diff --git a/src/App.tsx b/src/App.tsx
index d286f0f5..71276c2b 100644
--- a/src/App.tsx
+++ b/src/App.tsx
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import { createAddressLoader } from 'applesauce-loaders/loaders'
 import Bookmarks from './components/Bookmarks'
 import Toast from './components/Toast'
 import { useToast } from './hooks/useToast'
+import { ALL_RELAYS, PROFILE_RELAYS } from './config/relays'
 
 const DEFAULT_ARTICLE = import.meta.env.VITE_DEFAULT_ARTICLE_NADDR || 
   'naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzqmjxss3dld622uu8q25gywum9qtg4w4cv4064jmg20xsac2aam5nqqxnzd3cxqmrzv3exgmr2wfesgsmew'
@@ -94,33 +95,16 @@ function App() {
       
       const pool = new RelayPool()
       
-      // Define relay URLs for bookmark fetching
-      const relayUrls = [
-        'wss://relay.damus.io',
-        'wss://nos.lol',
-        'wss://relay.nostr.band',
-        'wss://relay.dergigi.com',
-        'wss://wot.dergigi.com',
-        'wss://relay.snort.social',
-        'wss://relay.current.fyi',
-        'wss://nostr-pub.wellorder.net'
-      ]
-      
       // Create a relay group for better event deduplication and management
       // This follows the applesauce-relay documentation pattern
-      // Note: We could use pool.group(relayUrls) for direct requests in the future
-      pool.group(relayUrls)
-      console.log('Created relay group with', relayUrls.length, 'relays')
-      console.log('Relay URLs:', relayUrls)
+      pool.group(ALL_RELAYS)
+      console.log('Created relay group with', ALL_RELAYS.length, 'relays (including local)')
+      console.log('Relay URLs:', ALL_RELAYS)
       
       // Attach address/replaceable loaders so ProfileModel can fetch profiles
       const addressLoader = createAddressLoader(pool, {
         eventStore: store,
-        lookupRelays: [
-          'wss://purplepag.es',
-          'wss://relay.primal.net',
-          'wss://relay.nostr.band'
-        ]
+        lookupRelays: PROFILE_RELAYS
       })
       store.addressableLoader = addressLoader
       store.replaceableLoader = addressLoader
diff --git a/src/config/relays.ts b/src/config/relays.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b15672fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/config/relays.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+/**
+ * Centralized relay configuration
+ * All relay URLs used throughout the application
+ */
+
+// Local relay URL (hardcoded for development)
+export const LOCAL_RELAY = 'ws://localhost:7777'
+
+// Public relays for general use
+export const PUBLIC_RELAYS = [
+  'wss://relay.damus.io',
+  'wss://nos.lol',
+  'wss://relay.nostr.band',
+  'wss://relay.dergigi.com',
+  'wss://wot.dergigi.com',
+  'wss://relay.snort.social',
+  'wss://relay.current.fyi',
+  'wss://nostr-pub.wellorder.net'
+]
+
+// Relays for profile lookups
+export const PROFILE_RELAYS = [
+  'wss://purplepag.es',
+  'wss://relay.primal.net',
+  'wss://relay.nostr.band'
+]
+
+// Relays for highlights (read and write)
+export const HIGHLIGHT_RELAYS = [
+  LOCAL_RELAY,
+  'wss://relay.damus.io',
+  'wss://nos.lol',
+  'wss://relay.nostr.band',
+  'wss://relay.snort.social',
+  'wss://purplepag.es'
+]
+
+// Relays for articles
+export const ARTICLE_RELAYS = [
+  LOCAL_RELAY,
+  'wss://relay.damus.io',
+  'wss://nos.lol',
+  'wss://relay.nostr.band',
+  'wss://relay.primal.net'
+]
+
+// Relays for settings (read and write)
+export const SETTINGS_RELAYS = [
+  LOCAL_RELAY,
+  'wss://relay.damus.io',
+  'wss://nos.lol',
+  'wss://relay.nostr.band',
+  'wss://relay.dergigi.com',
+  'wss://wot.dergigi.com'
+]
+
+// All relays including local (for general operations and relay pool initialization)
+export const ALL_RELAYS = [LOCAL_RELAY, ...PUBLIC_RELAYS]
+
+// All write relays (where we publish events)
+export const WRITE_RELAYS = [
+  LOCAL_RELAY,
+  'wss://relay.damus.io',
+  'wss://nos.lol',
+  'wss://relay.nostr.band',
+  'wss://relay.snort.social',
+  'wss://purplepag.es',
+  'wss://relay.dergigi.com'
+]
+
diff --git a/src/hooks/useSettings.ts b/src/hooks/useSettings.ts
index d4f49c80..3c84b7bc 100644
--- a/src/hooks/useSettings.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/useSettings.ts
@@ -5,11 +5,7 @@ import { EventFactory } from 'applesauce-factory'
 import { AccountManager } from 'applesauce-accounts'
 import { UserSettings, loadSettings, saveSettings, watchSettings } from '../services/settingsService'
 import { loadFont, getFontFamily } from '../utils/fontLoader'
-
-const RELAY_URLS = [
-  'wss://relay.damus.io', 'wss://nos.lol', 'wss://relay.nostr.band',
-  'wss://relay.dergigi.com', 'wss://wot.dergigi.com'
-]
+import { SETTINGS_RELAYS } from '../config/relays'
 
 interface UseSettingsParams {
   relayPool: RelayPool | null
@@ -29,7 +25,7 @@ export function useSettings({ relayPool, eventStore, pubkey, accountManager }: U
 
