diff --git a/web/src/lib/api/repo.ts b/web/src/lib/api/repo.ts
index ce1e1048..76597d18 100644
--- a/web/src/lib/api/repo.ts
+++ b/web/src/lib/api/repo.ts
@@ -143,10 +143,18 @@ export interface CommitSummary {
 	body: string;
 	authorName: string;
 	authorEmail: string;
+	// a commit made through tangled signs with the author's did instead of an
+	// email, so unlike a git name that author is an account we can link to
+	authorDid?: string;
+	// filled in by the loader, since resolving the did takes a round trip
+	authorHandle?: string;
 	when: string;
 	changeId?: string;
 }
 
+export const didFromSignature = (email: string): string | undefined =>
+	email.startsWith("did:") ? email : undefined;
+
 export const splitMessage = (message: string): [string, string] => {
 	const separator = message.indexOf("\n\n");
 	if (separator === -1) return [message.trim(), ""];
@@ -173,13 +181,15 @@ export const coAuthorsFrom = (message: string, when: string): GitSignature[] =>
 export const toCommitSummary = (commit: LogCommit): CommitSummary => {
 	const [subject, body] = splitMessage(commit.message ?? "");
 	const hash = commit.this ?? "";
+	const authorEmail = commit.author?.Email ?? "";
 	return {
 		hash,
 		shortHash: hash.slice(0, 8),
 		subject,
 		body,
 		authorName: commit.author?.Name ?? "",
-		authorEmail: commit.author?.Email ?? "",
+		authorEmail,
+		authorDid: didFromSignature(authorEmail),
 		when: commit.committer?.When ?? commit.author?.When ?? "",
 		changeId: commit.change_id
 	};
diff --git a/web/src/lib/api/repoIndex.ts b/web/src/lib/api/repoIndex.ts
index 77269024..0d36ddde 100644
--- a/web/src/lib/api/repoIndex.ts
+++ b/web/src/lib/api/repoIndex.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { error } from "@sveltejs/kit";
-import { ClientResponseError } from "$lib/api/client";
+import { ClientResponseError, createBobbinClient } from "$lib/api/client";
+import { resolveMiniDoc } from "$lib/api/identity";
 import {
 	branches as gitBranches,
 	gitTarget,
@@ -19,7 +20,7 @@ import {
 	toTreeEntrySummary
 } from "$lib/api/repo";
 import { renderDocument } from "$lib/markup";
-import type { LanguageSlice, RepoInfo } from "$lib/components/repo/types";
+import type { CommitSummary, LanguageSlice, RepoInfo } from "$lib/components/repo/types";
 // `/tree/{ref}` is this same page at another ref, so they share a load
 
 const COMMIT_LIMIT = 10;
@@ -119,6 +120,29 @@ export interface RepoIndexOptions {
 	requireRef?: boolean;
 }
 
+// a did-signed commit points at a real account, so trade the git author name
+// for the handle and the row reads like the rest of the site. one round trip
+// per distinct author, and a name we can't resolve just stays a name
+const withAuthorHandles = async (
+	commits: CommitSummary[],
+	bobbinUrl: string,
+	fetch: typeof globalThis.fetch
+): Promise<CommitSummary[]> => {
+	const dids = [...new Set(commits.flatMap((commit) => commit.authorDid ?? []))];
+	if (dids.length === 0) return commits;
+
+	const ctx = createBobbinClient({ serviceUrl: bobbinUrl, fetch });
+	const docs = await Promise.all(dids.map((did) => orNull(resolveMiniDoc(ctx, did))));
+	const handles = new Map<string, string>();
+	for (const doc of docs) {
+		if (doc && !doc.handle.endsWith(".invalid")) handles.set(doc.did, doc.handle);
+	}
+
+	return commits.map((commit) =>
+		commit.authorDid ? { ...commit, authorHandle: handles.get(commit.authorDid) } : commit
+	);
+};
+
 export const loadRepoIndex = async (
 	event: RepoLoadEvent,
 	parent: RepoParent,
@@ -140,7 +164,11 @@ export const loadRepoIndex = async (
 
 	const branches = (results.branches.value?.branches ?? []).map(toBranchSummary);
 	const tags = (results.tags.value?.tags ?? []).map(toTagSummary);
-	const commits = (results.log.value?.commits ?? []).map(toCommitSummary);
+	const commits = await withAuthorHandles(
+		(results.log.value?.commits ?? []).map(toCommitSummary),
+		parent.publicConfig.bobbinUrl,
+		event.fetch
+	);
 	const files = sortTreeEntries((results.tree.value?.files ?? []).map(toTreeEntrySummary));
 
 	const languages = toLanguageSlices(results.languages.value?.languages ?? []);
diff --git a/web/src/lib/components/repo/CommitList.svelte b/web/src/lib/components/repo/CommitList.svelte
index 8b56864e..80eb05e0 100644
--- a/web/src/lib/components/repo/CommitList.svelte
+++ b/web/src/lib/components/repo/CommitList.svelte
@@ -62,31 +62,20 @@
 				>
 					{commit.shortHash}
 				</a>
-				{#if commit.authorName}
-					<!-- a git author is a name and an email. commits made through tangled
-					sign with the did, and those we can point at a profile; for a plain
-					email address there's nothing to resolve it to, so we mail them
-					instead, same as the commit log does -->
-					{@const authorDid = commit.authorEmail.startsWith("did:")
-						? commit.authorEmail
-						: undefined}
-					{#if authorDid}
-						<a
-							href={resolve(`/${authorDid}` as "/")}
-							class="inline-flex items-center text-inherit hover:underline"
-						>
-							<User did={authorDid} handle={commit.authorName} size="small" link={false} />
-						</a>
-					{:else if commit.authorEmail}
-						<a
-							href="mailto:{commit.authorEmail}"
-							class="inline-flex items-center text-inherit hover:underline"
-						>
-							<User handle={commit.authorName} size="small" link={false} />
-						</a>
-					{:else}
+				<!-- an author we resolved to an account gets their handle and a link to
+				it. a plain email address resolves to nobody, so the git name stays and
+				the chip mails them instead, same as the commit log does -->
+				{#if commit.authorHandle}
+					<User did={commit.authorDid} handle={commit.authorHandle} size="small" link />
+				{:else if commit.authorName && commit.authorEmail && !commit.authorDid}
+					<a
+						href="mailto:{commit.authorEmail}"
+						class="inline-flex items-center text-inherit hover:underline"
+					>
 						<User handle={commit.authorName} size="small" link={false} />
-					{/if}
+					</a>
+				{:else if commit.authorName}
+					<User did={commit.authorDid} handle={commit.authorName} size="small" link={false} />
 				{/if}
 				{#if commit.when}
 					<span aria-hidden="true">&middot;</span>