- [Client\<-\>Server API](/docs/spec#client-server-api-v1) - defines how Matrix compatible clients communicate with Matrix homeservers.
- [Server\<-\>Server API](/docs/spec#federation-api) - defines how Matrix homeservers exchange messages and synchronise history with each other.
- [Application Service API](/docs/spec/#application-service-api) - defines how to extend the functionality of Matrix with 'integrations' and bridge to other networks.
- [Modules](/docs/spec/#modules) - specifies features that must be implemented by particular classes of clients.
- Open source reference implementations of:
- Clients (Web (React), iOS, Android)
- Client SDKs (Javascript, Web (React), iOS, Android)
- Homeservers (Synapse)
- Application Services (bridges to IRC, Slack, Skype, Lync and more...)
- The actual ecosystem and community of everyone running Matrix servers and services
- Loads of 3rd party contributions of clients, SDKs, servers and services.
You can find the full list of Matrix enabled projects at https://matrix.org/blog/try-matrix-now.
Quite a few, ranging from the glossy mass-market to the geeky command-line. There's even an emacs macro. Check out [https://matrix.org/blog/try-matrix-now] for the current
* [matrix-appservice-bridge](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-appservice-bridge) - a general NodeJS framework for writing bridges
Writing new bridges is incredibly fun and easy - see the [matrix-appservice-bridge HOWTO](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-appservice-bridge/blob/master/HOWTO.md)
for an example of how to write a fully functional Slack bridge in less than 100 lines of code!
##### Why do you think existing apps will ever join this officially?
Users in Matrix use one or more clients to communicate. This could be any combination of a web client, a command line client, a mobile client - or embedded clients built into existing apps. It could even be a piece of hardware (e.g. a drone) that is Matrix enabled.
##### Can I use Matrix without installing a Matrix client?
Sure. An ever increasing number of protocols are being bridged into Matrix, so if you use something like IRC on Freenode you may well be indirectly benefiting from Matrix, as others may be connected into the IRC channel via Matrix.
A user's clients connect to a single homeserver, which stores the communication history and account information for that user, and shares data with the wider Matrix ecosystem by synchronising communication history with other homeservers.
Users in Matrix are identified internally via their matrix user ID (MXID). However, existing 3rd party ID (3PID) namespaces such as email addresses or phone numbers should be used publically to identify Matrix users, at least for invitation purposes. A Matrix "Identity" describes both the user ID and any other existing IDs from third party namespaces linked to their account.
Matrix users can link third-party IDs (3PIDs) to their user ID. Linking 3PIDs creates a mapping from a 3PID to a user ID. This mapping can then be used by Matrix users in order to discover the MXIDs of their contacts.
In order to ensure that the mapping from 3PID to user ID is genuine, a globally federated cluster of trusted "Identity Servers" (IS) are used to verify the 3PID and persist and replicate the mappings.
Usage of an IS is not required in order for a client application to be part of the Matrix ecosystem. However, without one clients will not be able to look up user IDs using 3PIDs.
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The precise architecture of identity servers is currently in flux and subject to change as we work to fully decentralise them.
Each homeserver stores the communication history and account information for all of its clients, and shares data with the wider Matrix ecosystem by synchronising communication history with other homeservers and their clients. Clients typically communicate with each other by emitting events in the context of a virtual room. Room data is replicated across all of the homeservers *whose users are participating in a given room*.
Voice (and video) over Matrix uses the WebRTC 1.0 standard to transfer call media (i.e. the actual voice and video traffic). Matrix is used to signal the establishment and termination of the call by sending call events, like any other event. Currently calls are only supported in rooms with exactly two participants - however, one of those participants may be a conferencing bridge. We're looking at better ways to do group calling.
Currently, no. We are looking at options for decentralising or migrating user accounts between multiple servers, and might add this feature at a later stage.
The Apache Licence is a permissive licence. We want the Matrix protocol itself to be free and open, but people are free to create both free and commercial apps and services that uses the protocol. In our opinion, any Matrix-service only enhances the Matrix ecosystem.
Yes. Matrix is just a spec, so implementations of the spec are very welcome! It should be noted that as of October 2015 the server, changes are still being made to the spec, so if you want to write a Matrix homeserver, it is strongly recommended that you chat to the Matrix.org devs in #matrix:matrix.org first! You can also read about the [Federation API here]( https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/blob/master/specification/30_server_server_api.rst).
Server-server traffic is mandatorily TLS from the outset. Server-client traffic mandates transport layer encryption other than for tinkering. Servers maintain a public/private key pair, and sign the integrity of all messages in the context of the historical conversation, preventing tampering. Server keys are distributed using a PERSPECTIVES-style system.
