Practical overview
When it fits
Use Mostro when you need exchange software to coordinate peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading over Lightning and are prepared to operate the daemon with LND and Nostr relays.
Who it is for
- Operators setting up a Nostr-based Lightning peer-to-peer exchange.
- Developers working with Bitcoin, Lightning Network or Nostr exchange infrastructure.
- Traders seeking orders through a Mostro-powered client and service.
Documented uses
- Publish or take fixed-price and market-price Bitcoin orders with fiat premiums.
- Coordinate trade messages between clients and an exchange daemon over Nostr.
- Settle trades using Lightning hold-invoice escrow.
- Track disputes and trader ratings within an exchange service.
Requirements & limits
- Mostro is server infrastructure; the README describes clients communicating with the daemon, not a standalone trader-facing website.
- The documented server prerequisites include an LND node and Nostr relays.
- Native compilation requires Rust 1.94.0 or later.
- The project documents native, Docker Compose and StartOS deployment routes.
- The README identifies protocol v2 as signed kind-14 messages with NIP-44 encryption; it says the former gift-wrap protocol is incompatible with v2.
Check current requirements in the official documentation. Source-based guidance does not mean OpenViST has run or independently tested this project.
Prepare a native Mostro server build
Build and configure the Mostro daemon on a server before starting it.
Before you start
- Rust 1.94.0 or later
- An LND Lightning node
- Access to Nostr relays
- Native build dependencies: CMake, a C/C++ build toolchain, SQLite development files, pkg-config and Protocol Buffers compiler
Steps
Clone the Mostro repository and enter its directory.
Build the release binary with Cargo.
Install the resulting mostrod binary and copy settings.tpl.toml to ~/.mostro/settings.toml.
Edit the settings file to configure the daemon.
Expected outcome
The native daemon binary is built and its configuration file is in place.
Guide limitations
- These steps cover building and configuration, not a complete production deployment.
- The README points to INSTALL.md for full production setup.
Set up the Docker Compose development environment
Prepare the documented local Docker Compose configuration and start the development services.
Before you start
- An LND node with its certificate and macaroon paths available
- Nostr relay access or the included local relay configuration
Steps
Clone the Mostro repository and enter its directory.
Copy settings.tpl.toml to docker/config/settings.toml and edit the configuration.
Provide the LND certificate and macaroon paths as environment variables, then run make docker-build and make docker-up.
Expected outcome
The README says this starts the Mostro daemon and a local Nostr relay, using port 7000 by default.
Guide limitations
- The listed LND paths are examples from a Polar setup; the source does not establish that those paths apply to other node configurations.
- The README identifies this route for local testing and development.
Sources & review
Source record details
- Source availability
- Active
- Sources checked
- 13 October 2026
- Original website title
- MostroP2P/mostro · Official homepage title · retained in its source language