How to get started with Diogel
Secure browser extension for managing your Nostr identities without exposing your private keys to web applications.
Gary Woodfine Feb 25, 2026Worried about exposing your nostr keys ? Diogel solves this.
Diogel is a browser extension which is NIP-07 compliant , a standardised specification that enables web-based Nostr applications to securely interact with a user's account, solving a critical security problem: instead of forcing users to manually copy and paste their sensitive private keys into every website or app they use—a practice that is highly vulnerable to phishing and malware—NIP-07 enables a dedicated browser extension, like the Diogel Browser Extension, to act as a secure vault.
How the sign in process works
When a web application needs to sign an event, like posting a message, it simply requests the action from the extension, which then handles the cryptographic signing process in a protected environment without ever exposing the user's keys to the website itself.
This creates a seamless and much safer user experience, by establishing a secure bridge between web applications and a user's private key management.
Diogel
Diogel is a privacy-focused Nostr account + signer browser extension designed to let you safely use Nostr apps without handing your private keys to websites.
It acts as a dedicated signer: Nostr web apps request signatures, and Diogel returns signatures—keys stay inside the extension.
How to install Diogel Extension
Installing the Diogel Browser extension from the corresponding browser web store, is really easy. Its more or less just a matter of clicking the add to browser button, in your preferred browser extension store
Install Diogel in chrome
To install Diogel in any Chromium based browser simply navigate to the chrome web store and click the Add to Chrome button
Install Diogel in Firefox
To install diogel in Firefox simply navigate to the Firefox Browser Add-Ons and click the Add to Firefox button
Once you have installed the extension you can then start to use it. The first step in this process is to create a vault to store your keys.
Nostr private key security
Nostr's security model is fundamentally built on private key management, making it the most critical aspect of using the protocol securely.
When creating a nostr account, essentially you are creating a Public/Private key pair. Your primary Private Key (NSEC) is the master key to your entire Nostr identity. It controls your profile (name, picture, about), your social graph (who you follow and who follows you), and all your past and future content.
Anyone who gains access to this key can completely impersonate your account and your identity
Unlike a password on a traditional service, you can't just "change" your NSEC if it's compromised. You have to abandon the entire identity and start over, losing all your followers and content tied to that Public Key (NPUB).
One of the key Operational Security (OPSEC) considerations for nostr is never to use your primary NSEC key to sign into the various nostr clients.
Public and private key cryptography, also known as asymmetric cryptography, is a fundamental principle in modern cryptographic systems. It provides robust mechanisms for securing communication, ensuring data integrity, and authenticating identities across digital networks.
What is a vault?
A vault in a browser extension is secure digital container within the extension that stores sensitive information like your Nostr public and private keys. The Diogel vault uses AES-256 encryption to secure your vault and store your encrypted private key.
To create a vault in Diogel is as simple as clicking on the Diogel Icon, which will prompt you to supply a password for your vault. Provide a password for your vault. You will use this to log into your vault.
Once you have created your vault your extension is ready for use, and you will be presented with a screen informing you that no active account and prompting you to create an account.
In Diogel, you have the option to create entirely new accounts or import existing accounts. In this example we will focus primarily on just creating new accounts. In order to create a new set of keys , you simply click Generate Keys button
Clicking the button will generate a new Public/Private key set which will be displayed to using the human friendly NIP 19 encoding. You will also be prompted to provide a name for your new profile, this can be anything. Any Nym you prefer. The only important aspect of this Profile name is something that you will be able to identify and associate with this new key pair.
There is no restriction on the number of accounts you can create or import in Diogel, that is left entirely to your own personal preference.
The name you provide as the profile name, will not be associated with your keys on the nostr protocol, it is only a name or nym that you will associate with the keys within the Diogel extension.
Once you click save, your new set of keys are active and can be used to login into any nostr client client that accepts or enables NIP 07 style authentication.
Diogel does provide the ability to customise and manage your Profile data associated with your keys.
