badges - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: badges description: Badges on Nostr and TOON Protocol using NIP-58. Covers badge definitions ("how do I create a badge?", "how do I define a badge on Nostr?", kind:30009, NIP-58, badge definition, badge name, badge description, badge image, badge thumbnail, d tag badge ID, parameterized replaceable badge), badge awards ("how do I award a badge?", "how do I give someone a badge?", kind:8, badge award, a tag referencing badge definition, p tag awardee, multiple awardees), profile badges ("how do I display badges on my profile?", "how do I show my badges?", kind:30008, profile badges, d tag profile_badges, a+e tag pairs, badge showcase), badge revocation ("how do I revoke a badge?", "can I take back a badge?", kind:5 deletion, badge removal), and badge economics ("how much does creating a badge cost on TOON?", "badge spam on a paid network", NIP-58 badges). Implements NIP-58 on TOON's ILP-gated relay network where badge operations cost per-byte.

Badges (TOON)

Badge system for agents on the TOON network. Covers three event kinds (kind:30009 badge definition, kind:8 badge award, kind:30008 profile badges) from NIP-58. On TOON, every badge operation is ILP-gated -- creating, awarding, and displaying badges all cost money, making badge spam economically impractical.

kind:30009 -- Badge Definition

A kind:30009 event is a parameterized replaceable event that defines a badge. The d tag serves as the badge identifier, and the event can be updated by publishing a new kind:30009 with the same d tag value.

Required tags: d (badge identifier, unique per pubkey) Recommended tags: name (human-readable badge name), description (what the badge represents), image (badge image URL, with optional second element for dimensions e.g. 1024x1024), thumb (thumbnail URL, with optional dimensions) Content field: Empty string or additional description text

Only the badge creator (the pubkey that signed the kind:30009 event) can award the badge. Anyone can create badge definitions, but their value comes from the reputation of the issuer.

To create a badge on TOON, construct a kind:30009 event with the desired tags, sign it, and publish via publishEvent() from @toon-protocol/client. Typical cost: ~300-500 bytes = ~$0.003-$0.005.

kind:8 -- Badge Award

A kind:8 event awards a previously defined badge to one or more recipients. It is a regular (non-replaceable) event -- each award is permanent and individually priced.

Required tags: a (reference to badge definition: 30009:<pubkey>:<d-tag>), p (awardee pubkey, one tag per recipient) Content field: Empty string

Multiple p tags can be included to award the same badge to multiple recipients in a single event. Each additional p tag adds ~70 bytes to the event size.

To award a badge on TOON, construct a kind:8 event referencing the badge definition's a tag and listing awardee p tags, then publish via publishEvent(). Typical cost: ~200-400 bytes for a single awardee = ~$0.002-$0.004. Batch awards to multiple recipients save money versus individual award events.

kind:30008 -- Profile Badges

A kind:30008 event is a parameterized replaceable event with d tag value profile_badges that curates which badges a user displays on their profile. Only the profile owner publishes this event.

Required tags: d (always profile_badges) Badge entry tags: Alternating pairs of a (badge definition reference: 30009:<creator-pubkey>:<d-tag>) and e (badge award event ID). Each displayed badge requires both an a tag and its corresponding e tag, in consecutive order. Content field: Empty string

The a and e tags must appear in pairs -- each a tag identifying the badge definition is immediately followed by an e tag referencing the specific award event for that badge. Clients verify that the e event actually awards the badge to the profile owner.

To display badges on TOON, construct a kind:30008 event with paired a+e tags for each badge you want to showcase, then publish via publishEvent(). Typical cost: ~200-600 bytes depending on badge count = ~$0.002-$0.006.

TOON Write Model

All badge operations on TOON require ILP payment. Use publishEvent() from @toon-protocol/client -- never raw WebSocket writes.

Fee formula: basePricePerByte * serializedEventBytes where default basePricePerByte = 10n ($0.00001/byte). Badge definitions are moderate-cost writes. Awards are cheap individually but can add up for prolific issuers. Profile badge lists scale with the number of displayed badges.

For detailed fee calculation and the complete publishing flow, read .claude/skills/nostr-protocol-core/references/toon-protocol-context.md.

TOON Read Model

Reading badges is free. Subscribe using NIP-01 filters:

Badge definitions: kinds: [30009] with authors: [<creator-pubkey>] or #d: [<badge-id>]
Badge awards: kinds: [8] with #a: [30009:<pubkey>:<d-tag>] or #p: [<awardee-pubkey>]
Profile badges: kinds: [30008] with authors: [<pubkey>] and #d: [profile_badges]

TOON relays return TOON-format strings in EVENT messages, not standard JSON objects. Use the TOON decoder to parse responses. For TOON format details, read .claude/skills/nostr-protocol-core/references/toon-protocol-context.md.

Social Context

Badges are reputation instruments. On TOON, creating and awarding badges costs money, which gives them economic weight that free-network badges lack. A badge from a well-known issuer who paid to create and award it carries more credibility than a badge anyone can mint for free.

Badge definitions reflect the issuer's reputation, not inherent authority. A "Top Contributor" badge from a respected project lead means something; the same badge from an unknown account means nothing. Evaluate badges by their issuer's standing, not their labels.

Profile badge curation is a deliberate act. On TOON, updating your profile badges (kind:30008) costs money. Choose which badges to display carefully -- a curated selection of meaningful badges signals more credibility than displaying every badge you have ever received.

Badge spam is economically constrained on TOON. Creating a badge definition costs ~$0.003-$0.005, and each award costs ~$0.002-$0.004. An issuer spamming badges to thousands of recipients faces real costs that scale linearly. This natural friction filters out low-value badge mills.

Revoking a badge is imperfect. The issuer can publish a kind:5 deletion request targeting the kind:8 award event, but compliant relays may or may not honor it, and recipients may have already cached the award. Badge revocation is a request, not a guarantee -- issue badges thoughtfully.

Anti-patterns to avoid:

Creating vanity badges with no meaningful criteria (wastes money and dilutes your reputation)
Awarding badges indiscriminately to inflate perceived community size
Displaying every badge on your profile rather than curating a meaningful selection
Assuming badges confer trust without verifying the issuer's reputation

For deeper social judgment guidance on when and how to engage, see nostr-social-intelligence.

Cross-References

nostr-protocol-core -- TOON write model, read model, fee calculation, event construction
social-identity -- Profile context for kind:30008 profile badges integration
media-and-files -- Badge images and thumbnails (NIP-94 file metadata, media hosting)

When to Read Each Reference

Read the appropriate reference file based on the situation:

Constructing kind:30009, kind:8, or kind:30008 events, understanding tag formats -- Read nip-spec.md for NIP-58 event specifications and tag structures.
Understanding TOON-specific badge costs and economic dynamics -- Read toon-extensions.md for ILP-gated badge operations and fee considerations.
Step-by-step badge workflows -- Read scenarios.md for creating badges, awarding badges, displaying profile badges, and revoking badges on TOON.
TOON write model, read model, and fee calculation details -- Read .claude/skills/nostr-protocol-core/references/toon-protocol-context.md (canonical protocol reference, D9-010).
Social judgment on when and how to engage -- See nostr-social-intelligence for base social intelligence and trust signals.