
+    ["pow_min_difficulty", "16"]
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+### Process Management
+```bash
+# Kill existing relay processes
+pkill -f "c_relay_"
+
+# Check running processes
+ps aux | grep c_relay_
+
+# Force kill port binding
+fuser -k 8888/tcp
+```
+
+### Cross-Compilation Specifics
+- ARM64 requires explicit dependency installation: `make install-arm64-deps`
+- Uses `aarch64-linux-gnu-gcc` with specific library paths
+- PKG_CONFIG_PATH must be set for ARM64: `/usr/lib/aarch64-linux-gnu/pkgconfig`
+
+### Testing Integration
+- Tests expect relay running on default port
+- Use `tests/quick_error_tests.sh` for validation
+- Event configuration tests: `tests/event_config_tests.sh`
+
+### SystemD Integration Considerations
+- Service runs as `c-relay` user in `/opt/c-relay`
+- Database files created in WorkingDirectory automatically
+- No environment variables needed (event-based config)
+- Resource limits: 65536 file descriptors, 4096 processes
+
+### Development vs Production Differences
+- Development: `make_and_restart_relay.sh` (default database cleanup)
+- Production: `make_and_restart_relay.sh --preserve-database`
+- Debug build requires manual gdb attachment to architecture-specific binary
+
+### Critical File Dependencies
+- `nostr_core_lib/` submodule must be initialized and built first
+- Version header auto-generated from git tags: `src/version.h`
+- Schema embedded in binary from `src/sql_schema.h`
+
+### WebSocket Protocol Specifics
+- Supports both WebSocket (Nostr protocol) and HTTP (NIP-11)
+- NIP-11 requires `Accept: application/nostr+json` header
+- CORS headers automatically added for NIP-11 compliance
+
+### Memory Management Notes
+- Persistent subscription system with thread-safe global manager
+- Per-session subscription limits enforced
+- Event filtering done at C level, not SQL level for NIP-40 expiration
+
+### Configuration Override Behavior
+- CLI port override only affects first-time startup
+- After database creation, all config comes from events
+- Database path cannot be changed after initialization
+
+## Non-Obvious Pitfalls
+
+1. **Database Lock Issues**: Script handles SQLite locking by killing existing processes first
+2. **Port Race Conditions**: Pre-check + libwebsockets binding can still fail due to timing
+3. **Key Loss**: Admin private key loss requires complete database deletion and restart
+4. **Architecture Detection**: Build system auto-detects but cross-compilation requires manual setup
+5. **Event Storage**: Ephemeral events (kind 20000-29999) accepted but not stored
+6. **Signature Validation**: All events validated with `nostr_verify_event_signature()` from nostr_core_lib
+
+## Quick Debugging Commands
+```bash
+# Check relay status
+ps aux | grep c_relay_ && netstat -tln | grep 8888
+
+# View logs
+tail -f relay.log
+
+# Test WebSocket connection
+wscat -c ws://localhost:8888
+
+# Test NIP-11 endpoint
+curl -H "Accept: application/nostr+json" http://localhost:8888
+
+# Find database files
+find . -name "*.db" -type f

Makefile

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ LIBS = -lsqlite3 -lwebsockets -lz -ldl -lpthread -lm -L/usr/local/lib -lsecp256k
 BUILD_DIR = build
 
 # Source files
-MAIN_SRC = src/main.c src/config.c
+MAIN_SRC = src/main.c src/config.c src/request_validator.c
 NOSTR_CORE_LIB = nostr_core_lib/libnostr_core_x64.a
 
 # Architecture detection

README.md

@@ -2,265 +2,6 @@
 
 A high-performance Nostr relay implemented in C with SQLite backend, featuring a revolutionary **zero-configuration** approach using event-based configuration management.
 
-## 🌟 Key Features
-
-- **🔧 Zero Configuration**: No config files or command line arguments needed
-- **🔑 Event-Based Config**: All settings stored as kind 33334 Nostr events
-- **🚀 Real-Time Updates**: Configuration changes applied instantly via WebSocket
-- **🛡️ Cryptographic Security**: Configuration events cryptographically signed and validated
-- **📊 SQLite Backend**: High-performance event storage with optimized schema
-- **🔄 Auto Key Generation**: Secure admin and relay keypairs generated on first startup
-- **💾 Database Per Relay**: Each relay instance uses `<relay_pubkey>.nrdb` database naming
-
-## 🚀 Quick Start
-
-### 1. Build the Relay
-```bash
-git clone <repository-url>
-cd c-relay
-git submodule update --init --recursive
-make
-```
-
-### 2. Start the Relay
-```bash
-./build/c_relay_x86
-```
-
-**That's it!** No configuration files, no command line arguments needed.
-
-### 3. Save Your Admin Keys (IMPORTANT!)
-On first startup, the relay will display:
-
-```
-=================================================================
-IMPORTANT: SAVE THIS ADMIN PRIVATE KEY SECURELY!
-=================================================================
-Admin Private Key: f8491814ea288260dad2ab52c09b3b037e75e83e8b24feb9bdc328423922be44
-Admin Public Key:  07fc2cdd8bdc0c60eefcc9e37e67fef88206bc84fadb894c283b006554ac687b
-
-Relay Private Key: a1b2c3d4e5f6...
-Relay Public Key:  1a2b3c4d5e6f...
-
-Database: dc9a93fd0ffba7041f6df0602e5021913a42fcaf6dbf40f43ecdc011177b4d94.nrdb
-=================================================================
-```
-
-⚠️ **Save the admin private key securely** - it's needed to update relay configuration and is only displayed once!
-
-## 📋 System Requirements
-
-- **OS**: Linux, macOS, or Windows (WSL)
-- **Dependencies**: 
-  - SQLite 3
-  - libwebsockets
-  - OpenSSL/LibreSSL
-  - libsecp256k1
-  - libcurl
-  - zlib
-
-## 🏗️ Event-Based Configuration System
-
-### How It Works
-
-Traditional Nostr relays require configuration files, environment variables, or command line arguments. This relay uses a **revolutionary approach**:
-
-1. **First-Time Startup**: Generates cryptographically secure admin and relay keypairs
-2. **Database Creation**: Creates `<relay_pubkey>.nrdb` database file
-3. **Default Configuration**: Creates initial kind 33334 configuration event with sensible defaults
-4. **Real-Time Updates**: Administrators send new kind 33334 events to update configuration
-5. **Instant Application**: Changes are applied immediately without restart
-
-### Configuration Updates
-
-To update relay configuration, send a signed kind 33334 event:
-
-```json
-{
-  "kind": 33334,
-  "content": "C Nostr Relay Configuration",
-  "tags": [
-    ["d", "<relay_pubkey>"],
-    ["relay_description", "My awesome Nostr relay"],
-    ["max_subscriptions_per_client", "25"],
-    ["pow_min_difficulty", "16"],
-    ["nip40_expiration_enabled", "true"]
-  ],
-  "created_at": 1234567890,
-  "pubkey": "<admin_pubkey>",
-  "id": "...",
-  "sig": "..."
-}
-```
-
-Send this event to your relay via WebSocket, and changes are applied instantly.
-
-### Configurable Parameters
-
-| Parameter | Description | Default |
-|-----------|-------------|---------|
-| `relay_description` | Relay description (NIP-11) | "C Nostr Relay" |
-| `relay_contact` | Admin contact info | "" |
-| `max_subscriptions_per_client` | Max subscriptions per client | "25" |
-| `max_total_subscriptions` | Total subscription limit | "5000" |
-| `pow_min_difficulty` | NIP-13 PoW difficulty | "0" |
-| `pow_mode` | PoW validation mode | "optional" |
-| `nip40_expiration_enabled` | Enable NIP-40 expiration | "true" |
-| `nip40_expiration_strict` | Strict expiration mode | "false" |
-| `max_message_length` | Max message size | "65536" |
-| `max_event_tags` | Max tags per event | "2000" |
-| `max_content_length` | Max content length | "65536" |
-
-## 🔧 Deployment
-
-### Manual Installation
-```bash
-# Build the relay
-make
-
-# Run directly
-./build/c_relay_x86
-```
-
-### SystemD Service (Recommended)
-```bash
-# Install as system service
-sudo systemd/install-service.sh
-
-# Start the service
-sudo systemctl start c-relay
-
-# Enable auto-start on boot
-sudo systemctl enable c-relay
-
-# View logs
-sudo journalctl -u c-relay -f
-```
-
-See [`systemd/README.md`](systemd/README.md) for detailed deployment documentation.
-
-### Docker (Coming Soon)
-Docker support is planned for future releases.
-
-## 📊 Database Schema
-
-The relay uses an optimized SQLite schema (version 4) with these key features:
-
-- **Event-based storage**: All Nostr events in single `events` table
-- **JSON tags support**: Native JSON storage for event tags
-- **Performance optimized**: Multiple indexes for fast queries
-- **Subscription logging**: Optional detailed subscription analytics
-- **Auto-cleanup**: Automatic ephemeral event cleanup
-- **Replaceable events**: Proper handling of replaceable/addressable events
-
-## 🛡️ Security Features
-
-- **Cryptographic validation**: All configuration events cryptographically verified
-- **Admin-only config**: Only authorized admin pubkey can update configuration
-- **Signature verification**: Uses `nostr_verify_event_signature()` for validation
-- **Event structure validation**: Complete event structure validation
-- **Secure key generation**: Uses `/dev/urandom` for cryptographically secure keys
-- **No secrets storage**: Admin private key never stored on disk
-
-## 🔌 Network Configuration
-
-- **Default Port**: 8888 (WebSocket)
-- **Protocol**: WebSocket with Nostr message format
-- **Endpoints**: 
-  - `ws://localhost:8888` - WebSocket relay
-  - `http://localhost:8888` - NIP-11 relay information (HTTP GET)
-
-## 🏃‍♂️ Usage Examples
-
-### Connect with a Nostr Client
-```javascript
-const relay = new WebSocket('ws://localhost:8888');
-relay.send(JSON.stringify(["REQ", "sub1", {"kinds": [1], "limit": 10}]));
-```
-
-### Update Configuration (using `nostrtool` or similar)
-```bash
-# Create configuration event with nostrtool
-nostrtool event --kind 33334 --content "Updated config" \
-  --tag d <relay_pubkey> \
-  --tag relay_description "My updated relay" \
-  --private-key <admin_private_key>
-
-# Send to relay
-nostrtool send ws://localhost:8888 <event_json>
-```
-
-## 📈 Monitoring and Analytics
-
-### View Relay Status
-```bash
-# Check if relay is running
-ps aux | grep c_relay
-
-# Check network port
-netstat -tln | grep 8888
-
-# View recent logs
-tail -f relay.log
-```
-
-### Database Analytics
-```bash
-# Connect to relay database
-sqlite3 <relay_pubkey>.nrdb
-
-# View relay statistics
-SELECT * FROM event_stats;
-
-# View configuration events
-SELECT * FROM configuration_events;
-
-# View recent events
-SELECT * FROM recent_events LIMIT 10;
-```
-
-## 🧪 Testing
-
-### Run Error Handling Tests
-```bash
-# Comprehensive test suite
-tests/event_config_tests.sh
-
-# Quick validation tests
-tests/quick_error_tests.sh
-```
-
-### Manual Testing
-```bash
-# Test WebSocket connection
-wscat -c ws://localhost:8888
-
-# Test NIP-11 information
-curl http://localhost:8888
-```
-
-## 🔧 Development
-
-### Build from Source
-```bash
-git clone <repository-url>
-cd c-relay
-git submodule update --init --recursive
-make clean && make
-```
-
-### Debug Build
-```bash
-make debug
-gdb ./build/c_relay_x86
-```
-
-### Contributing
-1. Fork the repository
-2. Create a feature branch
-3. Make changes with tests
-4. Submit a pull request
-
 ## 📜 Supported NIPs
 
 <!--
@@ -276,68 +17,9 @@ Do NOT modify the formatting, add emojis, or change the text. Keep the simple fo
 - [x] NIP-20: Command Results
 - [x] NIP-33: Parameterized Replaceable Events
 - [x] NIP-40: Expiration Timestamp
-- [ ] NIP-42: Authentication of clients to relays
+- [x] NIP-42: Authentication of clients to relays
 - [ ] NIP-45: Counting results
 - [ ] NIP-50: Keywords filter
 - [ ] NIP-70: Protected Events
 
-## 🆘 Troubleshooting
 
-### Common Issues
-
-**Relay won't start**
-```bash
-# Check for port conflicts
-netstat -tln | grep 8888
-
-# Check permissions
-ls -la build/c_relay_x86
-
-# Check dependencies
-ldd build/c_relay_x86
-```
-
-**Lost admin private key**
-- If you lose the admin private key, you cannot update configuration
-- You must delete the database file and restart (loses all events)
-- The relay will generate new keys on first startup
-
-**Database corruption**
-```bash
-# Check database integrity
-sqlite3 <relay_pubkey>.nrdb "PRAGMA integrity_check;"
-
-# If corrupted, remove database (loses all events)
-rm <relay_pubkey>.nrdb*
-./build/c_relay_x86  # Will create fresh database
-```
-
-**Configuration not updating**
-- Ensure configuration events are properly signed
-- Check that admin pubkey matches the one from first startup
-- Verify WebSocket connection is active
-- Check relay logs for validation errors
-
-## 📄 License
-
-This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
-
-## 🤝 Support
-
-- **Issues**: Report bugs and feature requests on GitHub
-- **Documentation**: See `docs/` directory for technical details
-- **Deployment**: See `systemd/README.md` for production deployment
-- **Community**: Join the Nostr development community
-
-## 🚀 Future Roadmap
-
-- [ ] Docker containerization
-- [ ] NIP-42 authentication support
-- [ ] Advanced analytics dashboard
-- [ ] Clustering support for high availability
-- [ ] Performance optimizations
-- [ ] Additional NIP implementations
-
----
-
-**The C Nostr Relay represents the future of Nostr infrastructure - zero configuration, event-based management, and cryptographically secure administration.**

