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Matrix: Chat, Voice & Video Calls

Welcome to Matrix, the primary communication platform for The Nest! Matrix powers our group chat rooms, direct messaging, voice channels, and video calling.

One of the best features of Matrix is that you can choose your own application client! However, because features like video calling and screen sharing require WebRTC support, we recommend using one of the official Element applications:

  • Element Desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux): The recommended option for desktop users, featuring full screen-sharing and multi-party video call support.
  • Element X (iOS & Android): A modern, high-performance mobile client for chatting on the go.
  • Element Web (Browser): Accessible immediately from any modern Web browser at app.element.io.

2. Getting Started & Signing In

Because Matrix is a decentralized messaging network, you will log in by connecting your client app to The Nest's homeserver.

Step-by-Step Sign In:

  1. Open your preferred Matrix client or visit Element Web in your browser.
  2. Click Sign In, and set your homeserver address to: https://starling.mynest.love
  3. Select "Continue with sso.mynest.love/realms/nest" when prompted.
  4. You will be redirected to our standard login screen (sso.mynest.love) to authenticate with your passkey.
  5. Once authenticated, you will be brought right back into Matrix—ready to start chatting!
  6. Create your account recovery keys and save them somewhere secure.

Account Recovery Keys

After you first sign in, you will get a notice indicating you have not set up account recovery keys. DO SO IMMEDIATELY. This will become mandatory in the near future.

Save these keys somewhere secure, like Vaultwarden or a piece of paper. It is vital you have access to these keys. If you lose your keys, an admin cannot help you. You will lose access to all of your chat history.

You will need your recovery keys when signing into additional devices or any time you sign out and then back in on the same device.

Failure to setup account recovery keys will result in your messages being marked with a red badge indicating they are insecure. You may become unable to read/send encrypted messages in the future.

One-Time Authentication

You only need to use your passkey for initial login on a new device. Your client app will stay securely signed in until you manually log out.

3. Coming from Discord? (Quick Comparison)

If you are accustomed to Discord, Matrix has a slightly different vocabulary, but the core concepts map over naturally:

Discord Concept Matrix Equivalent How It Works in The Nest
Discord Homeserver The host server managing your account (ours is starling.mynest.love). The Matrix ecosystem is just a bunch of people hosting their own Discords. Neat!
Server Space A folder structure used to organize multiple rooms together. Anyone can create a private or public Space.
Text / Voice Channel Room Where messaging happens! In Matrix, every room (including 1-on-1 direct messages) supports text, voice, and video.

Federation (Connecting Beyond The Nest)

Matrix is federated. This means you can use your Nest account to join public rooms or send direct messages to users on other Matrix homeservers across the internet (such as @username:matrix.org).

4. Bridging Discord Servers to Matrix

Want to bridge your Discord server to Matrix to enable real-time message syncing both to and from Matrix? You're in luck! A Discord bridge has already been established for The Nest. Here are a few things to note:

Account Puppeting

YOU CANNOT BRDIGE DMs. It is against ToS to automate (puppet) your own account. Breaking this rule can and has lead to bans of both the puppetted account and everyone in the DM. The Nest will not support double-puppeting.

If you wish to bridge a group chat, convert it to a Server first.

We hate this. We do not like Discord.

  1. In order to establish a bridge, you must have the "Manage server" role in the server in question.
  2. You must be okay with accepting a bot with adminitrative priviliges into your server.
    • This is 100% okay by ToS. There are other ways to bridge that are not. The bot is safe.
  3. It will backfill everything that you have visibility into, including media. If you are uncomfortable with this, let us know before we bridge.
    • Note: role-restricted channels will need their permissions updated post-import.
  4. It may not be immediately obvious is a message is from Matrix or Discord.
  5. Due to limitations in some more modern matrix protocols, bridged rooms are not encrypted. You may enable encryption afterward, but it will stop the bridge from syncing.

Okay with the above? Reach out to an admin to get started!

Going Cold Turkey

Want to just do a one-time import and ditch Discord altogether? We support it! Let us know when you reach out!

5. Voice & Video Calls

Matrix handles voice and video calls seamlessly using real-time WebRTC media streaming.

How to Join a Call:

  1. Open any Matrix room with an active discussion.
  2. Click the Call button (phone or camera icon) in the top header.
  3. The call connects automatically via matrix-rtc.mynest.love—no extra configuration needed!

Screen sharing is supported when using desktop clients like Element Desktop.

6. System Service Endpoints

For reference or advanced client setup, here are the service endpoints powering Matrix on The Nest:

Service Component URL / Endpoint Purpose
Homeserver (Synapse) https://starling.mynest.love Handles chat messages and room routing
Authentication Service (MAS) https://mas.mynest.love Manages OAuth2 authentication flows
Matrix RTC (LiveKit) https://matrix-rtc.mynest.love Powers high-quality voice and video calls
Synapse Official Docs Synapse Docs Docs for the synapse homeserver
Matrix Official Docs Matrix Docs Matrix Foundation Official Docs
  • Requesting Access to New Services: Send a direct message to @access-bot:starling.mynest.love inside Matrix to request permissions.
  • Ask an Admin: All Nest users should have access to the Admin space and Ask an Admin room. Use this room to ask questions, report issues, and seek help. If you have a problem, check Ask an Admin to see if someone else has run into the same issue!
  • Central Authentication: Keycloak manages single sign-on access across Matrix and connected services.