diff --git a/src/network/chat/NostrChatProvider.js b/src/network/chat/NostrChatProvider.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d8d472b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/network/chat/NostrChatProvider.js
@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+const ChatProvider = require('./ChatProvider');
+const { escapeChatText } = require('../../utils/escapeChat');
+
+/**
+ * NostrChatProvider — global cross-server chat over nostr, layered on the existing ChatProvider seam.
+ *
+ * It DECORATES a local provider (SocketChatProvider): every message is still delivered in-game +
+ * persisted exactly as before, and on top of that a global message is fanned out to nostr relays
+ * (relay.smirk.cash) so other game servers/modes see it. Messages arriving from the relay are
+ * delivered locally-only (never re-published), so there are no echo loops.
+ *
+ *   publish(local msg)  → local.publish (in-game + history)  +  sign & relay.publish (global fan-out)
+ *   relay event (remote)→ local.publish only (in-game + history), text/username escaped
+ *
+ * Topology: client → server → relay. The server stays the moderation authority (bans, rate-limit,
+ * history in Postgres via the local provider); the relay is transport + fan-out. Signing with a
+ * registered Smirk npub (the bridge key, or later each player's own) is what the relay's
+ * inbox-outbox policy requires to publish — so global chat is a concrete reason to sign in with Smirk.
+ *
+ * Behavior-preserving: with no transport/signer (nostr disabled) this is exactly the local provider.
+ */
+class NostrChatProvider extends ChatProvider {
+    constructor({
+        local,
+        transport = null,
+        signer = null,
+        scope = 'global',
+        channelTag = 'wowngeon-global',
+        kind = 1,
+        serverOrigin = null,
+        debugManager = null,
+        maxRemotePerMin = 120,
+        now = () => Date.now()
+    } = {}) {
+        super();
+        if (!local) throw new Error('NostrChatProvider requires a local provider');
+        this.local = local;
+        this.transport = transport;
+        this.signer = signer;
+        this.scope = scope;
+        this.channelTag = channelTag;
+        this.kind = kind;
+        this.serverOrigin = serverOrigin;
+        this.debugManager = debugManager;
+        this.maxRemotePerMin = maxRemotePerMin;
+        this.now = now;
+
+        this._seen = new Set();       // event ids we've delivered/published, for echo dedupe
+        this._seenOrder = [];         // bounded FIFO of the same ids
+        this._remoteTimes = [];       // recent remote-delivery timestamps (rate limit)
+    }
+
+    _globalEnabled() {
+        return this.scope === 'global' && !!this.transport;
+    }
+
+    async initialize() {
+        await this.local.initialize();
+        if (!this._globalEnabled()) return;
+        const since = Math.floor(this.now() / 1000);
+        // Only future messages — no history flood on connect (local history covers the past).
+        this.transport.subscribe([{ kinds: [this.kind], '#t': [this.channelTag], since }], (ev) => this._onRemote(ev));
+        if (this.debugManager?.CONSOLE_LOGGING) {
+            console.log(`[nostr] chat subscribed: tag=${this.channelTag} kind=${this.kind} publish=${this.signer ? 'on' : 'read-only'}`);
+        }
+    }
+
+    async publish(msg = {}) {
+        // 1) Always deliver + persist locally, exactly as before.
+        await this.local.publish(msg);
+
+        // 2) Fan out global messages to nostr (skip room-scoped and skip messages we received
+        //    from the relay, which arrive here only via local delivery — never through publish).
+        if (msg.remote || msg.scope !== 'global' || !this._globalEnabled() || !this.signer) return;
+        try {
+            const template = {
+                kind: this.kind,
+                created_at: Math.floor((msg.ts || this.now()) / 1000),
+                tags: [['t', this.channelTag], ['n', String(msg.username || '').slice(0, 32)]],
+                content: String(msg.text == null ? '' : msg.text)
+            };
+            if (this.serverOrigin) template.tags.push(['origin', String(this.serverOrigin)]);
+            const signed = this.signer.sign(template);
+            if (signed && signed.id) this._markSeen(signed.id); // our own echo will be ignored
+            await this.transport.publish(signed);
+        } catch (err) {
+            if (this.debugManager?.CONSOLE_LOGGING) console.error('[nostr] fan-out failed:', err.message);
+        }
+    }
+
+    // A message arriving from the relay: deliver locally only (no re-publish → no loop).
