Login providers
How you sign in to Colabonate — Nostr, Lightning, Email, Alby, MetaMask. Each has a different key, recovery, and signing story.
A login provider is the method you use to authenticate when you open Colabonate. It determines where your identity private key lives (extension, NIP-46 bunker, Lightning wallet, browser cache, or nowhere on the client at all), how you recover access on a new device, and what events you can sign. Colabonate currently supports Nostr (NIP-07 and NIP-46), Lightning / LNURL-auth, Alby OAuth, Email magic link, and MetaMask — six entry points that all share the same trust backbone. None of them set your identity level on its own: every login lands you at L0 (Anonymous); climbing to L1, L2, and L3 is a separate flow covered in Identity levels explained (gs-2).
Pick a provider
Choose based on how you currently sign Nostr events and where you want your key to live
Sign in
Approve one challenge (NIP-07), one signature (MetaMask), or click a magic link (Email)
Land at L0
Every provider gives you an anonymous account — no trading yet
Upgrade to L1+
Link a real Nostr profile so you can create offers, sign tickets, and build reputation
Login provider = how you authenticate. Identity level = how much trust you carry. They are independent: you can sign in via Email and later link a Nostr extension to reach L1.
You can link multiple providers to the same account (e.g. sign in with Email, then connect a NIP-46 bunker and a Lightning wallet). The originating email always remains your fallback.
Why so many providers?
Different communities trust different ecosystems. Nostr-native users prefer NIP-07 / NIP-46 because the private key never leaves their extension or bunker. Lightning-only users authenticate with LNURL-auth and never touch a Nostr keypair. Crypto-curious users coming from EVM chains expect MetaMask. New users coming from the mainstream web expect email. Colabonate meets them all at the same gate and binds every provider to the same account, the same trust ladder, and the same offer/ticket/reputation graph on the back end.
What a login provider actually decides
Three things. (1) Where the secret lives — an extension in your browser, a remote NIP-46 bunker, a Lightning wallet on your phone, a server-side random placeholder for Email, or a deterministic derivation from a MetaMask signature. (2) Whether the secret ever touches the client at all — Email login generates a random pubkey and the privkey is thrown away; the account is bound to the email address only. (3) Whether the user can sign Nostr events from a new device without help — Nostr/extension and Lightning wallets can, Email cannot without re-upgrading.
Nostr authentication comes in two flavours. NIP-07 keeps the private key inside a browser extension (Alby, nos2x, Nostr Signer, Flint, Damus) and signs challenges locally. NIP-46 (Nostr Connect) keeps the key on a remote "bunker" (Alby Hub, Amber, nsecBunker) and the browser signs by asking the bunker over a Nostr DM. Both are first-class providers and Colabonate uses them to sign every event the same way the rest of the Nostr ecosystem does.
NIP-07
Install an extension like Alby or nos2x and click Login → Nostr. The extension prompts you to approve a NIP-98 auth event.
NIP-46
Open the Connect tab, paste a bunker connection string (bunker://...) or scan a QR code. Alby Hub or Amber holds the key.
Approve
One prompt, one signature. No transaction, no fee, no email.
Published profile
If your NIP-05 identifier is set in your extension, Colabonate reads it for the username field on your profile.
NIP-46 (bunker) is the strongest option for day-to-day use: the key never enters your browser, so a compromised browser cannot steal it.
Nostr login also lets you skip the "publish profile then upgrade" flow — if you already have Kind-0 metadata you are one click from L1.
Connecting a new signer creates a new public key. Reputation does not transfer automatically — migrate early, before you build reputation.
Key custody and recovery
NIP-07: your private key lives in the extension. Back it up using the extension's own export flow (usually a 12-word seed or nsec string). Never paste that seed into another website — Colabonate staff will never ask for it. NIP-46: the key lives on your bunker (phone, server, hardware wallet). Loss of the bunker plus its recovery phrase is loss of identity; the protocol is designed to make accidental loss harder than for a browser extension by requiring explicit connect-URI rotation.
Why Nostr login is the recommended baseline
Two reasons. First, Colabonate's marketplace, tickets, reviews, and COL-Points are all signed Nostr events — the same kind-30000 / kind-1 / kind-30023 events used across the wider Nostr ecosystem. A Nostr-native login signs those natively with no extra step. Second, Nostr keys are portable: the same npub works in Damus, Amethyst, Snort, Iris, and any other Nostr client, so your identity is never locked to Colabonate.
