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README.rst 20 KB

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  1. =========================================================================
  2. Synapse |support| |development| |documentation| |license| |pypi| |python|
  3. =========================================================================
  4. .. contents::
  5. Introduction
  6. ============
  7. Matrix is an ambitious new ecosystem for open federated Instant Messaging and
  8. VoIP. The basics you need to know to get up and running are:
  9. - Everything in Matrix happens in a room. Rooms are distributed and do not
  10. exist on any single server. Rooms can be located using convenience aliases
  11. like ``#matrix:matrix.org`` or ``#test:localhost:8448``.
  12. - Matrix user IDs look like ``@matthew:matrix.org`` (although in the future
  13. you will normally refer to yourself and others using a third party identifier
  14. (3PID): email address, phone number, etc rather than manipulating Matrix user IDs)
  15. The overall architecture is::
  16. client <----> homeserver <=====================> homeserver <----> client
  17. https://somewhere.org/_matrix https://elsewhere.net/_matrix
  18. ``#matrix:matrix.org`` is the official support room for Matrix, and can be
  19. accessed by any client from https://matrix.org/docs/projects/try-matrix-now.html or
  20. via IRC bridge at irc://irc.libera.chat/matrix.
  21. Synapse is currently in rapid development, but as of version 0.5 we believe it
  22. is sufficiently stable to be run as an internet-facing service for real usage!
  23. About Matrix
  24. ============
  25. Matrix specifies a set of pragmatic RESTful HTTP JSON APIs as an open standard,
  26. which handle:
  27. - Creating and managing fully distributed chat rooms with no
  28. single points of control or failure
  29. - Eventually-consistent cryptographically secure synchronisation of room
  30. state across a global open network of federated servers and services
  31. - Sending and receiving extensible messages in a room with (optional)
  32. end-to-end encryption
  33. - Inviting, joining, leaving, kicking, banning room members
  34. - Managing user accounts (registration, login, logout)
  35. - Using 3rd Party IDs (3PIDs) such as email addresses, phone numbers,
  36. Facebook accounts to authenticate, identify and discover users on Matrix.
  37. - Placing 1:1 VoIP and Video calls
  38. These APIs are intended to be implemented on a wide range of servers, services
  39. and clients, letting developers build messaging and VoIP functionality on top
  40. of the entirely open Matrix ecosystem rather than using closed or proprietary
  41. solutions. The hope is for Matrix to act as the building blocks for a new
  42. generation of fully open and interoperable messaging and VoIP apps for the
  43. internet.
  44. Synapse is a Matrix "homeserver" implementation developed by the matrix.org core
  45. team, written in Python 3/Twisted.
  46. In Matrix, every user runs one or more Matrix clients, which connect through to
  47. a Matrix homeserver. The homeserver stores all their personal chat history and
  48. user account information - much as a mail client connects through to an
  49. IMAP/SMTP server. Just like email, you can either run your own Matrix
  50. homeserver and control and own your own communications and history or use one
  51. hosted by someone else (e.g. matrix.org) - there is no single point of control
  52. or mandatory service provider in Matrix, unlike WhatsApp, Facebook, Hangouts,
  53. etc.
  54. We'd like to invite you to join #matrix:matrix.org (via
  55. https://matrix.org/docs/projects/try-matrix-now.html), run a homeserver, take a look
  56. at the `Matrix spec <https://matrix.org/docs/spec>`_, and experiment with the
  57. `APIs <https://matrix.org/docs/api>`_ and `Client SDKs
  58. <https://matrix.org/docs/projects/try-matrix-now.html#client-sdks>`_.
  59. Thanks for using Matrix!
  60. Support
  61. =======
  62. For support installing or managing Synapse, please join |room|_ (from a matrix.org
  63. account if necessary) and ask questions there. We do not use GitHub issues for
  64. support requests, only for bug reports and feature requests.
  65. Synapse's documentation is `nicely rendered on GitHub Pages <https://matrix-org.github.io/synapse>`_,
  66. with its source available in |docs|_.