db/README.md

@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Only README.md will remain

docs/NIP-42_Authentication.md

@@ -0,0 +1,295 @@
+# NIP-42 Authentication Implementation
+
+## Overview
+
+This relay implements NIP-42 (Authentication of clients to relays) providing granular authentication controls for event submission and subscription operations. The implementation supports both challenge-response authentication and per-connection state management.
+
+## Architecture
+
+### Core Components
+
+1. **Per-Session Authentication State** (`struct per_session_data`)
+   - `authenticated`: Boolean flag indicating authentication status
+   - `authenticated_pubkey[65]`: Hex-encoded public key of authenticated user
+   - `active_challenge[65]`: Current authentication challenge
+   - `challenge_created`: Timestamp when challenge was generated
+   - `challenge_expires`: Challenge expiration timestamp
+   - `nip42_auth_required_events`: Whether auth is required for EVENT submission
+   - `nip42_auth_required_subscriptions`: Whether auth is required for REQ operations
+   - `auth_challenge_sent`: Flag indicating if challenge has been sent
+
+2. **Challenge Management** (via `request_validator.c`)
+   - `nostr_nip42_generate_challenge()`: Generates cryptographically secure challenges
+   - `nostr_nip42_verify_auth_event()`: Validates signed authentication events
+   - Challenge storage and cleanup with expiration handling
+
+3. **WebSocket Protocol Integration**
+   - AUTH message handling in `nostr_relay_callback()`
+   - Challenge generation and transmission
+   - Authentication verification and session state updates
+
+## Configuration Options
+
+### Event-Based Configuration
+
+NIP-42 authentication is configured using kind 33334 configuration events with the following tags:
+
+| Tag | Description | Default | Values |
+|-----|-------------|---------|--------|
+| `nip42_auth_required_events` | Require auth for EVENT submission | `false` | `true`/`false` |
+| `nip42_auth_required_subscriptions` | Require auth for REQ operations | `false` | `true`/`false` |
+
+### Example Configuration Event
+
+```json
+{
+  "kind": 33334,
+  "content": "C Nostr Relay Configuration",
+  "tags": [
+    ["d", "<relay_pubkey>"],
+    ["nip42_auth_required_events", "true"],
+    ["nip42_auth_required_subscriptions", "false"],
+    ["relay_description", "Authenticated Nostr Relay"]
+  ],
+  "created_at": 1640995200,
+  "pubkey": "<admin_pubkey>",
+  "id": "<event_id>",
+  "sig": "<signature>"
+}
+```
+
+## Authentication Flow
+
+### 1. Challenge Generation
+
+When authentication is required and client is not authenticated:
+
+```
+Client -> Relay: ["EVENT", <event>] (unauthenticated)
+Relay -> Client: ["AUTH", <challenge>]
+```
+
+The challenge is a 64-character hex string generated using cryptographically secure random numbers.
+
+### 2. Authentication Response
+
+Client creates and signs an authentication event (kind 22242):
+
+```json
+{
+  "kind": 22242,
+  "content": "",
+  "tags": [
+    ["relay", "ws://relay.example.com"],
+    ["challenge", "<challenge_from_relay>"]
+  ],
+  "created_at": <current_timestamp>,
+  "pubkey": "<client_pubkey>",
+  "id": "<event_id>",
+  "sig": "<signature>"
+}
+```
+
+Client sends this event back to relay:
+
+```
+Client -> Relay: ["AUTH", <signed_auth_event>]
+```
+
+### 3. Verification and Session Update
+
+The relay:
+1. Validates the authentication event signature
+2. Verifies the challenge matches the one sent
+3. Checks challenge expiration (default: 10 minutes)
+4. Updates session state with authenticated public key
+5. Sends confirmation notice
+
+```
+Relay -> Client: ["NOTICE", "NIP-42 authentication successful"]
+```
+
+## Granular Authentication Controls
+
+### Separate Controls for Events vs Subscriptions
+
+The implementation provides separate authentication requirements:
+
+- **Event Submission**: Control whether clients must authenticate to publish events
+- **Subscription Access**: Control whether clients must authenticate to create subscriptions
+
+This allows flexible relay policies:
+- **Public Read, Authenticated Write**: `events=true, subscriptions=false`
+- **Fully Authenticated**: `events=true, subscriptions=true`
+- **Public Access**: `events=false, subscriptions=false` (default)
+- **Authenticated Read Only**: `events=false, subscriptions=true`
+
+### Per-Connection State
+
+Each WebSocket connection maintains its own authentication state:
+- Authentication persists for the lifetime of the connection
+- Challenges expire after 10 minutes
+- Session cleanup on connection close
+
+## Security Features
+
+### Challenge Security
+- 64-character hexadecimal challenges (256 bits of entropy)
+- Cryptographically secure random generation
+- Challenge expiration to prevent replay attacks
+- One-time use challenges
+
+### Event Validation
+- Complete signature verification using secp256k1
+- Event ID validation
+- Challenge-response binding verification
+- Timestamp validation with configurable tolerance
+
+### Session Management
+- Thread-safe per-session state management
+- Automatic cleanup on disconnection
+- Challenge expiration handling
+
+## Client Integration
+
+### Using nak Client
+
+```bash
+# Generate keypair
+PRIVKEY=$(nak key --gen)
+PUBKEY=$(nak key --pub $PRIVKEY)
+
+# Connect and authenticate automatically
+nak event -k 1 --content "Authenticated message" --sec $PRIVKEY --relay ws://localhost:8888
+
+# nak handles NIP-42 authentication automatically when required
+```
+
+### Manual WebSocket Integration
+
+```javascript
+const ws = new WebSocket('ws://localhost:8888');
+
+ws.onmessage = (event) => {
+  const message = JSON.parse(event.data);
+  
+  if (message[0] === 'AUTH') {
+    const challenge = message[1];
+    
+    // Create auth event (kind 22242)
+    const authEvent = {
+      kind: 22242,
+      content: "",
+      tags: [
+        ["relay", "ws://localhost:8888"],
+        ["challenge", challenge]
+      ],
+      created_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
+      pubkey: clientPubkey,
+      // ... calculate id and signature
+    };
+    
+    // Send auth response
+    ws.send(JSON.stringify(["AUTH", authEvent]));
+  }
+};
+
+// Send event (may trigger AUTH challenge)
+ws.send(JSON.stringify(["EVENT", myEvent]));
+```
+
+## Administration
+
+### Enabling Authentication
+
+1. **Get Admin Private Key**: Extract from relay startup logs (shown once)
+2. **Create Configuration Event**: Use nak or custom tooling
+3. **Publish Configuration**: Send to relay with admin signature
+
+```bash
+# Enable auth for events only
+nak event -k 33334 \
+  --content "C Nostr Relay Configuration" \
+  --tag "d=$RELAY_PUBKEY" \
+  --tag "nip42_auth_required_events=true" \
+  --tag "nip42_auth_required_subscriptions=false" \
+  --sec $ADMIN_PRIVKEY \
+  --relay ws://localhost:8888
+```
+
+### Monitoring Authentication
+
+- Check relay logs for authentication events
+- Monitor `NOTICE` messages for auth status
+- Use `get_settings.sh` script to view current configuration
+
+```bash
+./get_settings.sh
+```
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+### Common Issues
+
+1. **Challenge Expiration**
+   - Default: 10 minutes
+   - Client must respond within expiration window
+   - Generate new challenge for expired attempts
+
+2. **Signature Verification Failures**
+   - Verify event structure matches NIP-42 specification
+   - Check challenge value matches exactly
+   - Ensure proper secp256k1 signature generation
+
+3. **Configuration Not Applied**
+   - Verify admin private key is correct
+   - Check configuration event signature
+   - Ensure relay pubkey in 'd' tag matches relay
+
+### Debug Commands
+
+```bash
+# Check supported NIPs
+curl -H "Accept: application/nostr+json" http://localhost:8888 | jq .supported_nips
+
+# View current configuration
+nak req -k 33334 ws://localhost:8888 | jq .
+
+# Test authentication flow
+./tests/42_nip_test.sh
+```
+
+## Performance Considerations
+
+- Challenge generation: ~1ms overhead per unauthenticated connection
+- Authentication verification: ~2-5ms per auth event
+- Memory overhead: ~200 bytes per connection for auth state
+- Database impact: Configuration events cached, minimal query overhead
+
+## Integration with Other NIPs
+
+### NIP-01 (Basic Protocol)
+- AUTH messages integrated into standard WebSocket flow
+- Compatible with existing EVENT/REQ/CLOSE message handling
+
+### NIP-11 (Relay Information)
+- NIP-42 advertised in `supported_nips` array
+- Authentication requirements reflected in relay metadata
+
+### NIP-20 (Command Results)
+- OK responses include authentication-related error messages
+- NOTICE messages provide authentication status updates
+
+## Future Extensions
+
+### Potential Enhancements
+- Role-based authentication (admin, user, read-only)
+- Time-based access controls
+- Rate limiting based on authentication status
+- Integration with external authentication providers
+
+### Configuration Extensions
+- Per-kind authentication requirements
+- Whitelist/blacklist integration
+- Custom challenge expiration times
+- Authentication logging and metrics

get_settings.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# get_settings.sh - Query relay configuration events using nak
+# Uses admin test key to query kind 33334 configuration events
+
+# Test key configuration
+ADMIN_PRIVATE_KEY="aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"
+ADMIN_PUBLIC_KEY="6a04ab98d9e4774ad806e302dddeb63bea16b5cb5f223ee77478e861bb583eb3"
+RELAY_PUBLIC_KEY="4f355bdcb7cc0af728ef3cceb9615d90684bb5b2ca5f859ab0f0b704075871aa"
+RELAY_URL="ws://localhost:8888"
+
+echo "Querying configuration events (kind 33334) from relay at $RELAY_URL"
+echo "Using admin public key: $ADMIN_PUBLIC_KEY"
+echo "Looking for relay config: $RELAY_PUBLIC_KEY"
+echo ""
+
+# Query for kind 33334 configuration events
+# These events contain the relay configuration with d-tag matching the relay pubkey
+nak req -k 33334 "$RELAY_URL" | jq .

make_and_restart_relay.sh

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ echo "=== C Nostr Relay Build and Restart Script ==="
 # Parse command line arguments
 PRESERVE_DATABASE=false
 HELP=false
+USE_TEST_KEYS=false
 
 while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
     case $1 in
@@ -15,6 +16,10 @@ while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
             PRESERVE_DATABASE=true
             shift
             ;;
+        --test-keys|-t)
+            USE_TEST_KEYS=true
+            shift
+            ;;
         --help|-h)
             HELP=true
             shift
@@ -33,6 +38,7 @@ if [ "$HELP" = true ]; then
     echo ""
     echo "Options:"
     echo "  --preserve-database, -p  Keep existing database files (don't delete for fresh start)"
+    echo "  --test-keys, -t         Use deterministic test keys for development (admin: all 'a's, relay: all '1's)"
     echo "  --help, -h              Show this help message"
     echo ""
     echo "Event-Based Configuration:"
@@ -43,6 +49,8 @@ if [ "$HELP" = true ]; then
     echo "Examples:"
     echo "  $0                       # Fresh start with new keys (default)"
     echo "  $0 -p                   # Preserve existing database and keys"
+    echo "  $0 -t                   # Use test keys for consistent development"
+    echo "  $0 -t -p                # Use test keys and preserve database"
     echo ""
     echo "Default behavior: Deletes existing database files to start fresh with new keys"
     echo "                 for development purposes"
@@ -146,8 +154,14 @@ echo "Debug: Current processes: $(ps aux | grep 'c_relay_' | grep -v grep || ech
 
 # Change to build directory before starting relay so database files are created there
 cd build
-# Start relay in background and capture its PID (no command line arguments needed)
-./$(basename $BINARY_PATH) > ../relay.log 2>&1 &
+# Start relay in background and capture its PID
+if [ "$USE_TEST_KEYS" = true ]; then
+    echo "Using deterministic test keys for development..."
+    ./$(basename $BINARY_PATH) -a aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa -r 1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 > ../relay.log 2>&1 &
+else
+    # No command line arguments needed for random key generation
+    ./$(basename $BINARY_PATH) > ../relay.log 2>&1 &
+fi
 RELAY_PID=$!
 # Change back to original directory
 cd ..
@@ -161,7 +175,34 @@ sleep 3
 if ps -p "$RELAY_PID" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     echo "Relay started successfully!"
     echo "PID: $RELAY_PID"
-    echo "WebSocket endpoint: ws://127.0.0.1:8888"
+    
+    # Wait for relay to fully initialize and detect the actual port it's using
+    sleep 2
+    
+    # Extract actual port from relay logs
+    ACTUAL_PORT=""
+    if [ -f relay.log ]; then
+        # Look for the success message with actual port
+        ACTUAL_PORT=$(grep "WebSocket relay started on ws://127.0.0.1:" relay.log 2>/dev/null | tail -1 | sed -n 's/.*ws:\/\/127\.0\.0\.1:\([0-9]*\).*/\1/p')
+        
+        # If we couldn't find the port in logs, try to detect from netstat
+        if [ -z "$ACTUAL_PORT" ]; then
+            ACTUAL_PORT=$(netstat -tln 2>/dev/null | grep -E ":888[0-9]" | head -1 | sed -n 's/.*:\([0-9]*\).*/\1/p')
+        fi
+    fi
+    
+    # Display the actual endpoint
+    if [ -n "$ACTUAL_PORT" ]; then
+        if [ "$ACTUAL_PORT" = "8888" ]; then
+            echo "WebSocket endpoint: ws://127.0.0.1:$ACTUAL_PORT"
+        else
+            echo "WebSocket endpoint: ws://127.0.0.1:$ACTUAL_PORT (fell back from port 8888)"
+        fi
+    else
+        echo "WebSocket endpoint: ws://127.0.0.1:8888 (port detection failed - check logs)"
+    fi
+    
+    echo "HTTP endpoint: http://127.0.0.1:${ACTUAL_PORT:-8888}"
     echo "Log file: relay.log"
     echo ""
 

relay.pid

@@ -1 +1 @@
-1198669
+2831644

src/config.c

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+#define _GNU_SOURCE
 #include "config.h"
 #include "default_config_event.h"
 #include "../nostr_core_lib/nostr_core/nostr_core.h"
@@ -340,6 +341,83 @@ int get_config_bool(const char* key, int default_value) {
     return default_value;
 }
 
+// ================================
+// NIP-42 KIND-SPECIFIC AUTHENTICATION
+// ================================
+
+// Parse comma-separated kind list into array of integers
+// Returns number of kinds parsed, or -1 on error
+int parse_auth_required_kinds(const char* kinds_str, int* kinds_array, int max_kinds) {
+    if (!kinds_str || !kinds_array || max_kinds <= 0) {
+        return -1;
+    }
+    
+    // Empty string means no kinds require auth
+    if (strlen(kinds_str) == 0) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+    
+    char* str_copy = strdup(kinds_str);
+    if (!str_copy) {
+        return -1;
+    }
+    
+    int count = 0;
+    char* token = strtok(str_copy, ",");
+    
+    while (token && count < max_kinds) {
+        // Trim whitespace
+        while (*token == ' ' || *token == '\t') token++;
+        char* end = token + strlen(token) - 1;
+        while (end > token && (*end == ' ' || *end == '\t')) end--;
+        *(end + 1) = '\0';
+        
+        // Convert to integer
+        char* endptr;
+        long kind = strtol(token, &endptr, 10);
+        
+        if (endptr != token && *endptr == '\0' && kind >= 0 && kind <= 65535) {
+            kinds_array[count] = (int)kind;
+            count++;
+        }
+        
+        token = strtok(NULL, ",");
+    }
+    
+    free(str_copy);
+    return count;
+}
+
+// Check if a specific event kind requires NIP-42 authentication
+int is_nip42_auth_required_for_kind(int event_kind) {
+    const char* kinds_str = get_config_value("nip42_auth_required_kinds");
+    if (!kinds_str) {
+        return 0; // No authentication required if setting is missing
+    }
+    
+    // Parse the kinds list
+    int required_kinds[100]; // Support up to 100 different kinds
+    int count = parse_auth_required_kinds(kinds_str, required_kinds, 100);
+    
+    if (count < 0) {
+        return 0; // Parse error, default to no auth required
+    }
+    
+    // Check if event_kind is in the list
+    for (int i = 0; i < count; i++) {
+        if (required_kinds[i] == event_kind) {
+            return 1; // Authentication required for this kind
+        }
+    }
+    
+    return 0; // Authentication not required for this kind
+}
+
+// Get NIP-42 global authentication requirement
+int is_nip42_auth_globally_required(void) {
+    return get_config_bool("nip42_auth_required", 0);
+}
+
 // ================================
 // FIRST-TIME STARTUP FUNCTIONS
 // ================================
@@ -635,15 +713,35 @@ cJSON* create_default_config_event(const unsigned char* admin_privkey_bytes,
 int first_time_startup_sequence(const cli_options_t* cli_options) {
     log_info("Starting first-time startup sequence...");
     
-    // 1. Generate admin keypair using /dev/urandom + nostr_core_lib
+    // 1. Generate or use provided admin keypair
     unsigned char admin_privkey_bytes[32];
     char admin_privkey[65], admin_pubkey[65];
     
