diff --git a/components/login-modal.html b/components/login-modal.html
index 1bf08fec..23ac60af 100644
--- a/components/login-modal.html
+++ b/components/login-modal.html
@@ -204,7 +204,6 @@
                 spellcheck="false"
                 autocomplete="off"
                 data-nsec-secret
-                required
               ></textarea>
               <label class="inline-flex items-center gap-2 text-sm text-text">
                 <input type="checkbox" class="checkbox" data-nsec-remember />
diff --git a/js/ui/loginModalController.js b/js/ui/loginModalController.js
index 291d329d..861f999b 100644
--- a/js/ui/loginModalController.js
+++ b/js/ui/loginModalController.js
@@ -937,14 +937,14 @@ export default class LoginModalController {
       passphraseFields.hidden = !shouldShow;
       if (passphraseInput instanceof HTMLInputElement) {
         passphraseInput.disabled = !shouldShow;
-        passphraseInput.required = shouldShow;
+        passphraseInput.required = false;
         if (!shouldShow) {
           passphraseInput.value = "";
         }
       }
       if (passphraseConfirm instanceof HTMLInputElement) {
         passphraseConfirm.disabled = !shouldShow;
-        passphraseConfirm.required = shouldShow;
+        passphraseConfirm.required = false;
         if (!shouldShow) {
           passphraseConfirm.value = "";
         }
@@ -959,14 +959,14 @@ export default class LoginModalController {
       }
       if (unlockPassphrase instanceof HTMLInputElement) {
         unlockPassphrase.disabled = !usingUnlock;
-        unlockPassphrase.required = usingUnlock;
+        unlockPassphrase.required = false;
         if (!usingUnlock) {
           unlockPassphrase.value = "";
         }
       }
       if (secretField instanceof HTMLTextAreaElement) {
         secretField.disabled = usingUnlock;
-        secretField.required = !usingUnlock;
+        secretField.required = false;
         if (usingUnlock) {
           secretField.value = "";
         }
diff --git a/tests/login-modal-controller.test.mjs b/tests/login-modal-controller.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..27e2aa13
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/login-modal-controller.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,274 @@
+import test, { beforeEach, afterEach } from 'node:test';
+import { strict as assert } from 'node:assert';
+import { readFile } from 'node:fs/promises';
+import { JSDOM } from 'jsdom';
+import LoginModalController from '../js/ui/loginModalController.js';
+
+const loginModalHtml = await readFile(
+  new URL('../components/login-modal.html', import.meta.url),
+  'utf8',
+);
+
+let dom;
+let container;
+let controller;
+
+async function waitForAnimationFrame(window, cycles = 1) {
+  for (let i = 0; i < cycles; i += 1) {
+    await new Promise((resolve) => window.requestAnimationFrame(() => resolve()));
+  }
+}
+
+function createMatchMediaList(query, initialMatches = false) {
+    let matches = Boolean(initialMatches);
+    const listeners = new Set();
+
+    const notify = () => {
+      const event = { matches, media: query, type: 'change' };
+      listeners.forEach((listener) => {
+        try {
+          listener(event);
+        } catch {}
+      });
+    };
+
+    return {
+      get matches() {
+        return matches;
+      },
+      set matches(value) {
+        matches = Boolean(value);
+      },
+      media: query,
+      addEventListener(type, listener) {
+        if (type === 'change' && typeof listener === 'function') {
+          listeners.add(listener);
+        }
+      },