  67. .. |room| replace:: ``#synapse:matrix.org``
  68. .. _room: https://matrix.to/#/#synapse:matrix.org
  69. .. |docs| replace:: ``docs``
  70. .. _docs: docs
  71. Synapse Installation
  72. ====================
  73. .. _federation:
  74. * For details on how to install synapse, see
  75. `Installation Instructions <https://matrix-org.github.io/synapse/latest/setup/installation.html>`_.
  76. * For specific details on how to configure Synapse for federation see `docs/federate.md <docs/federate.md>`_
  77. Connecting to Synapse from a client
  78. ===================================
  79. The easiest way to try out your new Synapse installation is by connecting to it
  80. from a web client.
  81. Unless you are running a test instance of Synapse on your local machine, in
  82. general, you will need to enable TLS support before you can successfully
  83. connect from a client: see
  84. `TLS certificates <https://matrix-org.github.io/synapse/latest/setup/installation.html#tls-certificates>`_.
  85. An easy way to get started is to login or register via Element at
  86. https://app.element.io/#/login or https://app.element.io/#/register respectively.
  87. You will need to change the server you are logging into from ``matrix.org``
  88. and instead specify a Homeserver URL of ``https://<server_name>:8448``
  89. (or just ``https://<server_name>`` if you are using a reverse proxy).
  90. If you prefer to use another client, refer to our
  91. `client breakdown <https://matrix.org/docs/projects/clients-matrix>`_.
  92. If all goes well you should at least be able to log in, create a room, and
  93. start sending messages.
  94. .. _`client-user-reg`:
  95. Registering a new user from a client
  96. ------------------------------------
  97. By default, registration of new users via Matrix clients is disabled. To enable
  98. it, specify ``enable_registration: true`` in ``homeserver.yaml``. (It is then
  99. recommended to also set up CAPTCHA - see `<docs/CAPTCHA_SETUP.md>`_.)
  100. Once ``enable_registration`` is set to ``true``, it is possible to register a
  101. user via a Matrix client.
  102. Your new user name will be formed partly from the ``server_name``, and partly
  103. from a localpart you specify when you create the account. Your name will take
  104. the form of::
  105. @localpart:my.domain.name
  106. (pronounced "at localpart on my dot domain dot name").
  107. As when logging in, you will need to specify a "Custom server". Specify your
  108. desired ``localpart`` in the 'User name' box.
  109. Security note
  110. =============
  111. Matrix serves raw, user-supplied data in some APIs -- specifically the `content
  112. repository endpoints`_.
  113. .. _content repository endpoints: https://matrix.org/docs/spec/client_server/latest.html#get-matrix-media-r0-download-servername-mediaid
  114. Whilst we make a reasonable effort to mitigate against XSS attacks (for
  115. instance, by using `CSP`_), a Matrix homeserver should not be hosted on a
  116. domain hosting other web applications. This especially applies to sharing
  117. the domain with Matrix web clients and other sensitive applications like
  118. webmail. See
  119. https://developer.github.com/changes/2014-04-25-user-content-security for more
  120. information.
  121. .. _CSP: https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/pull/1021
  122. Ideally, the homeserver should not simply be on a different subdomain, but on
  123. a completely different `registered domain`_ (also known as top-level site or
  124. eTLD+1). This is because `some attacks`_ are still possible as long as the two
  125. applications share the same registered domain.
  126. .. _registered domain: https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-httpbis-rfc6265bis-03#section-2.3
  127. .. _some attacks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Session_fixation#Attacks_using_cross-subdomain_cookie
  128. To illustrate this with an example, if your Element Web or other sensitive web
  129. application is hosted on ``A.example1.com``, you should ideally host Synapse on
  130. ``example2.com``. Some amount of protection is offered by hosting on
  131. ``B.example1.com`` instead, so this is also acceptable in some scenarios.
  132. However, you should *not* host your Synapse on ``A.example1.com``.
  133. Note that all of the above refers exclusively to the domain used in Synapse's
  134. ``public_baseurl`` setting. In particular, it has no bearing on the domain
  135. mentioned in MXIDs hosted on that server.
  136. Following this advice ensures that even if an XSS is found in Synapse, the
  137. impact to other applications will be minimal.