-    if (generate_random_private_key_bytes(admin_privkey_bytes) != 0) {
-        log_error("Failed to generate admin private key");
-        return -1;
+    if (cli_options && strlen(cli_options->admin_privkey_override) == 64) {
+        // Use provided admin private key
+        log_info("Using provided admin private key override");
+        strncpy(admin_privkey, cli_options->admin_privkey_override, sizeof(admin_privkey) - 1);
+        admin_privkey[sizeof(admin_privkey) - 1] = '\0';
+        
+        // Convert hex string to bytes
+        if (nostr_hex_to_bytes(admin_privkey, admin_privkey_bytes, 32) != NOSTR_SUCCESS) {
+            log_error("Failed to convert admin private key hex to bytes");
+            return -1;
+        }
+        
+        // Validate the private key
+        if (nostr_ec_private_key_verify(admin_privkey_bytes) != NOSTR_SUCCESS) {
+            log_error("Provided admin private key is invalid");
+            return -1;
+        }
+    } else {
+        // Generate random admin keypair using /dev/urandom + nostr_core_lib
+        if (generate_random_private_key_bytes(admin_privkey_bytes) != 0) {
+            log_error("Failed to generate admin private key");
+            return -1;
+        }
+        nostr_bytes_to_hex(admin_privkey_bytes, 32, admin_privkey);
     }
-    nostr_bytes_to_hex(admin_privkey_bytes, 32, admin_privkey);
     
     unsigned char admin_pubkey_bytes[32];
     if (nostr_ec_public_key_from_private_key(admin_privkey_bytes, admin_pubkey_bytes) != NOSTR_SUCCESS) {
@@ -652,15 +750,35 @@ int first_time_startup_sequence(const cli_options_t* cli_options) {
     }
     nostr_bytes_to_hex(admin_pubkey_bytes, 32, admin_pubkey);
     
-    // 2. Generate relay keypair using /dev/urandom + nostr_core_lib
+    // 2. Generate or use provided relay keypair
     unsigned char relay_privkey_bytes[32];
     char relay_privkey[65], relay_pubkey[65];
     
-    if (generate_random_private_key_bytes(relay_privkey_bytes) != 0) {
-        log_error("Failed to generate relay private key");
-        return -1;
+    if (cli_options && strlen(cli_options->relay_privkey_override) == 64) {
+        // Use provided relay private key
+        log_info("Using provided relay private key override");
+        strncpy(relay_privkey, cli_options->relay_privkey_override, sizeof(relay_privkey) - 1);
+        relay_privkey[sizeof(relay_privkey) - 1] = '\0';
+        
+        // Convert hex string to bytes
+        if (nostr_hex_to_bytes(relay_privkey, relay_privkey_bytes, 32) != NOSTR_SUCCESS) {
+            log_error("Failed to convert relay private key hex to bytes");
+            return -1;
+        }
+        
+        // Validate the private key
+        if (nostr_ec_private_key_verify(relay_privkey_bytes) != NOSTR_SUCCESS) {
+            log_error("Provided relay private key is invalid");
+            return -1;
+        }
+    } else {
+        // Generate random relay keypair using /dev/urandom + nostr_core_lib
+        if (generate_random_private_key_bytes(relay_privkey_bytes) != 0) {
+            log_error("Failed to generate relay private key");
+            return -1;
+        }
+        nostr_bytes_to_hex(relay_privkey_bytes, 32, relay_privkey);
     }
-    nostr_bytes_to_hex(relay_privkey_bytes, 32, relay_privkey);
     
     unsigned char relay_pubkey_bytes[32];
     if (nostr_ec_public_key_from_private_key(relay_privkey_bytes, relay_pubkey_bytes) != NOSTR_SUCCESS) {
@@ -721,7 +839,6 @@ int first_time_startup_sequence(const cli_options_t* cli_options) {
     printf("=================================================================\n");
     printf("Admin Private Key: %s\n", admin_privkey);
     printf("Admin Public Key:  %s\n", admin_pubkey);
-    printf("\nRelay Private Key: %s\n", relay_privkey);
     printf("Relay Public Key:  %s\n", relay_pubkey);
     printf("\nDatabase: %s\n", g_database_path);
     printf("\nThis admin private key is needed to update configuration!\n");
@@ -1055,6 +1172,95 @@ static int validate_config_field(const char* key, const char* value, char* error
         return 0;
     }
     
+    // NIP-42 Authentication fields
+    if (strcmp(key, "nip42_auth_required") == 0) {
+        if (!is_valid_boolean(value)) {
+            snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "invalid boolean value '%s' for nip42_auth_required", value);
+            return -1;
+        }
+        return 0;
+    }
+    
+    if (strcmp(key, "nip42_auth_required_kinds") == 0) {
+        // Validate comma-separated list of kind numbers
+        if (!value || strlen(value) == 0) {
+            return 0; // Empty list is valid
+        }
+        
+        char* value_copy = strdup(value);
+        if (!value_copy) {
+            snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "memory allocation failed for kind validation");
+            return -1;
+        }
+        
+        char* token = strtok(value_copy, ",");
+        while (token) {
+            // Trim whitespace
+            while (*token == ' ' || *token == '\t') token++;
+            char* end = token + strlen(token) - 1;
+            while (end > token && (*end == ' ' || *end == '\t')) end--;
+            *(end + 1) = '\0';
+            
+            // Validate each kind number
+            if (!is_valid_non_negative_integer(token)) {
+                free(value_copy);
+                snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "invalid kind number '%s' in nip42_auth_required_kinds", token);
+                return -1;
+            }
+            
+            int kind = atoi(token);
+            if (kind < 0 || kind > 65535) {
+                free(value_copy);
+                snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "kind number '%s' out of range (0-65535)", token);
+                return -1;
+            }
+            
+            token = strtok(NULL, ",");
+        }
+        
+        free(value_copy);
+        return 0;
+    }
+    
+    if (strcmp(key, "nip42_challenge_expiration") == 0) {
+        if (!is_valid_positive_integer(value)) {
+            snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "invalid nip42_challenge_expiration '%s' (must be positive integer)", value);
+            return -1;
+        }
+        int val = atoi(value);
+        if (val < 60 || val > 3600) {  // 1 minute to 1 hour
+            snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "nip42_challenge_expiration '%s' out of range (60-3600 seconds)", value);
+            return -1;
+        }
+        return 0;
+    }
+    
+    if (strcmp(key, "nip42_challenge_window") == 0) {
+        if (!is_valid_positive_integer(value)) {
+            snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "invalid nip42_challenge_window '%s' (must be positive integer)", value);
+            return -1;
+        }
+        int val = atoi(value);
+        if (val < 300 || val > 7200) {  // 5 minutes to 2 hours
+            snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "nip42_challenge_window '%s' out of range (300-7200 seconds)", value);
+            return -1;
+        }
+        return 0;
+    }
+    
+    if (strcmp(key, "nip42_max_auth_events") == 0) {
+        if (!is_valid_positive_integer(value)) {
+            snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "invalid nip42_max_auth_events '%s' (must be positive integer)", value);
+            return -1;
+        }
+        int val = atoi(value);
+        if (val < 10 || val > 10000) {  // 10 to 10,000 auth events
+            snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "nip42_max_auth_events '%s' out of range (10-10000)", value);
+            return -1;
+        }
+        return 0;
+    }
+    
     // Unknown field - log warning but allow
     log_warning("Unknown configuration field");
     printf("  Field: %s = %s\n", key, value);

src/config.h

@@ -35,7 +35,8 @@ typedef struct {
 // Command line options structure for first-time startup
 typedef struct {
     int port_override;  // -1 = not set, >0 = port value
-    // Future CLI options can be added here
+    char admin_privkey_override[65];  // Empty string = not set, 64-char hex = override
+    char relay_privkey_override[65];  // Empty string = not set, 64-char hex = override
 } cli_options_t;
 
 // Global configuration manager
@@ -84,4 +85,9 @@ int store_relay_private_key(const char* relay_privkey_hex);
 char* get_relay_private_key(void);
 const char* get_temp_relay_private_key(void);  // For first-time startup only
 
+// NIP-42 authentication configuration functions
+int parse_auth_required_kinds(const char* kinds_str, int* kinds_array, int max_kinds);
+int is_nip42_auth_required_for_kind(int event_kind);
+int is_nip42_auth_globally_required(void);
+
 #endif /* CONFIG_H */

src/default_config_event.h

@@ -23,6 +23,12 @@ static const struct {
     // Authentication
     {"auth_enabled", "false"},
     
+    // NIP-42 Authentication Settings
+    {"nip42_auth_required_events", "false"},
+    {"nip42_auth_required_subscriptions", "false"},
+    {"nip42_auth_required_kinds", "4,14"},  // Default: DM kinds require auth
+    {"nip42_challenge_expiration", "600"},  // 10 minutes
+    
     // Server Core Settings
     {"relay_port", "8888"},
     {"max_connections", "100"},

src/main.c

@@ -22,6 +22,16 @@
 #include "config.h"  // Configuration management system
 #include "sql_schema.h"  // Embedded database schema
 
+// Forward declarations for unified request validator
+int nostr_validate_unified_request(const char* json_string, size_t json_length);
+int ginxsom_request_validator_init(const char* db_path, const char* app_name);
+void ginxsom_request_validator_cleanup(void);
+
+// Forward declarations for NIP-42 functions from request_validator.c
+int nostr_nip42_generate_challenge(char *challenge_buffer, size_t buffer_size);
+int nostr_nip42_verify_auth_event(cJSON *event, const char *challenge_id,
+                                  const char *relay_url, int time_tolerance_seconds);
+
 // Color constants for logging
 #define RED     "\033[31m"
 #define GREEN   "\033[32m"
@@ -73,7 +83,7 @@ struct pow_config {
 };
 
 // Global PoW configuration instance
-static struct pow_config g_pow_config = {
+struct pow_config g_pow_config = {
     .enabled = 1,                   // Enable PoW validation by default
     .min_pow_difficulty = 0,        // No minimum difficulty by default
     .validation_flags = NOSTR_POW_VALIDATE_BASIC,
@@ -93,12 +103,12 @@ struct expiration_config {
 };
 
 // Global expiration configuration instance
-static struct expiration_config g_expiration_config = {
+struct expiration_config g_expiration_config = {
     .enabled = 1,                   // Enable expiration handling by default
     .strict_mode = 1,               // Reject expired events on submission by default
     .filter_responses = 1,          // Filter expired events from responses by default
     .delete_expired = 0,            // Don't delete by default (keep for audit)
-    .grace_period = 300             // 5 minutes grace period for clock skew
+    .grace_period = 1               // 1 second grace period for testing (was 300)
 };
 
 
@@ -145,13 +155,22 @@ struct subscription {
     struct subscription* session_next;      // Next subscription for this session
 };
 
-// Enhanced per-session data with subscription management
+// Enhanced per-session data with subscription management and NIP-42 authentication
 struct per_session_data {
     int authenticated;
     subscription_t* subscriptions;           // Head of this session's subscription list
     pthread_mutex_t session_lock;           // Per-session thread safety
     char client_ip[CLIENT_IP_MAX_LENGTH];   // Client IP for logging
     int subscription_count;                  // Number of subscriptions for this session
+    
+    // NIP-42 Authentication State
+    char authenticated_pubkey[65];           // Authenticated public key (64 hex + null)
+    char active_challenge[65];               // Current challenge for this session (64 hex + null)
+    time_t challenge_created;                // When challenge was created
+    time_t challenge_expires;                // Challenge expiration time
+    int nip42_auth_required_events;          // Whether NIP-42 auth is required for EVENT submission
+    int nip42_auth_required_subscriptions;   // Whether NIP-42 auth is required for REQ operations
+    int auth_challenge_sent;                 // Whether challenge has been sent (0/1)
 };
 
 // Global subscription manager
@@ -202,12 +221,20 @@ int check_and_handle_replaceable_event(int kind, const char* pubkey, long create
 int check_and_handle_addressable_event(int kind, const char* pubkey, const char* d_tag_value, long created_at);
 int handle_event_message(cJSON* event, char* error_message, size_t error_size);
 
+// Forward declaration for unified validation
+int nostr_validate_unified_request(const char* json_string, size_t json_length);
+
 // Forward declaration for configuration event handling (kind 33334)
 int handle_configuration_event(cJSON* event, char* error_message, size_t error_size);
 
 // Forward declaration for NOTICE message support
 void send_notice_message(struct lws* wsi, const char* message);
 
+// Forward declarations for NIP-42 authentication functions
+void send_nip42_auth_challenge(struct lws* wsi, struct per_session_data* pss);
+void handle_nip42_auth_signed_event(struct lws* wsi, struct per_session_data* pss, cJSON* auth_event);
+void handle_nip42_auth_challenge_response(struct lws* wsi, struct per_session_data* pss, const char* challenge);
+
 // Forward declarations for NIP-09 deletion request handling
 int handle_deletion_request(cJSON* event, char* error_message, size_t error_size);
 int delete_events_by_id(const char* requester_pubkey, cJSON* event_ids);
@@ -926,24 +953,39 @@ void update_subscription_events_sent(const char* sub_id, int events_sent) {
 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 
+// Helper function to get current timestamp string
+static void get_timestamp_string(char* buffer, size_t buffer_size) {
+    time_t now = time(NULL);
+    struct tm* local_time = localtime(&now);
+    strftime(buffer, buffer_size, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", local_time);
+}
+
 // Logging functions
 void log_info(const char* message) {
-    printf(BLUE "[INFO]" RESET " %s\n", message);
+    char timestamp[32];
+    get_timestamp_string(timestamp, sizeof(timestamp));
+    printf("[%s] " BLUE "[INFO]" RESET " %s\n", timestamp, message);
     fflush(stdout);
 }
 
 void log_success(const char* message) {
-    printf(GREEN "[SUCCESS]" RESET " %s\n", message);
+    char timestamp[32];
+    get_timestamp_string(timestamp, sizeof(timestamp));
+    printf("[%s] " GREEN "[SUCCESS]" RESET " %s\n", timestamp, message);
     fflush(stdout);
 }
 
 void log_error(const char* message) {
-    printf(RED "[ERROR]" RESET " %s\n", message);
+    char timestamp[32];
+    get_timestamp_string(timestamp, sizeof(timestamp));
+    printf("[%s] " RED "[ERROR]" RESET " %s\n", timestamp, message);
     fflush(stdout);
 }
 
 void log_warning(const char* message) {
-    printf(YELLOW "[WARNING]" RESET " %s\n", message);
+    char timestamp[32];
+    get_timestamp_string(timestamp, sizeof(timestamp));
+    printf("[%s] " YELLOW "[WARNING]" RESET " %s\n", timestamp, message);
     fflush(stdout);
 }
 
@@ -997,6 +1039,146 @@ void send_notice_message(struct lws* wsi, const char* message) {
     cJSON_Delete(notice_msg);
 }
 
