Running Matrix Synapse Home Server in Docker on Ubuntu Server
77#Matrix #Synapse #SecureCommunication #Docker
*** Updated 04/18/2023
Full steps can be found at https://i12bretro.github.io/tutorials/0662.html
What is Matrix?
Matrix is an open source project that publishes the Matrix open standard for secure, decentralised, real-time communication, and its Apache licensed reference implementations. - https://matrix.org
Installing Docker
01. Log into the Linux host
02. Run the following commands in a terminal window
# install prerequisites
sudo apt install apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common gnupg-agent -y
# add docker gpg key
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/$(awk -F'=' '/^ID=/{ print $NF }' /etc/os-release)/gpg | sudo apt-key add -
# add docker software repository
sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture)] https://download.docker.com/linux/$(awk -F'=' '/^ID=/{ print $NF }' /etc/os-release) $(lsb_release -cs) stable"
# install docker
sudo apt install docker-ce docker-compose containerd.io -y
# enable and start docker service
sudo systemctl enable docker && sudo systemctl start docker
# add the current user to the docker group
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
# reauthenticate for the new group membership to take effect
su - $USER
Running Matrix Synapse
01. Continue with the following commands in terminal to setup and run Matrix Synapse
# create working directories
sudo mkdir ~/docker/matrix-synapse -p && sudo mkdir ~/docker/postgresql -p
# set owner of docker directory
sudo chown "$USER":"$USER" ~/docker -R
# run the postgesql docker container
docker run -d --name postgres -e POSTGRES_USER=matrix_synapse_rw -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=m@trix! -e POSTGRES_DB=matrix_synapse -e LC_COLLATE='C' -e LC_CTYPE='C' -e POSTGRES_INITDB_ARGS="--encoding=UTF-8" -v ~/docker/postgresql:/var/lib/postgresql/data --restart=unless-stopped postgres:latest
# generate synapse homeserver.yaml
docker run -it --rm -v ~/docker/matrix-synapse:/data -e SYNAPSE_SERVER_NAME=my.matrix.host -e SYNAPSE_REPORT_STATS=no matrixdotorg/synapse:latest generate
# edit the homeserver.yaml file
sudo nano ~/docker/matrix-synapse/homeserver.yaml
02. Press CTRL+W and search for name: server_name
server_name: "YOUR.MATRIX.DNS"
03. Press CTRL+W and search for name: sqlite3
04. Comment out the sqlite database parameters by adding a # to the beginning of each of the lines
05. Add the following database connection below the commented out lines to connect to the Postgres container:
database:
name: psycopg2
txn_limit: 10000
args:
user: matrix_synapse_rw
password: m@trix!
database: matrix_synapse
host: postgres
port: 5432
cp_min: 5
cp_max: 10
06. Add the following line at the bottom of the file
suppress_key_server_warning: true
07. Press CTRL+O, Enter, CTRL+X to write the changes
08. Continue with the following commands in terminal
# generate a random string
RANDOMSTRING=$(openssl rand -base64 30)
# write the random string as registration_shared_secret
echo "registration_shared_secret: $RANDOMSTRING" | sudo tee -a ~/docker/matrix-synapse/homeserver.yaml ≫ /dev/null
# run the matrix synapse container
docker run -d --name matrix-synapse --link postgres -v ~/docker/matrix-synapse:/data -p 8008:8008 --restart=unless-stopped matrixdotorg/synapse:latest
# create a new synapse user
docker exec -it matrix-synapse register_new_matrix_user http://DNSorIP:8008 -c /data/homeserver.yaml
09. Enter a username, enter and confirm the password and choose if the user is an admin
10. At this point the Matrix Synapse server is running over http
11. Open a web browser and navigate to the http://DNSorIP:8008
12. A message stating It works! Synapse is running should be displayed
13. Navigate to https://element.io/get-started#download
14. Download and install Element
15. Run the Element application
16. Click Sign In
17. Click the Edit link next to matrix.org
18. Select Other homeserver ≫ type http://DNSorIP:8008 ≫ Click Continue
19. Login using the Synapse username and password created earlier
Documentation: https://registry.hub.docker.com/r/matrixdotorg/synapse/
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