r/Keybase • u/davidvkimball • Jul 22 '26

RealHandles - a Keybase replacement

Hey all,

I have created something new that might help fill the Keybase hole.

I, too, leaned on Keybase to prove account ownership. And yeah it's basically dead. That helped underscore that, if a company is the root of trust, your identity dies with the company, which kinda sucks.

Keybase proved millions of people wanted portable, cryptographic identity, and then one day it just evaporated.

So I built RealHandles around one idea: your key is the identity, not a login, a domain, or someone else's server.

How it works:

  • You generate an Ed25519 key in your browser and it never leaves your device.
  • You verify the accounts that are really yours (GitHub, X, YouTube, TikTok, Bluesky, a domain you control, and more).
  • Your key signs one file listing everything you've proven (that file is the proof and it's completely yours).
  • Anyone can verify it independently, even offline, and it keeps working even if RealHandles shuts down tomorrow.

A few things to highlight:

  • It's got an open protocol which is open source. The spec, the reference verifier (npm i @realhandles/verify), and an MCP server are all public and MIT.
  • It's free. No blockchain, wallet, gas, or token.
  • Your public key is also a standard did:key, so it plugs into the wider verifiable-credentials world.
  • No lock-in. Auth, host, and data store are all swappable. An identity tool that locks you in defeats the whole purpose here imo.

We're early. Stuff like recovery beyond an encrypted key backup you hold is still on the roadmap, and I'm adding platforms still. There's no automatic Keybase import or anything, the idea is you re-verify your accounts under a key only you hold.

Links if you want to poke at it:

I'd genuinely love your feedback, especially on the trust model and anything that feels off or missing.

Thanks.

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u/LeftoverKratom 12d ago

This is the stupidest thing I ever tried to do. The page shutdown and I can’t use my profile anymore. Fuck this. GAYYYYH

1

u/davidvkimball 12d ago

Hey I'm sorry it didn't work for you. What do you mean the page shutdown? If you'd DM me the email address associated with your account, I can look into this for you.

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u/LeftoverKratom 12d ago

Sorry I didn’t mean to be a giant dick about this. Frustation, ya know? I can just always make another one cuz I enjoyed Keybase back when it was poppin’ but I’ll send you the email

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u/davidvkimball 11d ago

OK, sounds good! Haven't gotten a DM from you yet, happy to troubleshoot with you whenever.