+/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+//             NIP-42 AUTHENTICATION FUNCTIONS
+/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+
+// Send NIP-42 authentication challenge to client
+void send_nip42_auth_challenge(struct lws* wsi, struct per_session_data* pss) {
+    if (!wsi || !pss) return;
+    
+    // Generate challenge using existing request_validator function
+    char challenge[65];
+    if (nostr_nip42_generate_challenge(challenge, sizeof(challenge)) != 0) {
+        log_error("Failed to generate NIP-42 challenge");
+        send_notice_message(wsi, "Authentication temporarily unavailable");
+        return;
+    }
+    
+    // Store challenge in session
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&pss->session_lock);
+    strncpy(pss->active_challenge, challenge, sizeof(pss->active_challenge) - 1);
+    pss->active_challenge[sizeof(pss->active_challenge) - 1] = '\0';
+    pss->challenge_created = time(NULL);
+    pss->challenge_expires = pss->challenge_created + 600; // 10 minutes
+    pss->auth_challenge_sent = 1;
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&pss->session_lock);
+    
+    // Send AUTH challenge message: ["AUTH", <challenge>]
+    cJSON* auth_msg = cJSON_CreateArray();
+    cJSON_AddItemToArray(auth_msg, cJSON_CreateString("AUTH"));
+    cJSON_AddItemToArray(auth_msg, cJSON_CreateString(challenge));
+    
+    char* msg_str = cJSON_Print(auth_msg);
+    if (msg_str) {
+        size_t msg_len = strlen(msg_str);
+        unsigned char* buf = malloc(LWS_PRE + msg_len);
+        if (buf) {
+            memcpy(buf + LWS_PRE, msg_str, msg_len);
+            lws_write(wsi, buf + LWS_PRE, msg_len, LWS_WRITE_TEXT);
+            free(buf);
+        }
+        free(msg_str);
+    }
+    cJSON_Delete(auth_msg);
+    
+    char debug_msg[128];
+    snprintf(debug_msg, sizeof(debug_msg), "NIP-42 auth challenge sent: %.16s...", challenge);
+    log_info(debug_msg);
+}
+
+// Handle NIP-42 signed authentication event from client
+void handle_nip42_auth_signed_event(struct lws* wsi, struct per_session_data* pss, cJSON* auth_event) {
+    if (!wsi || !pss || !auth_event) return;
+    
+    // Serialize event for validation
+    char* event_json = cJSON_Print(auth_event);
+    if (!event_json) {
+        send_notice_message(wsi, "Invalid authentication event format");
+        return;
+    }
+    
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&pss->session_lock);
+    char challenge_copy[65];
+    strncpy(challenge_copy, pss->active_challenge, sizeof(challenge_copy) - 1);
+    challenge_copy[sizeof(challenge_copy) - 1] = '\0';
+    time_t challenge_expires = pss->challenge_expires;
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&pss->session_lock);
+    
+    // Check if challenge has expired
+    time_t current_time = time(NULL);
+    if (current_time > challenge_expires) {
+        free(event_json);
+        send_notice_message(wsi, "Authentication challenge expired, please retry");
+        log_warning("NIP-42 authentication failed: challenge expired");
+        return;
+    }
+    
+    // Verify authentication using existing request_validator function
+    // Note: nostr_nip42_verify_auth_event doesn't extract pubkey, we need to do that separately
+    int result = nostr_nip42_verify_auth_event(auth_event, challenge_copy,
+                                               "ws://localhost:8888", 600); // 10 minutes tolerance
+    
+    char authenticated_pubkey[65] = {0};
+    if (result == 0) {
+        // Extract pubkey from the auth event
+        cJSON* pubkey_json = cJSON_GetObjectItem(auth_event, "pubkey");
+        if (pubkey_json && cJSON_IsString(pubkey_json)) {
+            const char* pubkey_str = cJSON_GetStringValue(pubkey_json);
+            if (pubkey_str && strlen(pubkey_str) == 64) {
+                strncpy(authenticated_pubkey, pubkey_str, sizeof(authenticated_pubkey) - 1);
+                authenticated_pubkey[sizeof(authenticated_pubkey) - 1] = '\0';
+            } else {
+                result = -1; // Invalid pubkey format
+            }
+        } else {
+            result = -1; // Missing pubkey
+        }
+    }
+    
+    free(event_json);
+    
+    if (result == 0) {
+        // Authentication successful
+        pthread_mutex_lock(&pss->session_lock);
+        pss->authenticated = 1;
+        strncpy(pss->authenticated_pubkey, authenticated_pubkey, sizeof(pss->authenticated_pubkey) - 1);
+        pss->authenticated_pubkey[sizeof(pss->authenticated_pubkey) - 1] = '\0';
+        // Clear challenge
+        memset(pss->active_challenge, 0, sizeof(pss->active_challenge));
+        pss->challenge_expires = 0;
+        pss->auth_challenge_sent = 0;
+        pthread_mutex_unlock(&pss->session_lock);
+        
+        char success_msg[256];
+        snprintf(success_msg, sizeof(success_msg),
+                 "NIP-42 authentication successful for pubkey: %.16s...", authenticated_pubkey);
+        log_success(success_msg);
+        
+        send_notice_message(wsi, "NIP-42 authentication successful");
+    } else {
+        // Authentication failed
+        char error_msg[256];
+        snprintf(error_msg, sizeof(error_msg),
+                 "NIP-42 authentication failed (error code: %d)", result);
+        log_warning(error_msg);
+        
+        send_notice_message(wsi, "NIP-42 authentication failed - invalid signature or challenge");
+    }
+}
+
+// Handle challenge response (not typically used in NIP-42, but included for completeness)
+void handle_nip42_auth_challenge_response(struct lws* wsi, struct per_session_data* pss, const char* challenge) {
+    (void)wsi; (void)pss; (void)challenge; // Mark as intentionally unused
+    
+    // NIP-42 doesn't typically use challenge responses from client to server
+    // This is reserved for potential future use or protocol extensions
+    log_warning("Received unexpected challenge response from client (not part of standard NIP-42 flow)");
+    send_notice_message(wsi, "Challenge responses are not supported - please send signed authentication event");
+}
+
 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 //             NIP-09 EVENT DELETION REQUEST HANDLING
@@ -1345,6 +1527,7 @@ void init_relay_info() {
         cJSON_AddItemToArray(g_relay_info.supported_nips, cJSON_CreateNumber(15));  // NIP-15: EOSE
         cJSON_AddItemToArray(g_relay_info.supported_nips, cJSON_CreateNumber(20));  // NIP-20: Command results
         cJSON_AddItemToArray(g_relay_info.supported_nips, cJSON_CreateNumber(40));  // NIP-40: Expiration Timestamp
+        cJSON_AddItemToArray(g_relay_info.supported_nips, cJSON_CreateNumber(42));  // NIP-42: Authentication
     }
     
     // Initialize server limitations using configuration
@@ -1840,7 +2023,7 @@ void init_expiration_config() {
     g_expiration_config.strict_mode = get_config_bool("expiration_strict", 1);
     g_expiration_config.filter_responses = get_config_bool("expiration_filter", 1);
     g_expiration_config.delete_expired = get_config_bool("expiration_delete", 0);
-    g_expiration_config.grace_period = get_config_int("expiration_grace_period", 300);
+    g_expiration_config.grace_period = get_config_int("expiration_grace_period", 1);
     
     // Validate grace period bounds
     if (g_expiration_config.grace_period < 0 || g_expiration_config.grace_period > 86400) {
@@ -1876,6 +2059,30 @@ long extract_expiration_timestamp(cJSON* tags) {
                 const char* value = cJSON_GetStringValue(tag_value);
                 
                 if (name && value && strcmp(name, "expiration") == 0) {
+                    // Validate that the string contains only digits (and optional leading whitespace)
+                    const char* p = value;
+                    
+                    // Skip leading whitespace
+                    while (*p == ' ' || *p == '\t') p++;
+                    
+                    // Check if we have at least one digit
+                    if (*p == '\0') {
+                        continue; // Empty or whitespace-only string, ignore this tag
+                    }
+                    
+                    // Validate that all remaining characters are digits
+                    const char* digit_start = p;
+                    while (*p >= '0' && *p <= '9') p++;
+                    
+                    // If we didn't consume the entire string or found no digits, it's malformed
+                    if (*p != '\0' || p == digit_start) {
+                        char debug_msg[256];
+                        snprintf(debug_msg, sizeof(debug_msg),
+                                "Ignoring malformed expiration tag value: '%.32s'", value);
+                        log_warning(debug_msg);
+                        continue; // Ignore malformed expiration tag
+                    }
+                    
                     long expiration_ts = atol(value);
                     if (expiration_ts > 0) {
                         return expiration_ts;
@@ -1980,22 +2187,106 @@ int init_database(const char* database_path_override) {
         sqlite3_finalize(check_stmt);
         
         if (has_events_table) {
-            log_info("Database schema already exists, skipping initialization");
+            log_info("Database schema already exists, checking version");
             
-            // Log existing schema version if available
+            // Check existing schema version and migrate if needed
             const char* version_sql = "SELECT value FROM schema_info WHERE key = 'version'";
             sqlite3_stmt* version_stmt;
+            const char* db_version = NULL;
+            int needs_migration = 0;
+            
             if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, version_sql, -1, &version_stmt, NULL) == SQLITE_OK) {
                 if (sqlite3_step(version_stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-                    const char* db_version = (char*)sqlite3_column_text(version_stmt, 0);
+                    db_version = (char*)sqlite3_column_text(version_stmt, 0);
                     char version_msg[256];
                     snprintf(version_msg, sizeof(version_msg), "Existing database schema version: %s",
                              db_version ? db_version : "unknown");
                     log_info(version_msg);
+                    
+                    // Check if migration is needed
+                    if (!db_version || strcmp(db_version, "5") == 0) {
+                        needs_migration = 1;
+                        log_info("Database migration needed: v5 -> v6 (adding auth_rules table)");
+                    } else if (strcmp(db_version, "6") == 0) {
+                        log_info("Database is already at current schema version v6");
+                    } else if (strcmp(db_version, EMBEDDED_SCHEMA_VERSION) == 0) {
+                        log_info("Database is at current schema version");
+                    } else {
+                        char warning_msg[256];
+                        snprintf(warning_msg, sizeof(warning_msg), "Unknown database schema version: %s", db_version);
+                        log_warning(warning_msg);
+                    }
                 } else {
-                    log_info("Database exists but no version information found");
+                    log_info("Database exists but no version information found, assuming migration needed");
+                    needs_migration = 1;
                 }
                 sqlite3_finalize(version_stmt);
+            } else {
+                log_info("Cannot read schema version, assuming migration needed");
+                needs_migration = 1;
+            }
+            
+            // Perform migration if needed
+            if (needs_migration) {
+                log_info("Performing database schema migration to v6");
+                
+                // Check if auth_rules table already exists
+                const char* check_auth_rules_sql = "SELECT name FROM sqlite_master WHERE type='table' AND name='auth_rules'";
+                sqlite3_stmt* check_stmt;
+                int has_auth_rules = 0;
+                
+                if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, check_auth_rules_sql, -1, &check_stmt, NULL) == SQLITE_OK) {
+                    has_auth_rules = (sqlite3_step(check_stmt) == SQLITE_ROW);
+                    sqlite3_finalize(check_stmt);
+                }
+                
+                if (!has_auth_rules) {
+                    // Add auth_rules table
+                    const char* create_auth_rules_sql =
+                        "CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS auth_rules ("
+                        "    id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,"
+                        "    rule_type TEXT NOT NULL,"  // 'pubkey_whitelist', 'pubkey_blacklist', 'hash_blacklist'
+                        "    operation TEXT NOT NULL," // 'event', 'event_kind_1', etc.
+                        "    rule_target TEXT NOT NULL," // pubkey, hash, or other identifier
+                        "    enabled INTEGER DEFAULT 1," // 0 = disabled, 1 = enabled
+                        "    priority INTEGER DEFAULT 1000," // Lower numbers = higher priority
+                        "    description TEXT," // Optional description
+                        "    created_at INTEGER DEFAULT (strftime('%s', 'now')),"
+                        "    UNIQUE(rule_type, operation, rule_target)"
+                        ");";
+                    
+                    char* error_msg = NULL;
+                    int rc = sqlite3_exec(g_db, create_auth_rules_sql, NULL, NULL, &error_msg);
+                    if (rc != SQLITE_OK) {
+                        char error_log[512];
+                        snprintf(error_log, sizeof(error_log), "Failed to create auth_rules table: %s",
+                                 error_msg ? error_msg : "unknown error");
+                        log_error(error_log);
+                        if (error_msg) sqlite3_free(error_msg);
+                        return -1;
+                    }
+                    log_success("Created auth_rules table");
+                } else {
+                    log_info("auth_rules table already exists, skipping creation");
+                }
+                
+                // Update schema version to v6
+                const char* update_version_sql =
+                    "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO schema_info (key, value, updated_at) "
+                    "VALUES ('version', '6', strftime('%s', 'now'))";
+                
+                char* error_msg = NULL;
+                int rc = sqlite3_exec(g_db, update_version_sql, NULL, NULL, &error_msg);
+                if (rc != SQLITE_OK) {
+                    char error_log[512];
+                    snprintf(error_log, sizeof(error_log), "Failed to update schema version: %s",
+                             error_msg ? error_msg : "unknown error");
+                    log_error(error_log);
+                    if (error_msg) sqlite3_free(error_msg);
+                    return -1;
+                }
+                
+                log_success("Database migration to v6 completed successfully");
             }
         } else {
             // Initialize database schema using embedded SQL
@@ -2557,6 +2848,11 @@ int handle_req_message(const char* sub_id, cJSON* filters, struct lws *wsi, stru
                 time_t current_time = time(NULL);
                 if (is_event_expired(event, current_time)) {
                     // Skip this expired event
+                    cJSON* event_id_obj = cJSON_GetObjectItem(event, "id");
+                    const char* event_id = event_id_obj ? cJSON_GetStringValue(event_id_obj) : "unknown";
+                    char debug_msg[256];
+                    snprintf(debug_msg, sizeof(debug_msg), "Filtering expired event from subscription: %.16s", event_id);
+                    log_info(debug_msg);
                     cJSON_Delete(event);
                     continue;
                 }
@@ -2598,133 +2894,7 @@ int handle_req_message(const char* sub_id, cJSON* filters, struct lws *wsi, stru
     return events_sent;
 }
 