  138. Upgrading an existing Synapse
  139. =============================
  140. The instructions for upgrading synapse are in `the upgrade notes`_.
  141. Please check these instructions as upgrading may require extra steps for some
  142. versions of synapse.
  143. .. _the upgrade notes: https://matrix-org.github.io/synapse/develop/upgrade.html
  144. .. _reverse-proxy:
  145. Using a reverse proxy with Synapse
  146. ==================================
  147. It is recommended to put a reverse proxy such as
  148. `nginx <https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_proxy_module.html>`_,
  149. `Apache <https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/mod/mod_proxy_http.html>`_,
  150. `Caddy <https://caddyserver.com/docs/quick-starts/reverse-proxy>`_,
  151. `HAProxy <https://www.haproxy.org/>`_ or
  152. `relayd <https://man.openbsd.org/relayd.8>`_ in front of Synapse. One advantage of
  153. doing so is that it means that you can expose the default https port (443) to
  154. Matrix clients without needing to run Synapse with root privileges.
  155. For information on configuring one, see `<docs/reverse_proxy.md>`_.
  156. Identity Servers
  157. ================
  158. Identity servers have the job of mapping email addresses and other 3rd Party
  159. IDs (3PIDs) to Matrix user IDs, as well as verifying the ownership of 3PIDs
  160. before creating that mapping.
  161. **They are not where accounts or credentials are stored - these live on home
  162. servers. Identity Servers are just for mapping 3rd party IDs to matrix IDs.**
  163. This process is very security-sensitive, as there is obvious risk of spam if it
  164. is too easy to sign up for Matrix accounts or harvest 3PID data. In the longer
  165. term, we hope to create a decentralised system to manage it (`matrix-doc #712
  166. <https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/issues/712>`_), but in the meantime,
  167. the role of managing trusted identity in the Matrix ecosystem is farmed out to
  168. a cluster of known trusted ecosystem partners, who run 'Matrix Identity
  169. Servers' such as `Sydent <https://github.com/matrix-org/sydent>`_, whose role
  170. is purely to authenticate and track 3PID logins and publish end-user public
  171. keys.
  172. You can host your own copy of Sydent, but this will prevent you reaching other
  173. users in the Matrix ecosystem via their email address, and prevent them finding
  174. you. We therefore recommend that you use one of the centralised identity servers
  175. at ``https://matrix.org`` or ``https://vector.im`` for now.
  176. To reiterate: the Identity server will only be used if you choose to associate
  177. an email address with your account, or send an invite to another user via their
  178. email address.
  179. Password reset
  180. ==============
  181. Users can reset their password through their client. Alternatively, a server admin
  182. can reset a users password using the `admin API <docs/admin_api/user_admin_api.rst#reset-password>`_
  183. or by directly editing the database as shown below.
  184. First calculate the hash of the new password::
  185. $ ~/synapse/env/bin/hash_password
  186. Password:
  187. Confirm password:
  188. $2a$12$xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  189. Then update the ``users`` table in the database::
  190. UPDATE users SET password_hash='$2a$12$xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'
  191. WHERE name='@test:test.com';
  192. Synapse Development
  193. ===================
  194. The best place to get started is our
  195. `guide for contributors <https://matrix-org.github.io/synapse/latest/development/contributing_guide.html>`_.
  196. This is part of our larger `documentation <https://matrix-org.github.io/synapse/latest>`_, which includes
  197. information for synapse developers as well as synapse administrators.
  198. Developers might be particularly interested in:
  199. * `Synapse's database schema <https://matrix-org.github.io/synapse/latest/development/database_schema.html>`_,
  200. * `notes on Synapse's implementation details <https://matrix-org.github.io/synapse/latest/development/internal_documentation/index.html>`_, and
  201. * `how we use git <https://matrix-org.github.io/synapse/latest/development/git.html>`_.
  202. Alongside all that, join our developer community on Matrix:
  203. `#synapse-dev:matrix.org <https://matrix.to/#/#synapse-dev:matrix.org>`_, featuring real humans!
