tighten relay selection

src/components/MetadataRelaysOnlySetting/index.tsx

@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 import { Label } from '@/components/ui/label'
 import { Switch } from '@/components/ui/switch'
+import { METADATA_RELAYS_ONLY_POLICY_CHANGED_EVENT, setRestrictConnectionsToMetadataRelaysOnly } from '@/lib/read-only-relay-personal'
 import client from '@/services/client.service'
 import storage from '@/services/local-storage.service'
-import { setRestrictConnectionsToMetadataRelaysOnly } from '@/lib/read-only-relay-personal'
 import { useEffect, useState } from 'react'
 import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next'
 
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ export default function MetadataRelaysOnlySetting() {
     setRestrictConnectionsToMetadataRelaysOnly(checked)
     client.interruptBackgroundQueries({ closePooledRelayConnections: true })
     client.closeMetadataPolicyDisallowedRelayConnections()
+    window.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent(METADATA_RELAYS_ONLY_POLICY_CHANGED_EVENT))
   }
 
   return (
@@ -32,7 +33,7 @@ export default function MetadataRelaysOnlySetting() {
       </div>
       <div className="text-muted-foreground text-xs max-w-xl">
         {t(
-          'When on, the app only opens read connections to relays on your Read & Write, Favorite, Cache, and HTTP relay lists. Publishing is unchanged. Relay explore and Search pages are exempt.'
+          'When on (default), the app only opens read connections to relays on your Read & Write, Favorite, Cache, and HTTP relay lists, plus hard-coded relays only while a query or subscription needs them. Publishing is unchanged. Relay explore and Search pages are exempt.'
         )}
       </div>
     </div>

src/components/NormalFeed/index.tsx

@@ -100,6 +100,8 @@ const NormalFeed = forwardRef<TNoteListRef, {
   hostPrimaryPageName?: TPrimaryPageName
   /** Single-relay kindless wave EOSEd with no events: parent re-subscribes with explicit kinds. */
   onSingleRelayKindlessEmpty?: () => void
+  /** Relay explore: explicit kinds EOSEd empty — parent widens to kindless `{ limit }` once. */
+  onSingleRelayBrowseEmpty?: () => void
   /** Shown above the feed list (e.g. after kindless→kinds fallback on a single-relay chip). */
   feedTopNotice?: ReactNode
   /** Passed through to {@link NoteList} (d-tag browse one-shot). */
@@ -151,6 +153,7 @@ const NormalFeed = forwardRef<TNoteListRef, {
     showFeedClientFilter: showFeedClientFilterProp,
     hostPrimaryPageName,
     onSingleRelayKindlessEmpty,
+    onSingleRelayBrowseEmpty,
     feedTopNotice,
     oneShotFetch = false,
     progressiveWarmupQuery,
@@ -412,6 +415,7 @@ const NormalFeed = forwardRef<TNoteListRef, {
           hostPrimaryPageName={hostPrimaryPageName}
           feedClientFilterTabRowHost={mergeFilterWithTabsRow ? feedFilterTabRowHost : undefined}
           onSingleRelayKindlessEmpty={onSingleRelayKindlessEmpty}
+          onSingleRelayBrowseEmpty={onSingleRelayBrowseEmpty}
           feedTopNotice={feedTopNotice}
           oneShotFetch={oneShotFetch}
           progressiveWarmupQuery={progressiveWarmupQuery}

src/components/NoteList/index.tsx

@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ import {
   isSpellSubRequestsSameFiltersDifferentRelays
 } from '@/lib/spell-feed-request-identity'
 import logger from '@/lib/logger'
+import { isMetadataRelaysOnlyPolicyActive } from '@/lib/read-only-relay-personal'
 import { eventSeenOnMatchesAllowlist } from '@/lib/relay-allowlist'
 import { uniqueRelayUrlsFromSubRequests } from '@/lib/feed-relay-urls'
 import { isLocalNetworkUrl, normalizeAnyRelayUrl, normalizeUrl } from '@/lib/url'
@@ -781,6 +782,7 @@ const NoteList = forwardRef(
        */
       feedClientFilterTabRowHost,
       onSingleRelayKindlessEmpty,
+      onSingleRelayBrowseEmpty,
       feedTopNotice,
       gridLayout = false,
       /**
@@ -855,6 +857,8 @@ const NoteList = forwardRef(
       feedClientFilterTabRowHost?: HTMLElement | null
       /** Single-relay kindless: if EOSE with no events, parent switches to explicit kinds in `subRequests`. */
       onSingleRelayKindlessEmpty?: () => void
+      /** Relay explore: explicit kinds EOSE empty — parent retries kindless `{ limit }` once. */
+      onSingleRelayBrowseEmpty?: () => void
       /** Optional banner above the feed (e.g. kindless→kinds fallback). */
       feedTopNotice?: ReactNode
       /** When true, render events as an Instagram-style 3-column square media grid. */
@@ -946,8 +950,11 @@ const NoteList = forwardRef(
     const feedRelayReturnedAnyEventRef = useRef(false)
     /** One-shot per timeline init: avoid double-calling parent fallback (Strict Mode / duplicate EOSE). */
     const singleRelayKindlessFallbackAttemptedRef = useRef(false)
+    const singleRelayBrowseFallbackAttemptedRef = useRef(false)
     const onSingleRelayKindlessEmptyRef = useRef(onSingleRelayKindlessEmpty)
     onSingleRelayKindlessEmptyRef.current = onSingleRelayKindlessEmpty
+    const onSingleRelayBrowseEmptyRef = useRef(onSingleRelayBrowseEmpty)
+    onSingleRelayBrowseEmptyRef.current = onSingleRelayBrowseEmpty
     /** Timeout handle for kindless EOSE fallback; cleared when EOSE arrives or effect tears down. */
     const kindlessEoseTimeoutRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null>(null)
     /** Dedupe {@link toast.error} when relays return nothing for a feed load. */
@@ -2250,6 +2257,7 @@ const NoteList = forwardRef(
           feedPaintLiveRelayDoneRef.current = false
           feedRelayReturnedAnyEventRef.current = false
           singleRelayKindlessFallbackAttemptedRef.current = false
+          singleRelayBrowseFallbackAttemptedRef.current = false
         }
 
         // Re-subscribe with rows visible (e.g. relay URL expansion): don't flash global loading / skeleton.
@@ -2293,6 +2301,14 @@ const NoteList = forwardRef(
           if (useFilterAsIs && allowKindlessRelayExplore && urls.length === 1) {
             return false
           }
+          if (
+            useFilterAsIs &&
+            urls.length === 1 &&
+            relayAuthoritativeFeedOnlyRef.current &&
+            hostPrimaryPageNameRef.current === 'relay'
+          ) {
+            return false
+          }
           return true
         })
         if (invalidFilters.length > 0) {
@@ -3401,6 +3417,28 @@ const NoteList = forwardRef(
                   }
                 }
 
+                // Relay explore: explicit kinds returned nothing — parent retries kindless once.
+                if (
+                  eosed &&
+                  effectActive &&
+                  onSingleRelayBrowseEmptyRef.current &&
+                  !singleRelayBrowseFallbackAttemptedRef.current &&
+                  !feedRelayReturnedAnyEventRef.current &&
+                  relayAuthoritativeFeedOnlyRef.current &&
+                  hostPrimaryPageNameRef.current === 'relay'
+                ) {
+                  const reqs = subRequestsRef.current
+                  const f0 = reqs[0]
+                  if (reqs.length === 1 && f0 && f0.urls.length === 1) {
+                    const f = f0.filter as Filter
+                    const hasKinds = Array.isArray(f.kinds) && f.kinds.length > 0
+                    if (hasKinds) {
+                      singleRelayBrowseFallbackAttemptedRef.current = true
+                      onSingleRelayBrowseEmptyRef.current()
+                    }
+                  }
+                }
+
                 if (
                   effectActive &&
                   eosed &&
@@ -3960,6 +3998,7 @@ const NoteList = forwardRef(
     useEffect(() => {
       if (relayAuthoritativeFeedOnly) return
       if (!timelinePublicReadFallback) return
+      if (isMetadataRelaysOnlyPolicyActive()) return
       if (feedSubscriptionKey === 'home-all-favorites') return
       if (oneShotFetch || areAlgoRelays) return
       if (!navigator.onLine) return

src/components/Relay/index.tsx

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import NormalFeed from '@/components/NormalFeed'
 import type { TNoteListRef } from '@/components/NoteList'
 import RelayInfo from '@/components/RelayInfo'
 import SearchInput from '@/components/SearchInput'
-import { useBypassMetadataRelaysOnlyPolicy, useFetchRelayInfo } from '@/hooks'
+import { useFetchRelayInfo, useRelayPageFeedPolicy } from '@/hooks'
 import type { TPrimaryPageName } from '@/PageManager'
 import { SINGLE_RELAY_KINDLESS_REQ_LIMIT } from '@/constants'
 import { canonicalRelaySessionKey, isLocalNetworkUrl, normalizeRelayUrlForPage } from '@/lib/url'
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import { forwardRef, useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState } from 'r
 import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next'
 import { AlexandriaEventsSearchEmptyCta } from '@/components/AlexandriaEventsSearchEmptyCta'
 import { buildAlexandriaEventsSearchUrlFromNotesQuery } from '@/lib/alexandria-events-search-url'
+import { kindsForSingleRelayBrowse } from '@/lib/single-relay-browse-kinds'
 import { stableFeedKindKey } from '@/features/feed/descriptor'
 import NotFound from '../NotFound'
 