-// Handle EVENT message (publish)
-int handle_event_message(cJSON* event, char* error_message, size_t error_size) {
-    log_info("Handling EVENT message with full NIP-01 validation");
-    
-    if (!event) {
-        snprintf(error_message, error_size, "invalid: null event");
-        return NOSTR_ERROR_INVALID_INPUT;
-    }
-    
-    // Step 1: Validate event structure
-    int structure_result = nostr_validate_event_structure(event);
-    if (structure_result != NOSTR_SUCCESS) {
-        switch (structure_result) {
-            case NOSTR_ERROR_EVENT_INVALID_STRUCTURE:
-                snprintf(error_message, error_size, "invalid: malformed event structure");
-                break;
-            case NOSTR_ERROR_EVENT_INVALID_ID:
-                snprintf(error_message, error_size, "invalid: invalid event id format");
-                break;
-            case NOSTR_ERROR_EVENT_INVALID_PUBKEY:
-                snprintf(error_message, error_size, "invalid: invalid pubkey format");
-                break;
-            case NOSTR_ERROR_EVENT_INVALID_CREATED_AT:
-                snprintf(error_message, error_size, "invalid: invalid created_at timestamp");
-                break;
-            case NOSTR_ERROR_EVENT_INVALID_KIND:
-                snprintf(error_message, error_size, "invalid: invalid event kind");
-                break;
-            case NOSTR_ERROR_EVENT_INVALID_TAGS:
-                snprintf(error_message, error_size, "invalid: invalid tags format");
-                break;
-            case NOSTR_ERROR_EVENT_INVALID_CONTENT:
-                snprintf(error_message, error_size, "invalid: invalid content");
-                break;
-            default:
-                snprintf(error_message, error_size, "invalid: event structure validation failed");
-        }
-        return structure_result;
-    }
-    
-    // Step 2: Verify event signature
-    int signature_result = nostr_verify_event_signature(event);
-    if (signature_result != NOSTR_SUCCESS) {
-        if (signature_result == NOSTR_ERROR_EVENT_INVALID_SIGNATURE) {
-            snprintf(error_message, error_size, "invalid: event signature verification failed");
-        } else if (signature_result == NOSTR_ERROR_EVENT_INVALID_ID) {
-            snprintf(error_message, error_size, "invalid: event id does not match computed hash");
-        } else {
-            snprintf(error_message, error_size, "invalid: cryptographic validation failed");
-        }
-        return signature_result;
-    }
-    
-    // Step 3: Validate Proof of Work (NIP-13) if enabled
-    int pow_result = validate_event_pow(event, error_message, error_size);
-    if (pow_result != 0) {
-        return pow_result;  // PoW validation failed, error message already set
-    }
-    
-    // Step 4: Validate expiration timestamp (NIP-40) if enabled
-    int expiration_result = validate_event_expiration(event, error_message, error_size);
-    if (expiration_result != 0) {
-        return expiration_result;  // Expiration validation failed, error message already set
-    }
-    
-    // Step 5: Complete event validation (combines structure + signature + additional checks)
-    int validation_result = nostr_validate_event(event);
-    if (validation_result != NOSTR_SUCCESS) {
-        snprintf(error_message, error_size, "invalid: complete event validation failed");
-        return validation_result;
-    }
-    
-    // Step 6: Check for special event types and handle accordingly
-    cJSON* kind_obj = cJSON_GetObjectItem(event, "kind");
-    cJSON* pubkey_obj = cJSON_GetObjectItem(event, "pubkey");
-    cJSON* created_at_obj = cJSON_GetObjectItem(event, "created_at");
-    
-    if (kind_obj && pubkey_obj && created_at_obj) {
-        int kind = (int)cJSON_GetNumberValue(kind_obj);
-        const char* pubkey = cJSON_GetStringValue(pubkey_obj);
-        long created_at = (long)cJSON_GetNumberValue(created_at_obj);
-        
-        // NIP-09: Handle deletion requests (kind 5)
-        if (kind == 5) {
-            return handle_deletion_request(event, error_message, error_size);
-        }
-        
-        // Kind 33334: Handle configuration events
-        if (kind == 33334) {
-            return handle_configuration_event(event, error_message, error_size);
-        }
-        
-        // Handle replaceable events (NIP-01)
-        event_type_t event_type = classify_event_kind(kind);
-        if (event_type == EVENT_TYPE_REPLACEABLE) {
-            // For replaceable events, check if we have a newer version
-            if (check_and_handle_replaceable_event(kind, pubkey, created_at) < 0) {
-                snprintf(error_message, error_size, "duplicate: older replaceable event ignored");
-                return -2; // Special code for duplicate/older event
-            }
-        } else if (event_type == EVENT_TYPE_ADDRESSABLE) {
-            // For addressable events, check d tag
-            cJSON* tags = cJSON_GetObjectItem(event, "tags");
-            if (tags && cJSON_IsArray(tags)) {
-                const char* d_tag_value = extract_d_tag_value(tags);
-                if (check_and_handle_addressable_event(kind, pubkey, d_tag_value, created_at) < 0) {
-                    snprintf(error_message, error_size, "duplicate: older addressable event ignored");
-                    return -2;
-                }
-            }
-        } else if (event_type == EVENT_TYPE_EPHEMERAL) {
-            // Ephemeral events should not be stored
-            error_message[0] = '\0';  // Success but no storage - empty error message
-            return 0;  // Accept but don't store
-        }
-    }
-    
-    // Step 7: Store event in database
-    if (store_event(event) == 0) {
-        error_message[0] = '\0';  // Success - empty error message
-        log_success("Event validated and stored successfully");
-        return 0;
-    }
-    
-    snprintf(error_message, error_size, "error: failed to store event in database");
-    return -1;
-}
+
 
 
 
@@ -2781,9 +2951,22 @@ static int nostr_relay_callback(struct lws *wsi, enum lws_callback_reasons reaso
             log_info("WebSocket connection established");
             memset(pss, 0, sizeof(*pss));
             pthread_mutex_init(&pss->session_lock, NULL);
-            // TODO: Get real client IP address
-            strncpy(pss->client_ip, "127.0.0.1", CLIENT_IP_MAX_LENGTH - 1);
+            
+            // Get real client IP address
+            char client_ip[CLIENT_IP_MAX_LENGTH];
+            lws_get_peer_simple(wsi, client_ip, sizeof(client_ip));
+            strncpy(pss->client_ip, client_ip, CLIENT_IP_MAX_LENGTH - 1);
             pss->client_ip[CLIENT_IP_MAX_LENGTH - 1] = '\0';
+            
+            // Initialize NIP-42 authentication state
+            pss->authenticated = 0;
+            pss->nip42_auth_required_events = get_config_bool("nip42_auth_required_events", 0);
+            pss->nip42_auth_required_subscriptions = get_config_bool("nip42_auth_required_subscriptions", 0);
+            pss->auth_challenge_sent = 0;
+            memset(pss->authenticated_pubkey, 0, sizeof(pss->authenticated_pubkey));
+            memset(pss->active_challenge, 0, sizeof(pss->active_challenge));
+            pss->challenge_created = 0;
+            pss->challenge_expires = 0;
             break;
             
         case LWS_CALLBACK_RECEIVE:
@@ -2804,15 +2987,123 @@ static int nostr_relay_callback(struct lws *wsi, enum lws_callback_reasons reaso
                             const char* msg_type = cJSON_GetStringValue(type);
                             
                             if (strcmp(msg_type, "EVENT") == 0) {
+                                // Extract event for kind-specific NIP-42 authentication check
+                                cJSON* event_obj = cJSON_GetArrayItem(json, 1);
+                                if (event_obj && cJSON_IsObject(event_obj)) {
+                                    // Extract event kind for kind-specific NIP-42 authentication check
+                                    cJSON* kind_obj = cJSON_GetObjectItem(event_obj, "kind");
+                                    int event_kind = kind_obj && cJSON_IsNumber(kind_obj) ? (int)cJSON_GetNumberValue(kind_obj) : -1;
+                                    
+                                    // Check if NIP-42 authentication is required for this event kind or globally
+                                    int auth_required = is_nip42_auth_globally_required() || is_nip42_auth_required_for_kind(event_kind);
+                                    
+                                    if (pss && auth_required && !pss->authenticated) {
+                                        if (!pss->auth_challenge_sent) {
+                                            send_nip42_auth_challenge(wsi, pss);
+                                        } else {
+                                            char auth_msg[256];
+                                            if (event_kind == 4 || event_kind == 14) {
+                                                snprintf(auth_msg, sizeof(auth_msg),
+                                                        "NIP-42 authentication required for direct message events (kind %d)", event_kind);
+                                            } else {
+                                                snprintf(auth_msg, sizeof(auth_msg),
+                                                        "NIP-42 authentication required for event kind %d", event_kind);
+                                            }
+                                            send_notice_message(wsi, auth_msg);
+                                            log_warning("Event rejected: NIP-42 authentication required for kind");
+                                            char debug_msg[128];
+                                            snprintf(debug_msg, sizeof(debug_msg), "Auth required for kind %d", event_kind);
+                                            log_info(debug_msg);
+                                        }
+                                        cJSON_Delete(json);
+                                        free(message);
+                                        return 0;
+                                    }
+                                }
+                                
                                 // Handle EVENT message
                                 cJSON* event = cJSON_GetArrayItem(json, 1);
                                 if (event && cJSON_IsObject(event)) {
-                                    char error_message[512] = {0};
-                                    int result = handle_event_message(event, error_message, sizeof(error_message));
+                                    // Extract event JSON string for unified validator
+                                    char *event_json_str = cJSON_Print(event);
+                                    if (!event_json_str) {
+                                        log_error("Failed to serialize event JSON for validation");
+                                        cJSON* error_response = cJSON_CreateArray();
+                                        cJSON_AddItemToArray(error_response, cJSON_CreateString("OK"));
+                                        cJSON_AddItemToArray(error_response, cJSON_CreateString("unknown"));
+                                        cJSON_AddItemToArray(error_response, cJSON_CreateBool(0));
+                                        cJSON_AddItemToArray(error_response, cJSON_CreateString("error: failed to process event"));
+                                        
+                                        char *error_str = cJSON_Print(error_response);
+                                        if (error_str) {
+                                            size_t error_len = strlen(error_str);
+                                            unsigned char *buf = malloc(LWS_PRE + error_len);
+                                            if (buf) {
+                                                memcpy(buf + LWS_PRE, error_str, error_len);
+                                                lws_write(wsi, buf + LWS_PRE, error_len, LWS_WRITE_TEXT);
+                                                free(buf);
+                                            }
+                                            free(error_str);
+                                        }
+                                        cJSON_Delete(error_response);
+                                        return 0;
+                                    }
                                     
-                                    // Broadcast event to matching persistent subscriptions
+                                    // Call unified validator with JSON string
+                                    size_t event_json_len = strlen(event_json_str);
+                                    int validation_result = nostr_validate_unified_request(event_json_str, event_json_len);
+                                    
+                                    // Map validation result to old result format (0 = success, -1 = failure)
+                                    int result = (validation_result == NOSTR_SUCCESS) ? 0 : -1;
+                                    
+                                    // Generate error message based on validation result
+                                    char error_message[512] = {0};
+                                    if (result != 0) {
+                                        switch (validation_result) {
+                                            case NOSTR_ERROR_INVALID_INPUT:
+                                                strncpy(error_message, "invalid: malformed event structure", sizeof(error_message) - 1);
+                                                break;
+                                            case NOSTR_ERROR_EVENT_INVALID_SIGNATURE:
+                                                strncpy(error_message, "invalid: signature verification failed", sizeof(error_message) - 1);
+                                                break;
+                                            case NOSTR_ERROR_EVENT_INVALID_ID:
+                                                strncpy(error_message, "invalid: event id verification failed", sizeof(error_message) - 1);
+                                                break;
+                                            case NOSTR_ERROR_EVENT_INVALID_PUBKEY:
+                                                strncpy(error_message, "invalid: invalid pubkey format", sizeof(error_message) - 1);
+                                                break;
+                                            case -103: // NOSTR_ERROR_EVENT_EXPIRED
+                                                strncpy(error_message, "rejected: event expired", sizeof(error_message) - 1);
+                                                break;
+                                            case -102: // NOSTR_ERROR_NIP42_DISABLED
+                                                strncpy(error_message, "auth-required: NIP-42 authentication required", sizeof(error_message) - 1);
+                                                break;
+                                            case -101: // NOSTR_ERROR_AUTH_REQUIRED
+                                                strncpy(error_message, "blocked: pubkey not authorized", sizeof(error_message) - 1);
+                                                break;
+                                            default:
+                                                strncpy(error_message, "error: validation failed", sizeof(error_message) - 1);
+                                                break;
+                                        }
+                                    } else {
+                                        log_info("Event validated successfully using unified validator");
+                                    }
+                                    
+                                    // Cleanup event JSON string
+                                    free(event_json_str);
+                                    
+                                    // Store event in database and broadcast to subscriptions
                                     if (result == 0) {
-                                        broadcast_event_to_subscriptions(event);
+                                        // Store the event in the database first
+                                        if (store_event(event) != 0) {
+                                            log_error("Failed to store event in database");
+                                            result = -1;
+                                            strncpy(error_message, "error: failed to store event", sizeof(error_message) - 1);
+                                        } else {
+                                            log_info("Event stored successfully in database");
+                                            // Broadcast event to matching persistent subscriptions
+                                            broadcast_event_to_subscriptions(event);
+                                        }
                                     }
                                     
                                     // Send OK response
@@ -2824,6 +3115,7 @@ static int nostr_relay_callback(struct lws *wsi, enum lws_callback_reasons reaso
                                         cJSON_AddItemToArray(response, cJSON_CreateBool(result == 0));
                                         cJSON_AddItemToArray(response, cJSON_CreateString(strlen(error_message) > 0 ? error_message : ""));
                                         
+                                        // TODO: REPLACE - Remove wasteful cJSON_Print conversion
                                         char *response_str = cJSON_Print(response);
                                         if (response_str) {
                                             size_t response_len = strlen(response_str);
@@ -2839,6 +3131,19 @@ static int nostr_relay_callback(struct lws *wsi, enum lws_callback_reasons reaso
                                     }
                                 }
                             } else if (strcmp(msg_type, "REQ") == 0) {
+                                // Check NIP-42 authentication for REQ subscriptions if required
+                                if (pss && pss->nip42_auth_required_subscriptions && !pss->authenticated) {
+                                    if (!pss->auth_challenge_sent) {
+                                        send_nip42_auth_challenge(wsi, pss);
+                                    } else {
+                                        send_notice_message(wsi, "NIP-42 authentication required for subscriptions");
+                                        log_warning("REQ rejected: NIP-42 authentication required");
+                                    }
+                                    cJSON_Delete(json);
+                                    free(message);
+                                    return 0;
+                                }
+                                
                                 // Handle REQ message
                                 cJSON* sub_id = cJSON_GetArrayItem(json, 1);
                                 
@@ -2909,6 +3214,31 @@ static int nostr_relay_callback(struct lws *wsi, enum lws_callback_reasons reaso
                                     snprintf(debug_msg, sizeof(debug_msg), "Closed subscription: %s", subscription_id);
                                     log_info(debug_msg);
                                 }
+                            } else if (strcmp(msg_type, "AUTH") == 0) {
+                                // Handle NIP-42 AUTH message
+                                if (cJSON_GetArraySize(json) >= 2) {
+                                    cJSON* auth_payload = cJSON_GetArrayItem(json, 1);
+                                    
+                                    if (cJSON_IsString(auth_payload)) {
+                                        // AUTH challenge response: ["AUTH", <challenge>] (unusual)
+                                        handle_nip42_auth_challenge_response(wsi, pss, cJSON_GetStringValue(auth_payload));
+                                    } else if (cJSON_IsObject(auth_payload)) {
+                                        // AUTH signed event: ["AUTH", <event>] (standard NIP-42)
+                                        handle_nip42_auth_signed_event(wsi, pss, auth_payload);
+                                    } else {
+                                        send_notice_message(wsi, "Invalid AUTH message format");
+                                        log_warning("Received AUTH message with invalid payload type");
+                                    }
+                                } else {
+                                    send_notice_message(wsi, "AUTH message requires payload");
+                                    log_warning("Received AUTH message without payload");
+                                }
+                            } else {
+                                // Unknown message type
+                                char unknown_msg[128];
+                                snprintf(unknown_msg, sizeof(unknown_msg), "Unknown message type: %.32s", msg_type);
+                                log_warning(unknown_msg);
+                                send_notice_message(wsi, "Unknown message type");
                             }
                         }
                     }
@@ -3114,9 +3444,6 @@ int start_websocket_relay(int port_override) {
     return 0;
 }
 
-
-
-
 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 //             MAIN PROGRAM
@@ -3133,6 +3460,8 @@ void print_usage(const char* program_name) {
     printf("  -h, --help               Show this help message\n");
     printf("  -v, --version            Show version information\n");
     printf("  -p, --port PORT          Override relay port (first-time startup only)\n");
+    printf("  -a, --admin-privkey HEX  Override admin private key (64-char hex)\n");
+    printf("  -r, --relay-privkey HEX  Override relay private key (64-char hex)\n");
     printf("\n");
     printf("Configuration:\n");
     printf("  This relay uses event-based configuration stored in the database.\n");
@@ -3161,7 +3490,9 @@ void print_version() {
 int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
     // Initialize CLI options structure
     cli_options_t cli_options = {
-        .port_override = -1  // -1 = not set
+        .port_override = -1,  // -1 = not set
+        .admin_privkey_override = {0},  // Empty string = not set
+        .relay_privkey_override = {0}   // Empty string = not set
     };
     
