Matrix (An open network for secure, decentralized communication) server setup using Ansible and Docker

🎯 Purpose

This Ansible playbook is meant to help you run your own Matrix homeserver, along with the various services related to that.

That is, it lets you join the Matrix network using your own @<username>:example.com identifier, all hosted on your own server (see prerequisites).

We run all supported services in Docker containers (see the container images we use), which lets us have a predictable and up-to-date setup, across multiple supported distros (see prerequisites) and architectures (x86/amd64 being recommended).

Installation (upgrades) and some maintenance tasks are automated using Ansible (see our Ansible guide).

☁ Self-hosting or Managed / SaaS

This Ansible playbook tries to make self-hosting and maintaining a Matrix server fairly easy (see Getting started). Still, running any service smoothly requires knowledge, time and effort.

If you like the FOSS spirit of this Ansible playbook, but prefer to put the responsibility on someone else, you can also get a managed Matrix server from etke.cc (both hosting and on-premises) - a service built on top of this Ansible playbook but with additional components and services which all help you run a Matrix server with ease. Be advised that etke.cc operates on a subscription-based approach and there is no "just set up my server once and be done with it" option.

🚀 Getting started

We have detailed documentation in the docs/ directory - see the Table of Contents in the documentation README.

While the list of supported services and documentation is very extensive, you don't need to read through everything. We recommend:

• Starting with the basics. You can always add/remove or tweak services later on.

• Following our installation guide. There are two guides available for beginners and advanced users:

  • ⚡ Quick start (for beginners): this is recommended for those who do not have an existing Matrix server and want to start quickly with "opinionated defaults".

  • Full installation guide (for advanced users): if you need to import an existing Matrix server's data into the new server or want to learn more while setting up the server, follow this guide by starting with the Prerequisites documentation page.

✔ Supported services

Using this playbook, you can get the following list of services configured on your server. Basically, this playbook aims to get you up-and-running with all the necessities around Matrix, without you having to do anything else.

Notes:

• The list below is exhaustive. It includes optional or even some advanced components that you will most likely not need. Sticking with the defaults (which install a subset of the above components) is the best choice, especially for a new installation. You can always re-run the playbook later to add or remove components.

• Deprecated or unmaintained services are not listed. You can find documentations for them here.

Homeserver

The homeserver is the backbone of your Matrix system. Choose one from the following list.

Name	Default?	Description	Documentation
Synapse	✅	Storing your data and managing your presence in the Matrix network	Link
Conduit	❌	Storing your data and managing your presence in the Matrix network. Conduit is a lightweight open-source server implementation of the Matrix Specification with a focus on easy setup and low system requirements	Link
Dendrite	❌	Storing your data and managing your presence in the Matrix network. Dendrite is a second-generation Matrix homeserver written in Go, an alternative to Synapse.	Link

Clients

Web clients for Matrix that you can host on your own domains.

Name	Default?	Description	Documentation
Element Web	✅	Default Matrix web client, configured to connect to your own Synapse server	Link
Hydrogen	❌	Lightweight Matrix client with legacy and mobile browser support	Link
Cinny	❌	Simple, elegant and secure web client	Link
SchildiChat Web	❌	Based on Element Web, with a more traditional instant messaging experience	Link

Server Components

Services that run on the server to make the various parts of your installation work.

Name	Default?	Description	Documentation
PostgreSQL	✅	Database for Synapse. Using an external PostgreSQL server is also possible.	Link
Coturn	✅	STUN/TURN server for WebRTC audio/video calls	Link
Traefik	✅	Web server, listening on ports 80, 443 and 8448 - standing in front of all the other services. Using your own webserver is possible	Link
Let's Encrypt	✅	Free SSL certificate, which secures the connection to all components	Link
Exim	✅	Mail server, through which all Matrix services send outgoing email (can be configured to relay through another SMTP server)	Link
ma1sd	❌	Matrix Identity Server	Link
ddclient	❌	Dynamic DNS	Link

Authentication

Extend and modify how users are authenticated on your homeserver.

Name	Default?	Description	Documentation
matrix-synapse-rest-auth (advanced)	❌	REST authentication password provider module	Link
matrix-synapse-shared-secret-auth (advanced)	❌	Password provider module	Link
matrix-synapse-ldap3 (advanced)	❌	LDAP Auth password provider module	Link
matrix-ldap-registration-proxy (advanced)	❌	A proxy that handles Matrix registration requests and forwards them to LDAP.	Link
matrix-registration	❌	A simple python application to have a token based Matrix registration	Link
Matrix User Verification Service (UVS)	❌	Service to verify details of a user based on an Open ID token	Link
synapse-simple-antispam (advanced)	❌	A spam checker module	Link

File Storage

Use alternative file storage to the default media_store folder.

Name	Default?	Description	Documentation
Goofys	❌	Amazon S3 (or other S3-compatible object store) storage for Synapse's content repository (media_store) files	Link
synapse-s3-storage-provider	❌	Amazon S3 (or other S3-compatible object store) storage for Synapse's content repository (media_store) files	Link
matrix-media-repo	❌	matrix-media-repo is a highly customizable multi-domain media repository for Matrix. Intended for medium to large deployments, this media repo de-duplicates media while being fully compliant with the specification.	Link

Bridges

Bridges can be used to connect your Matrix installation with third-party communication networks.

