diff --git a/packages/app/src/Components/Embed/NostrLink.tsx b/packages/app/src/Components/Embed/NostrLink.tsx
index 5af0eb56..d9722f42 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/Components/Embed/NostrLink.tsx
+++ b/packages/app/src/Components/Embed/NostrLink.tsx
@@ -8,10 +8,6 @@ export default function NostrLink({ link, depth }: { link: string; depth?: numbe
   const nav = tryParseNostrLink(link);
 
   if (nav?.type === NostrPrefix.PublicKey || nav?.type === NostrPrefix.Profile) {
-    if (nav.id.startsWith("npub")) {
-      // eslint-disable-next-line no-debugger
-      debugger;
-    }
     return <Mention link={nav} />;
   } else if (nav?.type === NostrPrefix.Note || nav?.type === NostrPrefix.Event || nav?.type === NostrPrefix.Address) {
     if ((depth ?? 0) > 0) {
diff --git a/packages/app/src/Pages/onboarding/start.tsx b/packages/app/src/Pages/onboarding/start.tsx
index 2667b090..49c57603 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/Pages/onboarding/start.tsx
+++ b/packages/app/src/Pages/onboarding/start.tsx
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ export function SignIn() {
                 id: "X7xU8J",
               })}
               value={key}
-              onChange={onChange} // TODO should log in directly if nsec or npub is pasted
+              onChange={onChange}
               className="new-username"
             />
             {error && <b className="error">{error}</b>}
diff --git a/packages/system/src/connection.ts b/packages/system/src/connection.ts
index 96a21e93..ff17d4fe 100644
--- a/packages/system/src/connection.ts
+++ b/packages/system/src/connection.ts
@@ -31,7 +31,15 @@ interface ConnectionEvents {
   unknownMessage: (obj: Array<any>) => void;
 }
 
+/**
+ * SYNC command is an internal command that requests the connection to devise a strategy
+ * to synchronize based on a set of existing cached events and a filter set.
+ */
 export type SyncCommand = ["SYNC", id: string, fromSet: Array<TaggedNostrEvent>, ...filters: Array<ReqFilter>];
+
+/**
+ * Pending REQ queue
+ */
 interface ConnectionQueueItem {
   obj: ReqCommand | SyncCommand;
   cb: () => void;
@@ -228,7 +236,6 @@ export class Connection extends EventEmitter<ConnectionEvents> {
           break;
         }
         default: {
-          this.#log(`Unknown tag: ${tag}`);
           this.emit("unknownMessage", msg);
           break;
         }
@@ -333,7 +340,10 @@ export class Connection extends EventEmitter<ConnectionEvents> {
       this.#log("Queuing: %O", cmd);
     } else {
       this.ActiveRequests.add(cmd[1]);
-      this.#sendRequestCommand(cmd);
+      this.#sendRequestCommand({
+        obj: cmd,
+        cb: cbSent,
+      });
       cbSent();
     }
     this.emit("change");
@@ -354,30 +364,42 @@ export class Connection extends EventEmitter<ConnectionEvents> {
       for (let x = 0; x < canSend; x++) {
         const p = this.PendingRequests.shift();
         if (p) {
-          this.#sendRequestCommand(p.obj);
-          p.cb();
+          this.#sendRequestCommand(p);
           this.#log("Sent pending REQ %O", p.obj);
         }
       }
     }
   }
 
-  #sendRequestCommand(cmd: ReqCommand | SyncCommand) {
+  #sendRequestCommand(item: ConnectionQueueItem) {
     try {
+      const cmd = item.obj;
       if (cmd[0] === "REQ") {
         this.ActiveRequests.add(cmd[1]);
         this.send(cmd);
       } else if (cmd[0] === "SYNC") {
+        const [_, id, eventSet, ...filters] = cmd;
+        const lastResortSync = () => {
+          const latest = eventSet.reduce((acc, v) => (acc = v.created_at > acc ? v.created_at : acc), 0);
+          const newFilters = filters.map(a => ({
+            ...a,
+            since: latest,
+          }));
+          this.queueReq(["REQ", id, ...newFilters], item.cb);
+        };
         if (this.Info?.software?.includes("strfry")) {
-          const neg = new NegentropyFlow(cmd[1], this, cmd[2], cmd.slice(3) as Array<ReqFilter>);
+          const neg = new NegentropyFlow(id, this, eventSet, filters);
           neg.once("finish", filters => {
             if (filters.length > 0) {
-              this.queueReq(["REQ", cmd[1], ...filters], () => {});
+              this.queueReq(["REQ", cmd[1], ...filters], item.cb);
             }
           });
+          neg.once("error", () => {
+            lastResortSync();
+          });
           neg.start();
         } else {
-          throw new Error("SYNC not supported");
+          lastResortSync();
         }
       }
     } catch (e) {
diff --git a/packages/system/src/negentropy/negentropy-flow.ts b/packages/system/src/negentropy/negentropy-flow.ts
index 7d0f34fc..396ddf4b 100644
--- a/packages/system/src/negentropy/negentropy-flow.ts
+++ b/packages/system/src/negentropy/negentropy-flow.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,11 @@ export interface NegentropyFlowEvents {
    * When sync is finished emit a set of filters which can resolve sync
    */
   finish: (req: Array<ReqFilter>) => void;
+
+  /**
+   * If an error is detected and Negentropy flow is not supported
+   */
+  error: () => void;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -31,8 +36,8 @@ export class NegentropyFlow extends EventEmitter<NegentropyFlowEvents> {
     this.#connection = conn;
     this.#filters = filters;
 