     const loadAndWatch = async () => {
       try {
-        const loadedSettings = await loadSettings(relayPool, eventStore, pubkey, RELAY_URLS)
+        const loadedSettings = await loadSettings(relayPool, eventStore, pubkey, SETTINGS_RELAYS)
         if (loadedSettings) setSettings(loadedSettings)
       } catch (err) {
         console.error('Failed to load settings:', err)
@@ -65,7 +61,7 @@ export function useSettings({ relayPool, eventStore, pubkey, accountManager }: U
       const fullAccount = accountManager.getActive()
       if (!fullAccount) throw new Error('No active account')
       const factory = new EventFactory({ signer: fullAccount })
-      await saveSettings(relayPool, eventStore, factory, newSettings, RELAY_URLS)
+      await saveSettings(relayPool, eventStore, factory, newSettings, SETTINGS_RELAYS)
       setSettings(newSettings)
       setToastType('success')
       setToastMessage('Settings saved')
diff --git a/src/services/articleService.ts b/src/services/articleService.ts
index 7e8b95ee..a555f767 100644
--- a/src/services/articleService.ts
+++ b/src/services/articleService.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import {
   getArticlePublished, 
   getArticleSummary 
 } from 'applesauce-core/helpers'
+import { ARTICLE_RELAYS } from '../config/relays'
 
 export interface ArticleContent {
   title: string
@@ -95,15 +96,10 @@ export async function fetchArticleByNaddr(
 
     const pointer = decoded.data as AddressPointer
 
-    // Define relays to query
+    // Define relays to query - prefer relays from naddr, fallback to configured relays (including local)
     const relays = pointer.relays && pointer.relays.length > 0 
       ? pointer.relays 
-      : [
-          'wss://relay.damus.io',
-          'wss://nos.lol',
-          'wss://relay.nostr.band',
-          'wss://relay.primal.net'
-        ]
+      : ARTICLE_RELAYS
 
     // Fetch the article event
     const filter = {
diff --git a/src/services/highlightCreationService.ts b/src/services/highlightCreationService.ts
index 452e8fba..dde97cfb 100644
--- a/src/services/highlightCreationService.ts
+++ b/src/services/highlightCreationService.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { RelayPool } from 'applesauce-relay'
 import { IAccount } from 'applesauce-accounts'
 import { AddressPointer } from 'nostr-tools/nip19'
 import { NostrEvent } from 'nostr-tools'
+import { WRITE_RELAYS } from '../config/relays'
 
 /**
  * Creates and publishes a highlight event (NIP-84)
@@ -36,18 +37,10 @@ export async function createHighlight(
   // Sign the event
   const signedEvent = await factory.sign(highlightEvent)
 
-  // Publish to relays
-  const relayUrls = [
-    'wss://relay.damus.io',
-    'wss://nos.lol',
-    'wss://relay.nostr.band',
-    'wss://relay.snort.social',
-    'wss://purplepag.es'
-  ]
-
-  await relayPool.publish(relayUrls, signedEvent)
+  // Publish to relays (including local relay)
+  await relayPool.publish(WRITE_RELAYS, signedEvent)
   
-  console.log('✅ Highlight published:', signedEvent)
+  console.log('✅ Highlight published to', WRITE_RELAYS.length, 'relays (including local):', signedEvent)
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/services/highlightService.ts b/src/services/highlightService.ts
index 878660a3..f65f34ed 100644
--- a/src/services/highlightService.ts
+++ b/src/services/highlightService.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import {
   getHighlightAttributions
 } from 'applesauce-core/helpers'
 import { Highlight } from '../types/highlights'
+import { HIGHLIGHT_RELAYS } from '../config/relays'
 
 /**
  * Deduplicate highlight events by ID
@@ -42,18 +43,9 @@ export const fetchHighlightsForArticle = async (
   onHighlight?: (highlight: Highlight) => void
 ): Promise<Highlight[]> => {
   try {
-    // Use well-known relays for highlights even if user isn't logged in
-    const highlightRelays = [
-      'wss://relay.damus.io',
-      'wss://nos.lol',
-      'wss://relay.nostr.band',
-      'wss://relay.snort.social',
-      'wss://purplepag.es'
-    ]
-    
     console.log('🔍 Fetching highlights (kind 9802) for article:', articleCoordinate)
     console.log('🔍 Event ID:', eventId || 'none')
-    console.log('🔍 From relays:', highlightRelays)
+    console.log('🔍 From relays (including local):', HIGHLIGHT_RELAYS)
     
     const seenIds = new Set<string>()
     const processEvent = (event: NostrEvent): Highlight | null => {
@@ -89,7 +81,7 @@ export const fetchHighlightsForArticle = async (
     // Query for highlights that reference this article via the 'a' tag
     const aTagEvents = await lastValueFrom(
       relayPool
-        .req(highlightRelays, { kinds: [9802], '#a': [articleCoordinate] })
+        .req(HIGHLIGHT_RELAYS, { kinds: [9802], '#a': [articleCoordinate] })
         .pipe(
           onlyEvents(),
           tap((event: NostrEvent) => {
@@ -111,7 +103,7 @@ export const fetchHighlightsForArticle = async (
     if (eventId) {
       eTagEvents = await lastValueFrom(
         relayPool
-          .req(highlightRelays, { kinds: [9802], '#e': [eventId] })
+          .req(HIGHLIGHT_RELAYS, { kinds: [9802], '#e': [eventId] })
           .pipe(
             onlyEvents(),
             tap((event: NostrEvent) => {