aaif-goose/goose · error

goose was not built with nostr support

Error message

goose was not built with nostr support

What it means

Nostr support is a compile-time cargo feature (goose-cli: nostr = ["goose/nostr"], not enabled by default). This branch is compiled only #[cfg(not(feature = "nostr"))], so a binary built without the feature rejects --nostr at runtime with this message instead of attempting relay publishing.

Source

Thrown at crates/goose-cli/src/commands/session.rs:282

        if output_path.is_some() {
            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
                "Nostr session sharing cannot be combined with --output"
            ));
        }

        let relays = nostr_share::resolve_relays(relays, Config::global());
        let share = nostr_share::publish_session_json(&output, relays).await?;
        println!("Session published to Nostr relays:");
        for relay in &share.relays {
            println!("- {}", relay);
        }
        println!("\nShare link:");
        println!("{}", share.deeplink);
        return Ok(());
    }
    #[cfg(not(feature = "nostr"))]
    if nostr {
        return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("goose was not built with nostr support"));
    }

    if let Some(output_path) = output_path {
        fs::write(&output_path, output).with_context(|| {
            format!("Failed to write to output file: {}", output_path.display())
        })?;
        println!("Session exported to {}", output_path.display());
    } else {
        println!("{}", output);
    }

    Ok(())
}

pub async fn handle_session_import(input: String, nostr: bool) -> Result<()> {
    let json = if nostr || input.starts_with("goose://sessions/nostr") {
        #[cfg(feature = "nostr")]
        {

View on GitHub (pinned to 3810898a74)

Solutions

1. Drop --nostr and export/import via file (json/yaml) instead
2. Use a goose build compiled with the feature: `cargo build --features nostr` in the goose-cli crate
3. Check how your goose was installed and switch to a distribution that enables nostr

Example fix

# before
cargo install goose-cli
goose session export <id> --nostr
# after
cargo install goose-cli --features nostr
goose session export <id> --nostr

if nostr && !cfg!(feature = "nostr") {
    eprintln!("this build lacks nostr support; exporting to file instead");
    // fall back to file export, or build with --features nostr
}

fn nostr_supported() -> bool {
    cfg!(feature = "nostr")
}

match handle_session_export(id, None, "json".into(), true, relays).await {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("not built with nostr support") => {
        handle_session_export(id, Some(path), "json".into(), false, vec![]).await // file fallback
    }
    other => other,
}

When it happens

Trigger: Passing --nostr to a goose binary built with default features (e.g. some distro or self-built packages); a release channel that does not enable the nostr feature.

Common situations: Installing goose via a package manager that builds without optional features; building from source with `cargo build` and no --features flag; docs describing --nostr for a build that lacks it.

Related errors

• Nostr session sharing only supports --format json
• Nostr session sharing cannot be combined with --output
• state-machine session loaded without conversation
• No session found to resume
• No session found with name '{}'

AI-assisted analysis of aaif-goose/goose@3810898a74 (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/27cb050d84e27d28. Report an issue: GitHub.