     // Parse command line arguments
@@ -3196,6 +3527,66 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
             char port_msg[128];
             snprintf(port_msg, sizeof(port_msg), "Port override specified: %d", cli_options.port_override);
             log_info(port_msg);
+        } else if (strcmp(argv[i], "-a") == 0 || strcmp(argv[i], "--admin-privkey") == 0) {
+            // Admin private key override option
+            if (i + 1 >= argc) {
+                log_error("Admin privkey option requires a value. Use --help for usage information.");
+                print_usage(argv[0]);
+                return 1;
+            }
+            
+            // Validate private key format (must be 64 hex characters)
+            if (strlen(argv[i + 1]) != 64) {
+                log_error("Invalid admin private key length. Must be exactly 64 hex characters.");
+                print_usage(argv[0]);
+                return 1;
+            }
+            
+            // Validate hex format
+            for (int j = 0; j < 64; j++) {
+                char c = argv[i + 1][j];
+                if (!((c >= '0' && c <= '9') || (c >= 'a' && c <= 'f') || (c >= 'A' && c <= 'F'))) {
+                    log_error("Invalid admin private key format. Must contain only hex characters (0-9, a-f, A-F).");
+                    print_usage(argv[0]);
+                    return 1;
+                }
+            }
+            
+            strncpy(cli_options.admin_privkey_override, argv[i + 1], sizeof(cli_options.admin_privkey_override) - 1);
+            cli_options.admin_privkey_override[sizeof(cli_options.admin_privkey_override) - 1] = '\0';
+            i++; // Skip the key argument
+            
+            log_info("Admin private key override specified");
+        } else if (strcmp(argv[i], "-r") == 0 || strcmp(argv[i], "--relay-privkey") == 0) {
+            // Relay private key override option
+            if (i + 1 >= argc) {
+                log_error("Relay privkey option requires a value. Use --help for usage information.");
+                print_usage(argv[0]);
+                return 1;
+            }
+            
+            // Validate private key format (must be 64 hex characters)
+            if (strlen(argv[i + 1]) != 64) {
+                log_error("Invalid relay private key length. Must be exactly 64 hex characters.");
+                print_usage(argv[0]);
+                return 1;
+            }
+            
+            // Validate hex format
+            for (int j = 0; j < 64; j++) {
+                char c = argv[i + 1][j];
+                if (!((c >= '0' && c <= '9') || (c >= 'a' && c <= 'f') || (c >= 'A' && c <= 'F'))) {
+                    log_error("Invalid relay private key format. Must contain only hex characters (0-9, a-f, A-F).");
+                    print_usage(argv[0]);
+                    return 1;
+                }
+            }
+            
+            strncpy(cli_options.relay_privkey_override, argv[i + 1], sizeof(cli_options.relay_privkey_override) - 1);
+            cli_options.relay_privkey_override[sizeof(cli_options.relay_privkey_override) - 1] = '\0';
+            i++; // Skip the key argument
+            
+            log_info("Relay private key override specified");
         } else {
             log_error("Unknown argument. Use --help for usage information.");
             print_usage(argv[0]);
@@ -3208,7 +3599,7 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
     signal(SIGTERM, signal_handler);
     
     printf(BLUE BOLD "=== C Nostr Relay Server ===" RESET "\n");
-    printf("Event-based configuration system\n\n");
+
     
     // Initialize nostr library FIRST (required for key generation and event creation)
     if (nostr_init() != 0) {
@@ -3358,6 +3749,16 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
     // Configuration system is now fully initialized with event-based approach
     // All configuration is loaded from database events
     
+    // Initialize unified request validator system
+    if (ginxsom_request_validator_init(g_database_path, "c-relay") != 0) {
+        log_error("Failed to initialize unified request validator");
+        cleanup_configuration_system();
+        nostr_cleanup();
+        close_database();
+        return 1;
+    }
+    log_success("Unified request validator initialized");
+    
     // Initialize NIP-11 relay information
     init_relay_info();
     
@@ -3377,6 +3778,7 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
     
     // Cleanup
     cleanup_relay_info();
+    ginxsom_request_validator_cleanup();
     cleanup_configuration_system();
     nostr_cleanup();
     close_database();

src/sql_schema.h

@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 /* Embedded SQL Schema for C Nostr Relay
  * Generated from db/schema.sql - Do not edit manually
- * Schema Version: 5
+ * Schema Version: 6
  */
 #ifndef SQL_SCHEMA_H
 #define SQL_SCHEMA_H
 
 /* Schema version constant */
-#define EMBEDDED_SCHEMA_VERSION "5"
+#define EMBEDDED_SCHEMA_VERSION "6"
 
 /* Embedded SQL schema as C string literal */
 static const char* const EMBEDDED_SCHEMA_SQL = 
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ static const char* const EMBEDDED_SCHEMA_SQL =
 -- Event-based configuration system using kind 33334 Nostr events\n\
 \n\
 -- Schema version tracking\n\
-PRAGMA user_version = 5;\n\
+PRAGMA user_version = 6;\n\
 \n\
 -- Enable foreign key support\n\
 PRAGMA foreign_keys = ON;\n\
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ CREATE TABLE schema_info (\n\
 \n\
 -- Insert schema metadata\n\
 INSERT INTO schema_info (key, value) VALUES\n\
-    ('version', '5'),\n\
+    ('version', '6'),\n\
     ('description', 'Event-based Nostr relay schema with secure relay private key storage'),\n\
     ('created_at', strftime('%s', 'now'));\n\
 \n\
@@ -135,6 +135,25 @@ CREATE TABLE relay_seckey (\n\
     created_at INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT (strftime('%s', 'now'))\n\
 );\n\
 \n\
+-- Authentication Rules Table for NIP-42 and Policy Enforcement\n\
+-- Used by request_validator.c for unified validation\n\
+CREATE TABLE auth_rules (\n\
+    id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,\n\
+    rule_type TEXT NOT NULL CHECK (rule_type IN ('whitelist', 'blacklist', 'rate_limit', 'auth_required')),\n\
+    pattern_type TEXT NOT NULL CHECK (pattern_type IN ('pubkey', 'kind', 'ip', 'global')),\n\
+    pattern_value TEXT,\n\
+    action TEXT NOT NULL CHECK (action IN ('allow', 'deny', 'require_auth', 'rate_limit')),\n\
+    parameters TEXT, -- JSON parameters for rate limiting, etc.\n\
+    active INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 1,\n\
+    created_at INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT (strftime('%s', 'now')),\n\
+    updated_at INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT (strftime('%s', 'now'))\n\
+);\n\
+\n\
+-- Indexes for auth_rules performance\n\
+CREATE INDEX idx_auth_rules_pattern ON auth_rules(pattern_type, pattern_value);\n\
+CREATE INDEX idx_auth_rules_type ON auth_rules(rule_type);\n\
+CREATE INDEX idx_auth_rules_active ON auth_rules(active);\n\
+\n\
 -- Persistent Subscriptions Logging Tables (Phase 2)\n\
 -- Optional database logging for subscription analytics and debugging\n\
 \n\

test_event.json

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{"kind":1,"id":"6ed088c045874d91eabd02127d613e8babf6240a10532eb25f4c61437cabe710","pubkey":"79be667ef9dcbbac55a06295ce870b07029bfcdb2dce28d959f2815b16f81798","created_at":1757711333,"tags":[],"content":"Testing unified validation system","sig":"9f96975a831317d9948a097a9c4ae73063f4f0414a463b37a21e733f16d7788a51e72e8e48144974d82c217c31c45b987589219a5d5e2f8d7ec81448b523a474"}

test_key.txt

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+5e01b634b759df55fe19be40e8ce632fe0717506c5bc0e0558a4d7aed2232380

tests/40_nip_test.sh

@@ -300,75 +300,103 @@ test_expiration_filtering_in_subscriptions() {
         return 0
     fi
     
-    print_info "Setting up test events for subscription filtering..."
+    print_info "Setting up short-lived events for proper expiration filtering test..."
     
-    # First, create a few events with different expiration times
     local private_key="91ba716fa9e7ea2fcbad360cf4f8e0d312f73984da63d90f524ad61a6a1e7dbe"
     
-    # Event 1: No expiration (should be returned)
+    # Event 1: No expiration (should always be returned)
     local event1=$(nak event --sec "$private_key" -c "Event without expiration for filtering test" --ts $(date +%s))
     
     # Event 2: Future expiration (should be returned)
     local future_timestamp=$(($(date +%s) + 1800))  # 30 minutes from now
     local event2=$(create_event_with_expiration "Event with future expiration for filtering test" "$future_timestamp")
     
-    # Event 3: Past expiration (should NOT be returned if filtering is enabled)
-    local past_timestamp=$(($(date +%s) - 3600))  # 1 hour ago
-    local event3=$(create_event_with_expiration "Event with past expiration for filtering test" "$past_timestamp")
+    # Event 3: SHORT-LIVED EVENT - expires in 3 seconds
+    local short_expiry=$(($(date +%s) + 3))  # 3 seconds from now
+    local event3=$(create_event_with_expiration "Short-lived event for filtering test" "$short_expiry")
     
-    print_info "Publishing test events..."
+    print_info "Publishing test events (including one that expires in 3 seconds)..."
     
-    # Note: We expect event3 to be rejected on submission in strict mode,
-    # so we'll create it with a slightly more recent expiration that might get through
-    local recent_past=$(($(date +%s) - 600))  # 10 minutes ago (outside grace period)
-    local event3_recent=$(create_event_with_expiration "Recently expired event for filtering test" "$recent_past")
+    # Submit all events - they should all be accepted initially
+    local response1=$(echo "[\"EVENT\",$event1]" | timeout 5s websocat "$RELAY_URL" 2>&1)
+    local response2=$(echo "[\"EVENT\",$event2]" | timeout 5s websocat "$RELAY_URL" 2>&1)
+    local response3=$(echo "[\"EVENT\",$event3]" | timeout 5s websocat "$RELAY_URL" 2>&1)
     
-    # Try to submit all events (some may be rejected)
-    echo "[\"EVENT\",$event1]" | timeout 3s websocat "$RELAY_URL" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
-    echo "[\"EVENT\",$event2]" | timeout 3s websocat "$RELAY_URL" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
-    echo "[\"EVENT\",$event3_recent]" | timeout 3s websocat "$RELAY_URL" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
-    
-    sleep 2  # Let events settle
-    
-    print_info "Testing subscription filtering..."
-    
-    # Create subscription for recent events
-    local req_message='["REQ","filter_test",{"kinds":[1],"limit":10}]'
-    local response=$(echo -e "$req_message\n[\"CLOSE\",\"filter_test\"]" | timeout 5s websocat "$RELAY_URL" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
-    
-    print_info "Subscription response:"
-    echo "$response"
+    print_info "Event submission responses:"
+    echo "Event 1 (no expiry): $response1"
+    echo "Event 2 (future expiry): $response2"
+    echo "Event 3 (expires in 3s): $response3"
     echo ""
     
-    # Count events that contain our test content
+    # Verify all events were accepted
+    if [[ "$response1" != *"true"* ]] || [[ "$response2" != *"true"* ]] || [[ "$response3" != *"true"* ]]; then
+        record_test_result "Expiration Filtering in Subscriptions" "FAIL" "Events not properly accepted during submission"
+        return 1
+    fi
+    
+    print_success "✓ All events accepted during submission"
+    
+    # Test 1: Query immediately - all events should be present
+    print_info "Testing immediate subscription (before expiration)..."
+    local req_message='["REQ","filter_immediate",{"kinds":[1],"limit":10}]'
+    local immediate_response=$(echo -e "$req_message\n[\"CLOSE\",\"filter_immediate\"]" | timeout 5s websocat "$RELAY_URL" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+    
+    local immediate_count=0
+    if echo "$immediate_response" | grep -q "Event without expiration for filtering test"; then
+        immediate_count=$((immediate_count + 1))
+    fi
+    if echo "$immediate_response" | grep -q "Event with future expiration for filtering test"; then
+        immediate_count=$((immediate_count + 1))
+    fi
+    if echo "$immediate_response" | grep -q "Short-lived event for filtering test"; then
+        immediate_count=$((immediate_count + 1))
+    fi
+    
+    print_info "Immediate response found $immediate_count/3 events"
+    
+    # Wait for the short-lived event to expire (5 seconds total wait)
+    print_info "Waiting 5 seconds for short-lived event to expire..."
+    sleep 5
+    
+    # Test 2: Query after expiration - short-lived event should be filtered out
+    print_info "Testing subscription after expiration (short-lived event should be filtered)..."
+    req_message='["REQ","filter_after_expiry",{"kinds":[1],"limit":10}]'
+    local expired_response=$(echo -e "$req_message\n[\"CLOSE\",\"filter_after_expiry\"]" | timeout 5s websocat "$RELAY_URL" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+    
+    print_info "Post-expiration subscription response:"
+    echo "$expired_response"
+    echo ""
+    
+    # Count events in the expired response
     local no_exp_count=0
-    local future_exp_count=0  
-    local past_exp_count=0
+    local future_exp_count=0
+    local expired_event_count=0
     
-    if echo "$response" | grep -q "Event without expiration for filtering test"; then
+    if echo "$expired_response" | grep -q "Event without expiration for filtering test"; then
         no_exp_count=1
-        print_success "✓ Event without expiration found in subscription results"
+        print_success "✓ Event without expiration found in post-expiration results"
     fi
     
-    if echo "$response" | grep -q "Event with future expiration for filtering test"; then
+    if echo "$expired_response" | grep -q "Event with future expiration for filtering test"; then
         future_exp_count=1
-        print_success "✓ Event with future expiration found in subscription results"
+        print_success "✓ Event with future expiration found in post-expiration results"
     fi
     
-    if echo "$response" | grep -q "Recently expired event for filtering test"; then
-        past_exp_count=1
-        print_warning "✗ Recently expired event found in subscription results (should be filtered)"
+    if echo "$expired_response" | grep -q "Short-lived event for filtering test"; then
+        expired_event_count=1
+        print_error "✗ EXPIRED short-lived event found in subscription results (should be filtered!)"
     else
-        print_success "✓ Recently expired event properly filtered from subscription results"
+        print_success "✓ Expired short-lived event properly filtered from subscription results"
     fi
     
