diff --git a/composeApp/src/commonMain/composeResources/values/strings.xml b/composeApp/src/commonMain/composeResources/values/strings.xml
index c337db92..3b45342b 100644
--- a/composeApp/src/commonMain/composeResources/values/strings.xml
+++ b/composeApp/src/commonMain/composeResources/values/strings.xml
@@ -234,7 +234,6 @@
     <string name="source_dialect">Source dialect</string>
     <string name="start">Start</string>
     <string name="start_a_group_chat">Start a group chat</string>
-    <string name="start_chat">Start chat</string>
     <string name="start_chat_via_npub_or_nip05">Start chat via npub or nip05</string>
     <string name="start_key_ceremony">Start key ceremony</string>
     <string name="startup_error">Startup error</string>
@@ -486,6 +485,7 @@
     <string name="switch_to_it">Switch to it</string>
     <string name="the_profile_you_are_in_stays_on_this_device">The profile you are in stays on this device.</string>
     <!-- The profile preview: the person behind a pasted npub, before a chat with them is started. -->
+    <string name="find_profile">Find profile</string>
     <string name="looking_for_this_profile_on_the_relays">Looking for this profile on the relays.</string>
     <string name="start_new_chat">Start new chat</string>
 </resources>
diff --git a/composeApp/src/commonMain/kotlin/press/mantra/compose/identity/CredentialParser.kt b/composeApp/src/commonMain/kotlin/press/mantra/compose/identity/CredentialParser.kt
index b8560fde..33866cb1 100644
--- a/composeApp/src/commonMain/kotlin/press/mantra/compose/identity/CredentialParser.kt
+++ b/composeApp/src/commonMain/kotlin/press/mantra/compose/identity/CredentialParser.kt
@@ -131,20 +131,39 @@ object CredentialParser {
         return Result.Recognised(SignInCredential.NostrSecret(privateKey, privateKey.nostrPublicKeyHex()))
     }
 
+    /**
+     * The x-only key under an `npub1…`, with or without a `nostr:` prefix, or null.
+     *
+     * The one shape a message address can arrive in, for the field that takes one. Hex
+     * stays a secret here for the reason [parse] gives, and an nsec is null because it is
+     * not an address -- a field asking whom to write to must never take a secret for an
+     * answer. Same decode as the sign-in branch, so the two cannot disagree.
+     */
+    fun npubOrNull(raw: String): HexKey? {
+        val token = raw.trim().removePrefix("nostr:").lowercase()
+        if (!token.startsWith("npub1")) return null
+        return decodeNpub(token)
+    }
+
+    private fun npub(token: String): Result =
+        decodeNpub(token)
+            ?.let { Result.Recognised(SignInCredential.NostrPublicKey(it)) }
+            ?: Result.Refused(CredentialProblem.InvalidKey)
+
     /**
      * Thirty-two bytes under the `npub` prefix that name a point on the curve -- the
      * counterpart of the `isValid()` a secret is checked with, since not every x
      * coordinate has a point above it.
      */
-    private fun npub(token: String): Result {
+    private fun decodeNpub(token: String): HexKey? {
         val bytes = runCatching {
             val (hrp, data) = Bech32.decodeBytes(token)
             require(hrp == "npub") { "not an npub" }
             require(data.size == 32) { "not an x-only key" }
             data
-        }.getOrNull() ?: return Result.Refused(CredentialProblem.InvalidKey)
+        }.getOrNull() ?: return null
         val xOnly = XonlyPublicKey(ByteVector32(bytes))
-        if (!xOnly.publicKey.isValid()) return Result.Refused(CredentialProblem.InvalidKey)
-        return Result.Recognised(SignInCredential.NostrPublicKey(xOnly.value.toHex()))
+        if (!xOnly.publicKey.isValid()) return null
+        return xOnly.value.toHex()
     }
 }
diff --git a/composeApp/src/commonMain/kotlin/press/mantra/compose/ui/composable/widgets/dialogs/StartDirectMessageToNpubOrNip05Dialog.kt b/composeApp/src/commonMain/kotlin/press/mantra/compose/ui/composable/widgets/dialogs/StartDirectMessageToNpubOrNip05Dialog.kt
index 9fe197c1..521d0a9e 100644
--- a/composeApp/src/commonMain/kotlin/press/mantra/compose/ui/composable/widgets/dialogs/StartDirectMessageToNpubOrNip05Dialog.kt
+++ b/composeApp/src/commonMain/kotlin/press/mantra/compose/ui/composable/widgets/dialogs/StartDirectMessageToNpubOrNip05Dialog.kt
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ import androidx.compose.foundation.text.input.TextFieldLineLimits
 import androidx.compose.foundation.text.input.rememberTextFieldState
 import androidx.compose.material.icons.Icons
 import androidx.compose.material.icons.filled.Close
-import androidx.compose.material.icons.filled.Start
+import androidx.compose.material.icons.filled.PersonSearch
 import androidx.compose.material3.Card
 import androidx.compose.material3.Icon
 import androidx.compose.material3.IconButton
@@ -32,9 +32,9 @@ import androidx.compose.ui.Modifier
 import androidx.compose.ui.text.style.TextAlign
 import androidx.compose.ui.unit.dp
 import androidx.compose.ui.window.Dialog
-import press.mantra.compose.extensions.bech32ToHexOrNull
-import press.mantra.compose.ui.composable.navigation.routes.ChatRoomMessagingRoute
+import press.mantra.compose.identity.CredentialParser
 import press.mantra.compose.ui.composable.navigation.routes.ImplementationPendingRoute
+import press.mantra.compose.ui.composable.navigation.routes.ProfilePreviewRoute
 import press.mantra.compose.ui.composable.navigation.routes.Route
 import press.mantra.compose.ui.theme.MantraTheme
 import com.vitorpamplona.quartz.nip01Core.core.HexKey
@@ -47,11 +47,22 @@ import androidx.compose.ui.focus.FocusRequester
 import androidx.compose.ui.focus.focusRequester
 import mantra.composeapp.generated.resources.Res
 import org.jetbrains.compose.resources.stringResource
+import mantra.composeapp.generated.resources.find_profile
 import mantra.composeapp.generated.resources.input_npub_or_nip05
-import mantra.composeapp.generated.resources.start_chat
 import mantra.composeapp.generated.resources.start_chat_via_npub_or_nip05
+import press.mantra.compose.ui.composable.widgets.Decorative
 import press.mantra.compose.ui.theme.ConformancePreviews
 