+    _onRemote(event) {
+        if (!event || typeof event !== 'object') return;
+        if (typeof event.content !== 'string' || !Array.isArray(event.tags)) return;
+        // Ours (echo) or already seen → drop.
+        if (this.signer && event.pubkey === this.signer.pubkey) return;
+        if (event.id && !this._markSeen(event.id)) return;
+        // Rate-limit remote delivery so a hostile relay can't flood in-game clients.
+        if (!this._allowRemote()) return;
+
+        const nTag = event.tags.find(t => Array.isArray(t) && t[0] === 'n');
+        const rawName = (nTag && nTag[1]) || (typeof event.pubkey === 'string' ? event.pubkey.slice(0, 8) : 'nostr');
+        const username = escapeChatText(rawName, 32) || 'nostr';
+        const text = escapeChatText(event.content, 200);
+        const ts = Number.isFinite(event.created_at) ? event.created_at * 1000 : this.now();
+
+        // remote:true prevents re-fan-out; local.publish delivers to in-game clients + persists.
+        this.local.publish({ scope: 'global', username, text, ts, userId: null, remote: true })
+            .catch(err => console.error('[nostr] local deliver of remote failed:', err.message));
+    }
+
+    _allowRemote() {
+        const cutoff = this.now() - 60000;
+        this._remoteTimes = this._remoteTimes.filter(t => t >= cutoff);
+        if (this._remoteTimes.length >= this.maxRemotePerMin) return false;
+        this._remoteTimes.push(this.now());
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    // Returns true if the id is new (and records it); false if already seen. Bounded FIFO.
+    _markSeen(id) {
+        if (this._seen.has(id)) return false;
+        this._seen.add(id);
+        this._seenOrder.push(id);
+        if (this._seenOrder.length > 1000) {
+            const old = this._seenOrder.shift();
+            this._seen.delete(old);
+        }
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    async getHistory(opts) {
+        return this.local.getHistory(opts);
+    }
+
+    async shutdown() {
+        try { if (this.transport) this.transport.close(); } catch (_) {}
+        await this.local.shutdown();
+    }
+}
+
+module.exports = NostrChatProvider;
diff --git a/src/network/chat/index.js b/src/network/chat/index.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b184291
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/network/chat/index.js
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+const NostrChatProvider = require('./NostrChatProvider');
+const NostrTransport = require('./nostr/NostrTransport');
+const { createBridgeSigner } = require('./nostr/bridgeSigner');
+
+function parseBool(v) {
+    if (v == null) return false;
+    return ['1', 'true', 'yes', 'on'].includes(String(v).trim().toLowerCase());
+}
+
+/**
+ * Build the chat provider for the given local (in-game) provider. Single opt-in seam for Pillar 5.
+ *
+ * Behavior-preserving: with NOSTR_CHAT_ENABLED unset (today) the plain local provider is returned
+ * unchanged. Enable to layer global cross-server chat over nostr:
+ *   NOSTR_CHAT_ENABLED=true
+ *   NOSTR_CHAT_SCOPE=global|local   (local == plain local chat; global fans out over relays)
+ *   NOSTR_RELAYS=wss://relay.smirk.cash[,...]
+ *   NOSTR_CHAT_TAG=wowngeon-global  (the shared channel topic)
+ *   NOSTR_CHAT_KIND=1
+ *   NOSTR_BRIDGE_SK=<nsec|hex>      (server bridge key; must be a registered Smirk npub to publish.
+ *                                    Omit → receive-only global chat.)