@@ -32,13 +33,15 @@ const Relay = forwardRef<
   ref
 ) {
   const { t } = useTranslation()
-  useBypassMetadataRelaysOnlyPolicy()
+  useRelayPageFeedPolicy()
   const { addRelayUrls, removeRelayUrls } = useCurrentRelays()
   const { showKinds } = useKindFilterOrDefaults()
   const normalizedUrl = useMemo(() => (url ? normalizeRelayUrlForPage(url) : undefined), [url])
   const { relayInfo } = useFetchRelayInfo(normalizedUrl)
   const [searchInput, setSearchInput] = useState('')
   const [debouncedInput, setDebouncedInput] = useState(searchInput)
+  /** After explicit-kinds REQ EOSEs empty, retry kindless `{ limit }` once (document/specialty relays). */
+  const [kindlessBrowseFallback, setKindlessBrowseFallback] = useState(false)
   const internalNoteListRef = useRef<TNoteListRef>(null)
   const noteListRef = ref ?? internalNoteListRef
 
@@ -81,13 +84,21 @@ const Relay = forwardRef<
     }
   }, [normalizedUrl, noteListRef])
 
+  useEffect(() => {
+    setKindlessBrowseFallback(false)
+  }, [normalizedUrl])
+
   /** Default browse: explicit kinds (many strfry / small relays never return a useful kindless global REQ). */
   const relayBrowseKindsKey = useMemo(() => stableFeedKindKey(showKinds), [showKinds])
   const relayBrowseKinds = useMemo(
-    () => (showKinds.length > 0 ? showKinds : [kinds.ShortTextNote]),
-    [relayBrowseKindsKey, showKinds]
+    () => (normalizedUrl ? kindsForSingleRelayBrowse(normalizedUrl, showKinds) : [kinds.ShortTextNote]),
+    [relayBrowseKindsKey, showKinds, normalizedUrl]
   )
 
+  const onSingleRelayBrowseEmpty = useCallback(() => {
+    setKindlessBrowseFallback(true)
+  }, [])
+
   const relayFeedSubRequests = useMemo<TFeedSubRequest[]>(() => {
     if (!normalizedUrl) return []
     const q = debouncedInput.trim()
@@ -99,13 +110,21 @@ const Relay = forwardRef<
         }
       ]
     }
+    if (kindlessBrowseFallback) {
+      return [
+        {
+          urls: [normalizedUrl],
+          filter: { limit: SINGLE_RELAY_KINDLESS_REQ_LIMIT }
+        }
+      ]
+    }
     return [
       {
         urls: [normalizedUrl],
         filter: { kinds: [...relayBrowseKinds], limit: SINGLE_RELAY_KINDLESS_REQ_LIMIT }
       }
     ]
-  }, [normalizedUrl, debouncedInput, relayBrowseKindsKey])
+  }, [normalizedUrl, debouncedInput, relayBrowseKindsKey, kindlessBrowseFallback])
 
   const allowKindlessRelayExplore = debouncedInput.trim().length > 0
 
@@ -116,7 +135,7 @@ const Relay = forwardRef<
   )
   const shouldHideEventNotFromThisRelay = useCallback(
     (ev: Event) => {
-      if (hostPrimaryPageName === 'relay' || allowKindlessRelayExplore) {
+      if (allowKindlessRelayExplore) {
         return false
       }
       if (!relaySeenMatchKey) return false
@@ -127,7 +146,7 @@ const Relay = forwardRef<
       if (seen.length === 0) return false
       return !seen.some((u) => canonicalRelaySessionKey(u) === relaySeenMatchKey)
     },
-    [relaySeenMatchKey, normalizedUrl, hostPrimaryPageName, allowKindlessRelayExplore]
+    [relaySeenMatchKey, normalizedUrl, allowKindlessRelayExplore]
   )
 
   const alexandriaFeedEmptyUrl = useMemo(() => {
@@ -168,6 +187,7 @@ const Relay = forwardRef<
         extraShouldHideEvent={shouldHideEventNotFromThisRelay}
         extraShouldHideRepliesEvent={shouldHideEventNotFromThisRelay}
         relayAuthoritativeFeedOnly
+        onSingleRelayBrowseEmpty={onSingleRelayBrowseEmpty}
         alexandriaEmptyUrl={alexandriaFeedEmptyUrl}
       />
     </div>

src/constants.ts

@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ export const RELAY_SLOW_PARK_SIGNALS_THRESHOLD = 2
 export const RELAY_SLOW_PARK_COOLDOWN_MS = 5 * 60 * 1000
 
 /** Close pooled WebSocket when no SUBs and no pool activity for this long (see {@link initRelayPoolIdle}). */
-export const RELAY_POOL_SOCKET_IDLE_MS = 90_000
+export const RELAY_POOL_SOCKET_IDLE_MS = 15_000
 /** How often to scan for idle relay sockets. */
 export const RELAY_POOL_IDLE_SWEEP_INTERVAL_MS = 45_000
 
@@ -510,7 +510,8 @@ export const FAST_WRITE_RELAY_URLS = [
   'wss://relay.damus.io',
   'wss://relay.primal.net',
   'wss://thecitadel.nostr1.com',
-  'wss://nos.lol'
+  'wss://nos.lol',
+  'wss://relay.layer.systems'
 ]
 
 /**

src/hooks/index.tsx

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 export * from './useBypassMetadataRelaysOnlyPolicy'
+export * from './useRelayPageFeedPolicy'
 export * from './useNearViewport'
 export * from './useFetchCalendarRsvps'
 export * from './useFetchEvent'

src/hooks/useRelayPageFeedPolicy.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+import {
+  enterMetadataRelaysOnlyBypass,
+  enterSingleRelayExplicitBrowse,
+  leaveMetadataRelaysOnlyBypass,
+  leaveSingleRelayExplicitBrowse
+} from '@/lib/read-only-relay-personal'
+import { useEffect } from 'react'
+
+/** Relay detail feed: bypass metadata-only narrowing, user blocks, and session strikes for the page relay. */
+export function useRelayPageFeedPolicy(): void {
+  useEffect(() => {
+    enterMetadataRelaysOnlyBypass()
+    enterSingleRelayExplicitBrowse()
+    return () => {
+      leaveSingleRelayExplicitBrowse()
+      leaveMetadataRelaysOnlyBypass()
+    }
+  }, [])
+}

src/lib/account-list-relay-urls.ts

@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ export async function buildAccountListRelayUrlsForMerge(options: {
     blockedRelays,
     maxRelays: 100,
     applySocialKindBlockedFilter: false,
-    includeGlobalFastRead: useGlobal
+    includeGlobalFastRead: useGlobal && viewerIncludeGlobalFastReadRelayLayer()
   })
   const write = buildPrioritizedWriteRelayUrls({
     userWriteRelays: writeOutboxes,
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ export async function buildAccountListRelayUrlsForMerge(options: {
     blockedRelays,
     maxRelays: 100,
     applySocialKindBlockedFilter: false,
-    includeGlobalFastWriteReadTails: useGlobal
+    includeGlobalFastWriteReadTails: useGlobal && viewerIncludeGlobalFastWriteRelayLayer()
   })
   const merged = [...read, ...write]
   return [...new Set(merged.map((u) => normalizeRelayUrlByScheme(u) || u).filter(Boolean))]