  204. Quick start
  205. -----------
  206. Before setting up a development environment for synapse, make sure you have the
  207. system dependencies (such as the python header files) installed - see
  208. `Platform-specific prerequisites <https://matrix-org.github.io/synapse/latest/setup/installation.html#platform-specific-prerequisites>`_.
  209. To check out a synapse for development, clone the git repo into a working
  210. directory of your choice::
  211. git clone https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse.git
  212. cd synapse
  213. Synapse has a number of external dependencies, that are easiest
  214. to install using pip and a virtualenv::
  215. python3 -m venv ./env
  216. source ./env/bin/activate
  217. pip install -e ".[all,dev]"
  218. This will run a process of downloading and installing all the needed
  219. dependencies into a virtual env. If any dependencies fail to install,
  220. try installing the failing modules individually::
  221. pip install -e "module-name"
  222. We recommend using the demo which starts 3 federated instances running on ports `8080` - `8082`
  223. ./demo/start.sh
  224. (to stop, you can use `./demo/stop.sh`)
  225. If you just want to start a single instance of the app and run it directly::
  226. # Create the homeserver.yaml config once
  227. python -m synapse.app.homeserver \
  228. --server-name my.domain.name \
  229. --config-path homeserver.yaml \
  230. --generate-config \
  231. --report-stats=[yes|no]
  232. # Start the app
  233. python -m synapse.app.homeserver --config-path homeserver.yaml
  234. Running the unit tests
  235. ----------------------
  236. After getting up and running, you may wish to run Synapse's unit tests to
  237. check that everything is installed correctly::
  238. trial tests
  239. This should end with a 'PASSED' result (note that exact numbers will
  240. differ)::
  241. Ran 1337 tests in 716.064s
  242. PASSED (skips=15, successes=1322)
  243. For more tips on running the unit tests, like running a specific test or
  244. to see the logging output, see the `CONTRIBUTING doc <CONTRIBUTING.md#run-the-unit-tests>`_.
  245. Running the Integration Tests
  246. -----------------------------
  247. Synapse is accompanied by `SyTest <https://github.com/matrix-org/sytest>`_,
  248. a Matrix homeserver integration testing suite, which uses HTTP requests to
  249. access the API as a Matrix client would. It is able to run Synapse directly from
  250. the source tree, so installation of the server is not required.
  251. Testing with SyTest is recommended for verifying that changes related to the
  252. Client-Server API are functioning correctly. See the `SyTest installation
  253. instructions <https://github.com/matrix-org/sytest#installing>`_ for details.
  254. Platform dependencies
  255. =====================
  256. Synapse uses a number of platform dependencies such as Python and PostgreSQL,
  257. and aims to follow supported upstream versions. See the
  258. `<docs/deprecation_policy.md>`_ document for more details.
  259. Troubleshooting
  260. ===============
  261. Need help? Join our community support room on Matrix:
  262. `#synapse:matrix.org <https://matrix.to/#/#synapse:matrix.org>`_
  263. Running out of File Handles
  264. ---------------------------
  265. If synapse runs out of file handles, it typically fails badly - live-locking
  266. at 100% CPU, and/or failing to accept new TCP connections (blocking the
  267. connecting client). Matrix currently can legitimately use a lot of file handles,
  268. thanks to busy rooms like #matrix:matrix.org containing hundreds of participating
  269. servers. The first time a server talks in a room it will try to connect
  270. simultaneously to all participating servers, which could exhaust the available
  271. file descriptors between DNS queries & HTTPS sockets, especially if DNS is slow
  272. to respond. (We need to improve the routing algorithm used to be better than
  273. full mesh, but as of March 2019 this hasn't happened yet).
  274. If you hit this failure mode, we recommend increasing the maximum number of
  275. open file handles to be at least 4096 (assuming a default of 1024 or 256).
  276. This is typically done by editing ``/etc/security/limits.conf``
  277. Separately, Synapse may leak file handles if inbound HTTP requests get stuck
  278. during processing - e.g. blocked behind a lock or talking to a remote server etc.
  279. This is best diagnosed by matching up the 'Received request' and 'Processed request'
  280. log lines and looking for any 'Processed request' lines which take more than
  281. a few seconds to execute. Please let us know at #synapse:matrix.org if
  282. you see this failure mode so we can help debug it, however.
