Kind 8: Badge Award

Overview

Badge Award events (kind 8) are used to award badges or achievements to users in the Nostr ecosystem. These events represent the act of an issuer granting recognition to one or more recipients, linking badge definitions to specific users.

Specification

Property	Value
Kind Number	8
Event Range	Regular
Defined in	NIP-58

Content Format

The content field is typically empty or may contain a congratulatory message or explanation for the award.

Tags

Tag Name	Description	Format	Required
a	Reference to the Badge Definition	["a", "30009:<issuer-pubkey>:<badge-id>"]	Yes
p	Recipient public key(s)	["p", "<pubkey-hex>", "<optional-relay-url>"]	Yes (at least one)

Client Behavior

Clients should:

1. Allow badge issuers to create Badge Award events
2. Verify that the referenced Badge Definition exists
3. When displaying badges on profiles, check that:
   • There is a valid Badge Award event
   • The user has accepted the badge in their Profile Badges event (kind 30008)
4. Show badge information when users interact with displayed badges

Clients may implement whitelists of trusted badge issuers to maintain the value and integrity of badges in their ecosystem.

Relay Behavior

Relays should:

1. Store Badge Award events like any other regular event
2. Make these events discoverable through queries for badge references or recipient pubkeys

Use Cases

• Recognizing community contributions
• Awarding achievements for completing challenges
• Granting certifications or qualifications
• Creating reputation systems
• Showing appreciation or thanks
• Identifying team or community membership

Example

{
  "id": "4376c65d2f232afbe9b882a35baa4f6fe8667c4e684749af565f981833ed6a65",
  "pubkey": "79dff8f82963424e0bb02708a22e44b4980893e3a4be0fa3cb60a43b946764e3",
  "created_at": 1671217411,
  "kind": 8,
  "tags": [
    ["a", "30009:79dff8f82963424e0bb02708a22e44b4980893e3a4be0fa3cb60a43b946764e3:bravery"],
    ["p", "f7234bd4c1394dda46d09f35bd384dd30cc552ad5541990f98844fb06676e9ca", "wss://relay.example.com"],
    ["p", "3bf0c63fcb93463407af97a5e5ee64fa883d107ef9e558472c4eb9aaaefa459d", "wss://relay.example.com"]
  ],
  "content": "Congratulations on your bravery award!",
  "sig": "908a15e46fb4d8675bab026fc230a0e3542bfade63da02d542fb78b2a8513fcd0092619a2c8c1221e581946e0191f2af505dfdf8657a414dbca329186f009262"
}

Badge System

The Badge Award is part of a system of three event types that work together:

1. Badge Definition (kind 30009): Defines what the badge is, including name, image, and description
2. Badge Award (kind 8): Awards the badge from issuer to recipient(s)
3. Profile Badges (kind 30008): User's selection of which awarded badges to display

The complete flow is:

1. Issuer creates a Badge Definition event
2. Issuer awards badges to users with a Badge Award event
3. Recipients accept badges by including them in their Profile Badges event

References

• NIP-58: Badges

Related Kinds

• Kind 30008: Profile Badges - User's selection of badges to display
• Kind 30009: Badge Definition - Definition of a badge's properties

Notes

• Badge Awards are immutable and non-transferrable
• A single Badge Award event can award the same badge to multiple recipients
• Badges only appear on a user's profile if they've chosen to accept and display them
• The a tag in the Badge Award must reference a valid Badge Definition event (kind 30009)