fix: resolve Unknown authors, filter empty boosts, style mentions

- Add actorFallback option to extractObjectData() so the activity's
  actor is used when object.getAttributedTo() fails (Authorized Fetch,
  unreachable servers). Falls back to attributionIds for URL-based info.
- Pass create.getActor() as actorFallback in Create inbox listener.
- Skip storing boosts with no content (Lemmy/PieFed activity IDs).
- Add template guard to hide empty cards already in the database.
- Style @mention and hashtag links distinctly from prose content.
- Handle Mastodon's invisible/ellipsis URL span classes.

assets/reader.css

@@ -296,6 +296,40 @@
   max-width: 100%;
 }
 
+/* @mentions — styled as subtle pills to distinguish from prose */
+.ap-card__content .h-card,
+.ap-card__content a.u-url.mention {
+  color: var(--color-on-offset);
+  font-size: var(--font-size-s);
+  text-decoration: none;
+}
+
+.ap-card__content a.u-url.mention:hover {
+  color: var(--color-primary);
+  text-decoration: underline;
+}
+
+/* Hashtag mentions — subtle tag styling */
+.ap-card__content a.mention.hashtag {
+  color: var(--color-on-offset);
+  font-size: var(--font-size-s);
+  text-decoration: none;
+}
+
+.ap-card__content a.mention.hashtag:hover {
+  color: var(--color-primary);
+  text-decoration: underline;
+}
+
+/* Mastodon's invisible/ellipsis spans for long URLs */
+.ap-card__content .invisible {
+  display: none;
+}
+
+.ap-card__content .ellipsis::after {
+  content: "…";
+}
+
 /* ==========================================================================
    Content Warning
    ========================================================================== */

lib/inbox-listeners.js

@@ -321,6 +321,11 @@ export function registerInboxListeners(inboxChain, options) {
           const object = await announce.getObject();
           if (!object) return;
 
+          // Skip non-content objects (Lemmy/PieFed like/create activities
+          // that resolve to activity IDs instead of actual Note/Article posts)
+          const hasContent = object.content?.toString() || object.name?.toString();
+          if (!hasContent) return;
+
           // Get booster actor info
           const boosterActor = await announce.getActor();
           const boosterInfo = await extractActorInfo(boosterActor);
@@ -446,7 +451,9 @@ export function registerInboxListeners(inboxChain, options) {
       const following = await collections.ap_following.findOne({ actorUrl });
       if (following) {
         try {
-          const timelineItem = await extractObjectData(object);
+          const timelineItem = await extractObjectData(object, {
+            actorFallback: actorObj,
+          });
           await addTimelineItem(collections, timelineItem);
         } catch (error) {
           // Log extraction errors but don't fail the entire handler

lib/timeline-store.js

@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ export async function extractActorInfo(actor) {
  * @param {object} options - Extraction options
  * @param {object} [options.boostedBy] - Actor info for boosts
  * @param {Date} [options.boostedAt] - Boost timestamp
+ * @param {object} [options.actorFallback] - Fedify actor to use when object.getAttributedTo() fails
  * @returns {Promise<object>} Timeline item data
  */
 export async function extractObjectData(object, options = {}) {
@@ -127,7 +128,7 @@ export async function extractObjectData(object, options = {}) {
     ? String(object.published)
     : new Date().toISOString();
 
-  // Extract author — use async getAttributedTo() for Fedify objects
+  // Extract author — try multiple strategies in order of reliability
   let authorObj = null;
   try {
     if (typeof object.getAttributedTo === "function") {
@@ -135,10 +136,39 @@ export async function extractObjectData(object, options = {}) {
       authorObj = Array.isArray(attr) ? attr[0] : attr;
     }
   } catch {
-    // Fallback: try direct property access for plain objects
+    // getAttributedTo() failed (Authorized Fetch, unreachable, etc.)
+  }
+  // If getAttributedTo() returned nothing, use the actor from the wrapping activity
+  if (!authorObj && options.actorFallback) {
+    authorObj = options.actorFallback;
+  }
+  // Try direct property access for plain objects
+  if (!authorObj) {
     authorObj = object.attribution || object.attributedTo || null;
   }
-  const author = await extractActorInfo(authorObj);
+
+  let author;
+  if (authorObj) {
+    author = await extractActorInfo(authorObj);
+  } else {
+    // Last resort: use attributionIds (non-fetching) to get at least a URL
+    const attrIds = object.attributionIds;
+    if (attrIds && attrIds.length > 0) {
+      const authorUrl = attrIds[0].href;
+      const authorHostname = new URL(authorUrl).hostname;
+      // Extract username from URL pattern like /users/name or /@name
+      const pathMatch = new URL(authorUrl).pathname.match(/\/@?([^/]+)/);
+      const username = pathMatch ? pathMatch[1] : "";
+      author = {
+        name: username || authorHostname,
+        url: authorUrl,
+        photo: "",
+        handle: username ? `@${username}@${authorHostname}` : "",
+      };
+    } else {
+      author = { name: "Unknown", url: "", photo: "", handle: "" };
+    }
+  }
 
   // Extract tags/categories
   const category = [];

package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@rmdes/indiekit-endpoint-activitypub",
-  "version": "1.1.5",
+  "version": "1.1.6",
   "description": "ActivityPub federation endpoint for Indiekit via Fedify. Adds full fediverse support: actor, inbox, outbox, followers, following, syndication, and Mastodon migration.",
   "keywords": [
     "indiekit",

views/partials/ap-item-card.njk

@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 {# Timeline item card partial - reusable across timeline and profile views #}
 
+{# Skip empty cards (e.g. Lemmy/PieFed activity IDs with no actual content) #}
+{% set hasCardContent = item.content and (item.content.html or item.content.text) %}
+{% set hasCardTitle = item.name %}
+{% set hasCardMedia = (item.photo and item.photo.length > 0) or (item.video and item.video.length > 0) or (item.audio and item.audio.length > 0) %}
+{% if hasCardContent or hasCardTitle or hasCardMedia %}
+
 <article class="ap-card{% if item.type %} ap-card--{{ item.type }}{% endif %}{% if item.inReplyTo %} ap-card--reply{% endif %}">
   {# Boost header if this is a boosted post #}
   {% if item.type == "boost" and item.boostedBy %}
@@ -167,3 +173,5 @@
     <div x-show="error" x-text="error" class="ap-card__action-error" x-transition></div>
   </footer>
 </article>
+
+{% endif %}{# end hasCardContent/hasCardTitle/hasCardMedia guard #}