Element/Matrix Official Docker Install Method?

Submitted ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨a_fancy_kiwi@lemmy.world⁩ to ⁨selfhosted@lemmy.world⁩

My friends are open to leaving Discord which has finally given me a reason to look into Element/Matrix. I found the install instructions and am immediately put off. Is this it? No official docker compose? 😞

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Shimitar@downonthestreet.eu ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Forget about synapse and the “official” method. Install Continuwuity a matrix server written in rust, much much more efficient than synapse.

I took some notes while installing it here wiki.gardiol.org/doku.php?id=matrix%3Aconduwuit

I didn’t use docker but directly installation is very easy, it’s a single executable.

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- epyon22@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Oh man I need to look into this synapse is so slow
  
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- a_fancy_kiwi@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I’ll look into it, thanks.
  
  I’m still in the information gathering phase. Do you know if the element client works with the continuwuity server? Is it as easy as entering the domain, user, and password in the client?
  
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  - 30p87@feddit.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Any client should be compatible with any server, if both are fairly up to date. Though, I never found a client nor server that are actually fully feature complete. The closest to that are synapse and element
    
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  - Shimitar@downonthestreet.eu ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Yes both element and elementx and actually any matrix client. That’s the beauty of having standards
    
    But its a pain because all clients from matrix. Org will push you to matrix. Org and need manual taps&clicks to select a different server when you sign up the first time. A bit annoying IMHO and maybe even fraudolent.
    
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- x00z@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  You are recommending to follow your wiki article but it claims to not use it?
  
  Note: Sadly, Conduwuit project has been abandoned by the current devs and archived. Conduwuit is deprecated, the following instructions are left for historical reference only, DO NOT FOLLOW.
  
  Now I don’t know what to believe.
  
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  - Shimitar@downonthestreet.eu ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Yes need to fix that wording its a leftover, done.
    
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- Eldaroth@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I saw you recommend Continuwuity on other posts as well. Was just wondering, what made you choose Continuwuity over Tuwunel?
  
  I am asking because I used to host a Continuwuity Matrix Server until a year ago. Recently started to look into hosting a Matrix server once again and found that Tuwunel seems currently ahead of Continuwuity in regards to WebRTC (Element Call) implementation and the sliding sync thingy.
  
  At least they have updated documentation when it comes to WebRTC and how to set it up.
  
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  - Shimitar@downonthestreet.eu ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    I also installed tuwunnel after conduwuit death. Moved to Continuwuity because of the community vs corporate sponsorship.
    
    I don’t keep an eye on who is ahead, but I want to be sure I don’t have to migrate in the future so I don’t care for development speed, rather continued support and what if tuwunnel company money runs out?
    
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litchralee@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Firstly, I wish you the best of luck in your community’s journey away from Discord. This may be a good time to assess what your community needs from a new platform, since Discord targeted various use-cases that no single replacement platform can hope to replace in full. Instead, by identifying exactly what your group needs and doesn’t need, that will steer you in the right direction.

As for Element, bear in mind that their community and paid versions do not exactly target a hobbyist self-hosting clientele. Instead, Element is apparently geared more for enterprise on-premises deployment (like Slack, Atlassian JIRA, Asterisk PBX) and that’s probably why the community version is also based on Kubernetes. This doesn’t mean you can’t use it, but their assumptions about deployments are that you have an on-premises cloud.

Fortunately, there are other Matrix homeservers available, including one written in Rust that has both bare metal and Docker deployment instructions. Note that I’m not endorsing this implementation, but only know of it through this FOSDEM talk describing how they dealt with malicious actors.

As an aside, I have briefly considered Matrix before as a group communications platform, but was put off by their poor E2EE decisions, for both the main client implementation and in the protocol itself. Odd as it sounds, poor encryption is worse than no encryption, because of the false assurance it gives. If I did use Matrix, I would not enable E2EE because it doesn’t offer me many privacy guarantees, compared to say, Signal.

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- mlfh@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  This quote from your link on the main client e2ee issues captures the zeitgeist of modern tech so beautifully:
  
  Please keep in mind that this website is a furry blog, first and foremost, that sometimes happens to cover security and cryptography topics.
  