+      removeEventListener(type, listener) {
+        if (type === 'change' && typeof listener === 'function') {
+          listeners.delete(listener);
+        }
+      },
+      addListener(listener) {
+        if (typeof listener === 'function') {
+          listeners.add(listener);
+        }
+      },
+      removeListener(listener) {
+        if (typeof listener === 'function') {
+          listeners.delete(listener);
+        }
+      },
+      dispatchEvent(event) {
+        if (!event || event.type !== 'change') {
+          return true;
+        }
+        listeners.forEach((listener) => {
+          try {
+            listener(event);
+          } catch {}
+        });
+        return true;
+      },
+      setMatches(value) {
+        matches = Boolean(value);
+        notify();
+      },
+    };
+  }
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  dom = new JSDOM(
+    '<!DOCTYPE html><html><body><div id="modalMount"></div></body></html>',
+    {
+      url: 'https://example.com',
+      pretendToBeVisual: true,
+    },
+  );
+
+  global.window = dom.window;
+  global.document = dom.window.document;
+  global.HTMLElement = dom.window.HTMLElement;
+  global.HTMLButtonElement = dom.window.HTMLButtonElement;
+  global.HTMLInputElement = dom.window.HTMLInputElement;
+  global.HTMLTextAreaElement = dom.window.HTMLTextAreaElement;
+  global.HTMLFormElement = dom.window.HTMLFormElement;
+  global.HTMLTemplateElement = dom.window.HTMLTemplateElement;
+  global.Node = dom.window.Node;
+  global.Element = dom.window.Element;
+  global.MutationObserver = dom.window.MutationObserver;
+
+  window.requestAnimationFrame = (callback) => callback(0);
+  global.requestAnimationFrame = window.requestAnimationFrame;
+
+  window.__matchMediaMocks = [];
+  window.matchMedia = (query) => {
+    const mql = createMatchMediaList(query, false);
+    window.__matchMediaMocks.push(mql);
+    return mql;
+  };
+  global.matchMedia = window.matchMedia;
+
+  container = document.getElementById('modalMount');
+  container.innerHTML = loginModalHtml;
+});
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  if (controller) {
+    controller.destroy();
+    controller = null;
+  }
+
+  delete global.window;
+  delete global.document;
+  delete global.HTMLElement;
+  delete global.HTMLButtonElement;
+  delete global.HTMLInputElement;
+  delete global.HTMLTextAreaElement;
+  delete global.HTMLFormElement;
+  delete global.HTMLTemplateElement;
+  delete global.Node;
+  delete global.Element;
+  delete global.MutationObserver;
+  delete global.requestAnimationFrame;
+  delete global.matchMedia;
+
+  if (dom) {
+    dom.window.close();
+    dom = null;
+  }
+});
+
+function createController(options = {}) {
+    const modalElement = container.querySelector('#loginModal');
+    return new LoginModalController({
+        modalElement,
+        providers: options.providers || [],
+        services: options.services || {},
+        callbacks: options.callbacks || {},
+    });
+}
+
+test('LoginModalController shows custom error for empty nsec input', async (t) => {
+    const providers = [{ id: 'nsec', label: 'Secret Key', login: async () => {} }];
+    const authService = { requestLogin: async () => {} };
+    controller = createController({ providers, services: { authService } });
+
+    // Simulate clicking the nsec provider button
+    // This requires us to inspect internal state or simulate events
+    // But since `promptForNsecOptions` is async and returns a promise, we can call it if we can access the instance.
+    // However, `handleProviderSelection` is what we usually trigger.
