Come in.
Find your people.

Install Vega on your computer

Open the installation guide and choose your operating system. Vega has Windows x64 installers, an Apple Silicon macOS disk image, and Linux packages. The guide includes commands for common Linux distributions and explains platform security warnings.

Use downloads linked from this website or the official Vega GitHub releases. Do not install a file sent by an unknown account offering setup help. If a security warning or a download’s origin is unclear, stop and check rather than clicking past it.

New to the idea, not just the app? Read what Nostr is first. Vega is the app; Nostr is the protocol that connects it to other apps and relays.

Look around without an account

The welcome screen offers a way to browse first. Choose it if you would rather see the feed before making an identity. You can read public notes and explore the app without handing over an email address or a private key.

This is not the same as signing in. To publish, follow people as your own identity or use account-specific features, you will need an account. While browsing, the banner offers Create account and I have a key, so you can take that step later.

Public browsing is not anonymous networking: the relays and services your app contacts can still observe connections. Do not assume that “no account” means “no metadata.”

Make an identity, or bring your own

If this is your first Nostr account

Choose Create account. Vega asks what people should call you and publishes that as your first profile. Choose a name you are comfortable making public; a legal name is not required. You can add a picture and bio later.

The new account has a public key and a private key. Vega shows the private key during setup, with a Copy action and a reminder to back it up. Do not skip the backup step below. Copying a key to the clipboard is not, by itself, a durable backup.

If you already use Nostr

Choose I have a key. Vega accepts an nsec private key for full access or an npub public key for a read-only view. An npub alone cannot authorize posting or following.

If you already use a compatible remote signer, Vega supports NIP-46 connections using a bunker:// URI. That lets the signer hold your private key instead of giving it directly to Vega. Treat connection details as sensitive and check signing permissions in your signer.

Use your existing identity if you want to remain the same person on Nostr. Creating a new key makes a separate identity; it does not automatically bring your existing followers with you.

Back up your private key before settling in

For an account whose private key is stored in Vega, open Settings → Account to reveal and copy your nsec. Store it in a trusted password manager or another secure backup you control. Make sure you know how to access that backup if this computer is lost.

Do this somewhere private. Avoid screenshots, shared clipboards, unencrypted notes and sending the key to yourself in a chat. Clipboard history or sync can keep additional copies. Never send a key to support or paste it into this website; there is no key-entry form here.

Vega uses the operating system’s keychain for a locally stored secret key: macOS Keychain, Windows Credential Manager or Linux Secret Service. That helps with local storage, but does not replace your backup or protect an unlocked, compromised computer.

Find a few people you want to hear from

Your first-day card suggests a picture, a bio, following three people, backing up your key and saying hello. Treat it as a useful checklist, not a requirement to finish everything now.

Open Search to look for people. If someone has shared their public key, use it to identify the right profile; display names alone can be copied. Vega also offers starter suggestions, and can suggest people followed by people you already follow.

Open a profile, read a few posts, then choose Follow if you want more. Use the Following feed for notes from the people you choose. The Global feed is a broader view of what your connected relays supply, not a complete view of all of Nostr.

Your follows are published as a Nostr contact list. Do not treat following someone as a private action. Other clients can use the same list when they can retrieve it from relays.

Say hello, when you feel ready

Use the compose box or Write to make a note. A short introduction and a couple of interests give people something to reply to. Read it once before publishing and leave out anything you would not want copied elsewhere.

A public note is not a private chat. Deletion requests cannot guarantee that every copy disappears. You do not have to post at all on your first day; reading and getting comfortable is a perfectly good start.

Later, you can explore articles, messages, bookmarks and optional Lightning zaps. No wallet is needed for ordinary reading, following or posting in Vega.