src/lib/favorites-feed-relays.ts

@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import { feedRelayPolicyUrls, type FeedRelayLayer } from '@/features/feed/relay-
 import { stripMailboxLocalUrlsForRemoteViewers } from '@/lib/relay-list-sanitize'
 import { relaySessionStrikes } from '@/lib/relay-strikes'
 import { profileFetchRelayUrlsWithoutFastReadLayer } from '@/lib/viewer-relay-defaults'
+import { viewerIncludeGlobalFastReadRelayLayer, viewerIncludeGlobalFastWriteRelayLayer } from '@/lib/read-only-relay-personal'
 import { getCacheRelayUrlsFromEvent } from '@/lib/private-relays'
 import { collectUserReadInboxUrls } from '@/lib/viewer-read-inboxes'
 import { collectUserWriteOutboxUrls } from '@/lib/viewer-write-outboxes'
@@ -141,12 +142,13 @@ export function buildProfileAugmentedReadRelayUrls(
   maxRelays: number = PROFILE_AUGMENTED_READ_MAX_RELAYS,
   useGlobalRelayBootstrap = true
 ): string[] {
+  const allowFastReadBootstrap = useGlobalRelayBootstrap && viewerIncludeGlobalFastReadRelayLayer()
   const fastReadLayer =
-    useGlobalRelayBootstrap
+    allowFastReadBootstrap
       ? (FAST_READ_RELAY_URLS.map((u) => normalizeUrl(u) || u).filter(Boolean) as string[])
       : []
   const merged = mergeRelayUrlLayers(
-    useGlobalRelayBootstrap ? [fastReadLayer, authorRelayUrls] : [authorRelayUrls, fastReadLayer],
+    allowFastReadBootstrap ? [fastReadLayer, authorRelayUrls] : [authorRelayUrls, fastReadLayer],
     blockedRelays
   )
   return merged.slice(0, maxRelays)
@@ -196,7 +198,8 @@ export function getRelayUrlsWithFavoritesFastReadAndInbox(
   options?: ReadRelayPriorityOptions
 ): string[] {
   const useFavDefaults = options?.useGlobalFavoriteDefaults !== false
-  const includeFast = options?.includeGlobalFastRead !== false
+  const includeFast =
+    options?.includeGlobalFastRead !== false && viewerIncludeGlobalFastReadRelayLayer()
   const favorites = getFavoritesFeedRelayUrls(favoriteRelays, blockedRelays, useFavDefaults)
   return buildPrioritizedReadRelayUrls({
     userReadRelays: userInboxReadRelays,
@@ -315,7 +318,8 @@ export function augmentSubRequestsWithFavoritesFastReadAndInbox(
         : relayFilterIncludesSocialKindBlockedKind(r.filter)
 
     const useFavDefaults = options?.useGlobalFavoriteDefaults !== false
-    const includeFast = options?.includeGlobalFastRead !== false
+    const includeFast =
+      options?.includeGlobalFastRead !== false && viewerIncludeGlobalFastReadRelayLayer()
     const favorites = getFavoritesFeedRelayUrls(favoriteRelays, blockedRelays, useFavDefaults)
 
     const authorOnly = dedupeNormalizeRelayUrlsOrdered(options?.authorWriteRelays ?? [])

src/lib/home-feed-relays.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 import { feedRelayPolicyUrls } from '@/features/feed/relay-policy'
 import { getFavoritesFeedRelayUrls } from '@/lib/favorites-feed-relays'
 import { stripNostrLandAggrFromRelayUrls } from '@/lib/nostr-land-relay-eligibility'
+import { isMetadataRelaysOnlyPolicyActive } from '@/lib/read-only-relay-personal'
+import { isWispTrendingNotesRelayUrl } from '@/lib/wisp-trending-relay'
 
 export { stripNostrLandAggrFromRelayUrls }
 
@@ -28,6 +30,9 @@ export function buildAllFavoritesFeedRelayUrls(
   extraFeedRelayUrls: string[],
   useGlobalFavoriteDefaults = true
 ): string[] {
+  const extras = isMetadataRelaysOnlyPolicyActive()
+    ? extraFeedRelayUrls.filter((u) => !isWispTrendingNotesRelayUrl(u))
+    : extraFeedRelayUrls
   return stripNostrLandAggrFromRelayUrls(
     feedRelayPolicyUrls(
       [
@@ -35,7 +40,7 @@ export function buildAllFavoritesFeedRelayUrls(
           source: 'favorites',
           urls: getFavoritesFeedRelayUrls(favoriteRelays, blockedRelays, useGlobalFavoriteDefaults)
         },
-        { source: 'fallback', urls: extraFeedRelayUrls }
+        { source: 'fallback', urls: extras }
       ],
       {
         operation: 'favorites-feed',

src/lib/live-activities.ts

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import {
   MAX_REQ_RELAY_URLS,
   relayUrlsLocalsFirst
 } from '@/lib/relay-url-priority'
+import { viewerIncludeGlobalFastReadRelayLayer } from '@/lib/read-only-relay-personal'
 import { normalizeAnyRelayUrl } from '@/lib/url'
 import { nip19, type Event, type Filter } from 'nostr-tools'
 
@@ -669,7 +670,8 @@ export function buildLiveActivitiesRelayUrls(options: {
   includeGlobalFastRead?: boolean
 }): string[] {
   const { loggedIn, favoriteRelays, blockedRelays, relayListRead, relayListWrite } = options
-  const includeFast = options.includeGlobalFastRead !== false
+  const includeFast =
+    options.includeGlobalFastRead !== false && viewerIncludeGlobalFastReadRelayLayer()
   const useGlobalFavoriteDefaults = includeFast
   if (loggedIn) {
     const fav = relayUrlsLocalsFirst(

src/lib/metadata-policy-curated-relays.test.ts

@@ -1,10 +1,20 @@
-import { PROFILE_RELAY_URLS } from '@/constants'
+import { DOCUMENT_RELAY_URLS, FAST_READ_RELAY_URLS, PROFILE_RELAY_URLS } from '@/constants'
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
-import { isMetadataPolicyCuratedRelay } from './metadata-policy-curated-relays'
+import {
+  isMetadataPolicyCuratedRelay,
+  isMetadataPolicyOperationScopedRelay
+} from './metadata-policy-curated-relays'
 
 describe('metadata-policy-curated-relays', () => {
   it('recognizes profile relay constants', () => {
     expect(isMetadataPolicyCuratedRelay(PROFILE_RELAY_URLS[0]!)).toBe(true)
     expect(isMetadataPolicyCuratedRelay('wss://nostr.wirednet.jp/')).toBe(false)
   })
+
+  it('operation scope excludes FAST_READ widening', () => {
+    expect(isMetadataPolicyOperationScopedRelay(DOCUMENT_RELAY_URLS[0]!)).toBe(true)
+    expect(isMetadataPolicyOperationScopedRelay(PROFILE_RELAY_URLS[0]!)).toBe(true)
+    expect(isMetadataPolicyOperationScopedRelay(FAST_READ_RELAY_URLS[0]!)).toBe(false)
+    expect(isMetadataPolicyOperationScopedRelay('wss://nostr.wirednet.jp/')).toBe(false)
+  })
 })

src/lib/metadata-policy-curated-relays.ts

@@ -24,7 +24,20 @@ const METADATA_POLICY_CURATED_RELAY_LISTS: readonly (readonly string[])[] = [
   NIP42_POOL_AUTOMATIC_AUTH_RELAY_URLS
 ]
 
+/**
+ * Curated stacks allowed to connect briefly under metadata-only policy when merged into an active
+ * query/subscribe (documents, GIFs, profiles, …). Excludes FAST_READ, search indexers, and read-only mirrors.
+ */
+const METADATA_POLICY_OPERATION_SCOPED_RELAY_LISTS: readonly (readonly string[])[] = [
+  PROFILE_RELAY_URLS,
+  DOCUMENT_RELAY_URLS,
+  GIF_RELAY_URLS,
+  BOOKSTR_RELAY_URLS,
+  FOLLOWS_HISTORY_RELAY_URLS
+]
+
 let curatedRelayKeySet: ReadonlySet<string> | null = null
+let operationScopedRelayKeySet: ReadonlySet<string> | null = null
 
 function relayKeyForCuratedSet(url: string): string {
   return (normalizeAnyRelayUrl(url) || url.trim()).toLowerCase()
@@ -44,12 +57,32 @@ function getCuratedRelayKeySet(): ReadonlySet<string> {
   return curatedRelayKeySet
 }
 
+function getOperationScopedRelayKeySet(): ReadonlySet<string> {
+  if (!operationScopedRelayKeySet) {
+    const out = new Set<string>()
+    for (const list of METADATA_POLICY_OPERATION_SCOPED_RELAY_LISTS) {
+      for (const u of list) {
+        const key = relayKeyForCuratedSet(u)
+        if (key) out.add(key)
+      }
+    }
+    operationScopedRelayKeySet = out
+  }
+  return operationScopedRelayKeySet
+}
+
 /** True for relays from specialized constants (profile fetch, read-only indexers, NIP-50, …). */
 export function isMetadataPolicyCuratedRelay(url: string): boolean {
   const key = relayKeyForCuratedSet(url)
   return key.length > 0 && getCuratedRelayKeySet().has(key)
 }
 
