🔐 NIP‑49 Key Encrypt/Decrypt & Conversion CLI

A tiny, no-fuss command-line tool / self contained HTML to encrypt, decrypt, and convert Nostr keys — safely and offline.

Built for privacy-conscious users who want a secure and user-friendly way to handle their Nostr keys using NIP‑49.

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✨ Features

• 🔐 Encrypt / Decrypt your Nostr nsec keys using a password (NIP‑49)
• 🔁 Convert private key hex ↔ nsec and public key hex ↔ npub
• 🧭 Friendly CLI with step-by-step wizard prompts
• ⚙️ Pure Python. No compiling, no GUI — just run and go
• 🔒 Secure: works 100% offline — no network requests

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🍎 macOS CLI Setup

✅ 1. Install Python 3 (via Homebrew)

If you don’t already have Python 3:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
brew install python

Confirm it’s working:

python3 --version

📦 Installation

📁 1. Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/btcforplebs/nip49-decrypt.git

cd nip49-decrypt

🧪 2. Create and activate a virtual environment

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

📦 3. Install Python packages

pip install bech32 cryptography ecdsa pynacl
If pynacl fails, the script will fall back to cryptography for encryption.

✅ 4. Make it executable

chmod +x nip-49decrypt

▶️ Usage From the project directory, run:

./nip-49decrypt

You’ll see a friendly menu:

Choose an action:
  (d) Decrypt an encrypted key with password
  (e) Encrypt a private key with password
  (h) Convert private key hex to nsec
  (p) Convert public key hex to npub
  (q) Quit

🔐 Example: Decrypt a Key

Select (d) Paste your ncryptsec string Enter your password (input hidden) View your decrypted raw private key and corresponding nsec

🛠️ Other Features

Convert raw hex → nsec Choose (h) and enter your private key as 64-character hex. Convert public key hex → npub Choose (p) and paste a 66-character (compressed) or 130-character (uncompressed) public key in hex. Encrypt nsec → ncryptsec Choose (e) and paste your private key (hex or nsec). You’ll be prompted for a password, and the script will return a password-encrypted ncryptsec.

🧼 To Exit

Use (q) or press Ctrl + C at any time.

📁 Files

File Description nip-49decrypt Main Python script README.md This help file venv/ Your virtual environment (optional)

🧠 FAQ

❓ Is this secure? ✅ Yes. This script never sends anything over the internet. ❓ Can I run it offline? ✅ 100%. Works without an internet connection.

❓ What if a Python package is missing? 🛠️ The script will detect it and print exact instructions for how to install it.

❓ Can I compile this to a single file? Yes! You can use tools like pyinstaller to build a standalone binary.

🤝 Credits

Built with ❤️ by plebs, for plebs. Inspired by NIP‑49 and the Nostr community.

🛡️ License

MIT — Free for all. Fork, contribute, share.