Kind 30008: Profile Badges

Overview

Profile Badges events (kind 30008) allow Nostr users to display badges they've earned or been awarded on their profiles. These events serve as a collection of references to badge definitions and badge awards that a user wants to showcase, creating a visual representation of achievements, credentials, or affiliations in their profile.

Specification

Property	Value
Kind Number	30008
Event Range	Parameterized Replaceable
Defined in	NIP-58

Content Format

The content field is typically empty or can contain a JSON object with additional metadata about the user's badge collection.

Schema

"content": ""

or with optional metadata:

{
  "display_order": ["bravery", "honor", "nostr-verified"],
  "custom_styles": {
    "bravery": {
      "border_color": "#FFD700"
    }
  }
}

Tags

Tag Name	Description	Format	Required
d	Fixed value: profile_badges	["d", "profile_badges"]	Yes
a	Badge definition reference	["a", "30009:<pubkey>:<identifier>"]	Yes
e	Badge award reference	["e", "<event-id>", "<relay-url>"]	No

Client Behavior

Clients should:

1. Always use d tag with fixed value profile_badges to make this a parameterized replaceable event
2. Display badges in the user's profile based on this event
3. Present a tags that reference Badge Definition events (kind 30009)
4. Show badges in the order they appear in the event's tags
5. When clicking on a badge, optionally navigate to the badge definition
6. Validate that badge awards referenced in e tags are legitimate kind 8 events

Relay Behavior

Relays should:

1. Handle kind 30008 events as parameterized replaceable events with the d tag as discriminator
2. Index these events to allow efficient retrieval by pubkey
3. Return these events when queried for a specific author

Use Cases

• Displaying achievements and rewards in user profiles
• Showcasing community memberships or affiliations
• Verifying credentials or certifications
• Gamification of platform participation
• Community recognition and status indicators

Example

{
  "id": "9c2dde143ef3ae9afc7178b445c6080f4452a90ecabff232e1b91661b9ecd1bb",
  "pubkey": "9ec7a778167afb1d30c4833de9322da0c08ba71a69e1911d5578d3144bb56437",
  "created_at": 1679590748,
  "kind": 30008,
  "tags": [
    ["d", "profile_badges"],
    ["a", "30009:3bf0c63fcb93463407af97a5e5ee64fa883d107ef9e558472c4eb9aaaefa459d:bravery"],
    ["e", "8f87a5279816087041a2f2a6a6e39d57a89cd9a4b7f341eb8f87a1cbd299559c", "wss://relay.example.com"],
    ["a", "30009:3bf0c63fcb93463407af97a5e5ee64fa883d107ef9e558472c4eb9aaaefa459d:honor"],
    ["e", "ec49429c56f7e9188927ebfb114f582180a000be6ca5fdabf563d52e4b0e116f", "wss://relay.example.com"]
  ],
  "content": "",
  "sig": "5b794f5e8db3624b865c417e7c3ec44a0b9a87f9d7a897f48851714953fb53fad61e6e8fb383fe6368f68a11f7cd5cda879d8a6335fbce548f9d9fed8b91cb1b"
}

Badge System Architecture

The Nostr badge system consists of three key components:

1. Badge Definition (kind 30009) - Created by badge issuers, defines what a badge looks like and means
2. Badge Award (kind 8) - Created by badge issuers, grants a specific badge to a user
3. Profile Badges (kind 30008) - Created by badge recipients, displays chosen badges on their profile

The relationship between these components:

• Badge issuers define badges with kind 30009 events
• Badge issuers award badges to users with kind 8 events
• Users display badges they've been awarded with kind 30008 events

References

• NIP-58: Badges

Related Kinds

• Kind 30009: Badge Definition - Defines what a badge is
• Kind 8: Badge Award - Awards a badge to a user

Notes

• The order of a tags determines the display order of badges in the profile
• Each a tag should ideally be followed by an e tag referencing the award event for that badge
• Clients may choose to hide badges that don't have corresponding award events
• Badge images are defined in the kind 30009 Badge Definition events
• Users are free to choose which badges they want to display from those they've been awarded