diff --git a/appview/middleware/middleware.go b/appview/middleware/middleware.go
--- a/appview/middleware/middleware.go
+++ b/appview/middleware/middleware.go
@@ -180,12 +180,12 @@
 	return func(next http.Handler) http.Handler {
 		return http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request) {
 			didOrHandle := chi.URLParam(req, "user")
+			didOrHandle = strings.TrimPrefix(didOrHandle, "@")
+
 			if slices.Contains(excluded, didOrHandle) {
 				next.ServeHTTP(w, req)
 				return
 			}
-
-			didOrHandle = strings.TrimPrefix(didOrHandle, "@")
 
 			id, err := mw.idResolver.ResolveIdent(req.Context(), didOrHandle)
 			if err != nil {
diff --git a/appview/pages/funcmap.go b/appview/pages/funcmap.go
--- a/appview/pages/funcmap.go
+++ b/appview/pages/funcmap.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ "reflect"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/bluesky-social/indigo/atproto/syntax"
 	"github.com/dustin/go-humanize"
 	"github.com/go-enry/go-enry/v2"
 	"tangled.org/core/appview/filetree"
@@ -63,7 +64,7 @@ if identity.Handle.IsInvalidHandle() {
 				return "handle.invalid"
 			}
 
-			return "@" + identity.Handle.String()
+			return identity.Handle.String()
 		},
 		"truncateAt30": func(s string) string {
 			if len(s) <= 30 {
@@ -123,8 +124,8 @@
 			return b
 		},
 		"didOrHandle": func(did, handle string) string {
-			if handle != "" {
-				return fmt.Sprintf("@%s", handle)
+			if handle != "" && handle != syntax.HandleInvalid.String() {
+				return handle
 			} else {
 				return did
 			}
diff --git a/appview/pages/repoinfo/repoinfo.go b/appview/pages/repoinfo/repoinfo.go
--- a/appview/pages/repoinfo/repoinfo.go
+++ b/appview/pages/repoinfo/repoinfo.go
@@ -1,31 +1,29 @@
 package repoinfo
 
 import (
-	"fmt"
 	"path"
 	"slices"
-	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/bluesky-social/indigo/atproto/syntax"
 	"tangled.org/core/appview/models"
 	"tangled.org/core/appview/state/userutil"
 )
 
-func (r RepoInfo) OwnerWithAt() string {
+func (r RepoInfo) Owner() string {
 	if r.OwnerHandle != "" {
-		return fmt.Sprintf("@%s", r.OwnerHandle)
+		return r.OwnerHandle
 	} else {
 		return r.OwnerDid
 	}
 }
 
 func (r RepoInfo) FullName() string {
-	return path.Join(r.OwnerWithAt(), r.Name)
+	return path.Join(r.Owner(), r.Name)
 }
 
 func (r RepoInfo) OwnerWithoutAt() string {
-	if after, ok := strings.CutPrefix(r.OwnerWithAt(), "@"); ok {
-		return after
+	if r.OwnerHandle != "" {
+		return r.OwnerHandle
 	} else {
 		return userutil.FlattenDid(r.OwnerDid)
 	}
diff --git a/appview/pages/templates/layouts/repobase.html b/appview/pages/templates/layouts/repobase.html
--- a/appview/pages/templates/layouts/repobase.html
+++ b/appview/pages/templates/layouts/repobase.html
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ </div>
       </p>
       {{ end }}
       <div class="text-lg flex items-center justify-between">
-        <div>
-          <a href="/{{ .RepoInfo.OwnerWithAt }}">{{ .RepoInfo.OwnerWithAt }}</a>
+        <div class="flex items-center gap-2 flex-wrap">
+          {{ template "user/fragments/picHandleLink" .RepoInfo.OwnerDid }}
           <span class="select-none">/</span>
           <a href="/{{ .RepoInfo.FullName }}" class="font-bold">{{ .RepoInfo.Name }}</a>
         </div>
diff --git a/appview/pages/templates/repo/fragments/cloneDropdown.html b/appview/pages/templates/repo/fragments/cloneDropdown.html
--- a/appview/pages/templates/repo/fragments/cloneDropdown.html
+++ b/appview/pages/templates/repo/fragments/cloneDropdown.html
@@ -29,8 +29,8 @@ <div class="flex items-center border border-gray-300 dark:border-gray-600 rounded">
                         <code
                             class="flex-1 px-3 py-2 text-sm bg-gray-50 dark:bg-gray-700 text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-100 rounded-l select-all cursor-pointer whitespace-nowrap overflow-x-auto"
                             onclick="window.getSelection().selectAllChildren(this)"
-                            data-url="https://tangled.org/{{ .RepoInfo.OwnerWithAt }}/{{ .RepoInfo.Name }}"
-                        >https://tangled.org/{{ .RepoInfo.OwnerWithAt }}/{{ .RepoInfo.Name }}</code>
+                            data-url="https://tangled.org/{{ resolve .RepoInfo.OwnerDid }}/{{ .RepoInfo.Name }}"
+                        >https://tangled.org/{{ resolve .RepoInfo.OwnerDid }}/{{ .RepoInfo.Name }}</code>
                         <button
                             onclick="copyToClipboard(this, this.previousElementSibling.getAttribute('data-url'))"
                             class="px-3 py-2 text-gray-500 hover:text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-400 dark:hover:text-gray-200 border-l border-gray-300 dark:border-gray-600"
diff --git a/appview/state/router.go b/appview/state/router.go
--- a/appview/state/router.go
+++ b/appview/state/router.go
@@ -42,32 +42,34 @@ standardRouter := s.StandardRouter(&middleware)
 
