Post Public Key Link Step 2 Feature Description

Problem

Users viewing a signed post need a direct way to inspect the author’s public key file. The link should appear when a public key is available and remain absent for anonymous, unsigned, or legacy posts without one.

User stories

• As a reader, I want to open the author’s public key from a post so that I can independently inspect the signing key.

• As a reader of an unsigned or legacy post, I want no misleading key link so that the post’s verification state remains clear.

• As a maintainer, I want the link rendered through the existing post identity component so that thread and single-post views stay consistent.

Core requirements

• Show a public-key link in post metadata when the post has an available author public key.

• Use the canonical public-key file as the link target and preserve existing escaping and access behavior.

• Do not show the link when the author key is unavailable or the post has no resolved author identity.

• Keep the change limited to a link; do not add verification panels, trust judgments, or new key-management workflows.

Shared component inventory

• templates/partials/post_card.php — canonical post rendering surface used by thread and single-post views; reuse its existing identity-details inclusion.

• templates/partials/post_identity_details.php — current shared identity-details component; extend it to expose the conditional link rather than creating a parallel post-specific component.

• templates/partials/thread_root_card.php — thread-root rendering surface that already reuses the identity-details component; preserve the same behavior there.

• templates/pages/profile.php — existing full public-key display; leave unchanged because it serves profile inspection rather than post-level discovery.

Simple user flow

1. A reader opens a thread or individual post page.

2. The page shows the author’s public-key link when a key is available.

3. The reader follows the link to inspect the canonical public-key file.

4. Posts without an available key show no link.

Success criteria

• Signed fixture posts expose one working public-key link in both thread and single-post views.

• Unsigned or keyless posts expose no public-key link.

• The link resolves to the expected canonical public-key file without changing post content or profile behavior.

• Existing post and identity rendering tests remain passing.