matrix-spec-proposals/content/rooms/v3.md

---
title: Room Version 3
type: docs
weight: 30
---

This room version builds on [version 2](/rooms/v2) with an improved event
format.

## Client considerations

This room version changes the format for event IDs sent to clients.
Clients should be aware that these event IDs may contain slashes and
other potentially problematic characters. Clients should be treating
event IDs as opaque identifiers and should not be attempting to parse
them into a usable form, just like with other room versions.

Clients should expect to see event IDs changed from the format of
`$randomstring:example.org` to something like
`$acR1l0raoZnm60CBwAVgqbZqoO/mYU81xysh1u7XcJk` (note the lack of domain
and the potentially problematic slash).

## Server implementation components

{{% boxes/warning %}}
The information contained in this section is strictly for server
implementors. Applications which use the Client-Server API are generally
unaffected by the intricacies contained here. The section above
regarding client considerations is the resource that Client-Server API
use cases should reference.
{{% /boxes/warning %}}

Room version 3 uses the state resolution algorithm defined in [room
version 2](/rooms/v2), and the event format defined here.

### Event IDs

{{% boxes/rationale %}}
In other room versions (namely version 1 and 2) the event ID is a
distinct field from the remainder of the event, which must be tracked as
such. This leads to complications where servers receive multiple events
with the same ID in either the same or different rooms where the server
cannot easily keep track of which event it should be using. By removing
the use of a dedicated event ID, servers are required to track the
hashes on an event to determine its ID.
{{% /boxes/rationale %}}

The event ID is the [reference
hash](/server-server-api#calculating-the-reference-hash-for-an-event) of
the event encoded using [Unpadded
Base64](/appendices#unpadded-base64), prefixed with `$`. A
resulting event ID using this approach should look similar to
`$CD66HAED5npg6074c6pDtLKalHjVfYb2q4Q3LZgrW6o`.

Event IDs should not be sent over federation to servers when the room
uses this room version. On the receiving end of an event, the server
should compute the relevant event ID for itself.

Additionally, the `auth_events` and `prev_events` have had a format
change compared to other room versions to make it easier to handle.
Instead of a tuple of values, they are now plain lists of events.

{{definition\_ss\_pdu\_v3}}

### Changes to APIs

Due to the event ID being removed from the event, some APIs need to
change. All APIs which currently accept an event ID must do so with the
new format. Servers must append the calculated event ID to all events
sent to clients where an event ID would normally be expected.

Because the format of events has changed, servers must be aware of the
room version where the event resides so that the server may parse and
handle the event. The federation API has taken this concern into
consideration by ensuring that servers are aware of (or can find) the
room version during a request.

### Authorization rules for events

The authorization rules for a given event have changed in this room
version due to the change in event format:

-   The event no longer needs to be signed by the domain of the event ID
    (as there is no domain in the event ID), but still needs to be
    signed by the sender's domain.
-   In past room versions, redactions were only permitted to enter the
    DAG if the sender's domain matched the domain in the event ID being
    redacted, or the sender had appropriate permissions per the power
    levels. Due to servers now not being able to determine where an
    event came from during event authorization, redaction events are
    always accepted (provided the event is allowed by `events` and
    `events_default` in the power levels). However, servers should not
    apply or send redactions to clients until both the redaction event
    and original event have been seen, and are valid. Servers should
    only apply redactions to events where the sender's domains match, or
    the sender of the redaction has the appropriate permissions per the
    power levels.

The remaining rules are the same as [room version
1](/rooms/v1#authorization-rules).