Advanced Features

Explore Matrix's powerful features that go beyond basic messaging.

Widgets & Integration Managers

What Are Widgets?

Widgets embed interactive content in rooms:

Video conferencing (Jitsi, Element Call)
Collaborative documents (Etherpad, HedgeDoc)
Polls and surveys
Custom web apps
Dashboards and monitoring

Dimension Integration Manager

Dimension is a self-hosted integration manager providing:

Widget catalog - Browse and add widgets easily
Bridge management - Configure IRC, Telegram, Slack bridges
Bot directory - Add bots to rooms
Sticker packs - Manage custom stickers

Installation:

docker-compose.yml
services:
  dimension:
    image: turt2live/matrix-dimension
    ports:
      - "8184:8184"
    volumes:
      - ./dimension-data:/data
    environment:
      - DIMENSION_DB_PATH=/data/dimension.db

Configuration in Element:

{
  "integrations_ui_url": "https://dimension.yourserver.com/element",
  "integrations_rest_url": "https://dimension.yourserver.com/api/v1/scalar"
}

Adding Widgets

In Element:

Room info (i) → Widgets
Add from list or custom URL

With Dimension:

Room settings → Integrations
Browse widget catalog
One-click add

Custom Widgets

Create your own:

widget.html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <script src="https://unpkg.com/matrix-widget-api@1.0.0/dist/api.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>My Widget</h1>
  <script>
    const widgetApi = new mxwidgets.WidgetApi();
    widgetApi.requestCapabilities([
      mxwidgets.MatrixCapabilities.MSC2931Navigate
    ]);
    widgetApi.start();
  </script>
</body>
</html>

Capability	Description
`m.always_on_screen`	Keep widget visible during calls
`m.capability.screenshot`	Capture widget content
`org.matrix.msc2931.navigate`	Navigate to Matrix URIs
`org.matrix.msc2762.timeline`	Read room messages
`org.matrix.msc2762.send.event`	Send messages

Widget	Purpose	URL
Jitsi	Video calls	Built into Element
Element Call	Native Matrix calls	call.element.io
Etherpad	Collaborative notes	Any Etherpad instance
HedgeDoc	Markdown docs	Self-hosted
YouTube	Video player	Custom widget
Polls	Native in clients	Built-in

Spaces Deep Dive

Nested Spaces

Create hierarchical structures:

🏢 Organization
├── 📋 General
├── 💻 Engineering
│   ├── #frontend
│   ├── #backend
│   └── 📁 Projects
│       ├── #project-a
│       └── #project-b
└── 🎉 Social

Space-Based Access Control

Configure rooms to inherit access from space:

Create space
Add room to space
Set room join rules to "Space members"
Members of space can join room

Suggested Rooms

Mark rooms as "suggested" in space:

{
  "type": "m.space.child",
  "state_key": "!room:example.com",
  "content": {
    "via": ["example.com"],
    "suggested": true
  }
}

Suggested rooms appear prominently to new space members.

Threads Advanced

Thread Best Practices

Start threads for tangential discussions
Keep main timeline for announcements
Use threads for Q&A

Thread Notifications

Configure per-room:

All thread messages
Only mentions in threads
Only root messages

Voice & Video Calls

Element Call

Element Call is the native Matrix voice/video solution:

End-to-end encrypted - True E2EE group calls
No Jitsi needed - Pure Matrix protocol
SFU support - Scales to large calls via LiveKit
Screen sharing - Present to groups
Standalone or embedded - Works as widget or app

Standalone URL: call.element.io

Add to room:

/addwidget https://call.element.io/room/#/your-room

Self-hosted Element Call:

docker-compose.yml
services:
  element-call:
    image: vectorim/element-call
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    environment:
      - VITE_DEFAULT_HOMESERVER=https://matrix.yourserver.com

Voice Rooms

Voice rooms are persistent call rooms:

Enable in Labs (Element)
Create room with voice room type
Users can drop in/out anytime
Shows active participants

Jitsi Integration

For group calls (alternative to Element Call):

Add Jitsi widget
Configure Jitsi server
Start meeting from widget

Self-hosted Jitsi:

docker-compose.yml
services:
  jitsi-web:
    image: jitsi/web:latest
    environment:
      - ENABLE_AUTH=0
      - ENABLE_GUESTS=1
    ports:
      - "8443:443"

  jitsi-prosody:
    image: jitsi/prosody:latest

  jitsi-jicofo:
    image: jitsi/jicofo:latest

  jitsi-jvb:
    image: jitsi/jvb:latest
    ports:
      - "10000:10000/udp"

Comparison: Element Call vs Jitsi

Feature	Element Call	Jitsi
E2EE	✅ Native	❌ Not with E2EE rooms
Matrix native	✅	Widget only
Large calls	Via LiveKit SFU	Built-in
Self-hosting	Simple	Complex
Recommended	Yes	Legacy option

Custom Emojis & Stickers

Stickerpicker

Stickerpicker is the best way to manage custom stickers:

Features:

Web interface for managing sticker packs
Import from Telegram, Signal
Multiple pack support
Works with Element, SchildiChat, FluffyChat

Setup:

# Clone and configure
git clone https://github.com/maunium/stickerpicker.git
cd stickerpicker

# Edit config
cp config.example.json config.json
# Set your homeserver URL and credentials

Import Telegram stickers:

python3 sticker/import.py --telegram tg://addstickers?set=YourPackName

Configure in Element:

{
  "setting_defaults": {
    "widgetOpenIDPermissions": {
      "allow": ["https://stickers.yourserver.com"]
    }
  },
  "integrations_widgets_urls": [
    "https://stickers.yourserver.com/web/"
  ]
}

Room Emoji Packs

Add custom emojis to specific rooms:

{
  "type": "im.ponies.room_emotes",
  "content": {
    "images": {
      "custom_laugh": {
        "url": "mxc://example.com/abc123"
      },
      "company_logo": {
        "url": "mxc://example.com/def456"
      }
    }
  }
}

User Emoji Packs

Personal emojis available everywhere:

{
  "type": "im.ponies.user_emotes",
  "content": {
    "images": {
      "myface": {
        "url": "mxc://example.com/xyz789"
      }
    }
  }
}

Emoji Pack MSCs

MSC	Feature
MSC2545	Basic emoji packs
MSC3892	Animated stickers
MSC3951	Sticker events

Client Support

Client	Custom Emojis	Stickers
Element	Via stickerpicker	✅
FluffyChat	✅ Native	✅
Cinny	✅ Native	✅
SchildiChat	Via stickerpicker	✅
Nheko	✅ Native	✅

Push Rules

Custom Notifications

Fine-tune notifications via push rules:

{
  "actions": ["notify", {"set_tweak": "sound", "value": "default"}],
  "conditions": [
    {"kind": "event_match", "key": "content.body", "pattern": "*important*"}
  ],
  "rule_id": "important_word"
}

Keyword Alerts

Get notified for specific words across all rooms.

Matrix URIs

Link Anywhere

Deep link to Matrix content:

matrix:r/room:example.com                    # Room by alias
matrix:roomid/!abc:example.com               # Room by ID
matrix:u/user:example.com                    # User profile
matrix:roomid/!abc:example.com/e/$event123   # Specific message

Share Matrix content:

Right-click message → Share → Copy link
Use matrix.to for universal links

Admin API Tricks

Synapse Admin API

Powerful server management (admin only):

# List all rooms
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  "https://matrix.example.com/_synapse/admin/v1/rooms"

# Quarantine media
curl -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  "https://matrix.example.com/_synapse/admin/v1/media/quarantine/!room:example.com"

# Deactivate user
curl -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -d '{"erase": true}' \
  "https://matrix.example.com/_synapse/admin/v1/deactivate/@user:example.com"

User Management

# Reset password
curl -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -d '{"new_password": "newpass", "logout_devices": true}' \
  "https://matrix.example.com/_synapse/admin/v1/reset_password/@user:example.com"

# Make admin
curl -X PUT -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -d '{"admin": true}' \
  "https://matrix.example.com/_synapse/admin/v2/users/@user:example.com"

Room Versions & State Resolution

Understanding Room Versions

Room versions define how events are processed and state is resolved:

Version	Status	Features
v1-v5	Legacy	Avoid for new rooms
v6	Stable	Fixed integer parsing
v9	Stable	Restricted joins
v10	Current	Stricter validation
v11	Latest	Knock + restricted joins

Checking Room Version

In Element: Room Settings → Advanced → Room version

Upgrading Rooms

/upgraderoom <version>

Important:

Creates new room with same state
Old room becomes tombstoned
Users must re-join
History preserved via links

State Resolution v2

Matrix uses state resolution to handle conflicting events (e.g., network splits):

Auth chain - Events must be authorized
Power level comparison - Higher power wins ties
Event ordering - Lexicographic ordering for final ties

Common Issues

Split-brain scenarios:

Two admins demote each other simultaneously
Resolution picks winner by event ordering
Check room state if permissions seem wrong

Room Discovery

MatrixRooms.info - External room directory:

Browse 50,000+ public rooms
Filter by language, topic, size
See member counts and activity
Find communities without joining

matrix.to links:

https://matrix.to/#/#room:server.com
https://matrix.to/#/@user:server.com
https://matrix.to/#/!roomid:server/$eventid

Next: Self-Hosting Tips →

Widgets & Integration Managers​

What Are Widgets?​

Dimension Integration Manager​

Adding Widgets​

Custom Widgets​

Widget API Capabilities​

Popular Widget Types​

Spaces Deep Dive​

Nested Spaces​

Space-Based Access Control​

Suggested Rooms​

Threads Advanced​

Thread Best Practices​

Thread Notifications​

Voice & Video Calls​

Element Call​

Voice Rooms​

Jitsi Integration​

Comparison: Element Call vs Jitsi​

Custom Emojis & Stickers​

Stickerpicker​

Room Emoji Packs​

User Emoji Packs​

Emoji Pack MSCs​

Client Support​

Push Rules​

Custom Notifications​

Keyword Alerts​

Matrix URIs​

Link Anywhere​

Sharing Links​

Admin API Tricks​

Synapse Admin API​

User Management​

Room Versions & State Resolution​

Understanding Room Versions​

Checking Room Version​

Upgrading Rooms​

State Resolution v2​

Common Issues​

Room Discovery​