+/** Purpose-specific constants that may connect during an in-flight read (not general feed widening). */
+export function isMetadataPolicyOperationScopedRelay(url: string): boolean {
+  const key = relayKeyForCuratedSet(url)
+  return key.length > 0 && getOperationScopedRelayKeySet().has(key)
+}
+
 let profileRelayKeySet: ReadonlySet<string> | null = null
 
 function getProfileRelayKeySet(): ReadonlySet<string> {
@@ -73,5 +106,6 @@ export function isMetadataPolicyProfileRelay(url: string): boolean {
 /** For tests: reset lazy-built key set after constant changes. */
 export function resetMetadataPolicyCuratedRelayKeysForTests(): void {
   curatedRelayKeySet = null
+  operationScopedRelayKeySet = null
   profileRelayKeySet = null
 }

src/lib/read-only-relay-personal.test.ts

@@ -4,11 +4,16 @@ import { syncViewerRelayStackNostrLandAggrEligible } from '@/lib/nostr-land-rela
 import {
   buildPersonalRelayKeySet,
   filterReadOnlyRelaysUnlessPersonal,
+  grantRelayConnectionOperationScope,
   isPersonalListRequiredReadOnlyRelay,
   isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer,
+  resetRelayConnectionOperationScopeForTests,
   sanitizeRelayUrlsForFetch,
   enterMetadataRelaysOnlyBypass,
+  enterSingleRelayExplicitBrowse,
+  enterSingleRelayExplicitFetchScope,
   leaveMetadataRelaysOnlyBypass,
+  leaveSingleRelayExplicitBrowse,
   setRestrictConnectionsToMetadataRelaysOnly,
   setViewerPersonalRelayKeys
 } from './read-only-relay-personal'
@@ -20,13 +25,16 @@ describe('read-only-relay-personal', () => {
     setViewerPersonalRelayKeys(new Set(), { viewerActive: false })
     setViewerBlockedRelayUrls([])
     syncViewerRelayStackNostrLandAggrEligible([])
+    resetRelayConnectionOperationScopeForTests()
   })
 
   afterEach(() => {
     setRestrictConnectionsToMetadataRelaysOnly(false)
     leaveMetadataRelaysOnlyBypass()
+    leaveSingleRelayExplicitBrowse()
     setViewerBlockedRelayUrls([])
     syncViewerRelayStackNostrLandAggrEligible([])
+    resetRelayConnectionOperationScopeForTests()
   })
 
   it('requires personal list only for filter.nostr.wine', () => {
@@ -73,7 +81,7 @@ describe('read-only-relay-personal', () => {
     expect(filterReadOnlyRelaysUnlessPersonal(urls)).toEqual(urls)
   })
 
-  it('metadata-only policy blocks ad-hoc feed relays but allows profile mirrors at connect time', () => {
+  it('metadata-only policy blocks ad-hoc feed relays at connect time', () => {
     setRestrictConnectionsToMetadataRelaysOnly(true)
     setViewerPersonalRelayKeys(buildPersonalRelayKeySet(['wss://relay.example.com/']), { viewerActive: true })
     const urls = [
@@ -82,9 +90,9 @@ describe('read-only-relay-personal', () => {
       'wss://theforest.nostr1.com/',
       'wss://nostr.wirednet.jp/'
     ]
-    expect(sanitizeRelayUrlsForFetch(urls)).toEqual(urls)
-    expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer('wss://profiles.nostr1.com/')).toBe(true)
-    expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer('wss://thecitadel.nostr1.com/')).toBe(true)
+    expect(sanitizeRelayUrlsForFetch(urls)).toEqual(['wss://relay.example.com/'])
+    expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer('wss://profiles.nostr1.com/')).toBe(false)
+    expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer('wss://thecitadel.nostr1.com/')).toBe(false)
     expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer('wss://relay.example.com/')).toBe(true)
     expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer('wss://theforest.nostr1.com/')).toBe(false)
     expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer('wss://nostr.wirednet.jp/')).toBe(false)
@@ -97,18 +105,36 @@ describe('read-only-relay-personal', () => {
     const urls = ['wss://nostr.land/', AGGR_NOSTR_LAND_WSS, 'wss://nostr.wirednet.jp/']
     expect(sanitizeRelayUrlsForFetch(urls).map((u) => u.replace(/\/$/, ''))).toEqual([
       'wss://nostr.land',
-      'wss://aggr.nostr.land',
-      'wss://nostr.wirednet.jp'
+      'wss://aggr.nostr.land'
     ])
     expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer(AGGR_NOSTR_LAND_WSS)).toBe(true)
     expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer('wss://nostr.wirednet.jp/')).toBe(false)
   })
 
-  it('metadata-only policy allows profile bootstrap relays at connect time', () => {
+  it('operation scope allows document and gif constant relays during fetch', () => {
     setRestrictConnectionsToMetadataRelaysOnly(true)
     setViewerPersonalRelayKeys(new Set(), { viewerActive: true })
+    expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer('wss://thecitadel.nostr1.com/')).toBe(false)
+    expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer('wss://nostr.wine/')).toBe(false)
+    const revoke = grantRelayConnectionOperationScope([
+      'wss://thecitadel.nostr1.com/',
+      'wss://nostr.wine/',
+      'wss://essayist.decentnewsroom.com/'
+    ])
     expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer('wss://thecitadel.nostr1.com/')).toBe(true)
+    expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer('wss://nostr.wine/')).toBe(false)
+    expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer('wss://essayist.decentnewsroom.com/')).toBe(true)
+    revoke()
+  })
+
+  it('metadata-only policy allows curated relays only during an operation scope', () => {
+    setRestrictConnectionsToMetadataRelaysOnly(true)
+    setViewerPersonalRelayKeys(new Set(), { viewerActive: true })
+    expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer('wss://profiles.nostr1.com/')).toBe(false)
+    const revoke = grantRelayConnectionOperationScope(['wss://profiles.nostr1.com/'])
     expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer('wss://profiles.nostr1.com/')).toBe(true)
+    revoke()
+    expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer('wss://profiles.nostr1.com/')).toBe(false)
   })
 
   it('metadata-only policy allows viewer cache and HTTP index relays', () => {
@@ -135,4 +161,26 @@ describe('read-only-relay-personal', () => {
     expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer('wss://relay.damus.io/')).toBe(true)
     leaveMetadataRelaysOnlyBypass()
   })
+
+  it('explicit single-relay browse keeps user-blocked and non-list relays', () => {
+    setRestrictConnectionsToMetadataRelaysOnly(true)
+    setViewerPersonalRelayKeys(buildPersonalRelayKeySet(['wss://nostr.land/']), { viewerActive: true })
+    setViewerBlockedRelayUrls(['wss://relay.layer.systems/'])
+    enterSingleRelayExplicitBrowse()
+    const target = 'wss://relay.layer.systems/'
+    expect(sanitizeRelayUrlsForFetch([target])).toEqual([target])
+    expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer(target)).toBe(true)
+    leaveSingleRelayExplicitBrowse()
+  })
+
+  it('operation scope grants an explicit single-relay target under metadata-only', () => {
+    setRestrictConnectionsToMetadataRelaysOnly(true)
+    setViewerPersonalRelayKeys(new Set(), { viewerActive: true })
+    const leaveFetchScope = enterSingleRelayExplicitFetchScope()
+    const target = 'wss://relay.layer.systems/'
+    const revokeScope = grantRelayConnectionOperationScope([target])
+    expect(isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer(target)).toBe(true)
+    revokeScope()
+    leaveFetchScope()
+  })
 })

src/lib/read-only-relay-personal.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import {
   READ_ONLY_PERSONAL_LIST_REQUIRED_RELAY_URLS
 } from '@/constants'
-import { isMetadataPolicyProfileRelay } from '@/lib/metadata-policy-curated-relays'
+import { isMetadataPolicyOperationScopedRelay } from '@/lib/metadata-policy-curated-relays'
 import {
   filterAggrNostrLandUnlessViewerEligible,
   getViewerRelayStackNostrLandAggrEligible,
@@ -23,6 +23,15 @@ let viewerMetadataRelaysPolicyActive = false
 let restrictConnectionsToMetadataRelaysOnly = false
 /** Relay explore / search UI: metadata-only policy must not narrow relays on those pages. */
 let metadataRelaysOnlyBypassDepth = 0
+/** Relay detail page mounted: explicit single-relay browse must not be blocked by strikes / user blocks / list gates. */
+let singleRelayExplicitBrowseDepth = 0
+/** In-flight authoritative single-relay timeline REQ (see {@link enterSingleRelayExplicitFetchScope}). */
+let singleRelayExplicitFetchDepth = 0
+/** In-flight query/subscribe URLs (constants + caller stack) allowed to connect briefly under metadata-only policy. */
+const operationScopedRelayKeys = new Set<string>()
+
+/** Dispatched when metadata-only relay policy toggles (feeds should rebuild relay URL lists). */
+export const METADATA_RELAYS_ONLY_POLICY_CHANGED_EVENT = 'jumble:metadata-relays-only-changed'
 
 export function setRestrictConnectionsToMetadataRelaysOnly(enabled: boolean): void {
   restrictConnectionsToMetadataRelaysOnly = enabled
@@ -44,6 +53,44 @@ export function isMetadataRelaysOnlyBypassActive(): boolean {
   return metadataRelaysOnlyBypassDepth > 0
 }
 