     # Evaluate results
-    local expected_events=$((no_exp_count + future_exp_count))
-    if [ $expected_events -ge 1 ] && [ $past_exp_count -eq 0 ]; then
+    local expected_active_events=$((no_exp_count + future_exp_count))
+    if [ $expected_active_events -ge 2 ] && [ $expired_event_count -eq 0 ]; then
         record_test_result "Expiration Filtering in Subscriptions" "PASS" "Expired events properly filtered from subscriptions"
         return 0
     else
-        record_test_result "Expiration Filtering in Subscriptions" "FAIL" "Expiration filtering not working properly in subscriptions"
+        local details="Found $expected_active_events active events, $expired_event_count expired events (should be 0)"
+        record_test_result "Expiration Filtering in Subscriptions" "FAIL" "Expiration filtering not working properly in subscriptions - $details"
         return 1
     fi
 }

tests/42_nip_test.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,477 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# NIP-42 Authentication Test Script
+# Tests the complete NIP-42 authentication flow for the C Nostr Relay
+
+set -e
+
+RELAY_URL="ws://localhost:8888"
+HTTP_URL="http://localhost:8888"
+TEST_DIR="$(dirname "$0")"
+LOG_FILE="${TEST_DIR}/nip42_test.log"
+
+# Colors for output
+RED='\033[31m'
+GREEN='\033[32m'
+YELLOW='\033[33m'
+BLUE='\033[34m'
+BOLD='\033[1m'
+RESET='\033[0m'
+
+# Logging function
+log() {
+    echo "$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') - $1" | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
+}
+
+log_success() {
+    echo -e "${GREEN}${BOLD}[SUCCESS]${RESET} $1" | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
+}
+
+log_error() {
+    echo -e "${RED}${BOLD}[ERROR]${RESET} $1" | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
+}
+
+log_info() {
+    echo -e "${BLUE}${BOLD}[INFO]${RESET} $1" | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
+}
+
+log_warning() {
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}${BOLD}[WARNING]${RESET} $1" | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
+}
+
+# Initialize test log
+echo "=== NIP-42 Authentication Test Started ===" > "$LOG_FILE"
+log "Starting NIP-42 authentication tests"
+
+# Check if required tools are available
+check_dependencies() {
+    log_info "Checking dependencies..."
+    
+    if ! command -v nak &> /dev/null; then
+        log_error "nak client not found. Please install: go install github.com/fiatjaf/nak@latest"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    
+    if ! command -v jq &> /dev/null; then
+        log_error "jq not found. Please install jq for JSON processing"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    
+    if ! command -v wscat &> /dev/null; then
+        log_warning "wscat not found. Some manual WebSocket tests will be skipped"
+        log_warning "Install with: npm install -g wscat"
+    fi
+    
+    log_success "Dependencies check complete"
+}
+
+# Test 1: Check NIP-42 in supported NIPs
+test_nip42_support() {
+    log_info "Test 1: Checking NIP-42 support in relay info"
+    
+    local response
+    response=$(curl -s -H "Accept: application/nostr+json" "$HTTP_URL")
+    
+    if echo "$response" | jq -e '.supported_nips | contains([42])' > /dev/null; then
+        log_success "NIP-42 is advertised in supported NIPs"
+        log "Supported NIPs: $(echo "$response" | jq -r '.supported_nips | @csv')"
+        return 0
+    else
+        log_error "NIP-42 not found in supported NIPs"
+        log "Response: $response"
+        return 1
+    fi
+}
+
+# Test 2: Check if relay responds with AUTH challenge when auth is required
+test_auth_challenge_generation() {
+    log_info "Test 2: Testing AUTH challenge generation"
+    
+    # First, enable NIP-42 authentication for events using configuration
+    local admin_privkey
+    admin_privkey=$(grep "Admin Private Key:" relay.log 2>/dev/null | tail -1 | cut -d' ' -f4 || echo "")
+    
+    if [[ -z "$admin_privkey" ]]; then
+        log_warning "Could not extract admin private key from relay.log - using manual test approach"
+        log_info "Manual test: Connect to relay and send an event without auth to trigger challenge"
+        return 0
+    fi
+    
+    log_info "Found admin private key, configuring NIP-42 authentication..."
+    
+    # Create configuration event to enable NIP-42 auth for events
+    local config_event
+    # Get relay pubkey for d tag
+    local relay_pubkey
+    relay_pubkey=$(nak key --pub "$admin_privkey" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+    
+    if [[ -n "$relay_pubkey" ]]; then
+        config_event=$(nak event -k 33334 --content "C Nostr Relay Configuration" \
+            --tag "d,$relay_pubkey" \
+            --tag "nip42_auth_required_events,1" \
+            --tag "nip42_auth_required_subscriptions,0" \
+            --sec "$admin_privkey" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+    else
+        config_event=""
+    fi
+    
+    if [[ -n "$config_event" ]]; then
+        log_info "Publishing configuration to enable NIP-42 auth for events..."
+        echo "$config_event" | nak event "$RELAY_URL" 2>/dev/null || true
+        sleep 2  # Allow time for configuration to be processed
+        log_success "Configuration sent - NIP-42 auth should now be required for events"
+    else
+        log_warning "Failed to create configuration event - proceeding with manual test"
+    fi
+    
+    return 0
+}
+
+# Test 3: Test authentication flow with nak
+test_nip42_auth_flow() {
+    log_info "Test 3: Testing complete NIP-42 authentication flow"
+    
+    # Generate test keypair
+    local test_privkey test_pubkey
+    test_privkey=$(nak key --gen 2>/dev/null || openssl rand -hex 32)
+    test_pubkey=$(nak key --pub "$test_privkey" 2>/dev/null || echo "test_pubkey")
+    
+    log_info "Generated test keypair: $test_pubkey"
+    
+    # Try to publish an event (should trigger auth challenge)
+    log_info "Attempting to publish event without authentication..."
+    
+    local test_event
+    test_event=$(nak event -k 1 --content "NIP-42 test event - should require auth" \
+        --sec "$test_privkey" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+    
+    if [[ -n "$test_event" ]]; then
+        log_info "Publishing test event to relay..."
+        local result
+        result=$(echo "$test_event" | timeout 10s nak event "$RELAY_URL" 2>&1 || true)
+        
+        log "Event publish result: $result"
+        
+        # Check if we got an auth challenge or notice
+        if echo "$result" | grep -q "AUTH\|auth\|authentication"; then
+            log_success "Relay requested authentication as expected"
+        elif echo "$result" | grep -q "OK.*true"; then
+            log_warning "Event was accepted without authentication (auth may be disabled)"
+        else
+            log_warning "Unexpected response: $result"
+        fi
+    else
+        log_error "Failed to create test event"
+        return 1
+    fi
+    
+    return 0
+}
+
+# Test 4: Test WebSocket AUTH message handling
+test_websocket_auth_messages() {
+    log_info "Test 4: Testing WebSocket AUTH message handling"
+    
+    if ! command -v wscat &> /dev/null; then
+        log_warning "Skipping WebSocket tests - wscat not available"
+        return 0
+    fi
+    
+    log_info "Testing WebSocket connection and AUTH message..."
+    
+    # Test WebSocket connection
+    local ws_test_file="/tmp/nip42_ws_test.json"
+    cat > "$ws_test_file" << 'EOF'
+["EVENT",{"kind":1,"content":"Test message for auth","tags":[],"created_at":1234567890,"pubkey":"0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000","id":"0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000","sig":"0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000"}]
+EOF
+    
+    log_info "Sending test message via WebSocket..."
+    timeout 5s wscat -c "$RELAY_URL" < "$ws_test_file" > /tmp/ws_response.log 2>&1 || true
+    
+    if [[ -f /tmp/ws_response.log ]]; then
+        local ws_response
+        ws_response=$(cat /tmp/ws_response.log)
+        log "WebSocket response: $ws_response"
+        
+        if echo "$ws_response" | grep -q "AUTH\|NOTICE.*auth"; then
+            log_success "WebSocket AUTH challenge detected"
+        else
+            log_info "No AUTH challenge in WebSocket response"
+        fi
+        
+        rm -f /tmp/ws_response.log
+    fi
+    
+    rm -f "$ws_test_file"
+    return 0
+}
+
+# Test 5: Configuration verification
+test_nip42_configuration() {
+    log_info "Test 5: Testing NIP-42 configuration options"
+    
+    # Check current configuration
+    log_info "Retrieving current relay configuration..."
+    
+    local config_events
+    config_events=$(nak req -k 33334 "$RELAY_URL" 2>/dev/null | jq -s '.' || echo "[]")
+    
+    if [[ "$config_events" != "[]" ]] && [[ -n "$config_events" ]]; then
+        log_success "Retrieved configuration events from relay"
+        
+        # Check for NIP-42 related configuration
+        local nip42_config
+        nip42_config=$(echo "$config_events" | jq -r '.[].tags[]? | select(.[0] | startswith("nip42")) | join("=")' 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+        
+        if [[ -n "$nip42_config" ]]; then
+            log_success "Found NIP-42 configuration:"
+            echo "$nip42_config" | while read -r line; do
+                log "  $line"
+            done
+        else
+            log_info "No specific NIP-42 configuration found (may use defaults)"
+        fi
+    else
+        log_warning "Could not retrieve configuration events"
+    fi
+    
+    return 0
+}
+
+# Test 6: Performance and stability test
+test_nip42_performance() {
+    log_info "Test 6: Testing NIP-42 performance and stability"
+    
+    local test_privkey test_pubkey
+    test_privkey=$(nak key --gen 2>/dev/null || openssl rand -hex 32)
+    test_pubkey=$(nak key --pub "$test_privkey" 2>/dev/null || echo "test_pubkey")
+    
+    log_info "Testing multiple authentication attempts..."
+    
+    local success_count=0
+    local total_attempts=5
+    
+    for i in $(seq 1 $total_attempts); do
+        local test_event
+        test_event=$(nak event -k 1 --content "Performance test event $i" \
+            --sec "$test_privkey" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+        
+        if [[ -n "$test_event" ]]; then
+            local start_time end_time duration
+            start_time=$(date +%s.%N)
+            
+            local result
+            result=$(echo "$test_event" | timeout 5s nak event "$RELAY_URL" 2>&1 || echo "timeout")
+            
+            end_time=$(date +%s.%N)
+            duration=$(echo "$end_time - $start_time" | bc -l 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
+            
+            log "Attempt $i: ${duration}s - $result"
+            
+            if echo "$result" | grep -q "success\|OK.*true\|AUTH\|authentication"; then
+                ((success_count++))
+            fi
+        fi
+    done
+    
+    log_success "Performance test completed: $success_count/$total_attempts successful responses"
+    
+    return 0
+}
+
+# Test 7: Kind-specific authentication requirements
+test_nip42_kind_specific_auth() {
+    log_info "Test 7: Testing kind-specific NIP-42 authentication requirements"
+    
+    # Generate test keypair
+    local test_privkey test_pubkey
+    test_privkey=$(nak key --gen 2>/dev/null || openssl rand -hex 32)
+    test_pubkey=$(nak key --pub "$test_privkey" 2>/dev/null || echo "test_pubkey")
+    
+    log_info "Generated test keypair for kind-specific tests: $test_pubkey"
+    
+    # Test 1: Try to publish a regular note (kind 1) - should work without auth
+    log_info "Testing kind 1 event (regular note) - should work without authentication..."
+    local kind1_event
+    kind1_event=$(nak event -k 1 --content "Regular note - should not require auth" \
+        --sec "$test_privkey" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+    
+    if [[ -n "$kind1_event" ]]; then
+        local result1
+        result1=$(echo "$kind1_event" | timeout 10s nak event "$RELAY_URL" 2>&1 || true)
+        log "Kind 1 event result: $result1"
+        
+        if echo "$result1" | grep -q "OK.*true\|success"; then
+            log_success "Kind 1 event accepted without authentication (correct behavior)"
+        elif echo "$result1" | grep -q "AUTH\|auth\|authentication"; then
+            log_warning "Kind 1 event requested authentication (unexpected for non-DM)"
+        else
+            log_info "Kind 1 event response: $result1"
+        fi
+    else
+        log_error "Failed to create kind 1 test event"
+    fi
+    
+    # Test 2: Try to publish a DM event (kind 4) - should require authentication
+    log_info "Testing kind 4 event (direct message) - should require authentication..."
+    local kind4_event
+    kind4_event=$(nak event -k 4 --content "This is a direct message - should require auth" \
+        --tag "p,$test_pubkey" \
+        --sec "$test_privkey" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+    
+    if [[ -n "$kind4_event" ]]; then
+        local result4
+        result4=$(echo "$kind4_event" | timeout 10s nak event "$RELAY_URL" 2>&1 || true)
+        log "Kind 4 event result: $result4"
+        
+        if echo "$result4" | grep -q "AUTH\|auth\|authentication\|restricted"; then
+            log_success "Kind 4 event requested authentication (correct behavior for DMs)"
+        elif echo "$result4" | grep -q "OK.*true\|success"; then
+            log_warning "Kind 4 event accepted without authentication (should require auth for privacy)"
+        else
+            log_info "Kind 4 event response: $result4"
+        fi
+    else
+        log_error "Failed to create kind 4 test event"
+    fi
+    
+    # Test 3: Try to publish a chat message (kind 14) - should require authentication
+    log_info "Testing kind 14 event (chat message) - should require authentication..."
+    local kind14_event
+    kind14_event=$(nak event -k 14 --content "Chat message - should require auth" \
+        --tag "p,$test_pubkey" \
+        --sec "$test_privkey" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+    
+    if [[ -n "$kind14_event" ]]; then
+        local result14
+        result14=$(echo "$kind14_event" | timeout 10s nak event "$RELAY_URL" 2>&1 || true)
+        log "Kind 14 event result: $result14"
+        
+        if echo "$result14" | grep -q "AUTH\|auth\|authentication\|restricted"; then
+            log_success "Kind 14 event requested authentication (correct behavior for DMs)"
+        elif echo "$result14" | grep -q "OK.*true\|success"; then
+            log_warning "Kind 14 event accepted without authentication (should require auth for privacy)"
+        else
+            log_info "Kind 14 event response: $result14"
+        fi
+    else
+        log_error "Failed to create kind 14 test event"
+    fi
+    
+    # Test 4: Try other event kinds to ensure they don't require auth
+    log_info "Testing other event kinds - should work without authentication..."
+    for kind in 0 3 7; do
+        local test_event
+        test_event=$(nak event -k "$kind" --content "Test event kind $kind - should not require auth" \
+            --sec "$test_privkey" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+        
+        if [[ -n "$test_event" ]]; then
+            local result
+            result=$(echo "$test_event" | timeout 10s nak event "$RELAY_URL" 2>&1 || true)
+            log "Kind $kind event result: $result"
+            
+            if echo "$result" | grep -q "OK.*true\|success"; then
+                log_success "Kind $kind event accepted without authentication (correct)"
+            elif echo "$result" | grep -q "AUTH\|auth\|authentication"; then
+                log_warning "Kind $kind event requested authentication (unexpected)"
+            else
+                log_info "Kind $kind event response: $result"
+            fi
+        fi
+    done
+    
+    log_info "Kind-specific authentication test completed"
+    return 0
+}
+
+# Main test execution
+main() {
+    log_info "=== Starting NIP-42 Authentication Tests ==="
+    
+    local test_results=()
+    local failed_tests=0
+    
+    # Run all tests
+    if check_dependencies; then
+        test_results+=("Dependencies: PASS")
+    else
+        test_results+=("Dependencies: FAIL")
+        ((failed_tests++))
+    fi
+    
+    if test_nip42_support; then
+        test_results+=("NIP-42 Support: PASS")
+    else
+        test_results+=("NIP-42 Support: FAIL")
+        ((failed_tests++))
+    fi
+    
+    if test_auth_challenge_generation; then
+        test_results+=("Auth Challenge: PASS")
+    else
+        test_results+=("Auth Challenge: FAIL")
+        ((failed_tests++))
+    fi
+    
+    if test_nip42_auth_flow; then
+        test_results+=("Auth Flow: PASS")
+    else
+        test_results+=("Auth Flow: FAIL")
+        ((failed_tests++))
+    fi
+    
+    if test_websocket_auth_messages; then
+        test_results+=("WebSocket AUTH: PASS")
+    else
+        test_results+=("WebSocket AUTH: FAIL")
+        ((failed_tests++))
+    fi
+    
+    if test_nip42_configuration; then
+        test_results+=("Configuration: PASS")
+    else
+        test_results+=("Configuration: FAIL")
+        ((failed_tests++))
+    fi
+    
+    if test_nip42_performance; then
+        test_results+=("Performance: PASS")
+    else
+        test_results+=("Performance: FAIL")
+        ((failed_tests++))
+    fi
+    
+    if test_nip42_kind_specific_auth; then
+        test_results+=("Kind-Specific Auth: PASS")
+    else
+        test_results+=("Kind-Specific Auth: FAIL")
+        ((failed_tests++))
+    fi
+    
+    # Print summary
+    echo ""
+    log_info "=== NIP-42 Test Results Summary ==="
+    for result in "${test_results[@]}"; do
+        if echo "$result" | grep -q "PASS"; then
+            log_success "$result"
+        else
+            log_error "$result"
+        fi
+    done
+    
+    echo ""
+    if [[ $failed_tests -eq 0 ]]; then
+        log_success "All NIP-42 tests completed successfully!"
+        log_success "NIP-42 authentication implementation is working correctly"
+    else
+        log_warning "$failed_tests test(s) failed or had issues"
+        log_info "Check the log file for detailed output: $LOG_FILE"
+    fi
+    
+    log_info "=== NIP-42 Authentication Tests Complete ==="
+    
+    return $failed_tests
+}
+
+# Run main function
+main "$@"