+ */
+function buildChatProvider({ local, env = process.env, debugManager = null } = {}) {
+    if (!local) throw new Error('buildChatProvider requires a local provider');
+    if (!parseBool(env.NOSTR_CHAT_ENABLED)) return local;
+
+    const scope = (env.NOSTR_CHAT_SCOPE || 'global').toLowerCase();
+    if (scope !== 'global') return local; // local-only is exactly the plain provider
+
+    const relays = (env.NOSTR_RELAYS || 'wss://relay.smirk.cash').split(',').map(s => s.trim()).filter(Boolean);
+    const transport = new NostrTransport({ relays, debugManager });
+    const signer = createBridgeSigner(env.NOSTR_BRIDGE_SK);
+
+    return new NostrChatProvider({
+        local,
+        transport,
+        signer,
+        scope: 'global',
+        channelTag: env.NOSTR_CHAT_TAG || 'wowngeon-global',
+        kind: parseInt(env.NOSTR_CHAT_KIND || '1', 10) || 1,
+        serverOrigin: env.NOSTR_SERVER_ORIGIN || env.SERVER_ID || null,
+        debugManager
+    });
+}
+
+module.exports = { buildChatProvider, NostrChatProvider, NostrTransport };
diff --git a/src/network/chat/nostr/NostrTransport.js b/src/network/chat/nostr/NostrTransport.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ff03b94
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/network/chat/nostr/NostrTransport.js
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+const { loadNostrTools } = require('../../../utils/nostrLoader');
+
+/**
+ * Thin transport over nostr-tools SimplePool: connect to relays, publish signed events, subscribe
+ * to filters. Isolated behind this class so NostrChatProvider can be unit-tested with a fake
+ * transport (no network). Degrades to a warn-and-noop if nostr-tools/ws can't load, so enabling
+ * chat can never crash the server.
+ *
+ * Reading (REQ/subscribe) is open on relay.smirk.cash; only publishing is policy-gated.
+ */
+class NostrTransport {
+    constructor({ relays = ['wss://relay.smirk.cash'], debugManager = null } = {}) {
+        this.relays = Array.isArray(relays) ? relays.filter(Boolean) : [];
+        this.debugManager = debugManager;
+        this.pool = null;
+        this._sub = null;
+        this._ok = false;
+    }
+
+    connect() {
+        if (this.pool || !this.relays.length) return this._ok;
+        try {
+            const tools = loadNostrTools();
+            if (typeof tools.useWebSocketImplementation === 'function') {
+                try { tools.useWebSocketImplementation(require('ws')); } catch (_) { /* browser/global WS */ }
+            }
+            this.pool = new tools.SimplePool();
+            this._ok = true;
+        } catch (err) {
+            console.error('[nostr] transport disabled (nostr-tools/ws unavailable):', err.message);
+            this._ok = false;
+        }
+        return this._ok;
+    }
+
+    async publish(signedEvent) {
+        if (!this.connect()) return;
+        try {
+            await Promise.any(this.pool.publish(this.relays, signedEvent));
+        } catch (err) {
+            if (this.debugManager?.CONSOLE_LOGGING) console.error('[nostr] publish failed:', err?.message || err);
+        }
+    }
+
+    subscribe(filters, onEvent) {
+        if (!this.connect()) return;
+        try {
+            this._sub = this.pool.subscribeMany(this.relays, filters, {
+                onevent: (ev) => { try { onEvent(ev); } catch (e) { console.error('[nostr] onEvent error:', e.message); } }
+            });
+        } catch (err) {
+            console.error('[nostr] subscribe failed:', err.message);
+        }
+    }
+
+    close() {
+        try { if (this._sub && typeof this._sub.close === 'function') this._sub.close(); } catch (_) {}
+        try { if (this.pool && typeof this.pool.close === 'function') this.pool.close(this.relays); } catch (_) {}
+        this._sub = null;
+        this.pool = null;
+        this._ok = false;
+    }
+}
+
+module.exports = NostrTransport;
diff --git a/src/network/chat/nostr/bridgeSigner.js b/src/network/chat/nostr/bridgeSigner.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d65f314
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/network/chat/nostr/bridgeSigner.js
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+const { loadNostrTools } = require('../../../utils/nostrLoader');
+
+/**
+ * A signer produces signed nostr events for outbound chat. Contract:
+ *   { pubkey: <64-hex x-only>, sign(template) -> signedEvent }   (template: {kind, created_at, tags, content})
+ *
+ * createBridgeSigner builds a SERVER bridge signer from a secret key (hex or nsec). This is the
+ * drop-in model: the game server signs cross-server chat with one key. For global chat to be
+ * ACCEPTED by relay.smirk.cash (default `inbox-outbox` policy → only registered npubs may publish),
+ * this bridge pubkey must be registered as a Smirk npub (an ops step, like the BTCPay API key).
+ * A future upgrade signs per-message with each player's OWN Smirk npub (window.smirk.signNostrEvent)
+ * so chat identity == wallet identity cryptographically — the provider stays signer-agnostic, so
+ * that path only swaps the signer.
