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openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix Nostr channel: WebSocket subscriptions fail with timeout/connection refused [1 participants]

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openclaw/openclaw#55409•Fetched 2026-04-08 01:39:52
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luminexoluminexo
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luminexoluminexo

Error Message

[default] Nostr error (subscription): Subscription closed: connection timed out, connection timed out, connection timed out

Fix Action

Workaround

None found. The channel is currently unusable.

RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Bug Description

The Nostr channel plugin fails to maintain WebSocket subscriptions. It connects to relays successfully, but subscriptions close immediately with timeout/connection errors, causing an infinite restart loop.

Environment

  • OpenClaw version: 2026.3.2
  • Plugin: @openclaw/[email protected]
  • nostr-tools: 2.23.3
  • Node: v25.7.0
  • OS: Linux 6.17.0-19-generic (x64)

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Enable the Nostr plugin: `openclaw plugins enable nostr`
  2. Configure in openclaw.json: ```json "nostr": { "enabled": true, "privateKey": "nsec1...", "relays": ["wss://relay.damus.io", "wss://nos.lol", "wss://relay.nostr.band"], "dmPolicy": "allowlist", "allowFrom": ["npub1..."], "name": "TestBot" } ```
  3. Restart gateway: `openclaw gateway restart`

Expected Behavior

The Nostr provider should maintain WebSocket subscriptions to receive DMs (kind:4 events).

Actual Behavior

Logs show: ``` [default] Nostr provider started, connected to 3 relay(s) [default] auto-restart attempt 1/10 in 5s [default] Nostr error (subscription): Subscription closed: connection timed out, connection timed out, connection timed out ```

The pattern repeats indefinitely:

  1. Connects to relays ✓
  2. Subscription fails within 3 seconds ✗
  3. Auto-restart with exponential backoff
  4. Repeats

Evidence

Manual WebSocket Test

Using nostr-tools directly, subscriptions work: ```javascript const { SimplePool } = require('nostr-tools/pool'); const pool = new SimplePool(); const sub = pool.subscribeMany(['wss://relay.damus.io'], [{kinds: [4], '#p': [pubkey], limit: 1}], { oneose: () => console.log('EOSE received') }); // EOSE received successfully ```

This suggests the issue is in how the OpenClaw plugin constructs/manages subscriptions, not in relay connectivity.

Relays Tested

  • wss://relay.damus.io
  • wss://nos.lol
  • wss://relay.nostr.band
  • wss://nostr.wine
  • wss://relay.primal.net
  • wss://offchain.pub
  • wss://nostr.einundzwanzig.de
  • wss://relay.nostr.ch

All exhibit the same behavior.

Additional Context

  • TCP connectivity to relays works (port 443 reachable)
  • Manual tests with nostr-tools show relays respond correctly
  • The plugin's `pool.subscribeMany` call in `nostr-bus.ts` seems to produce subscription requests that relays reject or timeout on

Potential Causes

  1. Filter format incompatibility with relay expectations
  2. WebSocket connection lifecycle management issue
  3. Subscription not properly awaiting connection ready state
  4. Relay-specific NOTICE responses not being handled

Workaround

None found. The channel is currently unusable.

extent analysis

Fix Plan

To resolve the Nostr channel plugin issue, we need to modify the nostr-bus.ts file to properly handle WebSocket connections and subscription requests. Here are the steps:

  • Update the pool.subscribeMany call to include a filter option that correctly formats the filter for relay expectations.
  • Implement a retry mechanism for subscription requests to handle potential connection timeouts.
  • Ensure the subscription request awaits the connection ready state before sending the request.

Example code changes:

// nostr-bus.ts
import { SimplePool } from 'nostr-tools/pool';

// ...

const pool = new SimplePool();
const filter = {
  kinds: [4],
  '#p': [pubkey],
  limit: 1,
};

// Update subscribeMany call with filter option
const sub = pool.subscribeMany(['wss://relay.damus.io'], [filter], {
  oneose: () => console.log('EOSE received'),
  // Add retry mechanism for subscription requests
  retry: {
    attempts: 3,
    delay: 5000,
  },
});

// Ensure subscription request awaits connection ready state
pool.on('connect', () => {
  sub.send();
});

Additionally, consider updating the nostr-tools version to the latest available to ensure compatibility with the relays.

Verification

To verify the fix, restart the OpenClaw gateway and check the logs for successful subscription connections. You can also use the manual WebSocket test to confirm that the subscription requests are being handled correctly.

Extra Tips

  • Monitor the relay responses to ensure they are handling the updated subscription requests correctly.
  • Consider implementing additional logging to track subscription request failures and successes.
  • Review the nostr-tools documentation to ensure the SimplePool class is being used correctly.

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