Spherical tori (ST) have much lower aspect ratio (a/R) and lower toroidal magnetic field than conventional tokamaks and stellarators. This paper will highlight some of the challenges and opportunities these features pose in the diagnosis of ST plasmas in the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX), and discuss some of the corresponding diagnostic development that is underway. The low aspect ratio necessitates a small centre stack, with tight space constraints and large thermal excursions, complicating the design of magnetic sensors in this region. The toroidal magnetic field on the NSTX is ⩽0.6 T, making it impossible to use ECE as a good monitor of electron temperature. A promising new development for diagnosing electron temperature is electron Bernstein wave radiometry, which is currently being pursued on the NSTX. A high-resolution charge exchange recombination spectroscopy system is being installed. Since non-inductive current initiation and sustainment are top-level NSTX research goals, measurements of the current profile J(R) are essential to many planned experiments. On the NSTX several modifications are planned to adapt the motional Stark effect (MSE) technique to lower field, and two novel MSE systems are being prototyped. Several high-speed two-dimensional imaging techniques are being developed for viewing both visible and x-ray emission. The toroidal field is equivalent to the poloidal field at the outside plasma edge, producing a large field pitch (>50°) at the outer midplane. The large shear in pitch angle makes some fluctuation diagnostics like beam emission spectroscopy very difficult, while providing a means of achieving spatial localization for microwave scattering investigations of high-k turbulence, which are predicted to be virulent for NSTX plasmas. A brief description of several of these techniques will be given in the context of the current NSTX diagnostic set.This article was due to appear in issue 7 of Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. To access this special issue please follow this link: http://www.iop.org/EJ/toc/0741-3335/45/7.