+ *
+ * Returns null when no key is configured → outbound nostr disabled (the provider still receives).
+ */
+function createBridgeSigner(secret) {
+    if (!secret) return null;
+    let tools, sk, pubkey;
+    try {
+        tools = loadNostrTools();
+        sk = normalizeSecret(secret, tools);
+        pubkey = tools.getPublicKey(sk);
+    } catch (err) {
+        console.error('[nostr] bridge signer disabled — bad NOSTR_BRIDGE_SK:', err.message);
+        return null;
+    }
+    return {
+        pubkey,
+        sign(template) {
+            // finalizeEvent fills pubkey/id/sig and stamps created_at if absent.
+            return tools.finalizeEvent(
+                {
+                    kind: template.kind,
+                    created_at: template.created_at || Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
+                    tags: template.tags || [],
+                    content: template.content || ''
+                },
+                sk
+            );
+        }
+    };
+}
+
+// Accept an nsec bech32 or a 64-hex string; return the Uint8Array secret nostr-tools expects.
+function normalizeSecret(secret, tools) {
+    const s = String(secret).trim();
+    if (s.startsWith('nsec1')) {
+        const dec = tools.nip19.decode(s);
+        if (dec.type !== 'nsec') throw new Error('not an nsec');
+        return dec.data; // Uint8Array
+    }
+    if (/^[0-9a-fA-F]{64}$/.test(s)) {
+        const bytes = new Uint8Array(32);
+        for (let i = 0; i < 32; i++) bytes[i] = parseInt(s.substr(i * 2, 2), 16);
+        return bytes;
+    }
+    throw new Error('expected nsec or 64-hex secret key');
+}
+
+module.exports = { createBridgeSigner };
diff --git a/src/network/chatHandler.js b/src/network/chatHandler.js
index 666a0d8..6c05542 100644
--- a/src/network/chatHandler.js
+++ b/src/network/chatHandler.js
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 const ChatHistoryManager = require('./chatHistoryManager');
 const SocketChatProvider = require('./chat/SocketChatProvider');
+const { buildChatProvider } = require('./chat');
 const { clientIp, stableId } = require('./rateLimitContext');
 
 class ChatHandler {
@@ -25,16 +26,18 @@ class ChatHandler {
             maxHistoryMessages: 50
         });
 
-        // Chat delivery + history go through a ChatProvider seam so the backend is swappable
-        // (e.g. a Nostr channel later). The default provider shares the ChatHistoryManager
-        // instance above, so ban checks / stats that read this.chatHistory keep working and
-        // lifecycle (initialize/shutdown) stays owned here.
-        this.chatProvider = new SocketChatProvider({
+        // Chat delivery + history go through a ChatProvider seam so the backend is swappable.
+        // The local provider shares the ChatHistoryManager instance above, so ban checks / stats
+        // that read this.chatHistory keep working and lifecycle stays owned here. buildChatProvider
+        // optionally wraps it with a NostrChatProvider for global cross-server chat (Pillar 5) when
+        // NOSTR_CHAT_ENABLED is set; otherwise it returns this local provider unchanged.
+        const localChatProvider = new SocketChatProvider({
             io: this.io,
             broadcastManager: this.broadcastManager,
             debugManager: this.debugManager,
             historyManager: this.chatHistory
         });
+        this.chatProvider = buildChatProvider({ local: localChatProvider, debugManager: this.debugManager });
 
         // Memory leak prevention - cleanup old timestamps
         this._chatLastSent = new Map();
@@ -48,6 +51,11 @@ class ChatHandler {
      */
     async initialize() {
         await this.chatHistory.initialize();
+        // Lets a NostrChatProvider connect + subscribe to the relay. No-op for the plain local
+        // provider (history is already initialized above and injected, not owned by the provider).
+        if (this.chatProvider && typeof this.chatProvider.initialize === 'function') {
+            await this.chatProvider.initialize();
+        }
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/utils/escapeChat.js b/src/utils/escapeChat.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9ce3839
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/escapeChat.js
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+/**
+ * HTML-entity escape + length cap for chat text. Mirrors the inline escaping ChatHandler applies
+ * to local messages, so untrusted remote (nostr) messages are sanitized identically before they
+ * are delivered to browsers. Escaping is the caller's job per the ChatProvider contract — remote
+ * events have no trusted caller, so the NostrChatProvider applies this.