+/**
+ * Whom to write to, as an npub or a nip05.
+ *
+ * An npub no longer starts a chat from here: it opens the person's profile, and the
+ * chat is started from there once the user has seen who it is. The field keeps what
+ * it parsed rather than whether it parsed -- the enabled button and the route it
+ * pushes read the same decoded key, which is what closed the gap where `nostr:npub1…`
+ * passed the check and then failed the decode in silence. A nip05 still lands on the
+ * placeholder; resolving one is out of scope. See docs/npub-profile-preview.md.
+ */
 @Composable
 fun StartDirectMessageToNpubOrNip05Dialog(
     activeUserPublicKey: HexKey,
@@ -65,7 +76,10 @@ fun StartDirectMessageToNpubOrNip05Dialog(
 
         }
     ) {
-        val startChatButtonEnabled = remember { mutableStateOf(false) }
+        // The key under a pasted npub, or null while the field holds anything else.
+        val parsedPublicKey = remember { mutableStateOf<HexKey?>(null) }
+        // A nip05 is recognised by shape alone; nothing resolves it yet.
+        val emailLikeAddressEntered = remember { mutableStateOf(false) }
 
         Card(
             modifier = Modifier
@@ -123,63 +137,52 @@ fun StartDirectMessageToNpubOrNip05Dialog(
                     },
                     lineLimits = TextFieldLineLimits.SingleLine,
                     inputTransformation = {
-                        val input = asCharSequence().toString().lowercase()
+                        val input = asCharSequence().toString()
 
-                        if (input.startsWith("npub1") || input.startsWith("nostr:npub1")) {
-                            // Check for valid npub
-                            startChatButtonEnabled.value = true
-                        } else if (Parser.parseEmailLikeAddress(input) != null) {
-                            // Check for valid npub
-                            startChatButtonEnabled.value = true
-                        } else {
-                            startChatButtonEnabled.value = false
-                        }
+                        parsedPublicKey.value = CredentialParser.npubOrNull(input)
+                        emailLikeAddressEntered.value = parsedPublicKey.value == null &&
+                            Parser.parseEmailLikeAddress(input.lowercase()) != null
                     }
                 )
 