+
+    // Let's use internal methods to render providers first
+    controller.initialize();
+
+    const providerButton = container.querySelector('[data-provider-id="nsec"]');
+    assert.ok(providerButton, 'nsec provider button should be present');
+
+    // Trigger click on provider
+    const clickEvent = new dom.window.Event('click', { bubbles: true });
+    providerButton.dispatchEvent(clickEvent);
+
+    // Wait for the nsec form to appear
+    await waitForAnimationFrame(window, 5);
+
+    const form = container.querySelector('[data-nsec-form]');
+    assert.ok(form, 'nsec form should be present');
+
+    const secretInput = form.querySelector('[data-nsec-secret]');
+    assert.ok(secretInput, 'secret input should be present');
+    assert.ok(!secretInput.hasAttribute('required'), 'secret input should NOT have required attribute');
+    assert.equal(secretInput.required, false, 'secret input property required should be false');
+
+    const submitButton = form.querySelector('[data-nsec-submit]');
+    assert.ok(submitButton, 'submit button should be present');
+
+    const errorNode = form.querySelector('[data-nsec-error]');
+    assert.ok(errorNode, 'error node should be present');
+    assert.ok(errorNode.classList.contains('hidden'), 'error node should be initially hidden');
+
+    // Submit with empty form
+    const submitEvent = new dom.window.Event('submit', { bubbles: true, cancelable: true });
+    form.dispatchEvent(submitEvent);
+
+    // Wait for validation
+    await waitForAnimationFrame(window, 2);
+
+    assert.ok(!errorNode.classList.contains('hidden'), 'error node should be visible after empty submit');
+    assert.equal(errorNode.textContent, 'Paste an nsec, hex key, or mnemonic to continue.');
+});
+
+test('LoginModalController does not set required attribute when toggling modes', async (t) => {
+    const providers = [{ id: 'nsec', label: 'Secret Key', login: async () => {} }];
+    const storedMetadata = { hasEncryptedKey: true };
+    const nostrClient = {
+        getStoredSessionActorMetadata: () => storedMetadata
+    };
+    const authService = { requestLogin: async () => {} };
+
+    controller = createController({
+        providers,
+        services: { nostrClient, authService }
+    });
+    controller.initialize();
+
+    const providerButton = container.querySelector('[data-provider-id="nsec"]');
+    providerButton.dispatchEvent(new dom.window.Event('click', { bubbles: true }));
+    await waitForAnimationFrame(window, 5);
+
+    const form = container.querySelector('[data-nsec-form]');
+    const unlockRadio = form.querySelector('[data-nsec-mode="unlock"]');
+    const importRadio = form.querySelector('[data-nsec-mode="import"]');
+    const secretInput = form.querySelector('[data-nsec-secret]');
+    const unlockPassphrase = form.querySelector('[data-nsec-unlock-passphrase]');
+
+    // Initially should be in unlock mode because hasEncryptedKey is true
+    assert.ok(unlockRadio.checked);
+    assert.equal(secretInput.disabled, true);
+    assert.equal(secretInput.required, false);
+
+    // Unlock passphrase should be enabled but NOT required (because we want custom validation)
+    assert.equal(unlockPassphrase.disabled, false);
+    assert.equal(unlockPassphrase.required, false);
+
+    // Switch to import mode
+    importRadio.click();
+    unlockRadio.checked = false;
+    importRadio.checked = true;
+    importRadio.dispatchEvent(new dom.window.Event('change', { bubbles: true }));
+
+    await waitForAnimationFrame(window, 2);
+
+    // Secret input should be enabled and NOT required
+    assert.equal(secretInput.disabled, false);
+    assert.equal(secretInput.required, false);
+
+    // Unlock passphrase should be disabled
+    assert.equal(unlockPassphrase.disabled, true);
+    assert.equal(unlockPassphrase.required, false);
+});
+
+test('LoginModalController shows NIP-46 handshake panel', async (t) => {
+    const providers = [{ id: 'nip46', label: 'Remote Signer', login: async () => {} }];
+    const authService = { requestLogin: async () => {} };
+    controller = createController({ providers, services: { authService } });
+    controller.initialize();
+
+    const providerButton = container.querySelector('[data-provider-id="nip46"]');
+    assert.ok(providerButton, 'nip46 provider button should be present');
+
+    // Trigger click on provider
+    const clickEvent = new dom.window.Event('click', { bubbles: true });
+    providerButton.dispatchEvent(clickEvent);
+
+    // Wait for the nip46 form to appear
+    await waitForAnimationFrame(window, 5);
+
+    const form = container.querySelector('[data-nip46-form]');
+    assert.ok(form, 'nip46 form should be present');
+
+    const handshakePanel = form.querySelector('[data-nip46-handshake-panel]');
+    assert.ok(handshakePanel, 'handshake panel should be present');
+    assert.ok(!handshakePanel.classList.contains('hidden'), 'handshake panel should not be hidden');
+});