+ */
+const DEFAULT_MAX = 200;
+
+function escapeChatText(input, maxLen = DEFAULT_MAX) {
+    return String(input == null ? '' : input)
+        .replace(/&/g, '&amp;')
+        .replace(/</g, '&lt;')
+        .replace(/>/g, '&gt;')
+        .replace(/"/g, '&quot;')
+        .replace(/'/g, '&#39;')
+        .slice(0, maxLen);
+}
+
+module.exports = { escapeChatText, DEFAULT_MAX };
diff --git a/src/utils/nostrLoader.js b/src/utils/nostrLoader.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2dcbc89
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/nostrLoader.js
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+/**
+ * Load nostr-tools in a way that works in BOTH runtimes (see the same shim in utils/nip98.js):
+ *   - Production (plain Node >=22): a normal require() succeeds — Node natively require()s
+ *     nostr-tools' ESM-only transitive deps (@noble/*).
+ *   - A CJS-only test runtime (Jest without --experimental-vm-modules) cannot parse those ESM
+ *     deps, so we fall back to nostr-tools' pre-bundled self-contained IIFE build.
+ * Same public API either way. Shared so chat + auth load nostr identically.
+ */
+function loadNostrTools() {
+    try {
+        return require('nostr-tools');
+    } catch (_e) {
+        const fs = require('fs');
+        const path = require('path');
+        const cjsIndex = require.resolve('nostr-tools');
+        const bundlePath = path.join(path.dirname(cjsIndex), '..', 'nostr.bundle.js');
+        const src = fs.readFileSync(bundlePath, 'utf8');
+        // eslint-disable-next-line no-new-func
+        return new Function(`${src}\nreturn NostrTools;`)();
+    }
+}
+
+module.exports = { loadNostrTools };
diff --git a/test/nostrChatProvider_ultra.test.js b/test/nostrChatProvider_ultra.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7ab5315
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/nostrChatProvider_ultra.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,128 @@
+/**
+ * Pillar 5 — global cross-server chat over nostr, layered on the ChatProvider seam.
+ */
+const NostrChatProvider = require('../src/network/chat/NostrChatProvider');
+const { buildChatProvider } = require('../src/network/chat');
+const { createBridgeSigner } = require('../src/network/chat/nostr/bridgeSigner');
+const { loadNostrTools } = require('../src/utils/nostrLoader');
+
+function fakeLocal() {
+    return {
+        initialize: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(),
+        publish: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(),
+        getHistory: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(['history']),
+        shutdown: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue()
+    };
+}
+function fakeTransport() {
+    return {
+        publish: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(),
+        subscribe: jest.fn(function (filters, onEvent) { this.filters = filters; this.onEvent = onEvent; }),
+        close: jest.fn()
+    };
+}
+let _n = 0;
+function fakeSigner(pubkey = 'ab'.repeat(32)) {
+    return { pubkey, sign: (tpl) => ({ ...tpl, id: `evt-${++_n}`, pubkey, sig: 'sig' }) };
+}
+
+describe('NostrChatProvider decorates the local provider', () => {
+    test('publish always delivers locally; getHistory/shutdown delegate', async () => {
+        const local = fakeLocal();
+        const p = new NostrChatProvider({ local }); // no transport/signer
+        await p.publish({ scope: 'global', username: 'bob', text: 'hi' });
+        expect(local.publish).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.objectContaining({ text: 'hi' }));
+        expect(await p.getHistory({ scope: 'global' })).toEqual(['history']);
+        await p.shutdown();
+        expect(local.shutdown).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+
+    test('global message is signed and fanned out to the relay', async () => {
+        const local = fakeLocal(), transport = fakeTransport(), signer = fakeSigner();
+        const p = new NostrChatProvider({ local, transport, signer, channelTag: 'wowngeon-global', kind: 1 });
+        await p.publish({ scope: 'global', username: 'bob', text: 'gm', ts: 1_700_000_000_000 });
+
+        expect(local.publish).toHaveBeenCalled();
+        expect(transport.publish).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+        const ev = transport.publish.mock.calls[0][0];
+        expect(ev.kind).toBe(1);