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vane@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

If you’re proficient it’s 30minutes

Something like this for server.

generate config

docker run -it --rm \
    -v <your-data-path>:/data \
    -e SYNAPSE_SERVER_NAME=<your-public-address-subdomain> \
    -e SYNAPSE_REPORT_STATS=yes \
    matrixdotorg/synapse:v1.136.0 generate

run

docker run -d \
  --restart=always \
  --name synapse \
  -v <your-data-path>:/data \
  -p 8008:8008 matrixdotorg/synapse:v1.136.0

docker exec -ti synapse register_new_matrix_user http://localhost:8008/ -c /data/homeserver.yaml -u <username> -p <password> --exists-ok

Proxy it using ex. nginx

location / {
        proxy_pass    http://127.0.0.1:8008/;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header    Upgrade         $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header    Connection      "upgrade";
        proxy_set_header    Host            $host;
        proxy_set_header    X-Real-IP       $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header    X-Forwarded-for $remote_addr;
        proxy_connect_timeout 600;
        proxy_read_timeout 86400;
    }

For UI if you want element on your domain, download and unpack tar.gz from.
github.com/element-hq/element-web/releases

Point this location to your proxy server ex. nginx

location / {
        root /opt/element-v1.11.109;
        index index.html;
    }

Modify config.json inside /opt/element-v1.11.109 to point location to <your-public-address-subdomain>

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captcha_incorrect@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

If you like compose files: www.composerize.com

docker run -it --rm -v <your-data-path>:/data -e SYNAPSE_SERVER_NAME=<your-public-address-subdomain> -e SYNAPSE_REPORT_STATS=no matrixdotorg/synapse:v1.136.0 generate:

name: <your project name>
services:
    synapse:
        stdin_open: true
        tty: true
        volumes:
            - <your-data-path>:/data
        environment:
            - SYNAPSE_SERVER_NAME=<your-public-address-subdomain>
            - SYNAPSE_REPORT_STATS=no
        image: matrixdotorg/synapse:v1.136.0
        command: generate

docker run -d --restart=always --name synapse -e SYNAPSE_REPORT_STATS=no -v <your-data-path>:/data -p 8008:8008 matrixdotorg/synapse:v1.136.0:

name: <your project name>
services:
    synapse:
        restart: always
        container_name: synapse
        environment:
            - SYNAPSE_REPORT_STATS=no
        volumes:
            - <your-data-path>:/data
        ports:
            - 8008:8008
        image: matrixdotorg/synapse:v1.136.0

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vane@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I don’t like compose files :)

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ranslite@pie.dasneuland.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Or try yunohost. Once installed yunohost is managing ssl, domains, install and update matrix and other things if wanted.

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- nykula@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Yes, setting up YunoHost on a new Debian VPS was a couple of commands, and having it install Synapse and Element was a few clicks in the UI plus a lot of waiting.
  
  However. I thought of Element as an alternative to Slack or Telegram the way OP thinks of it as an alternative to Discord. I was wrong. Element competes with IRC. This is the only platform from which I’ve seen actual groups of people (FOSS projects) switch to Matrix. I think Matrix focuses on different usage needs than Discord, and trying it with willing Discord users will be an interesting exercise in seeing what perspectives they bring and what issues that raise, but the solution to their problem will be somewhere outside Matrix, and it will be in somewhat distant future, not with the current state of FOSS tools.
  
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scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I completely support you moving off of Discord, and I completely support you setting up Matrix. I tried a lot, I think it has the most feature parity. That being said, the biggest thing I regret when setting it up is that I went with Synapse for my backend Matrix server, when there are others.

I’ve heard very good things about Conduit (conduit.rs), mostly that it’s easier to stand up and easier to maintain.

Either way, I think it’s a smart move, and it’s worth the investment. It’s not the easiest to stand up, but operationally our communication should be our own. Expect trial and error, getting one piece up and running, then the next, and then the next. Celebrate small wins like “Today I got it running” and then “Today I got federation working”, and then “Now I have voice working!”. Otherwise it’s going to feel overwhelming.

I believe in the cause, so feel free to DM me if you have any questions, or send me a DM on Matrix :)

Oh, and a very useful tool - federationtester.matrix.org

This will tell you exactly what is wrong with your federation.

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- ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  
  I tried a lot, I think it has the most feature parity.
  
  Have you tried Movim? It has most of the essential features, like group video calls, screen sharing, and a better E2EE method than matrix (IMO, anyway). It’s also much easier to set up and host since it uses XMPP.
  
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  - scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    My friend group has already moved to Matrix, and we’ve been happy
    
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yardratianSoma@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
I was scared off a couple years ago when I attempted to host it myself. I took a break from selfhosting, but now I’m back, and from what I learned in the past, I know now not to torture myself swimming upstream when there are far easier downstream currents to follow.

