Setting up a matrix server from scratch

Introduction

Matrix is an open standard for interoperable, decentralized, real-time communication. This guide will help you set up your own Matrix server using Synapse (the reference implementation) and PostgreSQL.

Prerequisites :

1. System Requirements:

• Linux server (Ubuntu 20.04/22.04 recommended)

• Minimum 2GB RAM

• 10GB+ disk space

• Root or sudo access

2. Software Requirements:

• Docker and Docker Compose

• A domain name (for production use)

• Basic knowledge of Linux commands

Step 1: Install Docker and Docker Compose

# Update package lists

sudo apt update

# Install required packages

sudo apt install -y apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common

# Add Docker's official GPG key

curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg

# Add Docker repository

echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

# Install Docker

sudo apt update

sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io

# Install Docker Compose

sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/v2.20.0/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

# Add current user to docker group

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Step 2: Create Project Directory Structure

# Create main directory

mkdir matrix-server

cd matrix-server

# Create required directories

mkdir -p config data postgres-data

Step 3: Create Configuration Files

1. Create docker-compose.yml

version: '3.8'

services:

 matrix:

   image: matrixdotorg/synapse:latest

   container_name: matrix

   restart: unless-stopped

   ports:

     - "8008:8008"  # Client-server API

     - "8448:8448"  # Federation API

   volumes:

     - ./config:/config

     - ./data:/data

   environment:

     - SYNAPSE_SERVER_NAME=your-domain.com

     - SYNAPSE_REPORT_STATS=no

     - SYNAPSE_CONFIG_DIR=/config

     - SYNAPSE_CONFIG_PATH=/config/homeserver.yaml

   depends_on:

     - postgres

 postgres:

   image: postgres:13-alpine

   container_name: matrix-postgres

   restart: unless-stopped

   volumes:

     - ./postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

   environment:

     - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your_secure_password

     - POSTGRES_USER=matrix

     - POSTGRES_DB=matrix

     - POSTGRES_INITDB_ARGS=--lc-collate=C --lc-ctype=C --encoding=UTF8

2. Generate Synapse Configuration

# Generate initial configuration

docker run -it --rm \

   -v "$(pwd)/config:/config" \

   -e SYNAPSE_SERVER_NAME=your-domain.com \

   -e SYNAPSE_REPORT_STATS=no \

   matrixdotorg/synapse:latest generate

3. Configure homeserver.yaml

Edit config/homeserver.yaml and update these key settings:

server_name: "your-domain.com"

public_baseurl: "https://your-domain.com:8448"

listeners:

 - port: 8008

   tls: false

   type: http

   x_forwarded: true

   resources:

     - names: [client, federation]

       compress: false

database:

 name: psycopg2

 args:

   user: matrix

   password: your_secure_password

   database: matrix

   host: postgres

   cp_min: 5

   cp_max: 10

enable_registration: true  # Set to false in production

Step 4: Start the Server

# Start the services

docker-compose up -d

# Check status

docker-compose ps

Step 5: Create Admin User

# Create admin user

docker-compose exec matrix register_new_matrix_user -c /config/homeserver.yaml http://localhost:8008

Step 6: Configure Reverse Proxy (Nginx)

Install Nginx:

sudo apt install nginx

Create Nginx configuration (/etc/nginx/sites-available/matrix):

server {

   listen 443 ssl;

   listen [::]:443 ssl;

   server_name your-domain.com;

   ssl_certificate /path/to/your/cert.pem;

   ssl_certificate_key /path/to/your/key.pem;

   location /_matrix {

       proxy_pass http://localhost:8008;

       proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $remote_addr;

       proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;

       proxy_set_header Host $host;

   }

   location /.well-known/matrix/server {

       return 200 '{"m.server": "your-domain.com:8448"}';

       add_header Content-Type application/json;

   }

}

Enable the site and restart Nginx:

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

sudo nginx -t

sudo systemctl restart nginx

Step 7: Configure SSL/TLS

For production use, obtain SSL certificates:

# Install Certbot

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx

# Obtain certificate

sudo certbot --nginx -d your-domain.com

Step 8: Configure Firewall

# Install UFW

sudo apt install ufw

# Configure firewall

sudo ufw allow 22/tcp

sudo ufw allow 80/tcp

sudo ufw allow 443/tcp

sudo ufw allow 8448/tcp

sudo ufw enable

Maintenance and Monitoring

Regular Updates

# Update Docker images

docker-compose pull

docker-compose up -d

Backup Strategy

# Backup database

docker-compose exec postgres pg_dump -U matrix matrix > backup.sql

# Backup configuration

tar -czf config_backup.tar.gz config/

Monitoring

Install monitoring tools:

sudo apt install htop

Troubleshooting

1. Server Not Starting:

docker-compose logs matrix

2. Database Issues:

docker-compose logs postgres

3. Connection Problems:

• Check firewall settings

• Verify DNS configuration

• Test SSL certificate

Security Considerations

1. Regular Updates:

• Keep Docker images updated

• Update system packages

• Monitor security advisories

2. Access Control:

• Use strong passwords

• Implement rate limiting

• Configure proper firewall rules

3. Data Protection:

• Regular backups

• Encrypted storage

• Secure database access

Conclusion

This setup provides a basic Matrix server configuration. For production use, consider:

1. Implementing additional security measures

2. Setting up monitoring and alerting

3. Configuring backup automation

4. Implementing rate limiting

5. Setting up proper logging

Remember to consult the official Synapse documentation for more detailed configuration options and best practices.

Find the actual code:

github.com/abhishekthakur0/MatrixServer/tree/main