+export function enterSingleRelayExplicitBrowse(): void {
+  singleRelayExplicitBrowseDepth++
+}
+
+export function leaveSingleRelayExplicitBrowse(): void {
+  singleRelayExplicitBrowseDepth = Math.max(0, singleRelayExplicitBrowseDepth - 1)
+}
+
+export function isSingleRelayExplicitBrowseActive(): boolean {
+  return singleRelayExplicitBrowseDepth > 0
+}
+
+/** While active, {@link sanitizeRelayUrlsForFetch} and pool connects honor the lone target relay. */
+export function enterSingleRelayExplicitFetchScope(): () => void {
+  singleRelayExplicitFetchDepth++
+  return () => {
+    singleRelayExplicitFetchDepth = Math.max(0, singleRelayExplicitFetchDepth - 1)
+  }
+}
+
+export function isSingleRelayExplicitFetchScopeActive(): boolean {
+  return singleRelayExplicitFetchDepth > 0
+}
+
+/** True while an explicit single-relay browse page or authoritative timeline REQ is active. */
+export function isSingleRelayExplicitPolicyActive(): boolean {
+  return isSingleRelayExplicitBrowseActive() || isSingleRelayExplicitFetchScopeActive()
+}
+
+function shouldPreserveExplicitSingleRelay(
+  urls: readonly string[],
+  preserveExplicitSingleRelay?: boolean
+): boolean {
+  if (urls.length !== 1) return false
+  if (preserveExplicitSingleRelay === true) return true
+  return isSingleRelayExplicitPolicyActive()
+}
+
 /** Logged-in viewer with metadata-only mode: only connect reads to the viewer's relay lists. */
 export function isMetadataRelaysOnlyPolicyActive(): boolean {
   return (
@@ -60,17 +107,51 @@ export function isRelayUrlInViewerMetadataLists(url: string): boolean {
 
 /**
  * Under metadata-only policy: viewer NIP-65 / favorites / cache / HTTP lists, plus aggr.nostr.land when
- * wss://nostr.land is listed, plus {@link PROFILE_RELAY_URLS} for kind-0 / profile hydration.
+ * wss://nostr.land is listed, plus relays in an active {@link grantRelayConnectionOperationScope}.
  */
 export function isRelayAllowedUnderMetadataOnlyPolicy(url: string): boolean {
   if (isRelayUrlInViewerMetadataLists(url)) return true
   if (getViewerRelayStackNostrLandAggrEligible() && relayUrlIsAggrNostrLand(url)) return true
-  if (isMetadataPolicyProfileRelay(url)) return true
+  const key = relayUrlKey(url)
+  if (key.length > 0 && operationScopedRelayKeys.has(key)) return true
   return false
 }
 
+/**
+ * Allow read connects to non-personal relays only for the lifetime of an in-flight query/subscribe.
+ * Under metadata-only policy, only {@link isMetadataPolicyOperationScopedRelay} URLs are granted
+ * (document / GIF / profile stacks — not FAST_READ or feed widening).
+ */
+export function grantRelayConnectionOperationScope(urls: readonly string[]): () => void {
+  if (!isMetadataRelaysOnlyPolicyActive()) return () => {}
+  const added: string[] = []
+  for (const raw of urls) {
+    if (isRelayUrlInViewerMetadataLists(raw)) continue
+    if (getViewerRelayStackNostrLandAggrEligible() && relayUrlIsAggrNostrLand(raw)) continue
+    if (
+      !isMetadataPolicyOperationScopedRelay(raw) &&
+      !(urls.length === 1 && isSingleRelayExplicitPolicyActive())
+    ) {
+      continue
+    }
+    const key = relayUrlKey(raw)
+    if (!key || operationScopedRelayKeys.has(key)) continue
+    operationScopedRelayKeys.add(key)
+    added.push(key)
+  }
+  return () => {
+    for (const key of added) operationScopedRelayKeys.delete(key)
+  }
+}
+
+/** @internal */
+export function resetRelayConnectionOperationScopeForTests(): void {
+  operationScopedRelayKeys.clear()
+}
+
 /** Block read-side pool connects / HTTP index fetches when metadata-only policy is on. */
 export function isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer(url: string): boolean {
+  if (isSingleRelayExplicitPolicyActive()) return true
   if (!isMetadataRelaysOnlyPolicyActive()) return true
   return isRelayAllowedUnderMetadataOnlyPolicy(url)
 }
@@ -126,6 +207,29 @@ function isAllowedForKeys(url: string, personalKeys: ReadonlySet<string>): boole
   return key.length > 0 && personalKeys.has(key)
 }
 
+/** Under metadata-only policy: viewer relay lists + aggr.nostr.land when nostr.land is listed. */
+function filterRelayUrlsToMetadataOnlyPersonalLists(
+  urls: readonly string[],
+  personalKeys: ReadonlySet<string>
+): string[] {
+  return urls.filter((u) => {
+    const key = relayUrlKey(u)
+    if (key.length > 0 && personalKeys.has(key)) return true
+    if (getViewerRelayStackNostrLandAggrEligible() && relayUrlIsAggrNostrLand(u)) return true
+    return false
+  })
+}
+
+/** When metadata-only is on, omit global FAST_READ / trending widening from REQ stacks. */
+export function viewerIncludeGlobalFastReadRelayLayer(): boolean {
+  return !isMetadataRelaysOnlyPolicyActive()
+}
+
+/** When metadata-only is on, omit {@link FAST_WRITE_RELAY_URLS} from read-side merge/fetch stacks (publish unchanged). */
+export function viewerIncludeGlobalFastWriteRelayLayer(): boolean {
+  return !isMetadataRelaysOnlyPolicyActive()
+}
+
 /**
  * Drop {@link READ_ONLY_PERSONAL_LIST_REQUIRED_RELAY_URLS} unless the viewer listed them on NIP-65 / favorites / 10432.
  * Other read-only index relays (aggr.nostr.land, search.nos.today, …) are unchanged.
@@ -144,17 +248,27 @@ export function filterReadOnlyRelaysUnlessPersonal(
  */
 export function sanitizeRelayUrlsForFetch(
   urls: readonly string[],
-  personalKeys?: ReadonlySet<string>
+  personalKeys?: ReadonlySet<string>,
+  opts?: { preserveExplicitSingleRelay?: boolean }
 ): string[] {
+  if (shouldPreserveExplicitSingleRelay(urls, opts?.preserveExplicitSingleRelay)) {
+    const raw = urls[0]!.trim()
+    if (!raw) return []
+    return [normalizeAnyRelayUrl(raw) || raw]
+  }
   const keys = personalKeys ?? viewerPersonalRelayKeys
   const withoutThirdPartyLocals = urls.filter((u) => {
     if (urlIsNonLocalForRemoteViewer(u)) return true
     const key = relayUrlKey(u)
     return key.length > 0 && keys.has(key)
   })
-  return filterViewerBlockedRelaysForFetch(
+  let out = filterViewerBlockedRelaysForFetch(
     filterAggrNostrLandUnlessViewerEligible(
       filterReadOnlyRelaysUnlessPersonal(withoutThirdPartyLocals, keys)
     )
   )
+  if (isMetadataRelaysOnlyPolicyActive()) {
+    out = filterRelayUrlsToMetadataOnlyPersonalLists(out, keys)
+  }
+  return out
 }

src/lib/relay-list-builder.ts

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ import {
   normalizeHttpRelayUrl,
   normalizeUrl
 } from '@/lib/url'
-import { buildPersonalRelayKeySet, sanitizeRelayUrlsForFetch } from '@/lib/read-only-relay-personal'
+import { buildPersonalRelayKeySet, sanitizeRelayUrlsForFetch, isMetadataRelaysOnlyPolicyActive } from '@/lib/read-only-relay-personal'
 import { getCacheRelayUrls } from './private-relays'
 import { defaultFavoriteRelaysForViewer, viewerUsesGlobalRelayDefaults } from '@/lib/viewer-relay-defaults'
 import client from '@/services/client.service'
@@ -206,7 +206,9 @@ export async function buildComprehensiveRelayList(options: RelayListBuilderOptio
   ]
 
   let effectiveIncludeFastRead = includeFastReadRelays
-  if (userPubkey && includeFastReadRelays) {
+  if (isMetadataRelaysOnlyPolicyActive()) {
+    effectiveIncludeFastRead = false
+  } else if (userPubkey && includeFastReadRelays) {
     if (useGlobalRelayDefaultsOption !== undefined) {
       effectiveIncludeFastRead = useGlobalRelayDefaultsOption
     } else {

src/lib/relay-strikes.test.ts

@@ -85,6 +85,13 @@ describe('relaySessionStrikes.clearKey', () => {
     relaySessionStrikes.reset()
   })
 
