Connect a Fediverse account

If you post on Mastodon (or GoToSocial, Pleroma, Pixelfed, or any other Fediverse server), you can connect that account to Sifa ID and have your public posts appear in your activity feed alongside the rest of your Atmosphere activity.

Pick one route

There are two separate ways to connect a Fediverse account. Do one or the other, not both. They are different entry points, not steps in a sequence:

• Option 1: add it in Sifa, then add your Sifa link to a profile field (recommended). You add the account under External accounts and put your Sifa profile link in one of your Fediverse profile fields.
• Option 2: verify it on Keytrace. You don't add anything in Sifa. Keytrace verifies the account and Sifa surfaces it automatically.

Both prove you own the account, which is required before Sifa surfaces any posts. We recommend Option 1: it's self-contained, just your Fediverse server and your Sifa profile, with no other service to sign up for. Option 2 is a convenient shortcut, especially if you already use Keytrace or want to verify several accounts at once.

Option 1: add it in Sifa, verify with a profile field

Step 1: add the account. Open your profile, go to External accounts, and add an account with:

• Platform: pick Fediverse. If you pick "Website" instead, Sifa treats it as a plain link and won't pull in your posts.
• URL: your profile address, for example https://mastodon.social/@you.

Save. Sifa displays the account as @you@mastodon.social. Until you finish step 2 it shows as a link only, with no posts pulled in.

Step 2: add your Sifa link to a profile field. Put your Sifa profile URL (for example https://sifa.id/p/<your-handle>) in one of your Fediverse profile fields. Sifa reads the fields on your profile, finds the match, and verifies the account. Your DID works too, so if you already added it for Keytrace, you're covered.

It has to go in a profile field, not your bio. Sifa reads the structured fields on your profile, so a link buried in your bio text is not picked up.

• Mastodon: Preferences -> Profile -> Profile metadata (the same "Custom fields" section Keytrace uses). Add a row, for example name Sifa and content https://sifa.id/p/<your-handle>.
• GoToSocial / Pleroma / Akkoma: add the URL in your profile's fields / metadata (the same key-value fields Mastodon uses).
• Pixelfed: add the URL in your profile's website or links field.

Once the field is in place, use the Verify button on the account in Sifa to check right away, or leave it and Sifa re-checks periodically. There's no rel="me" step and no green "verified" checkmark to earn on your own server: Sifa reads the field value directly.

Option 2: verify on Keytrace

Verify the account on Keytrace (for Mastodon and similar, this means adding your DID to a profile field, which Keytrace walks you through). That's the whole flow.

You do not add the account under External accounts for this route. Sifa detects the Keytrace verification and surfaces the account on its own. Adding it as a Fediverse external account as well would just create a duplicate, so if you're going the Keytrace way, skip the "add it in Sifa" step entirely.

What shows up

Sifa reads your account's public outbox, the standard ActivityPub feed of what you've published, and shows your posts in your activity feed.

• Only your own posts appear. Boosts, likes, and follows are left out, the same way Sifa never shows posts you liked on Bluesky.
• Only public posts. Followers-only posts and direct messages are never read.
• Posts sync periodically, not instantly. Expect your first posts to appear within an hour of verifying, then on an ongoing basis.

One account per kind of content

The Fediverse spreads content across different apps, each with its own account: microblog posts on Mastodon or GoToSocial, long-form writing on WriteFreely, photos on Pixelfed, video on PeerTube, events on Mobilizon. If you're active on more than one, connect each account you want surfaced (via either route above). They all feed the same Sifa activity stream, so your writing, photos, and video sit side by side.

Today Sifa ingests text posts, articles, photos, and video. Events are still being added, so a Mobilizon account you connect now will start filling in as that support lands.

A note on some servers

A few servers run in a hardened mode (Mastodon's "Secure mode", and GoToSocial by default) that limits what Sifa can read from the outside. If your posts don't appear after an hour, your server may be one of these. We're expanding support for them.

Related

• External accounts covers linking blogs, GitHub, ORCID, and other profiles.
• Your activity feed explains how everything is pulled together.