-    this.#connection.on("unknownMessage", this.#handleMessage.bind(this));
-    this.#connection.on("notice", n => this.#handleMessage.bind(this));
+    this.#connection.on("unknownMessage", msg => this.#handleMessage(msg));
+    this.#connection.on("notice", n => this.#handleMessage(["NOTICE", n]));
 
     const storage = new NegentropyStorageVector();
     set.forEach(a => storage.insert(a.created_at, a.id));
@@ -52,22 +57,25 @@ export class NegentropyFlow extends EventEmitter<NegentropyFlowEvents> {
     try {
       switch (msg[0] as string) {
         case "NOTICE": {
-          if ((msg[1] as string).includes("negentropy disabled")) {
-            this.#log("SYNC ERROR: %s", msg[1]);
-            this.#cleanup();
+          const [_, errorMsg] = msg as [string, string];
+          if (errorMsg.includes("negentropy disabled") || errorMsg.includes("negentropy error")) {
+            this.#log("SYNC ERROR: %s", errorMsg);
+            this.#cleanup(true);
           }
           break;
         }
         case "NEG-ERROR": {
-          if (msg[1] !== this.#id) break;
-          this.#log("SYNC ERROR %s", msg[2]);
-          this.#cleanup();
+          const [_, id, errorMsg] = msg as [string, string, string];
+          if (id !== this.#id) break;
+          this.#log("SYNC ERROR %s", errorMsg);
+          this.#cleanup(true);
           break;
         }
         case "NEG-MSG": {
-          if (msg[1] !== this.#id) break;
-          const query = hexToBytes(msg[2] as string);
-          const [nextMsg, _, need] = this.#negentropy.reconcile(query);
+          const [, id, payload] = msg as [string, string, string];
+          if (id !== this.#id) break;
+          const query = hexToBytes(payload);
+          const [nextMsg, , need] = this.#negentropy.reconcile(query);
           if (need.length > 0) {
             this.#need.push(...need.map(bytesToHex));
           }
@@ -81,14 +89,16 @@ export class NegentropyFlow extends EventEmitter<NegentropyFlowEvents> {
         }
       }
     } catch (e) {
-      debugger;
       console.error(e);
     }
   }
 
-  #cleanup() {
-    this.#connection.off("unknownMessage", this.#handleMessage.bind(this));
-    this.#connection.off("notice", n => this.#handleMessage.bind(this));
+  #cleanup(error = false) {
+    this.#connection.off("unknownMessage", msg => this.#handleMessage(msg));
+    this.#connection.off("notice", n => this.#handleMessage(["NOTICE", n]));
     this.emit("finish", this.#need.length > 0 ? [{ ids: this.#need }] : []);
+    if (error) {
+      this.emit("error");
+    }
   }
 }
diff --git a/packages/system/src/negentropy/vector-storage.ts b/packages/system/src/negentropy/vector-storage.ts
index 5d3c89b2..e206831b 100644
--- a/packages/system/src/negentropy/vector-storage.ts
+++ b/packages/system/src/negentropy/vector-storage.ts
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ export class NegentropyStorageVector {
 
     for (let i = 1; i < this.#items.length; i++) {
       if (itemCompare(this.#items[i - 1], this.#items[i]) === 0) {
-        debugger;
         throw Error("duplicate item inserted");
       }
     }
diff --git a/packages/system/src/request-builder.ts b/packages/system/src/request-builder.ts
index 1e4a7251..b71b8ed4 100644
--- a/packages/system/src/request-builder.ts
+++ b/packages/system/src/request-builder.ts
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ export class RequestBuilder {
     const ts = unixNowMs() - start;
     this.#log("buildDiff %s %d ms +%d", this.id, ts, diff.length);
     if (diff.length > 0) {
-      // todo: fix
+      // todo: fix for explicit relays
       return splitFlatByWriteRelays(system.relayCache, diff).map(a => {
         return {
           strategy: RequestStrategy.AuthorsRelays,