+  it('recordConnectionFailure applies rate-limit cooldown on HTTP 429', () => {
+    const url = 'wss://relay.layer.systems/'
+    relaySessionStrikes.recordConnectionFailure(url, 'HTTP/1.1 429 Too Many Requests')
+    expect(relaySessionStrikes.isRateLimited(url)).toBe(true)
+    expect(relaySessionStrikes.isReadHttpSkipped(url)).toBe(true)
+  })
+
   it('removes strike state so relay is no longer skipped', () => {
     const url = 'ws://localhost:4000/'
     relaySessionStrikes.applyRateLimitCooldownForUrl(url)

src/lib/relay-strikes.ts

@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ const STRIKE_COOLDOWN_MS = 3 * 60 * 1000
 
 /** Rate-limit style NOTICE / overload → cool down without incrementing strike counter. */
 const RATE_LIMIT_COOLDOWN_MS = 10 * 60 * 1000
+/** HTTP 429 on WebSocket handshake: shorter backoff so explicit relay browse recovers after accidental hammering. */
+const CONNECTION_RATE_LIMIT_COOLDOWN_MS = 90 * 1000
 
 /** Non–cache-relay failures: at most one strike increment per key per this window. */
 const STRIKE_INCREMENT_DEBOUNCE_MS = 30 * 1000
@@ -123,6 +125,15 @@ class RelaySessionStrikes {
     return e
   }
 
+  /** True when a relay NOTICE or connection error put this URL in rate-limit cooldown. */
+  isRateLimited(url: string): boolean {
+    const key = sessionKey(url)
+    if (!key) return false
+    const e = this.byKey.get(key)
+    if (!e) return false
+    return Date.now() < e.rateLimitUntil
+  }
+
   /** True when read / WS / HTTP index fetch should omit this relay (unless single-relay override). */
   isReadHttpSkipped(url: string): boolean {
     const key = sessionKey(url)
@@ -132,6 +143,19 @@ class RelaySessionStrikes {
     return Date.now() < Math.max(e.rateLimitUntil, e.readStrikeSkipUntil, e.slowParkUntil)
   }
 
+  /** WS/HTTP connect failure: rate-limit style errors cool down without accruing read strikes. */
+  recordConnectionFailure(url: string, message: string, source: 'connection' | 'http' = 'connection'): void {
+    if (classifyRelayNotice(message) === 'rate_limit') {
+      if (source === 'connection') {
+        this.applyConnectionRateLimitCooldownForUrl(url)
+      } else {
+        this.applyRateLimitCooldownForUrl(url)
+      }
+      return
+    }
+    this.recordReadFailure(url, source)
+  }
+
   /** True when publish should omit this relay (unless single-target override). */
   isPublishSkipped(url: string): boolean {
     const key = sessionKey(url)
@@ -156,12 +180,17 @@ class RelaySessionStrikes {
 
   applyRateLimitCooldownForUrl(url: string): void {
     const key = sessionKey(url)
-    if (key) this.applyRateLimitCooldownKey(key)
+    if (key) this.applyRateLimitCooldownKey(key, RATE_LIMIT_COOLDOWN_MS)
+  }
+
+  applyConnectionRateLimitCooldownForUrl(url: string): void {
+    const key = sessionKey(url)
+    if (key) this.applyRateLimitCooldownKey(key, CONNECTION_RATE_LIMIT_COOLDOWN_MS)
   }
 
-  private applyRateLimitCooldownKey(key: string): void {
+  private applyRateLimitCooldownKey(key: string, cooldownMs = RATE_LIMIT_COOLDOWN_MS): void {
     const e = this.getEntry(key)
-    e.rateLimitUntil = Math.max(e.rateLimitUntil, Date.now() + RATE_LIMIT_COOLDOWN_MS)
+    e.rateLimitUntil = Math.max(e.rateLimitUntil, Date.now() + cooldownMs)
   }
 
   /** WS connect failure, HTTP transport failure, etc. */

src/lib/single-relay-browse-kinds.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { kinds } from 'nostr-tools'
+import { NIP_SEARCH_DOCUMENT_KINDS } from '@/constants'
+import { kindsForSingleRelayBrowse, relayUrlIsDocumentRelay } from './single-relay-browse-kinds'
+
+describe('single-relay-browse-kinds', () => {
+  it('detects document relays', () => {
+    expect(relayUrlIsDocumentRelay('wss://essayist.decentnewsroom.com/')).toBe(true)
+    expect(relayUrlIsDocumentRelay('wss://relay.damus.io/')).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('merges document kinds for document relays', () => {
+    const out = kindsForSingleRelayBrowse('wss://essayist.decentnewsroom.com/', [kinds.ShortTextNote])
+    expect(out).toContain(kinds.ShortTextNote)
+    for (const k of NIP_SEARCH_DOCUMENT_KINDS) {
+      expect(out).toContain(k)
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('keeps picker kinds only for generic relays', () => {
+    expect(kindsForSingleRelayBrowse('wss://relay.damus.io/', [kinds.ShortTextNote])).toEqual([
+      kinds.ShortTextNote
+    ])
+  })
+})

src/lib/single-relay-browse-kinds.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+import { DOCUMENT_RELAY_URLS, NIP_SEARCH_DOCUMENT_KINDS } from '@/constants'
+import { canonicalRelaySessionKey } from '@/lib/url'
+import { kinds } from 'nostr-tools'
+
+const documentRelayKeySet = new Set(
+  DOCUMENT_RELAY_URLS.map((u) => canonicalRelaySessionKey(u)).filter(Boolean)
+)
+
+export function relayUrlIsDocumentRelay(url: string): boolean {
+  const key = canonicalRelaySessionKey(url)
+  return key.length > 0 && documentRelayKeySet.has(key)
+}
+
+/** Kinds for a single-relay browse REQ (picker + document kinds on document relays). */
+export function kindsForSingleRelayBrowse(relayUrl: string, showKinds: readonly number[]): number[] {
+  const base = showKinds.length > 0 ? [...showKinds] : [kinds.ShortTextNote]
+  if (!relayUrlIsDocumentRelay(relayUrl)) return base
+  return [...new Set([...base, ...NIP_SEARCH_DOCUMENT_KINDS])]
+}

src/providers/FeedProvider.test.ts

@@ -2,7 +2,11 @@ import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 import { feedRelayPolicyUrls } from '@/features/feed/relay-policy'
 import { AGGR_NOSTR_LAND_WSS } from '@/lib/nostr-land-aggr'
 import { buildAllFavoritesFeedRelayUrls, stripNostrLandAggrFromRelayUrls } from '@/lib/home-feed-relays'
-import { buildWispTrendingNotesRelayUrl } from '@/lib/wisp-trending-relay'
+import { buildWispTrendingNotesRelayUrl, isWispTrendingNotesRelayUrl } from '@/lib/wisp-trending-relay'
+import {
+  setRestrictConnectionsToMetadataRelaysOnly,
+  setViewerPersonalRelayKeys
+} from '@/lib/read-only-relay-personal'
 
 describe('home feed relay policy', () => {
   it('keeps aggr.nostr.land out of the main home feed', () => {
@@ -39,6 +43,17 @@ describe('home feed relay policy', () => {
     expect(merged).toContain('wss://inbox.example/')
   })
 
