Keybase and FUSE on macOS

I like the concept of Keybase, have had an account there for sometime (https://keybase.io/bytebot). I also installed the Keybase app on macOS which has kbfs, the FUSE-based filesystem for Keybase users to share files with encryption (read more).

However, I also tend to spend time offline, and sometimes on restricted networks where I use TripMode. I realised very quickly that a simple ls or df could take some 20 seconds to complete (timeouts at work).

After poking around I realised it was Keybase. So this is what I do now:

keybase ctl stop
pkill Keybase

I used to have to also unmount the /keybase directory but this seems to be taken care of by newer clients. A macOS annoyance. I can’t always just have it running. There is a github issue #971. I think their iOS app is quite well done and have no complaints thus far.


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