How do I verify against my Keybase account?

Keybase is a key directory that maps social media identities to encryption keys (including, but not limited to PGP keys) in a publicly auditable manner1).

In the past, Mastodon was integrated with Keybase. However, the integration code with Keybase was removed from the Mastodon codebase in November 20202)3), after Zoom bought Keybase in May 20204).

The Mastodon integration code still exists in Keybase, but the Keybase integration code has been removed from Mastodon.

Regardless of Zoom ownership, Keybase is still under active development as of November 20225).

FIXME keybase.pub, which this method relied on, shut down in early 2023 and so the below is no longer possible.6) Are there alternative hack-y workarounds?

These instructions allow you to verify control of your Keybase account on Mastodon.

Unfortunately, it is currently not possible to verify control of your Mastodon account on Keybase.

To create a verified Keybase link on Mastodon, you just need to link to an HTML file with the standard verification tag somewhere in your public Keybase directory tree7)

  1. On Keybase, create an HTML file in your ./public/ directory (I chose proofs/mastodon.html)
  2. Add the standard verification tag somewhere in the HTML, e.g.
    <a rel="me" href="https://infosec.exchange/@tychotithonus">Mastodon</a>
  3. Navigate in the browser to the *raw* public view (username.keybase.pub) of the file (and you might want to view source to make sure that the “me” rel tag is there):
    https://[keybase-username].keybase.pub/path/to/file.html
  4. Use that link as your Keybase link in your Mastodon profile.

A bit hack-y … but it works!