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+---
+title: "Matrix Synapse"
+date: 2021-07-16
+icon: 'element.svg'
+tags: ['service']
+short_desc: "An encrypted chat server sleek and accessible even to normies."
+---
+
+Matrix is easy-to-use, decentralized and encrypted private chat
+software. Matrix is federated, meaning that with a Matrix account on any
+server, including your own, you can talk to any other Matrix account on
+the internet, similar to email. Matrix also allows fully end-to-end
+encrypted group chats.
+
+**Synapse** is the name of the default Matrix server. It is written in
+Python. While it is requires somewhat more system resources than [an
+XMPP server](/prosody), it makes up for that in being very accessible
+to non-technical users.
+
+## Installation
+
+Synapse is not in the Debian package repositories by default, but we can
+easily add Matrix\'s repository including it:
+
+```sh
+apt install -y lsb-release wget apt-transport-https
+wget -O /usr/share/keyrings/matrix-org-archive-keyring.gpg https://packages.matrix.org/debian/matrix-org-archive-keyring.gpg
+echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/matrix-org-archive-keyring.gpg] https://packages.matrix.org/debian/ $(lsb_release -cs) main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/matrix-org.list
+```
+
+After we update our packages lists, we will be able to install Synapse
+with `apt`.
+
+```sh
+apt update
+apt install matrix-synapse-py3
+```
+
+When prompted, give your main domain name (not a subdomain). This will
+be the domain appended to your Matrix address, e.g.
+`@chad:landchad.net`.
+
+## Nginx configuration
+
+Create an Nginx configuration file for Matrix, say
+`/etc/nginx/sites-available/matrix` and add the content below:
+
+```nginx
+server {
+        server_name matrix.example.org ;
+        listen 80;
+        listen [::]:80;
+        location / {
+                proxy_pass http://localhost:8008;
+        }
+        location ~* ^(\/_matrix|\/_synapse\/client) {
+                proxy_pass http://localhost:8008;
+                proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $remote_addr;
+                client_max_body_size 50M ;
+        }
+        location /.well-known/matrix/server {
+                return 200 '{"m.homeserver": {"base_url": "https://matrix.example.org"}}';
+                default_type application/json;
+                add_header Access-Control-Allow-Origin *;
+        }
+}
+```
+
+Note the `client_max_body_size` variable. By default, Nginx caps the
+size of files it can transfer. We increase that to 50M if needed by
+Matrix. (Note however that both Matrix and Nginx have seperate settings
+for this and to raise it to something much larger, you will have to
+increase the value in both configuration files.)
+
+Now let\'s enable the Nginx Matrix site and reload Nginx to make it
+active.
+
+```sh
+ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/matrix /etc/nginx/sites-enabled
+systemctl reload nginx
+```
+
+### Encryption
+
+Obviously, we need to encrypt our `matrix` subdomain as well. Let\'s do
+that with certbot:
+
+```sh
+certbot --nginx -d matrix.example.org
+```
+
+## Configuration
+
+### Read the config file
+
+The configuration file for Matrix is in
+`/etc/matrix-synapse/homeserver.yaml`. It is well documented and
+commented, so you can read about the settings, but let\'s change the
+essential ones here.
+
+Make what changes you want and run `systemctl reload matrix-synapse` to
+make the system configuration active.
+
+### Create an administrator account
+
+If you allow open registration on your server in the configuration file,
+you can create an account through Element or another Matrix client, but
+you are probably going to want an official admin account to use. To make
+one, simply run the following command, which will then give you several
+choices for creating a user, among which will be the ability to make it
+an admin.
+
+```sh
+register_new_matrix_user -c homeserver.yaml http://localhost:8008
+```
+
+## Using Matrix with ![Element Matrix logo](pix/element.svg)Element
+
+There are many different [clients](https://matrix.org/clients/) that can
+be used on desktops or phones to chat on your Matrix server, but the
+most popular and most widely vetted is ![Element
+logo](pix/element.svg)Element.
+
+Get Element to access your Matrix server:
+
+-   Mobile:
+    -   [F-droid](https://f-droid.org/packages/im.vector.app/)
+    -   [Google
+        Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=im.vector.app)
+    -   [Apple App
+        Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/vector/id1083446067)
+-   Real computer:
+    -   GNU/Linux: You know how to install it.
+    -   [Windows](https://packages.riot.im/desktop/install/win32/x64/Element%20Setup.exe)
+    -   [Mac](https://packages.riot.im/desktop/install/macos/Element.dmg)
+
+Note also that Element has a web client (i.e. a version that can be
+accessed on your own website) that is also easy to install on an Nginx
+server, although that will be covered in another article.