Pinboards

Pinboards#

draft optional

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

Motivation#

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

Content-Type Segregation#

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

Kind	Content Type	Expected Tags
30004	Articles/notes	a (kind:30023), e (kind:1)
30005	Videos	e (kind:21)
30006	Pictures	e (kind:20)

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

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

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

Additional NIP-51 Limitations#

Limitation	NIP-51 Lists	Pinboards
Content types	Segregated by kind	Mixed in one board
Item storage	All embedded in one event	Separate events per pin
Collaboration	Single author only	Optional multi-author
Cross-posting	Items belong to one list	Pins reference multiple boards
Attribution	List owner only	Per-pin author tracking
Scalability	Limited by event size	Unlimited pins

Event Kinds#

Kind 30067: Pinboard#

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

Required Tags:

Tag	Description
d	Unique identifier (used to generate naddr)
title	Human-readable board title

Optional Tags:

Tag	Description
description	Extended description of the board
image	Cover image URL
t	Hashtag for categorization (repeatable)
collaborative	Presence-only flag; when present, anyone can pin to this board

Content: Empty string or optional description text.

Example:

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

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

Kind 39067: Pin#

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

Required Tags:

Tag	Description
d	Unique identifier (used to generate naddr)

Board Reference Tags (Optional)#

Tag	Description
A	Board coordinate: 30067:<pubkey>:<d-tag> (repeatable for multi-board pinning)

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

Content Reference Tags (Exactly One Required)#

Pins reference content using two methods:

For Nostr events — use e or a tags:

Tag	Description
e	Event reference for notes (kind:1), pictures (kind:20), videos (kind:21/22), etc.
a	Coordinate reference for articles (kind:30023), bookmarks (kind:39701), recipes, etc.

For external content — use NIP-73 i tags:

Tag	Description
i	External content ID per NIP-73
k	External content kind per NIP-73

Supported external content types include:

Type	i tag format	k tag
Web URLs	https://example.com/page	web
Books	isbn:9780765382030	isbn
Podcasts	podcast:guid:<guid>	podcast:guid
Podcast Episodes	podcast:item:guid:<guid>	podcast:item:guid
Movies	isan:0000-0000-401A-0000-7	isan
Academic Papers	doi:10.1000/xyz123	doi
Locations	geo:<geohash>	geo

Metadata Tags (Optional)#

Tag	Description
title	Custom title for this pin
t	Hashtag (repeatable)

Content: Optional comment about the pinned item.

Examples#

Mixed-content board#

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pin to multiple boards#

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

Profile pin (no board)#

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

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

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

Using NIP-B0 bookmark (optional)#

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

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

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

Collaboration Model#

Private Boards (Default)#

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

Filter for private board pins:

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

Collaborative Boards#

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

Filter for collaborative board pins:

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

Content Type Inference#

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

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

Kind	Content Type
1	Note
20	Picture
21, 22	Video

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

Kind	Content Type
30023	Long-form article
30078	Application data (recipes, etc.)
30311	Live event
31922, 31923	Calendar event
34550	Community
30067	Nested pinboard
39701	Web bookmark (NIP-B0)

For i tag references: Use the k tag value:

k value	Content Type
web	Web link
isbn	Book
podcast:guid	Podcast
podcast:item:guid	Podcast episode
isan	Movie
doi	Academic paper
geo	Location

Client Behavior#

Displaying Boards#

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

Creating Pins#

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

Profile Pins#

Display pins by user that have no board A tag:

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

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

Engagement#

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

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

Comparison with NIP-51#

Feature	NIP-51 Curation Sets	Pinboards
Content types per list	Single (30004=articles, 30005=videos, 30006=pictures)	Any type in one board
External content	Limited	Full NIP-73 support (URLs, books, podcasts, movies, papers)
Item storage	Embedded in list event	Separate pin events
Collaboration	No	Yes (collaborative flag)
Multi-list membership	No	Yes (multiple A tags)
Profile-level items	No	Yes (pins without board)
Per-item attribution	No (list owner only)	Yes (pin author tracked)
Per-item comments	No	Yes (pin content field)
Scalability	Event size limited	Unlimited

Security Considerations#

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

References#

• NIP-51: Lists
• NIP-73: External Content IDs
• NIP-B0: Web Bookmarks
• NIP-25: Reactions
• NIP-22: Comment
• NIP-57: Lightning Zaps