  283. Help!! Synapse is slow and eats all my RAM/CPU!
  284. -----------------------------------------------
  285. First, ensure you are running the latest version of Synapse, using Python 3
  286. with a PostgreSQL database.
  287. Synapse's architecture is quite RAM hungry currently - we deliberately
  288. cache a lot of recent room data and metadata in RAM in order to speed up
  289. common requests. We'll improve this in the future, but for now the easiest
  290. way to either reduce the RAM usage (at the risk of slowing things down)
  291. is to set the almost-undocumented ``SYNAPSE_CACHE_FACTOR`` environment
  292. variable. The default is 0.5, which can be decreased to reduce RAM usage
  293. in memory constrained enviroments, or increased if performance starts to
  294. degrade.
  295. However, degraded performance due to a low cache factor, common on
  296. machines with slow disks, often leads to explosions in memory use due
  297. backlogged requests. In this case, reducing the cache factor will make
  298. things worse. Instead, try increasing it drastically. 2.0 is a good
  299. starting value.
  300. Using `libjemalloc <http://jemalloc.net/>`_ can also yield a significant
  301. improvement in overall memory use, and especially in terms of giving back
  302. RAM to the OS. To use it, the library must simply be put in the
  303. LD_PRELOAD environment variable when launching Synapse. On Debian, this
  304. can be done by installing the ``libjemalloc1`` package and adding this
  305. line to ``/etc/default/matrix-synapse``::
  306. LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libjemalloc.so.1
  307. This can make a significant difference on Python 2.7 - it's unclear how
  308. much of an improvement it provides on Python 3.x.
  309. If you're encountering high CPU use by the Synapse process itself, you
  310. may be affected by a bug with presence tracking that leads to a
  311. massive excess of outgoing federation requests (see `discussion
  312. <https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/3971>`_). If metrics
  313. indicate that your server is also issuing far more outgoing federation
  314. requests than can be accounted for by your users' activity, this is a
  315. likely cause. The misbehavior can be worked around by setting
  316. the following in the Synapse config file:
  317. .. code-block:: yaml
  318. presence:
  319. enabled: false
  320. People can't accept room invitations from me
  321. --------------------------------------------
  322. The typical failure mode here is that you send an invitation to someone
  323. to join a room or direct chat, but when they go to accept it, they get an
  324. error (typically along the lines of "Invalid signature"). They might see
  325. something like the following in their logs::
  326. 2019-09-11 19:32:04,271 - synapse.federation.transport.server - 288 - WARNING - GET-11752 - authenticate_request failed: 401: Invalid signature for server <server> with key ed25519:a_EqML: Unable to verify signature for <server>
  327. This is normally caused by a misconfiguration in your reverse-proxy. See
  328. `<docs/reverse_proxy.md>`_ and double-check that your settings are correct.
  329. .. |support| image:: https://img.shields.io/matrix/synapse:matrix.org?label=support&logo=matrix
  330. :alt: (get support on #synapse:matrix.org)
  331. :target: https://matrix.to/#/#synapse:matrix.org
  332. .. |development| image:: https://img.shields.io/matrix/synapse-dev:matrix.org?label=development&logo=matrix
  333. :alt: (discuss development on #synapse-dev:matrix.org)
  334. :target: https://matrix.to/#/#synapse-dev:matrix.org
  335. .. |documentation| image:: https://img.shields.io/badge/documentation-%E2%9C%93-success
  336. :alt: (Rendered documentation on GitHub Pages)
  337. :target: https://matrix-org.github.io/synapse/latest/
  338. .. |license| image:: https://img.shields.io/github/license/matrix-org/synapse
  339. :alt: (check license in LICENSE file)
  340. :target: LICENSE
  341. .. |pypi| image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/matrix-synapse
  342. :alt: (latest version released on PyPi)
  343. :target: https://pypi.org/project/matrix-synapse
  344. .. |python| image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/pyversions/matrix-synapse
  345. :alt: (supported python versions)
  346. :target: https://pypi.org/project/matrix-synapse