relay-auth
Authenticate to a relay that requires NIP-42 AUTH. Connects to the relay, waits for an AUTH challenge, signs a kind 22242 event, and sends it back. Returns { authenticated: true/false }. Use this when a relay-query fails due to AUTH requirements, then retry the query.
This record as markdown: /tools/dev-forgesworn-bray/relay-auth.md
What relay-auth does on Nostr Bray
AI agents invoke relay-auth to trigger actions in Nostr Bray. What it does depends on the arguments the agent supplies, and its effects often reach beyond the immediate call: builds kicked off, notifications sent, workflows started.
Why relay-auth is rated High
This tool performs an active external operation: it connects to a relay, participates in a challenge-response authentication protocol, and signs/sends a cryptographic event. These are side-effecting network operations (not a simple read), but they don't modify or delete data. The action's effects depend on the relay endpoint provided, placing it firmly in Execute.
From the tool's definition Authenticate to a relay that requires NIP-42 AUTH. Connects to the relay, waits for an AUTH challenge, signs a kind 22242 event, and sends it back.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs relay-auth safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Nostr Bray, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For relay-auth, this is the rule to start with:
relay-auth stays usable, but rate-capped: a runaway agent can't fire it dozens of times a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Nostr Bray, apply this rule, and every relay-auth call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about relay-auth
Authenticate to a relay that requires NIP-42 AUTH. Connects to the relay, waits for an AUTH challenge, signs a kind 22242 event, and sends it back. Returns { authenticated: true/false }. Use this when a relay-query fails due to AUTH requirements, then retry the query. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the Nostr Bray MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.
Register the Nostr Bray MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for relay-auth: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Nostr Bray. Nothing to install.
relay-auth is a Execute tool with high risk. Execute tools should be rate-limited and have argument validation enabled.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the relay-auth rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for relay-auth. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
relay-auth is provided by the Nostr Bray MCP server (nostr-bray). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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