                 TextButton(
-                    enabled = startChatButtonEnabled.value,
+                    enabled = parsedPublicKey.value != null || emailLikeAddressEntered.value,
                     onClick = {
+                        // Read before the dialog closes: the state lives in it.
+                        val publicKey = parsedPublicKey.value
+                        val input = textFieldState.text.toString()
+
                         scope.launch {
                             toggleOpenDialogSetting.invoke(false)
                         }.invokeOnCompletion {
-                            val input = textFieldState.text.toString()
-
-                            val emailLikeAddress = Parser.parseEmailLikeAddress(input)
-
-                            if (emailLikeAddress != null) {
-                                // TODO: Get public Key from hex...
+                            if (publicKey != null) {
                                 onNavigateToRoute.invoke(
-                                    ImplementationPendingRoute(
-                                        "Direct Message to ${textFieldState.text}"
+                                    ProfilePreviewRoute(
+                                        activeUserPublicKey = activeUserPublicKey,
+                                        profilePublicKey = publicKey,
                                     )
                                 )
                             } else {
-                                val publicKey = input.bech32ToHexOrNull()
-
-                                if (publicKey != null) {
-                                    onNavigateToRoute.invoke(
-                                        ChatRoomMessagingRoute(
-                                            activeUserPublicKey = activeUserPublicKey,
-                                            chatRoomId = publicKey,
-                                            relayHint = null
-                                        )
+                                // TODO: Resolve the nip05 to a public key, then the same route.
+                                onNavigateToRoute.invoke(
+                                    ImplementationPendingRoute(
+                                        "Direct Message to $input"
                                     )
-                                }
+                                )
                             }
-
                         }
                     }
                 ) {
-                    Text(stringResource(Res.string.start_chat))
+                    Text(stringResource(Res.string.find_profile))
 
                     Spacer(
                         modifier = Modifier.width(MaterialTheme.spacing.space125)
                     )
 
                     Icon(
-                        Icons.Default.Start,
-                        contentDescription = "Start chat"
+                        Icons.Default.PersonSearch,
+                        // The label is beside it.
+                        contentDescription = Decorative
                     )
                 }
             }
diff --git a/composeApp/src/jvmTest/kotlin/press/mantra/compose/identity/CredentialParserJvmTest.kt b/composeApp/src/jvmTest/kotlin/press/mantra/compose/identity/CredentialParserJvmTest.kt
index fd444982..d661009a 100644
--- a/composeApp/src/jvmTest/kotlin/press/mantra/compose/identity/CredentialParserJvmTest.kt
+++ b/composeApp/src/jvmTest/kotlin/press/mantra/compose/identity/CredentialParserJvmTest.kt
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import kotlin.test.Test
 import kotlin.test.assertEquals
 import kotlin.test.assertIs
 import kotlin.test.assertNotEquals
+import kotlin.test.assertNull
 