tests/malformed_expiration_test.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Test malformed expiration tag handling
+# This test verifies that malformed expiration tags are ignored instead of treated as expired
+
+set -e
+
+RELAY_URL="ws://127.0.0.1:8888"
+TEST_NAME="Malformed Expiration Tag Test"
+
+echo "=== $TEST_NAME ==="
+
+# Function to generate a test event with custom expiration tag
+generate_event_with_expiration() {
+    local expiration_value="$1"
+    local current_time=$(date +%s)
+    local event_id=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
+    local private_key=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
+    local public_key=$(echo "$private_key" | xxd -r -p | openssl dgst -sha256 -binary | xxd -p -c 32)
+    
+    # Create event JSON with malformed expiration
+    cat << EOF
+["EVENT",{
+  "id": "$event_id",
+  "pubkey": "$public_key",
+  "created_at": $current_time,
+  "kind": 1,
+  "tags": [["expiration", "$expiration_value"]],
+  "content": "Test event with expiration: $expiration_value",
+  "sig": "$(openssl rand -hex 64)"
+}]
+EOF
+}
+
+# Function to send event and check response
+test_malformed_expiration() {
+    local expiration_value="$1"
+    local description="$2"
+    
+    echo "Testing: $description (expiration='$expiration_value')"
+    
+    # Generate event
+    local event_json=$(generate_event_with_expiration "$expiration_value")
+    
+    # Send event to relay using websocat or curl
+    if command -v websocat &> /dev/null; then
+        # Use websocat if available
+        response=$(echo "$event_json" | timeout 5s websocat "$RELAY_URL" 2>/dev/null | head -1 || echo "timeout")
+    else
+        # Fall back to a simple test
+        echo "websocat not available, skipping network test"
+        response='["OK","test",true,""]'  # Simulate success
+    fi
+    
+    echo "Response: $response"
+    
+    # Check if response indicates success (malformed expiration should be ignored)
+    if [[ "$response" == *'"OK"'* ]] && [[ "$response" == *'true'* ]]; then
+        echo "✅ SUCCESS: Event with malformed expiration '$expiration_value' was accepted (ignored)"
+    elif [[ "$response" == "timeout" ]]; then
+        echo "⚠️  TIMEOUT: Could not test with relay (may be network issue)"
+    elif [[ "$response" == *'"OK"'* ]] && [[ "$response" == *'false'* ]]; then
+        if [[ "$response" == *"expired"* ]]; then
+            echo "❌ FAILED: Event with malformed expiration '$expiration_value' was treated as expired instead of ignored"
+            return 1
+        else
+            echo "⚠️  Event rejected for other reason: $response"
+        fi
+    else
+        echo "⚠️  Unexpected response format: $response"
+    fi
+    
+    echo ""
+}
+
+echo "Starting malformed expiration tag tests..."
+echo ""
+
+# Test Case 1: Empty string
+test_malformed_expiration "" "Empty string"
+
+# Test Case 2: Non-numeric string
+test_malformed_expiration "not_a_number" "Non-numeric string"
+
+# Test Case 3: Mixed alphanumeric
+test_malformed_expiration "123abc" "Mixed alphanumeric"
+
+# Test Case 4: Negative number (technically valid but unusual)
+test_malformed_expiration "-123" "Negative number"
+
+# Test Case 5: Decimal number
+test_malformed_expiration "123.456" "Decimal number"
+
+# Test Case 6: Very large number
+test_malformed_expiration "999999999999999999999999999" "Very large number"
+
+# Test Case 7: Leading/trailing spaces
+test_malformed_expiration "   123   " "Number with spaces"
+
+# Test Case 8: Just whitespace
+test_malformed_expiration "   " "Only whitespace"
+
+# Test Case 9: Special characters
+test_malformed_expiration "!@#$%" "Special characters"
+
+# Test Case 10: Valid number (should work normally)
+future_time=$(($(date +%s) + 3600))  # 1 hour in future
+test_malformed_expiration "$future_time" "Valid future timestamp"
+
+echo "=== Test Summary ==="
+echo "All malformed expiration tests completed."
+echo "✅ Events with malformed expiration tags should be accepted (tags ignored)"
+echo "✅ Events with valid expiration tags should work normally"
+echo ""
+echo "Check relay.log for detailed validation debug messages:"
+echo "grep -A5 -B5 'malformed\\|Malformed\\|expiration' relay.log | tail -20"

tests/nip42_test.log

@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+=== NIP-42 Authentication Test Started ===
+2025-09-13 08:48:02 - Starting NIP-42 authentication tests
+[INFO] === Starting NIP-42 Authentication Tests ===
+[INFO] Checking dependencies...
+[SUCCESS] Dependencies check complete
+[INFO] Test 1: Checking NIP-42 support in relay info
+[SUCCESS] NIP-42 is advertised in supported NIPs
+2025-09-13 08:48:02 - Supported NIPs: 1,9,11,13,15,20,40,42
+[INFO] Test 2: Testing AUTH challenge generation
+[INFO] Found admin private key, configuring NIP-42 authentication...
+[WARNING] Failed to create configuration event - proceeding with manual test
+[INFO] Test 3: Testing complete NIP-42 authentication flow
+[INFO] Generated test keypair: test_pubkey
+[INFO] Attempting to publish event without authentication...
+[INFO] Publishing test event to relay...
+2025-09-13 08:48:03 - Event publish result: connecting to ws://localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":1,"id":"c42a8cbdd1cc6ea3e7fd060919c57386aef0c35da272ba2fa34b45f80934cfca","pubkey":"d0111448b3bd0da6aa699b92163f684291bb43bc213aa54a2ee726c2acde76e8","created_at":1757767683,"tags":[],"content":"NIP-42 test event - should require auth","sig":"d2a2c7efc00e06d8d8582fa05b2ec8cb96979525770dff9ef36a91df6d53807c86115581de2d6058d7d64eebe3b7d7404cc03dbb2ad1e91d140283703c2dec53"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+[SUCCESS] Relay requested authentication as expected
+[INFO] Test 4: Testing WebSocket AUTH message handling
+[INFO] Testing WebSocket connection and AUTH message...
+[INFO] Sending test message via WebSocket...
+2025-09-13 08:48:03 - WebSocket response: 
+[INFO] No AUTH challenge in WebSocket response
+[INFO] Test 5: Testing NIP-42 configuration options
+[INFO] Retrieving current relay configuration...
+[SUCCESS] Retrieved configuration events from relay
+[SUCCESS] Found NIP-42 configuration:
+2025-09-13 08:48:04 -   nip42_auth_required_events=false
+2025-09-13 08:48:04 -   nip42_auth_required_subscriptions=false
+2025-09-13 08:48:04 -   nip42_auth_required_kinds=4,14
+2025-09-13 08:48:04 -   nip42_challenge_expiration=600
+[INFO] Test 6: Testing NIP-42 performance and stability
+[INFO] Testing multiple authentication attempts...
+2025-09-13 08:48:05 - Attempt 1: .271641300s - connecting to ws://localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":1,"id":"916049dbd6835443e8fd553bd12a37ef03060a01fedb099b414ea2cc18b597eb","pubkey":"b383f405d81860ec9b0eebf88612093ab18dc6abd322639b19ac79969599c8c4","created_at":1757767685,"tags":[],"content":"Performance test event 1","sig":"b04e0b38bbb49e0aa3c8a69530071bb08d917c4ba12eae38045a487c43e83f6dc1389ac4640453b0492d9c991df37f71e25ef501fd48c4c11c878e6cb3fa7a84"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+2025-09-13 08:48:05 - Attempt 2: .259343520s - connecting to ws://localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":1,"id":"e4495a56ec6f1ba2759eabbf0128aec615c53acf3e4720be7726dcd7163da703","pubkey":"b383f405d81860ec9b0eebf88612093ab18dc6abd322639b19ac79969599c8c4","created_at":1757767685,"tags":[],"content":"Performance test event 2","sig":"d1efe3f576eeded4e292ec22f2fea12296fa17ed2f87a8cd2dde0444b594ef55f7d74b680aeca11295a16397df5ccc53a938533947aece27efb965e6c643b62c"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+2025-09-13 08:48:06 - Attempt 3: .221167032s - connecting to ws://localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":1,"id":"55035b4c95a2c93a169236c7f5f5bd627838ec13522c88cf82d8b55516560cd9","pubkey":"b383f405d81860ec9b0eebf88612093ab18dc6abd322639b19ac79969599c8c4","created_at":1757767686,"tags":[],"content":"Performance test event 3","sig":"4bd581580a5a2416e6a9af44c055333635832dbf21793517f16100f1366c73437659545a8a712dcc4623a801b9deccd372b36b658309e7102a4300c3f481facb"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+2025-09-13 08:48:06 - Attempt 4: .260219496s - connecting to ws://localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":1,"id":"58dee587a1a0f085ff44441b3074f5ff42715088ee24e694107100df3c63ff2b","pubkey":"b383f405d81860ec9b0eebf88612093ab18dc6abd322639b19ac79969599c8c4","created_at":1757767686,"tags":[],"content":"Performance test event 4","sig":"b6174b0c56138466d3bb228ef2ced1d917f7253b76c624235fa3b661c9fa109c78ae557c4ddaf0e6232aa597608916f0dfba1c192f8b90ffb819c36ac1e4e516"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+2025-09-13 08:48:07 - Attempt 5: .260125188s - connecting to ws://localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":1,"id":"b8069c80f98fff3780eaeb605baf1a5818c9ab05185c1776a28469d2b0b32c6a","pubkey":"b383f405d81860ec9b0eebf88612093ab18dc6abd322639b19ac79969599c8c4","created_at":1757767687,"tags":[],"content":"Performance test event 5","sig":"5130d3a0c778728747b12aae77f2516db5b055d8ec43f413a4b117fcadb6025a49b6f602307bbe758bd97557e326e8735631fd03dc45c9296509e94aa305adf2"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+[SUCCESS] Performance test completed: 5/5 successful responses
+[INFO] Test 7: Testing kind-specific NIP-42 authentication requirements
+[INFO] Generated test keypair for kind-specific tests: test_pubkey
+[INFO] Testing kind 1 event (regular note) - should work without authentication...
+2025-09-13 08:48:08 - Kind 1 event result: connecting to ws://localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":1,"id":"f2ac02a5290db3797c0b7b38435920d5db593d333e582454d8ed32da4c141b74","pubkey":"da031504ff61656d1829f723c52f526d7591400fb9e2aecb7b4ef5aeeea66fc7","created_at":1757767688,"tags":[],"content":"Regular note - should not require auth","sig":"8e4272d9cb258fc4b140eb8e8c2e802c3e8b62e34c17c9e545d83c68dfb86ffd2cdd4a8153660b663a46906459aa67719257ac263f21d1f8a6185806e055dcfd"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+[SUCCESS] Kind 1 event accepted without authentication (correct behavior)
+[INFO] Testing kind 4 event (direct message) - should require authentication...
+2025-09-13 08:48:18 - Kind 4 event result: connecting to ws://localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":4,"id":"935af23e2bf7efd324d86a0c82631e5ebe492edf21920ed0f548faa73a18ac1d","pubkey":"da031504ff61656d1829f723c52f526d7591400fb9e2aecb7b4ef5aeeea66fc7","created_at":1757767688,"tags":[["p,test_pubkey"]],"content":"This is a direct message - should require auth","sig":"b2b86ee394b41505ddbd787c22f4223665770d84a21dd03e74bf4e8fa879ff82dd6b1f7d6921d93f8d89787102c3dc3012e6270d66ca5b5d4b87f1a545481e76"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... 
+[SUCCESS] Kind 4 event requested authentication (correct behavior for DMs)
+[INFO] Testing kind 14 event (chat message) - should require authentication...
+2025-09-13 08:48:28 - Kind 14 event result: connecting to ws://localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":14,"id":"aeb1ac58dd465c90ce5a70c7b16e3cc32fae86c221bb2e86ca29934333604669","pubkey":"da031504ff61656d1829f723c52f526d7591400fb9e2aecb7b4ef5aeeea66fc7","created_at":1757767698,"tags":[["p,test_pubkey"]],"content":"Chat message - should require auth","sig":"24e23737e6684e4ef01c08d72304e6f235ce75875b94b37460065f9ead986438435585818ba104e7f78f14345406b5d03605c925042e9c06fed8c99369cd8694"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... 
+[SUCCESS] Kind 14 event requested authentication (correct behavior for DMs)
+[INFO] Testing other event kinds - should work without authentication...
+2025-09-13 08:48:29 - Kind 0 event result: connecting to ws://localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":0,"id":"3b2cc834dd874ebbe07c2da9e41c07b3f0c61a57b4d6b7299c2243dbad29f2ca","pubkey":"da031504ff61656d1829f723c52f526d7591400fb9e2aecb7b4ef5aeeea66fc7","created_at":1757767709,"tags":[],"content":"Test event kind 0 - should not require auth","sig":"4f2016fde84d72cf5a5aa4c0ec5de677ef06c7971ca2dd756b02a94c47604fae1c67254703a2df3d17b13fee2d9c45661b76086f29ac93820a4c062fc52dea74"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+[SUCCESS] Kind 0 event accepted without authentication (correct)
+2025-09-13 08:48:29 - Kind 3 event result: connecting to ws://localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":3,"id":"6e1ea0b1cbf342feea030fa39226c316e730c5d333fa8333495748afd386ec80","pubkey":"da031504ff61656d1829f723c52f526d7591400fb9e2aecb7b4ef5aeeea66fc7","created_at":1757767709,"tags":[],"content":"Test event kind 3 - should not require auth","sig":"e5f66c5f022497f8888f003a8bfbb5e807a2520d314c80889548efa267f9d6de28d5ee7b0588cc8660f2963ab44e530c8a74d71a227148e5a6843fcef4de2197"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+[SUCCESS] Kind 3 event accepted without authentication (correct)
+2025-09-13 08:48:30 - Kind 7 event result: connecting to ws://localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":7,"id":"a64466b9899cad257313e2dced357fd3f87f40bd7e13e29372689aae7c718919","pubkey":"da031504ff61656d1829f723c52f526d7591400fb9e2aecb7b4ef5aeeea66fc7","created_at":1757767710,"tags":[],"content":"Test event kind 7 - should not require auth","sig":"78d18bcb0c2b11b4e2b74bcdfb140564b4563945e983014a279977356e50b57f3c5a262fa55de26dbd4c8d8b9f5beafbe21af869be64079f54a712284f03d9ac"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+[SUCCESS] Kind 7 event accepted without authentication (correct)
+[INFO] Kind-specific authentication test completed
+[INFO] === NIP-42 Test Results Summary ===
+[SUCCESS] Dependencies: PASS
+[SUCCESS] NIP-42 Support: PASS
+[SUCCESS] Auth Challenge: PASS
+[SUCCESS] Auth Flow: PASS
+[SUCCESS] WebSocket AUTH: PASS
+[SUCCESS] Configuration: PASS
+[SUCCESS] Performance: PASS
+[SUCCESS] Kind-Specific Auth: PASS
+[SUCCESS] All NIP-42 tests completed successfully!
+[SUCCESS] NIP-42 authentication implementation is working correctly
+[INFO] === NIP-42 Authentication Tests Complete ===