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331 lines
13 KiB
ReStructuredText
Introduction
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============
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Matrix is an ambitious new ecosystem for open federated Instant Messaging and
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VoIP. The basics you need to know to get up and running are:
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- Chatrooms are distributed and do not exist on any single server. Rooms
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can be found using aliases like ``#matrix:matrix.org`` or
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``#test:localhost:8008`` or they can be ephemeral.
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- Matrix user IDs look like ``@matthew:matrix.org`` (although in the future
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you will normally refer to yourself and others using a 3PID: email
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address, phone number, etc rather than manipulating Matrix user IDs)
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The overall architecture is::
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client <----> homeserver <=====================> homeserver <----> client
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https://somewhere.org/_matrix https://elsewhere.net/_matrix
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WARNING
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=======
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**Synapse is currently in a state of rapid development, and not all features
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are yet functional. Critically, some security features are still in
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development, which means Synapse can *not* be considered secure or reliable at
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this point.** For instance:
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- **SSL Certificates used by server-server federation are not yet validated.**
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- **Room permissions are not yet enforced on traffic received via federation.**
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- **Homeservers do not yet cryptographically sign their events to avoid
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tampering**
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- Default configuration provides open signup to the service from the internet
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Despite this, we believe Synapse is more than useful as a way for experimenting
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and exploring Synapse, and the missing features will land shortly. **Until
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then, please do *NOT* use Synapse for any remotely important or secure
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communication.**
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Quick Start
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===========
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System requirements:
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- POSIX-compliant system (tested on Linux & OSX)
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- Python 2.7
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To get up and running:
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- To simply play with an **existing** homeserver you can
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just go straight to http://matrix.org/alpha.
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- To run your own **private** homeserver on localhost:8008, generate a basic
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config file: ``./synctl start`` will give you instructions on how to do this.
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For this purpose, you can use 'localhost' or your hostname as a server name.
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Once you've done so, running ``./synctl start`` again will start your private
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home server. You will find a webclient running at http://localhost:8008.
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Please use a recent Chrome or Firefox for now (or Safari if you don't need
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VoIP support).
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- To run a **public** homeserver and let it exchange messages with other
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homeservers and participate in the global Matrix federation, you must expose
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port 8448 to the internet and edit homeserver.yaml to specify server_name
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(the public DNS entry for this server) and then run ``synctl start``. If you
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changed the server_name, you may need to move the old database
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(homeserver.db) out of the way first. Then come join ``#matrix:matrix.org``
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and say hi! :)
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For more detailed setup instructions, please see further down this document.
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About Matrix
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============
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Matrix specifies a set of pragmatic RESTful HTTP JSON APIs as an open standard,
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which handle:
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- Creating and managing fully distributed chat rooms with no
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single points of control or failure
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- Eventually-consistent cryptographically secure[1] synchronisation of room
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state across a global open network of federated servers and services
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- Sending and receiving extensible messages in a room with (optional)
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end-to-end encryption[2]
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- Inviting, joining, leaving, kicking, banning room members
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- Managing user accounts (registration, login, logout)
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- Using 3rd Party IDs (3PIDs) such as email addresses, phone numbers,
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Facebook accounts to authenticate, identify and discover users on Matrix.
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- Placing 1:1 VoIP and Video calls
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These APIs are intended to be implemented on a wide range of servers, services
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and clients, letting developers build messaging and VoIP functionality on top
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of the entirely open Matrix ecosystem rather than using closed or proprietary
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solutions. The hope is for Matrix to act as the building blocks for a new
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generation of fully open and interoperable messaging and VoIP apps for the
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internet.
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Synapse is a reference "homeserver" implementation of Matrix from the core
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development team at matrix.org, written in Python/Twisted for clarity and
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simplicity. It is intended to showcase the concept of Matrix and let folks see
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the spec in the context of a codebase and let you run your own homeserver and
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generally help bootstrap the ecosystem.
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In Matrix, every user runs one or more Matrix clients, which connect through to
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a Matrix homeserver which stores all their personal chat history and user
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account information - much as a mail client connects through to an IMAP/SMTP
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server. Just like email, you can either run your own Matrix homeserver and
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control and own your own communications and history or use one hosted by
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someone else (e.g. matrix.org) - there is no single point of control or
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mandatory service provider in Matrix, unlike WhatsApp, Facebook, Hangouts, etc.
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Synapse ships with two basic demo Matrix clients: webclient (a basic group chat
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web client demo implemented in AngularJS) and cmdclient (a basic Python
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command line utility which lets you easily see what the JSON APIs are up to).
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We'd like to invite you to take a look at the Matrix spec, try to run a
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homeserver, and join the existing Matrix chatrooms already out there,
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experiment with the APIs and the demo clients, and let us know your thoughts at
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https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues or at matrix@matrix.org.
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Thanks for trying Matrix!
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[1] Cryptographic signing of messages isn't turned on yet
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[2] End-to-end encryption is currently in development
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Homeserver Installation
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=======================
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Synapse is written in python but some of the libraries is uses are written in
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C. So before we can install synapse itself we need a working C compiler and the
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header files for python C extensions.
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Installing prerequisites on Ubuntu::
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$ sudo apt-get install build-essential python2.7-dev libffi-dev
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Installing prerequisites on Mac OS X::
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$ xcode-select --install
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Synapse uses NaCl (http://nacl.cr.yp.to/) for encryption and digital
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signatures. Unfortunately PyNACL currently has a few issues
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(https://github.com/pyca/pynacl/issues/53) and
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(https://github.com/pyca/pynacl/issues/79) that mean it may not install
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correctly. To fix try re-installing from PyPI or directly from (https://github.com/pyca/pynacl)::
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$ # Install from PyPI
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$ pip install --user --upgrade --force pynacl
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$ # Install from github
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$ pip install --user https://github.com/pyca/pynacl/tarball/master
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On OSX, if you encounter ``clang: error: unknown argument: '-mno-fused-madd'``
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you will need to ``export CFLAGS=-Qunused-arguments``.