 /**
  * Every row of the sign-in screen's table, in and out.
@@ -114,4 +115,27 @@ class CredentialParserJvmTest {
         assertEquals(CredentialProblem.InvalidKey, refused("0".repeat(64)))
         assertEquals(CredentialProblem.InvalidKey, refused("f".repeat(64)))
     }
+
+    // --- the address form: an npub or nothing ---
+
+    /** The three spellings the sign-in accepts, plus the whitespace a paste brings. */
+    @Test
+    fun `an address is an npub in any of its spellings`() {
+        for (input in listOf(npub, "nostr:$npub", npub.uppercase(), "  $npub\n")) {
+            assertEquals(publicKey, CredentialParser.npubOrNull(input), "for '$input'")
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * A field asking whom to write to must never take a secret for an answer, and it
+     * takes nothing else either: the hex the sign-in reads as a secret, an nprofile's
+     * TLV, and an npub with a bad checksum are all nothing here.
+     */
+    @Test
+    fun `an address is not a secret, a hex, an nprofile or a broken npub`() {
+        val nprofile = "nprofile1qqsrhuxx8l9ex335q7he0f09aej04zpazpl0ne2cgukyawd24mayt8gpp4mhxue69uhhytnc9e3k7mgpz4mhxue69uhkg6nzv9ejuumpv34kytnrdaksjlyr9p"
+        for (input in listOf(nsec, "nostr:$nsec", hex, publicKey, nprofile, npub.dropLast(1) + "q", "", "   ")) {
+            assertNull(CredentialParser.npubOrNull(input), "for '$input'")
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/composeApp/src/jvmTest/kotlin/press/mantra/compose/ui/composable/widgets/dialogs/StartDirectMessageToNpubOrNip05DialogJvmTest.kt b/composeApp/src/jvmTest/kotlin/press/mantra/compose/ui/composable/widgets/dialogs/StartDirectMessageToNpubOrNip05DialogJvmTest.kt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d29710c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/composeApp/src/jvmTest/kotlin/press/mantra/compose/ui/composable/widgets/dialogs/StartDirectMessageToNpubOrNip05DialogJvmTest.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+package press.mantra.compose.ui.composable.widgets.dialogs
+
+import androidx.compose.runtime.rememberCoroutineScope
+import androidx.compose.ui.test.ComposeUiTest
+import androidx.compose.ui.test.ExperimentalTestApi
+import androidx.compose.ui.test.assertIsEnabled
+import androidx.compose.ui.test.assertIsNotEnabled
+import androidx.compose.ui.test.onNodeWithText
+import androidx.compose.ui.test.performClick
+import androidx.compose.ui.test.performTextInput
+import androidx.compose.ui.test.runDesktopComposeUiTest
+import press.mantra.compose.ui.composable.navigation.routes.ImplementationPendingRoute
+import press.mantra.compose.ui.composable.navigation.routes.ProfilePreviewRoute
+import press.mantra.compose.ui.composable.navigation.routes.Route
+import press.mantra.compose.ui.composable.widgets.ProvideSnackbarHost
+import press.mantra.compose.ui.theme.MantraTheme
+import kotlin.test.Test
+import kotlin.test.assertEquals
+import kotlin.test.assertNull
+
+/**
+ * What the new-chat dialog does with what is pasted into it.
+ *
+ * The button and the route read one decoded key, so the case that used to close the
+ * dialog and do nothing -- `nostr:npub1…`, which passed the check and failed the
+ * decode -- is the row worth having. The nip05 row pins where that branch still
+ * lands, so that it is recorded rather than assumed.
+ */
+@OptIn(ExperimentalTestApi::class)
+class StartDirectMessageToNpubOrNip05DialogJvmTest {
+
+    private val activeUserPublicKey = "a".repeat(64)
+    private val npub = "npub1zutzeysacnf9rru6zqwmxd54mud0k44tst6l70ja5mhv8jjumytsd2x7nu"
+    private val publicKey = "17162c921dc4d2518f9a101db33695df1afb56ab82f5ff3e5da6eec3ca5cd917"
+    private val nsec = "nsec10allq0gjx7fddtzef0ax00mdps9t2kmtrldkyjfs8l5xruwvh2dq0lhhkp"
+
+    @Test
+    fun `a pasted npub opens the person's profile, and starts no chat`() {
+        var opened: Route? = null
+
+        render(onNavigateToRoute = { opened = it }) {
+            onNodeWithText("Find profile").assertIsNotEnabled()
+            onNodeWithText("Input npub... or nip05").performTextInput(npub)
+            onNodeWithText("Find profile").assertIsEnabled().performClick()
+        }
+
+        assertEquals(ProfilePreviewRoute(activeUserPublicKey, profilePublicKey = publicKey), opened)
+    }
+
+    /** The row that failed before: accepted by the field's check, refused by the decode, and nothing happened. */
+    @Test
+    fun `a nostr-prefixed npub is the same person`() {
+        var opened: Route? = null
+
+        render(onNavigateToRoute = { opened = it }) {
+            onNodeWithText("Input npub... or nip05").performTextInput("nostr:$npub")
+            onNodeWithText("Find profile").assertIsEnabled().performClick()
+        }
+
+        assertEquals(ProfilePreviewRoute(activeUserPublicKey, profilePublicKey = publicKey), opened)
+    }
+
+    /** A field asking whom to write to must never take a secret for an answer. */
+    @Test
+    fun `an nsec, or an npub with a broken checksum, enables nothing`() {
+        var opened: Route? = null
+
+        render(onNavigateToRoute = { opened = it }) {
+            onNodeWithText("Input npub... or nip05").performTextInput(nsec)
+            onNodeWithText("Find profile").assertIsNotEnabled()
+        }
+        render(onNavigateToRoute = { opened = it }) {
+            onNodeWithText("Input npub... or nip05").performTextInput(npub.dropLast(1) + "q")
+            onNodeWithText("Find profile").assertIsNotEnabled()
+        }
+
+        assertNull(opened)
+    }
+
+    /** Recognised by shape alone, and still the placeholder: resolving one is out of scope. */
+    @Test
+    fun `a nip05 still lands on the placeholder`() {
+        var opened: Route? = null
+
+        render(onNavigateToRoute = { opened = it }) {
+            onNodeWithText("Input npub... or nip05").performTextInput("alice@example.com")
+            onNodeWithText("Find profile").assertIsEnabled().performClick()
+        }
+
+        assertEquals(ImplementationPendingRoute("Direct Message to alice@example.com"), opened)
+    }
+
+    private fun render(
+        onNavigateToRoute: (Route) -> Unit,
+        assertions: ComposeUiTest.() -> Unit,
+    ) = runDesktopComposeUiTest(width = 400, height = 800) {
+        setContent {
+            MantraTheme {
+                ProvideSnackbarHost {
+                    StartDirectMessageToNpubOrNip05Dialog(
+                        activeUserPublicKey = activeUserPublicKey,
+                        scope = rememberCoroutineScope(),
+                        toggleOpenDialogSetting = {},
+                        onNavigateToRoute = onNavigateToRoute,
+                    )
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        assertions()
+        // The navigation runs when the close-the-dialog job completes; give it the frame.
+        waitForIdle()
+    }
+}