Usage Guide

After installation, your epress node becomes your personal publishing and social hub. This guide covers daily operations and workflows.

How This Relates to Network and Protocol

Daily actions below are performed on epress node software. Signed and connected actions are then propagated in epress world through the epress world protocol.

Writing & Publishing

Markdown Editor

epress includes a rich Markdown editor with support for:

Headers, lists, and text formatting
Code blocks with syntax highlighting
Links and images
Tables
Math equations (KaTeX)
Diagrams (Mermaid)

Media Uploads

Upload files to include in your publications:

Images (PNG, JPG, GIF, WebP)
Video files
PDF documents
Other binary files

Files are stored locally and referenced by content hash.

Publishing Options

Local Publish

Content stored only on your node. Use for drafts, private notes, or content you are not ready to share.

Signed Publish

Content is cryptographically signed and distributed to followers. Required for public visibility in the network.

Managing Timeline

What Appears in Timeline

Your timeline shows signed content from nodes you follow. Content is pulled when:

A followed node publishes new signed content
Your node syncs with followed nodes
Replication requests are received

No Algorithm

Timeline is strictly chronological. Content appears in publication order, not ranked by engagement. You control what you see by choosing who to follow.

RSS Subscription

Subscribe to any node content via RSS:

https://your-node-url/rss

Using RSS

Public RSS Feed

Access any node public content via RSS at:

https://node-url/rss

Timeline RSS with Auth

Access your personalized timeline via RSS with authentication:

https://your-node-url/rss/timeline?token=YOUR_TOKEN

Generate an auth token in your node settings.

AI Tool Integration

Use RSS feeds with AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or custom workflows:

# Example: fetch RSS and process with AI
curl https://node-url/rss | your-ai-tool

Node Settings

Profile Editing

Node title and description
Avatar image
Public URL for other nodes to connect

Follow Permissions

Open

Anyone can follow your node. Follow requests are automatically accepted.

Approval Required

You approve each follow request manually.

Comment Authentication

Choose how visitors can comment on your publications:

Email verification: Commenters confirm via email
Wallet signature: Commenters sign with their wallet

Following Other Nodes

Following establishes a relationship and brings their signed content into your timeline.

Visit another node URL
Click "Follow" button
Your node sends a signed follow request
Their node verifies and accepts (if open or approved)
Their signed publications appear in your timeline

Discovering Nodes

Find interesting nodes to follow:

Check the awesome-nodes list on GitHub
Ask for recommendations in the community
Follow links from content you enjoy

Open FAQ Read Whitepaper