 	router.HandleFunc("/*", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		pat := chi.URLParam(r, "*")
-		if strings.HasPrefix(pat, "did:") || strings.HasPrefix(pat, "@") {
-			userRouter.ServeHTTP(w, r)
-		} else {
-			// Check if the first path element is a valid handle without '@' or a flattened DID
-			pathParts := strings.SplitN(pat, "/", 2)
-			if len(pathParts) > 0 {
-				if userutil.IsHandleNoAt(pathParts[0]) {
-					// Redirect to the same path but with '@' prefixed to the handle
-					redirectPath := "@" + pat
-					http.Redirect(w, r, "/"+redirectPath, http.StatusFound)
-					return
-				} else if userutil.IsFlattenedDid(pathParts[0]) {
-					// Redirect to the unflattened DID version
-					unflattenedDid := userutil.UnflattenDid(pathParts[0])
-					var redirectPath string
-					if len(pathParts) > 1 {
-						redirectPath = unflattenedDid + "/" + pathParts[1]
-					} else {
-						redirectPath = unflattenedDid
-					}
-					http.Redirect(w, r, "/"+redirectPath, http.StatusFound)
-					return
-				}
+		pathParts := strings.SplitN(pat, "/", 2)
+
+		if len(pathParts) > 0 {
+			firstPart := pathParts[0]
+
+			// if using a DID or handle, just continue as per usual
+			if userutil.IsDid(firstPart) || userutil.IsHandle(firstPart) {
+				userRouter.ServeHTTP(w, r)
+				return
 			}
-			standardRouter.ServeHTTP(w, r)
+
+			// if using a flattened DID (like you would in go modules), unflatten
+			if userutil.IsFlattenedDid(firstPart) {
+				unflattenedDid := userutil.UnflattenDid(firstPart)
+				redirectPath := strings.Join(append([]string{unflattenedDid}, pathParts[1:]...), "/")
+				http.Redirect(w, r, "/"+redirectPath, http.StatusFound)
+				return
+			}
+
+			// if using a handle with @, rewrite to work without @
+			if normalized := strings.TrimPrefix(firstPart, "@"); userutil.IsHandle(normalized) {
+				redirectPath := strings.Join(append([]string{normalized}, pathParts[1:]...), "/")
+				http.Redirect(w, r, "/"+redirectPath, http.StatusFound)
+				return
+			}
 		}
+
+		standardRouter.ServeHTTP(w, r)
 	})
 
 	return router
diff --git a/appview/state/state.go b/appview/state/state.go
--- a/appview/state/state.go
+++ b/appview/state/state.go
@@ -386,12 +386,13 @@ }
 
 	pubKeys, err := db.GetPublicKeysForDid(s.db, id.DID.String())
 	if err != nil {
-		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusNotFound)
+		s.logger.Error("failed to get public keys", "err", err)
+		http.Error(w, "failed to get public keys", http.StatusInternalServerError)
 		return
 	}
 
 	if len(pubKeys) == 0 {
-		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusNotFound)
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusNoContent)
 		return
 	}
 
diff --git a/appview/state/userutil/userutil.go b/appview/state/userutil/userutil.go
--- a/appview/state/userutil/userutil.go
+++ b/appview/state/userutil/userutil.go
@@ -10,9 +10,14 @@ handleRegex = regexp.MustCompile(`^([a-zA-Z0-9]([a-zA-Z0-9-]{0,61}[a-zA-Z0-9])?\.)+[a-zA-Z]([a-zA-Z0-9-]{0,61}[a-zA-Z0-9])?$`)
 	didRegex    = regexp.MustCompile(`^did:[a-z]+:[a-zA-Z0-9._:%-]*[a-zA-Z0-9._-]$`)
 )
 
-func IsHandleNoAt(s string) bool {
+func IsHandle(s string) bool {
 	// ref: https://atproto.com/specs/handle
 	return handleRegex.MatchString(s)
+}
+
+// IsDid checks if the given string is a standard DID.
+func IsDid(s string) bool {
+	return didRegex.MatchString(s)
 }
 
 func UnflattenDid(s string) string {
@@ -45,11 +50,6 @@ if IsDid(s) {
 		return strings.Replace(s, ":", "-", 2)
 	}
 	return s
-}
-
-// IsDid checks if the given string is a standard DID.
-func IsDid(s string) bool {
-	return didRegex.MatchString(s)
 }
 
 var subdomainRegex = regexp.MustCompile(`^[a-z0-9]([a-z0-9-]{2,61}[a-z0-9])?$`)