Name	Default?	Description	Documentation
mautrix-discord	❌	Bridge to Discord	Link
mautrix-slack	❌	Bridge to Slack	Link
mautrix-telegram	❌	Bridge to Telegram	Link
mautrix-gmessages	❌	Bridge to Google Messages	Link
mautrix-whatsapp	❌	Bridge to WhatsApp	Link
mautrix-wsproxy	❌	Bridge to Android SMS or Apple iMessage	Link
mautrix-twitter	❌	Bridge to Twitter	Link
mautrix-googlechat	❌	Bridge to Google Chat	Link
mautrix-meta	❌	Bridge to Messenger and Instagram	Link for Messenger / Instagram
mautrix-signal	❌	Bridge to Signal	Link
beeper-linkedin	❌	Bridge to LinkedIn	Link
matrix-appservice-irc	❌	Bridge to IRC	Link
matrix-appservice-kakaotalk	❌	Bridge to Kakaotalk	Link
matrix-appservice-discord	❌	Bridge to Discord	Link
matrix-appservice-slack	❌	Bridge to Slack	Link
matrix-hookshot	❌	Bridge for generic webhooks and multiple project management services, such as GitHub, GitLab, Figma, and Jira in particular	Link
matrix-sms-bridge	❌	Bridge to SMS	Link
matrix-wechat	❌	Bridge to WeChat	Link
Heisenbridge	❌	Bouncer-style bridge to IRC	Link
go-skype-bridge	❌	Bridge to Skype	Link
mx-puppet-slack	❌	Bridge to Slack	Link
mx-puppet-instagram	❌	Bridge for Instagram-DMs (Instagram)	Link
mx-puppet-twitter	❌	Bridge for Twitter-DMs (Twitter)	Link
mx-puppet-discord	❌	Bridge to Discord	Link
mx-puppet-groupme	❌	Bridge to GroupMe	Link
mx-puppet-steam	❌	Bridge to Steam	Link
Email2Matrix	❌	Bridge for relaying emails to Matrix rooms	Link
Postmoogle	❌	Email to Matrix bridge	Link

Bots

Bots provide various additional functionality to your installation.

Name	Default?	Description	Documentation
baibot	❌	A bot that exposes the power of AI / Large Language Models to you	Link
matrix-reminder-bot	❌	Bot for scheduling one-off & recurring reminders and alarms	Link
matrix-registration-bot	❌	Bot for invitations by creating and managing registration tokens	Link
maubot	❌	A plugin-based Matrix bot system	Link
Honoroit	❌	A helpdesk bot	Link
Mjolnir	❌	A moderation tool for Matrix	Link
Draupnir	❌	A moderation tool for Matrix (Fork of Mjolnir)	Link (for appservice mode)
Buscarron	❌	Web forms (HTTP POST) to Matrix	Link

Administration

Services that help you in administrating and monitoring your Matrix installation.

Name	Default?	Description	Documentation
matrix-alertmanager-receiver	❌	Prometheus' Alertmanager client	Link
Matrix Authentication Service	❌	OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Provider server	Link
synapse-admin	❌	A web UI tool for administrating users and rooms on your Matrix server	Link
Metrics and Graphs	❌	Consists of the Prometheus time-series database server, the Prometheus node-exporter host metrics exporter, and the Grafana web UI, with prometheus-nginxlog-exporter being available too	Link (for prometheus-nginxlog-exporter)
Borg	❌	Backups	Link
rageshake	❌	Bug report server	Link
synapse-usage-exporter	❌	Export the usage statistics of a Synapse homeserver to be scraped by Prometheus.	Link

Misc

Various services that don't fit any other categories.

Name	Default?	Description	Documentation
sliding-sync	❌	(Superseded by Simplified Sliding Sync integrated into Synapse > 1.114 and Conduit > 0.6.0) Sliding Sync support for clients which require it (e.g. old Element X versions before Simplified Sliding Sync was developed)	Link
synapse_auto_accept_invite	❌	A Synapse module to automatically accept invites.	Link
synapse_auto_compressor	❌	A cli tool that automatically compresses state_groups database table in background.	Link
Matrix Corporal (advanced)	❌	Reconciliator and gateway for a managed Matrix server	Link
Etherpad	❌	An open source collaborative text editor	Link
Jitsi	❌	An open source video-conferencing platform	Link
Cactus Comments	❌	A federated comment system built on Matrix	Link
Pantalaimon	❌	An E2EE aware proxy daemon	Link
Sygnal	❌	Push gateway	Link
ntfy	❌	Push notifications server	Link

🆕 Changes

This playbook evolves over time, sometimes with backward-incompatible changes.

When updating the playbook, refer to the changelog to catch up with what's new.

🆘 Support

• Matrix room: #matrix-docker-ansible-deploy:devture.com

• IRC channel: #matrix-docker-ansible-deploy on the Libera Chat IRC network (irc.libera.chat:6697)

• GitHub issues: spantaleev/matrix-docker-ansible-deploy/issues

🤝 Related

You may also be interested in mash-playbook - another Ansible playbook for self-hosting non-Matrix services (see its List of supported services).

mash-playbook also makes use of Traefik as its reverse-proxy, so with minor interoperability adjustments, you can make matrix-docker-ansible-deploy and mash-playbook co-exist and host Matrix and non-Matrix services on the same server.