I’m looking at conduit but I’m currently writing up a doc to plan out the process, and understand it before I actually deploy anything. I don’t want to open ports, don’t need federation and don’t need encryption, since I’ll be using tailscale to host a private server to only members of my tailnet.

I’ll report back, either here or in the main community, because I don’t want to expose ports, rent a VPS or use ansible for a simple private server for less than 10 people.

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KarnaSubarna@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
github.com/element-hq/…/docker-compose.yml

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atzanteol@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

12 pages of detailed documentation

Home Gamer: Is this it?

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- a_fancy_kiwi@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Fair criticism. I just don’t have a lot of free time. I can invest in Element but I wanted to crowd source information to see if it was worth it or if there was an easier way. It doesn’t get much easier than Docker
  
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i_am_not_a_robot@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Helm is what is used for real world software deployments. It has its problems but it’s better than Docker Compose.

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- a_fancy_kiwi@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Out of curiosity, what makes it better?
  
  A quick search says it’s a package manger for kubernetes. Besides plex, everything I selfhost is just for me. Would you say helm/kubernetes is worth looking into for a hobbyist who doesn’t work in the tech field?
  
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  - tofu@lemmy.nocturnal.garden ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Absolutely no. Kubernetes has it’s benefits and it can make sense to get into it for tinkering etc, but if you just want to set up matrix and not learn an entire new system, stay away from it.
    
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  - cecilkorik@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    I deal with kubernetes daily for my job and it manages to melt my brain at least a few times a week. It’s not bad… it’s actually great… it’s just… a lot. Like, a lot a lot.
    
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  - i_am_not_a_robot@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Kubernetes is much more complicated and powerful than Docker, and Docker Compose is more similar to the way you work directly with Kubernetes than it is to Helm, which adds in a templating system. Basically, from a Docker perspective, Helm allows you to configure your compose file, but not just by substituting variables. Helm can make structural changes such as completely adding or removing sections based on the variables used when loading the chart. The output of Helm is YAML, sort of like a compose file.
    
    Kubernetes has a much more complicated system for describing workloads and their resources than Docker Compose, and it is extensible. For example, if you are running on AWS you can have Kubernetes attach EBS volumes to your pods, or if you’re on bare metal you might use LVM, and it’s not limited to things that Kubernetes natively understands like storage volumes: Cert Manager is a common piece of software that is deployed into Kubernetes that takes care of issuing and renewing TLS certificates for other software in Kubernetes.
    
    I used to run Kubernetes at home with ArgoCD, but I’ve moved on to NixOS instead. NixOS is less powerful because it doesn’t have dynamic workload scheduling, but I don’t actually need dynamic workload scheduling or all the configuration necessary to facilitate dynamic workload scheduling in my house, and Nix is much nicer to work with than Helm’s gotmpl templating. Unless you like this kind of stuff or want to get into Kubernetes, you probably want to avoid it for running a few things on one host.
    
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bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Element has no gif keyboard just so you’re aware. Huge dealbreaker.

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- EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I’ve never encountered a gif keyboard that worked well so no big loss.
  
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  - CarstenBoll@feddit.dk ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    My keyboard on android has one anyway, so I don’t need a built-in one.
    
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  - bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    I mean, discord gifs work perfectly…and my friends rely HEAVILY it.
    
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Decronym@lemmy.decronym.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I’ve seen in this thread:

Fewer Letters More Letters

CSAM Child Sexual Abuse Material

VPS Virtual Private Server (opposed to shared hosting)

k8s Kubernetes container management package

[Thread #85 for this comm, first seen 12th Feb 2026, 01:20] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]

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artyom@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
https://hub.docker.com/r/jevolk/tuwunel

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- Shimitar@downonthestreet.eu ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Tuwunnel is a corporate-sponsored successor to Conduwuit.
  
  I prefer Continuwuity which is a non for profit successor to Conduwuit.
  
  Beside this, they are probably mostly the same
  
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  - artyom@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    I was under the impression Conduwuit was abandoned.
    
    Which corporation sponsors Tuwunnel?
    
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msokiovt@feddit.online ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
If you decide to do this, make sure you block matrix[dot]org, as they host and share a lot of CSAM on that homeserver.

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Fewer Letters	More Letters
CSAM	Child Sexual Abuse Material
VPS	Virtual Private Server (opposed to shared hosting)
k8s	Kubernetes container management package