Lightning / LNURL-auth proves control of a Lightning node by signing a one-time challenge. The private key lives inside the wallet (LNBits custodial, Alby Hub self-custodial, Zeus, BlueWallet, etc. — not every Lightning wallet supports LNURL-auth login; Phoenix, for example, does not) and never leaves the device. On Colabonate, this provider creates an LNURL-auth identity pubkey that the wallet keeps custody of — separate from the Nostr key space — and that pubkey is what signs escrow holds and Lightning-authenticated actions.
Open the Lightning tab
On the login screen, choose Lightning. A QR code or lnurl-auth:// URL appears.
Approve in your wallet
Scan the code with Alby, Zeus, BlueWallet, or any other LNURL-auth-capable wallet. Note: Phoenix does not support LNURL-auth login.
Wait for confirmation
Your wallet signs the challenge, the server verifies the signature, and you are in.
Same identity on next visit
Subsequent logins use the same LNURL-auth flow — your key is locked to that wallet.
Best when your Lightning wallet is your primary tool — you do not need a Nostr extension just to log in.
The LNURL-auth pubkey is distinct from a Nostr pubkey. To reach L1 (and create offers / tickets / reviews), link a Nostr profile separately via Account → Identity & Security.
Lose your Lightning wallet seed → lose the LNURL-auth identity. Back it up the way your wallet recommends.
Custodial vs. non-custodial Lightning login
Two distinct stories. Custodial (LNBits, hosted wallets): you trust the operator with the seed; losing your account password means losing identity. Recovery is via the custodian's account-recovery flow. Non-custodial (Alby Hub self-hosted, Zeus, BlueWallet mobile): you hold the seed, just like with a Nostr extension; recovery is by seed phrase. Colabonate supports both; pick whichever wallet you already trust — as long as it supports LNURL-auth login specifically (many popular wallets, including Phoenix, only support LNURL-pay/withdraw, not LNURL-auth). The LNURL-auth pubkey is generated deterministically from the node's identity pubkey, so the same wallet always produces the same Colabonate identity.
Why Lightning-only users should add Nostr
Colabonate's offer, ticket, and review events live in the Nostr event space. If your only login is Lightning, you can browse, fund escrows, and receive sats — but to publish an offer or write a review you need a Nostr key. The recommended path is: log in with Lightning, then go to Account → Identity & Security → Signer / Bunker and add a Nostr signer (NIP-07 extension or NIP-46 bunker). Your Lightning identity remains linked; the Nostr key rides alongside it.
Email login is the most accessible provider in Colabonate: enter an address, receive a one-time link, click to sign in. There is no password and no extension to install. The trade-off is that you arrive at L0 (Anonymous) with a Nostr private key that lives only in your browser cache, and your account is only as portable as your email — so the account itself survives, but your offers, tickets, reviews, COL-Points, and reputation are tied to that browser key. The recommended path is to sign in once, then immediately link a Nostr extension or a Lightning wallet to lift your account to L1 and make your identity portable.
Enter your email
Type any address you control. No password, no extension.
Open the magic link
Click the unique URL in the email within 15 minutes. It opens Colabonate and signs you in.
Land at L0 — anonymous
You can browse the marketplace and set up a profile, but you cannot yet create offers, open tickets, or join DAO votes.
Link a Nostr key to reach L1
Go to Account → Identity & Security → Identity Levels → Connect Nostr Profile → Level 1. Takes about a minute.
Optionally link a Lightning wallet
Required for paying and receiving sats; also unlocks paying escrow holds without switching tabs.
Your Nostr private key lives in this browser only. Clear your browser data before connecting a Nostr extension or Lightning wallet and you lose your offers, tickets, reviews, and COL-Points — only your email-bound identity is kept on the server. Link a Nostr signer before clearing anything.
You can sign in from as many devices as you like as long as you have the email — but each device gets its own Nostr key. Keep them in sync by always reconnecting the same Nostr extension.
Email login is intentionally minimal. It is designed for first-time users and low-stakes browsing. Anyone who plans to trade, sell, or participate in governance should connect a Nostr extension or a Lightning wallet soon after signing in.
What email login is — and what it is not
IS: an address, a server-issued one-time link, a session token stored in localStorage. The server creates a User row keyed by your email address and a random Nostr pubkey for browser-side signing. After verify, your public key is published as your identity anchor. IS NOT: a password manager, a Nostr key backup, or a long-term identity solution. The nsec never leaves your browser. There is no "account recovery via email" — we cannot email you back a private key we have never held (ADR-141). If you lose the browser key, you can sign in again from scratch (same email, new nsec, empty reputation) and re-link any future offers from the new pubkey.
