Deploying Matrix Chat: A Comprehensive Guide

Matrix is an open standard for decentralized communication, ensuring secure and seamless conversations. This guide will walk you through deploying a Matrix server using Synapse, the most popular Matrix homeserver implementation.

Prerequisites

1. Server with Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or later
2. Domain Name
3. DNS Records: Set up A and CNAME records pointing to your server’s IP.

Step 1: Update and Upgrade Your System

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Dependencies

sudo apt install -y lsb-release wget apt-transport-https

Step 3: Add Matrix Synapse Repository

sudo wget -qO /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" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/matrix-org.list

Step 4: Install Synapse

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y matrix-synapse-py3

Step 5: Configure Synapse

During the installation, you will be prompted to enter your server name. This should be the domain name you have configured for your server.

Edit the Synapse configuration file /etc/matrix-synapse/homeserver.yaml:

server_name: "your_domain.com"
report_stats: yes

Step 6: Set Up a Reverse Proxy

To expose your Matrix server to the internet, you will need a reverse proxy. We will use Nginx for this purpose.

Install Nginx:

sudo apt install -y nginx

Create a new Nginx configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/matrix

Add the following configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your_domain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8008;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Enable the configuration and restart Nginx:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/matrix /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Step 7: Obtain SSL Certificates

Use Certbot to obtain SSL certificates:

sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d your_domain.com

Follow the prompts to complete the SSL certificate installation.

Step 8: Start Synapse

Start the Synapse service:

sudo systemctl enable matrix-synapse
sudo systemctl start matrix-synapse

Step 9: Access Your Matrix Server

Your Matrix server should now be up and running. You can access it via a Matrix client such as Element. Use your domain name to log in.

Step 10: Configure DNS for Federation (Optional)

To enable federation, create a DNS SRV record for your domain:

_smatrix._tcp.your_domain.com.  IN SRV 10 0 443 your_domain.com.

This will allow other Matrix servers to discover and communicate with your server.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully deployed a Matrix server. You can now enjoy secure, decentralized communication. For further customization and advanced configurations, refer to the official Synapse documentation.