{"record":{"id":"4687f83fe587dd26","repo":"ruvnet/ruflo","slug":"no-key-held-for-i-channel-accept-a-grant-first-x-federation","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"no key held for ${i.channel} — accept a grant first (x_federation_channel_accept)","messagePattern":"no key held for (.+?) — accept a grant first \\(x_federation_channel_accept\\)","errorType":"validation","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"v3/@claude-flow/cli/src/mcp-tools/x-federation-channels.ts","lineNumber":203,"sourceCode":"    name: 'x_federation_channel_publish',\n    description: 'Publish a message to a channel with YOUR OWN key. A private channel is encrypted locally under its channel key before it leaves this machine, and the message type is hidden behind k=enc so the relay sees only an opaque id and ciphertext. Use when the message should be attributable to you. The admin-gated gateway channel_publish is wrong for that, because it signs as the gateway and cannot reach private channels at all.',\n    inputSchema: { type: 'object', properties: {\n      channel: { type: 'string', description: 'Channel id (pub:<name> or prv:<16 hex>).' },\n      msgType: { type: 'string', description: 'Message type (Status, Task, Result, …). Hidden on private channels.' },\n      payload: { type: 'object', description: 'JSON body. Never put secrets or credentials in it, even on a private channel.' },\n      relayWs: { type: 'string', description: 'Relay URL; takes precedence over RUFLO_X_RELAY_WS.' },\n    }, required: ['channel', 'msgType', 'payload'] },\n    handler: async (input) => {\n      const i = input as { channel: string; msgType: string; payload: Record<string, unknown>; relayWs?: string };\n      if (!CHANNEL_ID_RE.test(i.channel)) throw new Error('channel must be pub:<name> or prv:<16 hex>');\n      const t = await loadTools(); if (!t) return degraded();\n      const { sk, pubkey } = loadOrCreateKey(t.nt as never, KEY_FILE());\n      const priv = isPrivateChannel(i.channel);\n      const body = { type: i.msgType, from: pubkey, ts: new Date().toISOString(), ...i.payload };\n      let content: string;\n      if (priv) {\n        const entry = readStore()[i.channel];\n        if (!entry) throw new Error(`no key held for ${i.channel} — accept a grant first (x_federation_channel_accept)`);\n        content = t.nip44.v2.encrypt(JSON.stringify(body), Uint8Array.from(Buffer.from(entry.key, 'hex')));\n      } else { content = JSON.stringify(body); }\n      const tags = [['t', 'ruflo-swarm'], ['c', i.channel], ['k', priv ? 'enc' : i.msgType]];\n      const eventId = await relayCall(RELAY_WS(i.relayWs), sk, t.nt, (ws) => publishEvent(ws, t.nt, sk, tags, content));\n      return { ok: true, channel: i.channel, visibility: priv ? 'private' : 'public', encrypted: priv, eventId, pubkey };\n    },\n  },\n  {\n    name: 'x_federation_channel_read',\n    description: 'Read a channel and decrypt what your keys can open. Public messages come back as JSON; private ones are decrypted locally with the cached channel key, and anything you have no key for is returned as encrypted:true rather than silently dropped. Use when the channel is private: reading it through the gateway channel_sync tool is wrong there, because the gateway holds no key and can only hand you ciphertext.',\n    inputSchema: { type: 'object', properties: {\n      channel: { type: 'string', description: 'Channel id (pub:<name> or prv:<16 hex>).' },\n      sinceSeconds: { type: 'number', description: 'Look-back window (default 3600).' },\n      limit: { type: 'number', description: 'Max messages (default 100).' },\n      relayWs: { type: 'string', description: 'Relay URL; takes precedence over RUFLO_X_RELAY_WS.' },\n    }, required: ['channel'] },\n    handler: async (input) => {\n      const i = input as { channel: string; sinceSeconds?: number; limit?: number; relayWs?: string };","sourceCodeStart":185,"sourceCodeEnd":221,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/2602b642d92234c710ffbe96bfb33007d481ceab/v3/@claude-flow/cli/src/mcp-tools/x-federation-channels.ts#L185-L221","documentation":"When publishing to a private channel, the tool looks up the channel's key in the local store to encrypt the message with NIP-44. If no key entry exists (i.e., this node never created the channel or never accepted a grant), encryption is impossible and the handler throws before contacting the relay.","triggerScenarios":"Calling the publish tool with a prv:<16 hex> channel for which this node holds no key: the owner never granted access, the grant was accepted on another host/key file, or the local store was reset after accepting.","commonSituations":"Trying to post into a private channel you were told about but never ran accept for; switching machines or wiping ~/.ruflo so the accepted key vanished; store path overridden via RUFLO_NOSTR_KEY_FILE/env so the accept and the publish see different stores.","solutions":["Run x_federation_channel_accept with a valid grant code for that channel before publishing","Confirm you are publishing on the same host/key file where the grant was accepted (check RUFLO_NOSTR_KEY_FILE and store paths)","Verify the channel id matches the one the grant was issued for (16 hex after prv:)"],"exampleFix":"// before: publishing without a key\nawait publish({ channel: 'prv:0123456789abcdef', msgType: 'Task', payload: {} });\n// throws: no key held ... accept a grant first\n// after: accept the grant first\nawait acceptChannel({ code: 'v2.<grant-token>' });\nawait publish({ channel: 'prv:0123456789abcdef', msgType: 'Task', payload: {} });","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"const store = JSON.parse(await fs.readFile(STORE_PATH, 'utf8'));\nif (channel.startsWith('prv:') && !store[channel])\n  throw new Error(`accept a grant for ${channel} before publishing`);","typeGuard":"const canPublishPrivate = (store: Record<string, unknown>, ch: string): boolean =>\n  ch.startsWith('pub:') || Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(store, ch);","tryCatchPattern":"try {\n  await publish({ channel, msgType, payload });\n} catch (e) {\n  if (String(e.message).includes('accept a grant first')) {\n    await acceptChannel({ code: grantCode });\n    await publish({ channel, msgType, payload });\n  } else throw e;\n}","preventionTips":["Accept the grant on the same host and key file you publish from","Check for the channel key in the local store before sending on prv: channels","Keep ~/.ruflo backed up so accepted keys survive machine migrations"],"tags":["federation","nostr","state-error"],"backgroundTag":"record-not-found","analyzedSha":"2602b642d92234c710ffbe96bfb33007d481ceab","analyzedAt":"2026-09-15T22:58:14.805Z","contentChangedAt":"2026-09-15T22:58:14.805Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-23T08:17:48.524Z"}