+  it('metadata-only policy omits wisp trending from home feed relay list', () => {
+    setRestrictConnectionsToMetadataRelaysOnly(true)
+    setViewerPersonalRelayKeys(new Set(['wss://relay.example.com/']), { viewerActive: true })
+    const wisp = buildWispTrendingNotesRelayUrl()
+    const urls = buildAllFavoritesFeedRelayUrls(['wss://relay.example.com/'], [], [wisp])
+    expect(urls).toContain('wss://relay.example.com/')
+    expect(urls.some((u) => isWispTrendingNotesRelayUrl(u))).toBe(false)
+    setRestrictConnectionsToMetadataRelaysOnly(false)
+    setViewerPersonalRelayKeys(new Set(), { viewerActive: false })
+  })
+
   it('stripNostrLandAggrFromRelayUrls removes aggr with trailing slash and hostname variants', () => {
     const stripped = stripNostrLandAggrFromRelayUrls([
       'wss://relay.example/',

src/providers/FeedProvider.tsx

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import {
   syncViewerRelayStackNostrLandAggrEligible,
   urlsForViewerNostrLandAggrEligibilitySync
 } from '@/lib/nostr-land-relay-eligibility'
+import { METADATA_RELAYS_ONLY_POLICY_CHANGED_EVENT } from '@/lib/read-only-relay-personal'
 import { collectUserReadInboxUrls } from '@/lib/viewer-read-inboxes'
 import { collectUserWriteOutboxUrls } from '@/lib/viewer-write-outboxes'
 import { getCacheRelayUrlsFromEvent } from '@/lib/private-relays'
@@ -264,6 +265,12 @@ export function FeedProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
     }
   }, [isInitialized, favoriteRelaysIdentity, blockedRelaysIdentity, replyExtraRelaysIdentity, updateFeedRelayUrls])
 
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const onPolicyChange = () => updateFeedRelayUrls()
+    window.addEventListener(METADATA_RELAYS_ONLY_POLICY_CHANGED_EVENT, onPolicyChange)
+    return () => window.removeEventListener(METADATA_RELAYS_ONLY_POLICY_CHANGED_EVENT, onPolicyChange)
+  }, [updateFeedRelayUrls])
+
   return (
     <FeedContext.Provider
       value={useMemo(

src/services/client-query.service.ts

@@ -40,7 +40,8 @@ import { patchRelayNoticeForFetchFailures } from '@/services/relay-notice-fetch-
 import type { Filter, Event as NEvent } from 'nostr-tools'
 import { SimplePool, EventTemplate, VerifiedEvent, nip19 } from 'nostr-tools'
 import type { AbstractRelay } from 'nostr-tools/abstract-relay'
-import { sanitizeRelayUrlsForFetch, isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer } from '@/lib/read-only-relay-personal'
+import { sanitizeRelayUrlsForFetch, isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer, grantRelayConnectionOperationScope } from '@/lib/read-only-relay-personal'
+import { closeRelayPoolSocketsIfIdle } from '@/lib/relay-pool-idle'
 import { publicReadRelayFallbackUrls } from '@/lib/viewer-relay-defaults'
 import nip66Service from './nip66.service'
 import type { ISigner, TSignerType } from '@/types'
@@ -399,6 +400,8 @@ export class QueryService {
     if (queue?.length) {
       const next = queue.shift()!
       next()
+    } else if (count === 0) {
+      queueMicrotask(() => closeRelayPoolSocketsIfIdle([relayKey]))
     }
   }
 
@@ -532,6 +535,7 @@ export class QueryService {
     }
 
     const resultPromise = new Promise<NEvent[]>((resolve) => {
+      const revokeOperationScope = grantRelayConnectionOperationScope(urls)
       const events: NEvent[] = []
       const cancelAbortRegistrations: Array<() => void> = []
       const abortHttp = new AbortController()
@@ -640,6 +644,8 @@ export class QueryService {
           }
           cancelAbortRegistrations.length = 0
           resolved = true
+          revokeOperationScope()
+          closeRelayPoolSocketsIfIdle([...wsQueryUrls, ...httpRelayBases])
           if (resolveTimeout) clearTimeout(resolveTimeout)
           if (firstResultGraceTimeoutId) clearTimeout(firstResultGraceTimeoutId)
           if (feedFirstResultGraceTimeoutId) clearTimeout(feedFirstResultGraceTimeoutId)
@@ -868,6 +874,8 @@ export class QueryService {
       return { close: () => {} }
     }
 
+    const revokeOperationScope = grantRelayConnectionOperationScope(relays)
+
     const _knownIds = new Set<string>()
     const grouped = new Map<string, Filter[]>()
     for (const url of relays) {
@@ -1101,7 +1109,11 @@ export class QueryService {
         // relay is mis-labeled "skipped" in batch_end.
         void allOpened.then(() => {
           subs.forEach(({ close: subClose }) => subClose())
-          setTimeout(() => opBatch?.finalize('closed', 'subscribe_close'), 0)
+          setTimeout(() => {
+            opBatch?.finalize('closed', 'subscribe_close')
+            revokeOperationScope()
+            closeRelayPoolSocketsIfIdle(relays)
+          }, 0)
         })
       }
     }

src/services/client.service.ts

@@ -55,6 +55,11 @@ import {
   isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer,
   isMetadataRelaysOnlyPolicyActive,
   isRestrictConnectionsToMetadataRelaysOnly,
+  grantRelayConnectionOperationScope,
+  enterSingleRelayExplicitFetchScope,
+  isSingleRelayExplicitBrowseActive,
+  isSingleRelayExplicitFetchScopeActive,
+  isSingleRelayExplicitPolicyActive,
   setViewerPersonalRelayKeys
 } from '@/lib/read-only-relay-personal'
 import {
@@ -116,7 +121,12 @@ function sanitizeSubscribeFiltersBeforeReq(filter: Filter | Filter[]): Filter[]
   return asArray.map(sanitizeETagFilterForSubscribe).filter((f): f is Filter => !!f)
 }
 
-function withDocumentRelayUrlsForFilters(relays: string[], filters: Filter[]): string[] {
+function withDocumentRelayUrlsForFilters(
+  relays: string[],
+  filters: Filter[],
+  opts?: { singleRelayFeed?: boolean }
+): string[] {
+  if (opts?.singleRelayFeed) return relays
   if (!filters.some((f) => relayFilterIncludesDocumentRelayKind(f))) return relays
   return dedupeNormalizeRelayUrlsOrdered([...relays, ...DOCUMENT_RELAY_URLS])
 }
@@ -190,7 +200,7 @@ import {
   urlMatchesConfiguredHttpIndexRelay
 } from '@/lib/url'
 import { canonicalFeedFilter, canonicalRelayUrls } from '@/features/feed/descriptor'
-import { initRelayPoolIdle, touchRelayPoolActivity } from '@/lib/relay-pool-idle'
+import { initRelayPoolIdle, touchRelayPoolActivity, closeRelayPoolSocketsIfIdle } from '@/lib/relay-pool-idle'
 import { relaySessionStrikes } from '@/lib/relay-strikes'
 import { isSafari } from '@/lib/utils'
 import {
@@ -466,8 +476,13 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
       if (params?.purpose !== 'write' && !isRelayConnectionAllowedForViewer(url)) {
         throw new Error(`[metadata-relays-only] skipping relay ${url}`)
       }
-      if (params?.purpose !== 'write' && relaySessionStrikes.isReadHttpSkipped(url)) {
-        throw new Error(`[relay-strike] skipping unresponsive relay ${url}`)
+      if (params?.purpose !== 'write') {
+        if (relaySessionStrikes.isRateLimited(url)) {
+          throw new Error(`[relay-rate-limit] skipping relay ${url}`)
+        }
+        if (!isSingleRelayExplicitPolicyActive() && relaySessionStrikes.isReadHttpSkipped(url)) {
+          throw new Error(`[relay-strike] skipping unresponsive relay ${url}`)
+        }
       }
       if (!isWebsocketUrl(url) && isKind10243HttpRelayTagUrl(url)) {
         throw new Error(`[http-index-relay] ${url} uses the HTTPS index API, not WebSocket`)
@@ -489,10 +504,11 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
           params?.purpose !== 'write' &&
           !msg.includes('[metadata-relays-only]') &&
           !msg.includes('[relay-strike]') &&
+          !msg.includes('[relay-rate-limit]') &&
           !msg.includes('[offline]') &&
           !msg.includes('[http-index-relay]')
         ) {
-          relaySessionStrikes.recordReadFailure(url, 'connection')
+          relaySessionStrikes.recordConnectionFailure(url, msg, 'connection')
         }
         throw err
       }
@@ -1772,6 +1788,7 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
           publishOpBatch.record(idx, url, rs?.success === true, rs?.error)
         })
         publishOpBatch.logEnd(status)
+        queueMicrotask(() => closeRelayPoolSocketsIfIdle(publishTargetUrls))
       }
 
