From 805a4f5a2e1cba8106098ec5465a3188ddf6cd2d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Clawd <ai@clawd.bot>
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2026 12:15:46 -0800
Subject: README: emphasize minimal dependencies

---
 README.md | 41 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------------
 1 file changed, 27 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-)

(limited to 'README.md')

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0e7c891..8ca5ebd 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,18 +1,35 @@
 # nostr
 
-A Go library for the [Nostr protocol](https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nostr).
+A minimal Go library for the [Nostr protocol](https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nostr).
 
 ```bash
 go get code.northwest.io/nostr
 ```
 
-## Features
+## Why This Library?
 
-- **Keys** — Generate, parse, and convert between hex/bech32 (npub/nsec)
-- **Events** — Create, sign, and verify NIP-01 events
-- **Filters** — Build subscription filters
-- **Relay** — WebSocket connections with publish/subscribe
+**1 dependency.** That's it.
+
+Other Nostr libraries pull in 30+ dependencies. This one has exactly one direct dependency: `btcec` for Schnorr signatures (required by the protocol).
+
+```
+require github.com/btcsuite/btcd/btcec/v2 v2.3.4
+```
+
+No WebSocket libraries, no logging frameworks, no kitchen sink. Just the core protocol.
+
+## What's Included
+
+- **Keys** — Generate, parse, sign, verify (hex and bech32/npub/nsec)
+- **Events** — Create, serialize, sign NIP-01 events  
+- **Filters** — Build and match subscription filters
+- **Relay** — WebSocket pub/sub (stdlib `net/http` only)
 - **Tags** — Parse and build event tags
+- **Envelopes** — Protocol message parsing
+
+## What's Not Included
+
+This is a minimal core library. It implements NIP-01 and the basics. It doesn't implement every NIP, handle connection pooling, or manage relay discovery. Build that yourself, or don't.
 
 ## Usage
 
@@ -26,7 +43,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 func main() {
-    // Generate a new key pair
+    // Generate a key pair
     key, _ := nostr.GenerateKey()
     fmt.Println("npub:", key.Npub())
 
@@ -37,22 +54,18 @@ func main() {
     }
     event.Sign(key)
 
-    // Connect to a relay and publish
+    // Connect and publish
     ctx := context.Background()
     relay, _ := nostr.Connect(ctx, "wss://relay.damus.io")
     defer relay.Close()
-
+    
     relay.Publish(ctx, event)
 }
 ```
 
 ## Examples
 
-See [examples/basic](examples/basic) for a complete runnable example.
-
-## Benchmarks
-
-Performance benchmarks are in [benchmarks/](benchmarks/).
+See [examples/basic](examples/basic) for a runnable example.
 
 ## License
 
-- 
cgit v1.2.3