Getting Started

Getting started

The first start walks through four short pages. Nothing here is mandatory except accepting the notice and, to navigate, granting location.

1. Welcome

A summary of what the app does, and a suggestion to use a VPN if you care about hiding your IP address from the services Roadstr talks to (road reports travel over the Nostr network). This is advice, not a requirement; see Privacy.

2. Nostr identity — optional

You only need an identity to publish or confirm road reports, to receive zaps on your own reports, and to sync saved places between devices. Everything else works without one, so you can choose Skip for now.

• Amber (recommended). Install the Amber signer app, then choose Login. Your private key never leaves Amber.
• A remote signer (bunker). Paste a bunker:// link, or approve Roadstr's nostrconnect:// offer from your signer app.

Roadstr no longer accepts a pasted nsec: an app that holds your key can leak it. Details in Nostr and sign-in.

You are also asked how visible your profile is:

Mode	What other Roadstr users see on your reports
Pseudonymous (recommended)	A generic avatar and “nostrich”
Public	Your Nostr name, npub and picture

Either way, Roadstr always publishes the public key needed to verify a report. Your reports, their locations, your reputation and the zaps you receive are public.

3. Set up Roadstr

• Location. Grant Precise location (not Approximate). Roadstr uses a foreground navigation service and does not need permanent background-location access. On GrapheneOS and similar systems, set it under Settings → Apps → Roadstr → Permissions → Location.
• Voice guidance — optional. Offers to download the 82 MB Kokoro voice model. You can do this later from Settings → Navigation voice. See Voice guidance.
• Performance profile. Choose how much to trade battery for fluidity — Eco, Balanced, 3D Eco or Performance. The choice can be changed any time; see Navigation.

4. Ready, and the notice

The last page says you are ready. When you choose Let's go!, an Important notice appears: Roadstr is experimental, community-maintained software based on OpenStreetMap data and the Nostr protocol, available in any country, and using it means accepting its terms. Read it before accepting — it is the legal basis for using the app, in particular where map data, speed limits or restricted zones are wrong or missing. Accepting opens the map.

After the first start

Do this	Where
Pick a theme (Nostr violet or Bitcoin orange, light or dark)	Settings → Theme
Change the language	Settings → Language (27 languages, or the system default)
Choose a routing provider	Settings → Map → Routing provider
Connect a Lightning wallet to send zaps	Settings → Lightning
Turn on Journey, voice search, offline maps	See their pages from the Home table

Every setting is described in the Settings reference.

A word of caution

Navigation data from OpenStreetMap is made by volunteers and is incomplete in places. Speed limits are shown only when the map states them — an unknown limit stays unknown. Road-surface preferences are a preference, not a guarantee. Always follow road signs and use your own judgement.