       /**
@@ -2598,7 +2615,8 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
       onclose,
       startLogin,
       onAllClose,
-      connectionSlotPriority
+      connectionSlotPriority,
+      singleRelayExplicit
     }: {
       onevent?: (evt: NEvent) => void
       oneose?: (eosed: boolean) => void
@@ -2607,17 +2625,25 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
       onAllClose?: (reasons: string[]) => void
       /** Jump the global connection queue (single-relay authoritative timelines). */
       connectionSlotPriority?: boolean
+      /** Authoritative single-relay timeline: keep the target relay through sanitizers and strikes. */
+      singleRelayExplicit?: boolean
     },
     relayReqLog?: { groupId?: string; onBatchEnd?: (rows: RelayOpTerminalRow[]) => void }
   ) {
     const originalDedupedRelays = Array.from(new Set(urls))
+    const preserveExplicitSingleRelay =
+      originalDedupedRelays.length === 1 &&
+      (singleRelayExplicit === true || isSingleRelayExplicitBrowseActive())
+    const revokeFetchScope = preserveExplicitSingleRelay ? enterSingleRelayExplicitFetchScope() : () => {}
     const httpKeys = new Set(
       httpIndexBasesForRelayQuery(originalDedupedRelays, this.viewerHttpIndexRelayBases).map((u) =>
         canonicalRelaySessionKey(u)
       )
     )
     let relays = sanitizeRelayUrlsForFetch(
-      originalDedupedRelays.filter((url) => !httpKeys.has(canonicalRelaySessionKey(url)))
+      originalDedupedRelays.filter((url) => !httpKeys.has(canonicalRelaySessionKey(url))),
+      undefined,
+      { preserveExplicitSingleRelay }
     )
     if (navigator.onLine) {
       relays = stripLocalNetworkRelaysForWssReq(relays)
@@ -2640,7 +2666,9 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
       }
     }
 
-    relays = withDocumentRelayUrlsForFilters(relays, filters)
+    relays = withDocumentRelayUrlsForFilters(relays, filters, {
+      singleRelayFeed: originalDedupedRelays.length === 1
+    })
 
     const stripSocialBlockedRelays =
       SOCIAL_KIND_BLOCKED_RELAY_URLS.length > 0 &&
@@ -2691,8 +2719,9 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
     /**
      * Same rule as {@link QueryService.subscribe}: never `pool.close` a lone relay when the REQ carries NIP-50
      * `search` — overlapping one-shots (e.g. Strict Mode) otherwise reset the socket before EOSE.
+     * Also skip for explicit single-relay browse feeds: close+reconnect on every timeline resubscribe triggers 429s.
      */
-    if (groupedRequests.length === 1 && !hasNip50Search) {
+    if (groupedRequests.length === 1 && !hasNip50Search && !preserveExplicitSingleRelay) {
       try {
         this.pool.close([groupedRequests[0]!.url])
       } catch {
@@ -2716,6 +2745,8 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
       }
     }
 
+    const revokeOperationScope = grantRelayConnectionOperationScope(relays)
+
     const reqGroupId =
       relayReqLog?.groupId ??
       `sub-${Date.now().toString(36)}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 10)}`
@@ -2807,7 +2838,11 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
             relay = await that.pool.ensureRelay(url, { connectionTimeout: RELAY_POOL_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT_MS })
             patchRelayNoticeForFetchFailures(relay, relayKey, (u, m) => that.handleRelayNoticeSession(u, m))
           } catch (err) {
-            relaySessionStrikes.recordReadFailure(url, 'connection')
+            relaySessionStrikes.recordConnectionFailure(
+              url,
+              (err as Error)?.message ?? String(err),
+              'connection'
+            )
             that.queryService.releaseSubSlot(relayKey)
             handleClose(i, (err as Error)?.message ?? String(err))
             return
@@ -2864,7 +2899,11 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
                           that.handleRelayNoticeSession(u, m)
                         )
                       } catch (err) {
-                        relaySessionStrikes.recordReadFailure(url, 'connection')
+                        relaySessionStrikes.recordConnectionFailure(
+                          url,
+                          (err as Error)?.message ?? String(err),
+                          'connection'
+                        )
                         nip42ResubscribePending.delete(i)
                         that.queryService.releaseSubSlot(relayKey)
                         handleClose(i, (err as Error)?.message ?? String(err))
@@ -2969,7 +3008,14 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
         this.removeEventListener('newEvent', handleNewEventFromInternal)
         void allOpened.then(() => {
           subs.forEach(({ close: subClose }) => subClose())
-          setTimeout(() => opBatch.finalize('closed', 'subscription_closed'), 0)
+          setTimeout(() => {
+            opBatch.finalize('closed', 'subscription_closed')
+            revokeOperationScope()
+            revokeFetchScope()
+            if (!preserveExplicitSingleRelay) {
+              closeRelayPoolSocketsIfIdle(relays)
+            }
+          }, 0)
         })
       }
     }
@@ -3067,7 +3113,9 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
     const httpTimelinePollBases = httpIndexBasesForRelayQuery(
       originalDedupedRelays,
       this.viewerHttpIndexRelayBases
-    ).filter((u) => !relaySessionStrikes.isReadHttpSkipped(u))
+    ).filter(
+      (u) => relayAuthoritativeTimeline || !relaySessionStrikes.isReadHttpSkipped(u)
+    )
     let httpPollIntervalId: ReturnType<typeof setInterval> | null = null
     let httpPollCursorUnix = 0
     const clearHttpTimelinePoll = () => {
@@ -3325,7 +3373,8 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
       onclose: onClose,
       connectionSlotPriority:
         connectionSlotPriority === true ||
-        (relayAuthoritativeTimeline && wsRelays.length === 1 && navigator.onLine)
+        (relayAuthoritativeTimeline && wsRelays.length === 1 && navigator.onLine),
+      singleRelayExplicit: relayAuthoritativeTimeline && originalDedupedRelays.length === 1
     },
     httpOnlyShard ? undefined : relayReqLog)
 
@@ -3539,15 +3588,22 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
       this.viewerHttpIndexRelayBases
     )
     const httpKeys = new Set(httpRelayBases.map((u) => canonicalRelaySessionKey(u)))
+    const preserveExplicitSingleRelay =
+      originalDedupedRelays.length === 1 &&
+      (isSingleRelayExplicitBrowseActive() || isSingleRelayExplicitFetchScopeActive())
     const wsOriginal = sanitizeRelayUrlsForFetch(
-      originalDedupedRelays.filter((url) => !httpKeys.has(canonicalRelaySessionKey(url)))
+      originalDedupedRelays.filter((url) => !httpKeys.has(canonicalRelaySessionKey(url))),
+      undefined,
+      { preserveExplicitSingleRelay }
     )
     let relays = [...wsOriginal]
     if (relays.length === 0 && httpRelayBases.length === 0) {
       relays = [...publicReadRelayFallbackUrls()]
     }
     const filters = Array.isArray(filter) ? filter : [filter]
-    relays = withDocumentRelayUrlsForFilters(relays, filters)
+    relays = withDocumentRelayUrlsForFilters(relays, filters, {
+      singleRelayFeed: originalDedupedRelays.length === 1
+    })
     const stripSocialBlockedRelays =
       SOCIAL_KIND_BLOCKED_RELAY_URLS.length > 0 &&
       filters.some((f) => relayFilterIncludesSocialKindBlockedKind(f))
@@ -3622,12 +3678,6 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
         return { events: [], connectionError: e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e) }
       }
     }
-    try {
-      await this.pool.ensureRelay(normalized, { connectionTimeout: RELAY_POOL_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT_MS })
-    } catch (e) {
-      const msg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e)
-      return { events: [], connectionError: msg }
-    }
     try {
       const events = await this.queryService.query([normalized], filter, undefined, queryOpts)
       return { events, connectionError: undefined }

src/services/local-storage.service.ts

@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ class LocalStorageService {
   private showPublishSuccessToasts: boolean = false
   private showDetailedPublishToasts: boolean = true
   private showLiveActivitiesBanner: boolean = true
-  private restrictRelaysToMetadataLists: boolean = false
+  private restrictRelaysToMetadataLists: boolean = true
 
   constructor() {
     if (!LocalStorageService.instance) {
@@ -422,7 +422,7 @@ class LocalStorageService {
     const restrictMetadataRelaysStr = window.localStorage.getItem(
       StorageKey.RESTRICT_RELAYS_TO_METADATA_LISTS
     )
-    this.restrictRelaysToMetadataLists = restrictMetadataRelaysStr === 'true'
+    this.restrictRelaysToMetadataLists = restrictMetadataRelaysStr !== 'false'
     setRestrictConnectionsToMetadataRelaysOnly(this.restrictRelaysToMetadataLists)
 
     // Clean up deprecated data
@@ -617,7 +617,7 @@ class LocalStorageService {
     if (paneStr === 'single' || paneStr === 'double') this.panelMode = paneStr
     const restrictMetadataRelaysStr = get(StorageKey.RESTRICT_RELAYS_TO_METADATA_LISTS)
     if (restrictMetadataRelaysStr != null) {
-      this.restrictRelaysToMetadataLists = restrictMetadataRelaysStr === 'true'
+      this.restrictRelaysToMetadataLists = restrictMetadataRelaysStr !== 'false'
       setRestrictConnectionsToMetadataRelaysOnly(this.restrictRelaysToMetadataLists)
     }
   }