+        expect(ev.content).toBe('gm');
+        expect(ev.tags).toEqual(expect.arrayContaining([['t', 'wowngeon-global'], ['n', 'bob']]));
+        expect(ev.created_at).toBe(1_700_000_000); // ms -> s
+    });
+
+    test('room-scoped and remote messages are NOT fanned out', async () => {
+        const local = fakeLocal(), transport = fakeTransport(), signer = fakeSigner();
+        const p = new NostrChatProvider({ local, transport, signer });
+        await p.publish({ scope: 'tavern:1', username: 'x', text: 'local only' });
+        await p.publish({ scope: 'global', username: 'x', text: 'echo', remote: true });
+        expect(local.publish).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+        expect(transport.publish).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+});
+
+describe('NostrChatProvider receives remote messages', () => {
+    function connected() {
+        const local = fakeLocal(), transport = fakeTransport(), signer = fakeSigner();
+        const p = new NostrChatProvider({ local, transport, signer, now: () => 1_700_000_000_000 });
+        return { local, transport, signer, p };
+    }
+
+    test('a remote event is delivered locally-only, escaped, never re-published', async () => {
+        const { local, transport, p } = connected();
+        await p.initialize();
+        expect(transport.subscribe).toHaveBeenCalled();
+        p.onEvent = transport.onEvent; // convenience
+        transport.onEvent({ id: 'r1', pubkey: 'cc'.repeat(32), created_at: 1_700_000_000, content: '<b>hi</b>', tags: [['t', 'wowngeon-global'], ['n', 'alice']] });
+
+        expect(local.publish).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.objectContaining({
+            scope: 'global', username: 'alice', text: '&lt;b&gt;hi&lt;/b&gt;', remote: true
+        }));
+        expect(transport.publish).not.toHaveBeenCalled(); // no echo loop
+    });
+
+    test('our own echoes and duplicate ids are dropped', async () => {
+        const { local, transport, signer, p } = connected();
+        await p.initialize();
+        transport.onEvent({ id: 'mine', pubkey: signer.pubkey, content: 'x', tags: [] }); // our pubkey -> drop
+        transport.onEvent({ id: 'dup', pubkey: 'cc'.repeat(32), content: 'first', tags: [] });
+        transport.onEvent({ id: 'dup', pubkey: 'cc'.repeat(32), content: 'again', tags: [] }); // same id -> drop
+        expect(local.publish).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+
+    test('remote delivery is rate-limited', async () => {
+        const local = fakeLocal(), transport = fakeTransport();
+        const p = new NostrChatProvider({ local, transport, signer: fakeSigner(), maxRemotePerMin: 2, now: () => 1000 });
+        await p.initialize();
+        for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) transport.onEvent({ id: `x${i}`, pubkey: 'dd'.repeat(32), content: 'spam', tags: [] });
+        expect(local.publish).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2); // capped
+    });
+});
+
+describe('buildChatProvider (opt-in seam)', () => {
+    const local = fakeLocal();
+    test('disabled -> returns the local provider unchanged (behavior-preserving)', () => {
+        expect(buildChatProvider({ local, env: {} })).toBe(local);
+    });
+    test('scope=local -> returns the plain local provider', () => {
+        expect(buildChatProvider({ local, env: { NOSTR_CHAT_ENABLED: 'true', NOSTR_CHAT_SCOPE: 'local' } })).toBe(local);
+    });
+    test('scope=global -> wraps in a NostrChatProvider', () => {
+        const p = buildChatProvider({ local, env: { NOSTR_CHAT_ENABLED: 'true', NOSTR_RELAYS: 'wss://relay.smirk.cash' } });
+        expect(p).toBeInstanceOf(NostrChatProvider);
+    });
+});
+
+describe('bridge signer (real nostr-tools round-trip)', () => {
+    test('null key -> no signer; a real key signs a verifiable event', () => {
+        expect(createBridgeSigner(null)).toBeNull();
+        const tools = loadNostrTools();
+        const sk = tools.generateSecretKey();
+        const hex = Buffer.from(sk).toString('hex');
+        const signer = createBridgeSigner(hex);
+        expect(signer.pubkey).toBe(tools.getPublicKey(sk));
+        const ev = signer.sign({ kind: 1, tags: [['t', 'wowngeon-global']], content: 'hello' });
+        expect(tools.verifyEvent(ev)).toBe(true);
+        expect(ev.content).toBe('hello');
+    });
+});