A privacy-focused open dating protocol.
Protocol specification, reference relay, and opendating-protocol npm package.
OpenDating is a domain-specific open protocol built on Nostr for private dating. The current services are operated by OpenDating on one first-party Cloudflare stack; independent providers and federation are post-GA work. It provides:
- Client-held identity — A cryptographic keypair can be used by compatible clients; portable profile and cross-provider state transfer are not implemented yet
- Location privacy — Only a 5-character geohash (~5 km precision) is shared; exact coordinates never reach the relay
- Private likes — One-way likes are encrypted gift wraps visible only to the matcher service; no public reactions
- End-to-end encrypted messaging — NIP-17 DMs via NIP-44 encryption, enforced match-only by relay policy
- Private safety — Blocks and reports are encrypted, never public; blocks enforced server-side
The relay is a fork of Nosflare v7.9.45 (MIT), hardened and extended for dating-specific privacy and safety requirements.
Reference client: OpenDating Mobile — a pre-release Expo React Native client. It is explicitly blocked from production while its security, safety, legal, reliability, and marketplace gates remain open.
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ OpenDating Mobile Client │ ← Expo React Native
├──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ opendating-protocol (npm) │ ← Types, crypto, envelopes
├──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ NIP-59 Gift Wraps + NIP-44 E2EE │ ← Privacy layer
├──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ OpenDating Relay (Cloudflare Workers) │
│ ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ NIP-42 AUTH │ D1 DB │ DO Mesh │ │
│ └──────────────────────────────────────┘ │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ System │ Profile │ Discovery │ Matcher │ ← Service roles
│ DM Policy │ Moderation │ Deletion │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────┘
OpenDating/
├── packages/protocol/ # opendating-protocol npm package
│ └── src/
│ ├── protocol/ # Types, constants, validators, envelopes
│ └── crypto/ # NIP-44, NIP-59, key generation
├── src/ # Relay implementation
│ ├── config.ts # Relay configuration
│ ├── index.ts # Worker entry point
│ ├── relay-worker.ts # HTTP + WebSocket request handling
│ ├── durable-object.ts # Durable Object mesh for real-time broadcast
│ └── opendating/ # OpenDating extension registry
├── schemas/ # JSON Schema definitions
├── tests/ # Unit, integration, security, protocol, and service coverage
├── migrations/ # D1 database migrations
├── docs/ # Protocol documentation
├── examples/ # Client demo scripts
└── scripts/ # Build and key generation tools
The relay advertises service pubkeys via NIP-11:
GET https://opendating-relay.jonathang132298.workers.dev
Accept: application/nostr+json
| Service | Role |
|---|---|
| System | Health checks (system.ping), capability discovery |
| Profile | CRUD operations, visibility, pause/resume |
| Discovery | Location updates (coarse geohash), preferences, candidate queries |
| Matcher | Private one-way likes and match creation |
| DM Policy | Block/unblock/unmatch management and relay-enforced message gating |
| Moderation | Encrypted report submission with optional evidence |
| Deletion | Account deletion request and cascade orchestration |
All service communication uses NIP-59 gift wraps. Every request carries a unique request_id for idempotency.
git clone https://github.com/jongan69/OpenDating.git
cd OpenDating
npm ci
# Build the worker
npm run build
# Run tests
npm test # Full suite (248 tests across 17 files at this handoff)
npm run opendating:test:e2e # Protocol conformance tests
# Production deployment is separately gated; see docs/DEPLOYMENT.md.npm install opendating-protocol@0.1.00.1.0 is the current npm registry release. The 0.1.1 contract repair is
implemented on this branch but must not be referenced by install instructions
until the package has been published and its registry artifact verified.
import {
createEnvelope, buildGiftWrap, nip44Encrypt, nip44Decrypt,
generateKeypair, validateEnvelope, getRequestRoute, OPENDATING_PROTOCOL,
type OpenDatingEnvelope, type GiftWrapResult,
} from 'opendating-protocol';See the protocol package README for the full API reference.
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| SPEC | Protocol specification — types, operations, error codes |
| PRD | Product requirements document |
| Mobile Integration | Client integration guide for mobile developers |
| Conformance Tests | Protocol compliance test suite |
| Backend Handoff | Current boundary, access inventory, blockers, and continuation order |
| 0.1.1 Release Note | Contract repair and publication gate |
| Security | Current security controls and limitations |
| Contributing | Development, validation, privacy, and migration rules |
- Multi-dimensional rate limiting with identity awareness
- Cache classification — PUBLIC / AUTH_SCOPED / PRIVATE_NO_CACHE
- NIP-42 hardening — single-use challenges, 60-second expiry
- Gift-wrap privacy protections — NIP-59 envelope validation
- Query complexity protection — prevents enumeration attacks
- Extension registry — domain-specific protocol extensions (OpenDating)
- Cloudflare-native configuration — Workers, D1, Durable Objects, R2, KV, Queues, and AI bindings
- Database migration system — versioned D1 schema management
NIPs 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 20, 22, 33, 40, 42, 44, 59.
- OpenDating Mobile — Reference Expo React Native client
- Nosflare — Upstream relay this project is forked from
MIT — based on Nosflare v7.9.45 (MIT License).
Built for privacy, portability, and genuine human connection.