payments
document
Payment System & Zaps
How zaps power tips and purchases without a payment processor.
Topics
payments
zaps
lightning
admin
document
Payment System & Zaps
pleb.school uses NIP-57 zaps for payments. Funds go directly to creators; the platform only verifies receipts.
Two payment modes
Tips
- Can be sent without a session if a signer is available
- Great for supporting free content
Purchases
- Require an authenticated session
- Unlocks content once verified receipts meet the price
- Supports partial payments and installment zaps
Claim behavior
- Auto-claim when receipts meet the price
- Manual "Unlock with past zaps" retry when needed
- Receipts are stored in the database for audit
Admin notes
- Database price is authoritative; Nostr price is a hint
- Receipts are verified for signature, invoice hash, amount, recipient, and event match
- If receipts only appear on non-configured relays, claims can fail until relays are updated
Payments stay peer-to-peer while entitlements remain reliable.