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To install the synapse homeserver run::
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$ pip install --user --process-dependency-links https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/tarball/master
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This installs synapse, along with the libraries it uses, into
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``$HOME/.local/lib/``.
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Homeserver Development
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======================
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The homeserver has a number of external dependencies, that are easiest
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to install by making setup.py do so, in --user mode::
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$ python setup.py develop --user
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This will run a process of downloading and installing into your
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user's .local/lib directory all of the required dependencies that are
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missing.
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Once this is done, you may wish to run the homeserver's unit tests, to
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check that everything is installed as it should be::
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$ python setup.py test
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This should end with a 'PASSED' result::
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Ran 143 tests in 0.601s
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PASSED (successes=143)
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Upgrading an existing homeserver
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================================
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Before upgrading an existing homeserver to a new version, please refer to
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UPGRADE.rst for any additional instructions.
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Setting up Federation
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=====================
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In order for other homeservers to send messages to your server, it will need to
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be publicly visible on the internet, and they will need to know its host name.
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You have two choices here, which will influence the form of your Matrix user
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IDs:
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1) Use the machine's own hostname as available on public DNS in the form of
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its A or AAAA records. This is easier to set up initially, perhaps for
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testing, but lacks the flexibility of SRV.
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2) Set up a SRV record for your domain name. This requires you create a SRV
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record in DNS, but gives the flexibility to run the server on your own
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choice of TCP port, on a machine that might not be the same name as the
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domain name.
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For the first form, simply pass the required hostname (of the machine) as the
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--host parameter::
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$ python -m synapse.app.homeserver \
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--server-name machine.my.domain.name \
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--config-path homeserver.config \
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--generate-config
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$ python -m synapse.app.homeserver --config-path homeserver.config
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Alternatively, you can run synapse via synctl - running ``synctl start`` to
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generate a homeserver.yaml config file, where you can then edit server-name to
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specify machine.my.domain.name, and then set the actual server running again
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with synctl start.
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For the second form, first create your SRV record and publish it in DNS. This
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needs to be named _matrix._tcp.YOURDOMAIN, and point at at least one hostname
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and port where the server is running. (At the current time synapse does not
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support clustering multiple servers into a single logical homeserver). The DNS
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record would then look something like::
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_matrix._tcp IN SRV 10 0 8448 machine.my.domain.name.
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At this point, you should then run the homeserver with the hostname of this
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SRV record, as that is the name other machines will expect it to have::
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$ python -m synapse.app.homeserver \
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--server-name YOURDOMAIN \
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--bind-port 8448 \
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--config-path homeserver.config \
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--generate-config
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$ python -m synapse.app.homeserver --config-path homeserver.config
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You may additionally want to pass one or more "-v" options, in order to
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increase the verbosity of logging output; at least for initial testing.
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For the initial alpha release, the homeserver is not speaking TLS for
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either client-server or server-server traffic for ease of debugging. We have
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also not spent any time yet getting the homeserver to run behind loadbalancers.
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Running a Demo Federation of Homeservers
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----------------------------------------
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If you want to get up and running quickly with a trio of homeservers in a
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private federation (``localhost:8080``, ``localhost:8081`` and
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``localhost:8082``) which you can then access through the webclient running at
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http://localhost:8080. Simply run::
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$ demo/start.sh
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Running The Demo Web Client
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===========================
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The homeserver runs a web client by default at https://localhost:8448/.
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If this is the first time you have used the client from that browser (it uses
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HTML5 local storage to remember its config), you will need to log in to your
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account. If you don't yet have an account, because you've just started the
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homeserver for the first time, then you'll need to register one.
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Registering A New Account
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-------------------------
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Your new user name will be formed partly from the hostname your server is
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running as, and partly from a localpart you specify when you create the
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account. Your name will take the form of::
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@localpart:my.domain.here
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(pronounced "at localpart on my dot domain dot here")
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Specify your desired localpart in the topmost box of the "Register for an
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account" form, and click the "Register" button. Hostnames can contain ports if
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required due to lack of SRV records (e.g. @matthew:localhost:8448 on an
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internal synapse sandbox running on localhost)
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Logging In To An Existing Account
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---------------------------------
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Just enter the ``@localpart:my.domain.here`` Matrix user ID and password into
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the form and click the Login button.
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Identity Servers
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================
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The job of authenticating 3PIDs and tracking which 3PIDs are associated with a
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given Matrix user is very security-sensitive, as there is obvious risk of spam
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if it is too easy to sign up for Matrix accounts or harvest 3PID data.
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Meanwhile the job of publishing the end-to-end encryption public keys for
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Matrix users is also very security-sensitive for similar reasons.
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Therefore the role of managing trusted identity in the Matrix ecosystem is
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farmed out to a cluster of known trusted ecosystem partners, who run 'Matrix
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Identity Servers' such as ``sydent``, whose role is purely to authenticate and
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track 3PID logins and publish end-user public keys.
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It's currently early days for identity servers as Matrix is not yet using 3PIDs
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as the primary means of identity and E2E encryption is not complete. As such,
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we are running a single identity server (http://matrix.org:8090) at the current
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time.
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Where's the spec?!
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==================
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For now, please go spelunking in the ``docs/`` directory to find out.
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Building Internal API Documentation
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===================================
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Before building internal API documentation install spinx and
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sphinxcontrib-napoleon::
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$ pip install sphinx
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$ pip install sphinxcontrib-napoleon
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Building internal API documentation::
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$ python setup.py build_sphinx
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