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>:<your-domain> identifier, all hosted on your own server (see prerequisites).

We run all 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 SaaS

This Ansible playbook tries to make self-hosting and maintaining a Matrix server fairly easy. 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 - a service built on top of this Ansible playbook, which can help you run a Matrix server with ease.

If you like learning and experimentation, but would rather reduce future maintenance effort, you can even go for a hybrid approach - self-hosting manually using this Ansible playbook at first and then transferring server maintenance to etke.cc at a later time.

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.

Note: 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.

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	x	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	x	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 UI, which is configured to connect to your own Synapse server by default	Link
Hydrogen	x	Web client	Link
Cinny	x	Web client	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
nginx	x	(Deprecated) Web server, listening on ports 80, 443 and 8448 - standing in front of all the other services. Deprecated in favor of Traefik	Link
Let's Encrypt	✓	Free SSL certificate, which secures the connection to all components	Link
ma1sd	x	Matrix Identity Server	Link
Exim	✓	Mail server, through which all Matrix services send outgoing email (can be configured to relay through another SMTP server)	Link
Dimension	x	An open source integrations manager for matrix clients	Link
Sygnal	x	Push gateway	Link
ntfy	x	Push notifications server	Link

Authentication

Extend and modify how users are authenticated on your homeserver.

Name	Default?	Description	Documentation
matrix-synapse-rest-auth (advanced)	x	REST authentication password provider module	Link
matrix-synapse-shared-secret-auth (advanced)	x	Password provider module	Link
matrix-synapse-ldap3 (advanced)	x	LDAP Auth password provider module	Link
matrix-ldap-registration-proxy (advanced)	x	A proxy that handles Matrix registration requests and forwards them to LDAP.	Link
matrix-registration	x	A simple python application to have a token based matrix registration	Link

File Storage

Use alternative file storage to the default media_store folder.

Name	Default?	Description	Documentation
Goofys	x	Amazon S3 (or other S3-compatible object store) storage for Synapse's content repository (media_store) files	Link
synapse-s3-storage-provider	x	Amazon S3 (or other S3-compatible object store) storage for Synapse's content repository (media_store) files	Link
matrix-media-repo	x	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	x	Bridge for bridging your Matrix server to Discord	Link
mautrix-slack	x	Bridge for bridging your Matrix server to Slack	Link
mautrix-telegram	x	Bridge for bridging your Matrix server to Telegram	Link
mautrix-gmessages	x	Bridge for bridging your Matrix server to Google Messages	Link
mautrix-whatsapp	x	Bridge for bridging your Matrix server to WhatsApp	Link
mautrix-facebook	x	Bridge for bridging your Matrix server to Facebook	Link
mautrix-twitter	x	Bridge for bridging your Matrix server to Twitter	Link
mautrix-hangouts	x	Bridge for bridging your Matrix server to Google Hangouts	Link
mautrix-googlechat	x	Bridge for bridging your Matrix server to Google Chat	Link
mautrix-instagram	x	Bridge for bridging your Matrix server to Instagram	Link
mautrix-signal	x	Bridge for bridging your Matrix server to Signal	Link
beeper-linkedin	x	Bridge for bridging your Matrix server to LinkedIn	Link
matrix-appservice-irc	x	Bridge for bridging your Matrix server to IRC	Link
matrix-appservice-discord	x	Bridge for bridging your Matrix server to Discord	Link
matrix-appservice-slack	x	Bridge for bridging your Matrix server to Slack	Link
matrix-appservice-webhooks	x	Bridge for slack compatible webhooks (ConcourseCI, Slack etc. pp.)	Link
matrix-hookshot	x	Bridge for bridging Matrix to generic webhooks and multiple project management services, such as GitHub, GitLab, Figma, and Jira in particular	Link
matrix-sms-bridge	x	Bridge for bridging your Matrix server to SMS	Link
Heisenbridge	x	Bridge for bridging your Matrix server to IRC bouncer-style	Link
go-skype-bridge	x	Bridge for bridging your Matrix server to Skype	Link
mx-puppet-slack	x	Bridge for bridging your Matrix server to Slack	Link
mx-puppet-instagram	x	Bridge for Instagram-DMs (Instagram)	Link
mx-puppet-twitter	x	Bridge for Twitter-DMs (Twitter)	Link
mx-puppet-discord	x	Bridge for Discord	Link
mx-puppet-groupme	x	Bridge for GroupMe	Link
mx-puppet-steam	x	Bridge for Steam	Link
Email2Matrix	x	Bridge for relaying email messages to Matrix rooms	Link

Bots

Bots provide various additional functionality to your installation.

Name	Default?	Description	Documentation
matrix-reminder-bot	x	Bot for scheduling one-off & recurring reminders and alarms	Link
matrix-registration-bot	x	Bot for invitations by creating and managing registration tokens	Link
maubot	x	A plugin-based Matrix bot system	Link
honoroit	x	A helpdesk bot	Link
Postmoogle	x	Email to matrix bot	Link
Go-NEB	x	A multi functional bot written in Go	Link
Mjolnir	x	A moderation tool for Matrix	Link
Draupnir	x	A moderation tool for Matrix (Fork of Mjolnir)	Link
Buscarron	x	Web forms (HTTP POST) to matrix	Link
matrix-chatgpt-bot	x	ChatGPT from matrix	Link

Administration

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

Name	Default?	Description	Documentation
synapse-admin	x	A web UI tool for administrating users and rooms on your Matrix server	Link
Metrics and Graphs	x	Consists of the Prometheus time-series database server, the Prometheus node-exporter host metrics exporter, and the Grafana web UI	Link
Borg	x	Backups	Link
Rageshake	x	Bug report server	Link

Misc

Various services that don't fit any other category.

Name	Default?	Description	Documentation
sliding-sync	x	Sliding Sync support for clients which require it (e.g. Element X)	Link
synapse_auto_compressor	x	A cli tool that automatically compresses state_groups database table in background.	Link
synapse-simple-antispam (advanced)	x	A spam checker module	Link
Matrix Corporal (advanced)	x	Reconciliator and gateway for a managed Matrix server	Link
Etherpad	x	An open source collaborative text editor	Link
Jitsi	x	An open source video-conferencing platform	Link
Cactus Comments	x	A federated comment system built on matrix	Link

Installation

To configure and install Matrix on your own server, follow the README in the docs/ directory.

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 these other Ansible playbooks:

• gitea-docker-ansible-deploy - for deploying a Gitea git version-control server

• nextcloud-docker-ansible-deploy - for deploying a Nextcloud server

• peertube-docker-ansible-deploy - for deploying a PeerTube video-platform server

• vaultwarden-docker-ansible-deploy - for deploying a Vaultwarden password manager server (unofficial Bitwarden compatible server)

They're all making use of Traefik as their reverse-proxy, so it should be easy to host all these services on the same server. Follow the docs/configuring-playbook-interoperability.md documentation in each playbook.