Matrix

Protocolo Federado

Open protocol for decentralized, secure real-time communications providing an open standard for interoperable instant messaging, VoIP, video calls, and IoT applications using federated homeserver architecture. Synchronizes extensible JSON objects ('events') between clients, servers, and services via a partially ordered DAG (event graph) with eventual consistency. Optimizes for Availability and Partition tolerance (CAP theorem) at the expense of Consistency

Fundación

Detalles

Licencia Apache 2.0 (spec); AGPL-3.0 (Synapse server and Element clients as of November 2023)
Estado de Desarrollo 🟢 Activo
Detalle del Estado de Desarrollo Released (spec v1.13 released December 2024; v1.14 planned for FOSDEM 2025; Matrix 2.0 features including OIDC and Simplified Sliding Sync approaching inclusion; IETF Internet-Draft submitted as 'Matrix as a Messaging Framework')
Propietario Matthew Hodgson & Amandine Le Pape (creators) / The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C. (steward, maintains specification and matrix.org homeserver); Element (primary commercial entity)
Órgano de Gobierno The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C. (specification steward) | IETF (Internet-Draft submitted for standardization)
País UK (London)
Año de Inicio 2013
Stack Implementation-dependent (Synapse: Python/Twisted; Dendrite: Go; Conduit: Rust; Element: TypeScript/React)
Financiamiento Element: VC (~$50M+ total) + Professional services; Foundation: Donations + Memberships
Última Investigación 15 ene 2026

Capacidades

Cifrado de extremo a extremo Federación de protocolos Audiencias basadas en consentimiento Grupos combinables Federación entre instancias

Protocolo Federado Atributos

Orígenes Real-time communication / VoIP and IM (evolved from Amdocs Unified Communications; won WebRTC Innovation Award 2014 and 'Best in Show' at WebRTC World 2015)
Base de Datos DAG (event graph — directed acyclic graph of events with partial ordering) + implementation-dependent storage (PostgreSQL for Synapse; matrix.org homeserver dataset is 51TB as of September 2025)
Lenguaje de Consulta RESTful HTTP JSON APIs (Client-Server API for client communication; Server-Server API for federation; no traditional query language)
Formatos de Datos JSON (event format with custom Matrix event schemas; events are extensible JSON objects)
Edición Colaborativa en Vivo Collaborative real-time editing supported (via CRDTs in specific implementations)
Edición de Texto Enriquecido Yes (HTML content in messages)
Soporte Móvil Yes (Element iOS/Android, FluffyChat, SchildiChat, etc.)
Soporte Web Yes (Element Web, Cinny, etc.)
Aplicaciones Nativas Yes (Element Desktop, Fractal, Nheko, etc.)
Términos Self-hosting + Free public homeservers (matrix.org) + Paid hosting (Element Matrix Services / EMS)
Fondos $50M+ (Element raised $8.5M 2019, $4.8M 2020, $30M 2021 from New Vector)
Basado En HTTP, JSON, WebRTC (builds on web standards; not a derivative of another protocol; uses HTTPS for federation transport with public key signatures at both TLS and HTTP Authorization layers)
Direccionamiento por Contenido No (location-based via homeserver URLs; not content-addressed)
Cifrado de Extremo a Extremo (E2EE) Yes (Olm/Megolm end-to-end encryption; Double Ratchet Algorithm implementation via Olm library; enabled by default since May 2020; room-by-room basis)
Firma Ed25519 cryptographic signatures on all events (events signed using git-style signature to mitigate tampering; federated traffic signed with each server's private key to prevent spoofing)
Permisos Power levels + ACLs (per-room permission system with power level hierarchy; Account Locking and Account Suspension for server admins; trust and safety features)
Compatibilidad con la Web Semántica N/A (JSON-based event format; not RDF or semantic web standards)
Modelo de Federación Server-to-server federation: homeservers sync rooms via event DAG using Server-Server API (HTTPS PUT/GET); room data replicated across all homeservers whose users participate in the room; no single homeserver has control or ownership over a given room; homeservers can go completely offline without affecting other homeservers in the room
Requisitos de Instancia / Servidor Moderate to high (Synapse: 1-2GB RAM minimum, 10GB+ storage; scales up with users/rooms; matrix.org homeserver dataset is 51TB)
Portabilidad de Cuenta Partial (can export data; limited migration between homeservers; user IDs are namespaced to homeserver)
Arquitectura de Descubrimiento / Relé Server-to-server direct federation (no required relays; optional bridge servers for connecting to other protocols; .well-known URIs for server discovery)
Modelo de Autoridad del Servidor Homeserver authority (server admin controls local users and room participation; can block invites from particular servers or users; 'multilateral' federation where servers implement their own non-standard checks)
Madurez del Protocolo / Estandarización Matrix.org Foundation specification (v1.0 June 2019, currently v1.13 December 2024; IETF Internet-Draft submitted as 'Matrix as a Messaging Framework'; not yet a W3C/IETF standard; Matrix 2.0 features including next-gen auth via OAuth 2.0/OIDC approaching spec inclusion)
Soberanía de Datos Server-controlled with user choice (choose homeserver or self-host; no single homeserver controls a room; German Bundeswehr and healthcare system (Ti-Messenger/Gematik) use private Matrix networks for classified/sensitive data)