End-to-end encryption is coming shortly to clients for both 1:1 and group chats to protect user data stored on servers, using the [Olm](https://matrix.org/git/olm) cryptographic ratchet implementation. As of October 2015 this is blocked on implementing the necessary key distribution and fingerprint management.
Privacy of metadata is not currently protected from server administrators - a malicious homeserver administrator can see who is talking to who and when, but not what is being said (once E2E encryption is enabled). See [this presentation from Jardin Entropique](http://matrix.org/~matthew/2015-06-26%20Matrix%20Jardin%20Entropique.pdf) for a more comprehensive discussion of privacy in Matrix.
Synapse is a reference "homeserver" implementation of Matrix from the core development team at matrix.org, written in Python 2/Twisted. It is intended to showcase the concept of Matrix and let folks see the spec in the context of a codebase and let you run your own homeserver and generally help bootstrap the ecosystem.
You can download and run one of the available Matrix servers - please see [this guide](http://matrix.org/docs/guides/getting_involved.html#run) for details!
We recommend servers use port 8448 for server\<-\>server HTTPS traffic. Look at ["Setting up Federation"](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse#setting-up-federation) in the Synapse readme file for details.
Client\<-\>Server traffic can talk directly to Synapse via port 8448, but as by default Synapse creates a self-signed TLS certificate this can cause problems for clients which can't easily trust self-signed certificates (e.g. most web browsers). Instead, you can proxy access to Synapse's HTTP listener on port 8008 via an existing HTTPS proxy with a valid certificate (e.g. an nginx listening on port 443), or you can point Synapse at a valid X.509 signed TLS certificate. In future, Synapse will probably use letsencrypt to autogenerate valid certificates rather than self-signed ones during installation, simplifying this process enormously.
You can also put Synapse entirely behind an existing TLS load balancer and not expose port 8448 at all. In this situation, Synapse will need to be configured to share the same *public* TLS certificate as the load balancer (as Synapse uses the public certificate for identity in other areas too, and it has to match the certificate that other servers see when they connect).
Follow the instructions for the homeserver you want to run. If you want to run Synapse, the reference homeserver from Matrix.org, follow [these instructions](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse#synapse-installation).
Synapse will use as much RAM as you give it in order to cache conversations in RAM to avoid hitting the database. For small deployments (<50activeusers)around512MBofRAMisprobablyokay.YoucanconfiguretheamountofRAMusedbysynapsewiththeevent_cache_sizeconfigparameter-themoreeventsinthecache,themoreRAMrequired.Synapseitselfrequiresrelativelylittlediskspaceotherthanforlogging(whichasofOctober2015isquiteverbosefordebuggingpurposes),butasitcachesthecontentofallthefileattachments(images,videosetc)viewedbyitsusers,youmayneedtosizestorageappropriately.Synapseiscurrentlyeffectivelysinglethreaded,andwillneverusemorethan1core.
For better performance, one should back Synapse with a Postgres database rather than the default SQLite - see https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/tree/master/README.rst#using-postgresql for details.
This is because both provide a mature and well known event-driven async IO framework for writing serverside code. Whilst this has been okay for our initial experimentation and proof of concept, it's likely that future homeserver work will be written in a more strongly typed language (e.g. Go).
Synapse is *very* database dependent (as of Oct 2015; this is improving in the near future however), and we like having the flexibility to sculpt our own queries.
The "Matrix Console" reference apps (ugly, geeky and powerful - intended for early adopter powerusers) can be downloaded from the [Google Play store](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.matrix.androidsdk.alpha)
and [Apple store](https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/matrix-console/id970074271).
As of Oct 2015, the best web app options are to use https://vector.im - a glossy web client written on top of matrix-react-sdk, or the original AngularJS based client at https://matrix.org/beta, which has serious performance problems and is not currently being maintained. In future a "Matrix Console" reference web app built on matrix-react-sdk will be released by matrix.org to complement the mobile apps above.
This FAQ is a constant work in progress - patches and pull requests are *very* welcome to help us improve it. Some of the frequent questions where we need to write an answer include:
* How do I rename servers?
* How do I change the TLS key of my server?
* How do I maintain my synapse's DB (e.g. prune old conversations)?
* How do I maintain my synapse's content repository (e.g. prune old content)?
* What are redactions?
* Why is the spec so big, especially relative to the XMPP baseline spec?
* How do I contribute to the spec?
* What is the privacy policy on Matrix.org?
* How precisely does E2E work?
* How does Matrix actually work architecturally?
* What IOT use cases are there for Matrix?
* Why is are the Matrix reference implementations written in so many different languages?
* How does push work?
* What's on the roadmap?
* How can I use Matrix to talk on Freenode or other IRC networks?
* Where can I learn more about Matrix? (link to PDFs of other presentations etc)
