Matrix

Federated Protocols

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

Federated Foundation Low capture risk
Links
Visit Community

Details

License AGPL / GPL-3.0 / Apache 2.0
Dev Status Released
Owner Matthew Hodgson & Amandine Le Pape (creators) / The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C. (steward, maintains specification and matrix.org homeserver); Element (primary commercial entity)
Country UK
Start Year 2013
Stack Python/Twisted, Go, Rust, TypeScript/React
Funding VC, Foundation, Donations
Last Investigated Jan 15, 2026

Use Case Domains

Communication Group Formation & Governance Events & Coordination

Affordances

End-to-end encrypted Protocol federation Consent-based audiences Composable groups Cross-instance federation

Federated Protocol Attributes

Content Addressing No (location-based via homeserver URLs; not content-addressed)
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)
Signature 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)
Federation Model 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
Instance / Server Requirements Moderate to high (Synapse: 1-2GB RAM minimum, 10GB+ storage; scales up with users/rooms; matrix.org homeserver dataset is 51TB)
Account Portability Partial (can export data; limited migration between homeservers; user IDs are namespaced to homeserver)
Discovery / Relay Architecture Server-to-server direct federation (no required relays; optional bridge servers for connecting to other protocols; .well-known URIs for server discovery)
Server Authority Model 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)
Protocol Maturity / Standardization 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)
Data Sovereignty 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)