The honest custody story
Under the hood, three things happen when you click the magic link. (1) The server creates or reuses a User row by email. (2) Your browser generates (or reuses) a nsec in localStorage and sends the corresponding pubkey along with the verify request. (3) A session token is written to localStorage. From this point on, every Nostr event you sign uses the nsec in your browser; none of those events can be re-signed from another device unless that device also has the same nsec. (4) Linking a Nostr extension or a NIP-46 bunker migrates your sign capability to a stronger holder; the email-bound user row is preserved, but the active signer becomes the extension.
When to choose Email login
Choose Email when you want to try Colabonate with the lowest possible commitment, when you are on a device where you cannot install extensions (work computer, tablet), or when you are evaluating the marketplace before investing in a wallet. Upgrade to a Nostr or Lightning provider as soon as you decide to trade. You do not need to delete your email-bound account — linking keeps the history and adds the new signer alongside.
Security practices for Email login
Use an email address you trust with security notifications (ideally one tied to a hardware-key 2FA). Never click a Colabonate magic link in a forwarded email chain — open it directly from your inbox and verify the sender domain. Do not use Email login on a shared or kiosk device: anyone with browser access can act as you until the session expires. Always sign out from Account → Sign out when finished on a borrowed machine.
All six providers create the same kind of account and take you to the same trust ladder — the difference is where the private key lives, who can recover it on a new device, and what you can sign without an extra step. Use this comparison when you are choosing a provider for the first time or deciding whether to add a second one to your existing account.
Read the table
Nine rows × six providers. Focus on "Primary holder", "Cross-device", and "What it signs".
Pick by use case
Active trader → Nostr (NIP-07/NIP-46). Wallet-first → LNURL-auth. First-look → Email.
Link a second provider
You can always add Nostr or Lightning later from Account → Identity & Security.
Always back up your key
Regardless of provider, the rule is the same: back it up offline before clearing browser data.
Most active users end up with two providers: a primary Nostr or NIP-46 bunker for signing, and Email as a recovery / fallback. Both are linked to the same User row.
Custody labels use these shorthands: extension = browser extension, bunker = NIP-46 remote signer, custodial = hosted wallet, non-custodial = self-hosted or hardware.
Comparison table
Provider | Where the key lives | How you recover | Signs Nostr events natively | Cross-device without help | Recommended for Nostr NIP-07 | Browser extension (Alby, nos2x) | Extension's seed/nsec export | Yes (NIP-07 call) | Yes — install extension on each device, same nsec | Native Nostr users Nostr NIP-46 (Connect) | Remote bunker (Alby Hub, Amber) | Bunker seed + bunker-URI rotation | Yes (NIP-46 over relay) | Yes — paste bunker:// on each device | Day-to-day "no key in browser" use Lightning / LNURL-auth | Inside your Lightning wallet (must support LNURL-auth specifically — not every wallet does, e.g. not Phoenix) | Wallet seed | No — separate LNURL-auth pubkey; Nostr events need an extra signer | Yes if wallet supports multiple devices (e.g. Zeus) | Wallet-first users, no Nostr client yet Alby OAuth | Alby account + linked wallet | Alby account credentials + 2FA | Limited — Alby acts as a hosted NIP-07 | Yes (hosted) | New users without a Nostr extension MetaMask | Derived deterministically from one signature + your EVM seed | MetaMask seed + re-sign derivation | Yes via window.ethereum adapter | Yes — sign derivation again on each device | EVM-native users Email (magic link) | Browser cache only; User row keyed by email on server | Re-request a magic link from any device; reputation does NOT transfer | Only on the browser that holds the nsec | The account does; the Nostr key and reputation do not | First-look, low-commitment exploration
Decision guide
Ask three questions. (1) Do I already have a Nostr extension or NIP-46 bunker? Yes → Nostr login. (2) Do I have a Lightning wallet but no Nostr client? Yes → Lightning / LNURL-auth. (3) Do I have neither and just want to look around? Yes → Email, then upgrade as soon as you decide to trade. Once you have any of these, you can add the others from Account → Identity & Security without losing your data.
Linking more than one provider to the same account
Every provider writes to the same User row. Adding a second one — for example connecting a NIP-46 bunker to an existing email account — does not change the row, it adds a new signer signature method. The order matters: the email remains the canonical recovery address; the added Nostr or Lightning key becomes the active signer for new events. Existing events stay pinned to whatever key signed them, so reputation is preserved event-by-event.