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https://github.com/vector-im/element-web

A glossy Matrix collaboration client for the web.
https://github.com/vector-im/element-web

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A glossy Matrix collaboration client for the web.

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README 

        
[![Chat](https://img.shields.io/matrix/element-web:matrix.org?logo=matrix)](https://matrix.to/#/#element-web:matrix.org)

![Tests](https://github.com/element-hq/element-web/actions/workflows/tests.yaml/badge.svg)

![Static Analysis](https://github.com/element-hq/element-web/actions/workflows/static_analysis.yaml/badge.svg)

[![Localazy](https://img.shields.io/endpoint?url=https%3A%2F%2Fconnect.localazy.com%2Fstatus%2Felement-web%2Fdata%3Fcontent%3Dall%26title%3Dlocalazy%26logo%3Dtrue)](https://localazy.com/p/element-web)

[![Quality Gate Status](https://sonarcloud.io/api/project_badges/measure?project=element-web&metric=alert_status)](https://sonarcloud.io/summary/new_code?id=element-web)

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# Element



Element (formerly known as Vector and Riot) is a Matrix web client built using the [Matrix

JS SDK](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-js-sdk).



# Supported Environments



Element has several tiers of support for different environments:



-   Supported

    -   Definition:

        -   Issues **actively triaged**, regressions **block** the release

    -   Last 2 major versions of Chrome, Firefox, and Edge on desktop OSes

    -   Last 2 versions of Safari

    -   Latest release of official Element Desktop app on desktop OSes

    -   Desktop OSes means macOS, Windows, and Linux versions for desktop devices

        that are actively supported by the OS vendor and receive security updates

-   Best effort

    -   Definition:

        -   Issues **accepted**, regressions **do not block** the release

        -   The wider Element Products(including Element Call and the Enterprise Server Suite) do still not officially support these browsers.

        -   The element web project and its contributors should keep the client functioning and gracefully degrade where other sibling features (E.g. Element Call) may not function.

    -   Last major release of Firefox ESR and Chrome/Edge Extended Stable

-   Community Supported

    -   Definition:

        -   Issues **accepted**, regressions **do not block** the release

        -   Community contributions are welcome to support these issues

    -   Mobile web for current stable version of Chrome, Firefox, and Safari on Android, iOS, and iPadOS

-   Not supported

    -   Definition: Issues only affecting unsupported environments are **closed**

    -   Everything else



The period of support for these tiers should last until the releases specified above, plus 1 app release cycle(2 weeks). In the case of Firefox ESR this is extended further to allow it land in Debian Stable.



For accessing Element on an Android or iOS device, we currently recommend the

native apps [element-android](https://github.com/element-hq/element-android)

and [element-ios](https://github.com/element-hq/element-ios).



# Getting Started



The easiest way to test Element is to just use the hosted copy at .

The `develop` branch is continuously deployed to 

for those who like living dangerously.



To host your own instance of Element see [Installing Element Web](docs/install.md).



To install Element as a desktop application, see [Running as a desktop app](#running-as-a-desktop-app) below.



# Important Security Notes



## Separate domains



We do not recommend running Element from the same domain name as your Matrix

homeserver. The reason is the risk of XSS (cross-site-scripting)

vulnerabilities that could occur if someone caused Element to load and render

malicious user generated content from a Matrix API which then had trusted

access to Element (or other apps) due to sharing the same domain.



We have put some coarse mitigations into place to try to protect against this

situation, but it's still not good practice to do it in the first place. See

 for more details.



## Configuration best practices



Unless you have special requirements, you will want to add the following to

your web server configuration when hosting Element Web:



-   The `X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN` header, to prevent Element Web from being

    framed and protect from [clickjacking][owasp-clickjacking].

-   The `frame-ancestors 'self'` directive to your `Content-Security-Policy`

    header, as the modern replacement for `X-Frame-Options` (though both should be

    included since not all browsers support it yet, see

    [this][owasp-clickjacking-csp]).

-   The `X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff` header, to [disable MIME

    sniffing][mime-sniffing].

-   The `X-XSS-Protection: 1; mode=block;` header, for basic XSS protection in

    legacy browsers.



[mime-sniffing]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Basics_of_HTTP/MIME_types#mime_sniffing

[owasp-clickjacking-csp]: https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/Clickjacking_Defense_Cheat_Sheet.html#content-security-policy-frame-ancestors-examples

[owasp-clickjacking]: https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/Clickjacking_Defense_Cheat_Sheet.html



If you are using nginx, this would look something like the following:



```

add_header X-Frame-Options SAMEORIGIN;

add_header X-Content-Type-Options nosniff;

add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block";

add_header Content-Security-Policy "frame-ancestors 'self'";

```



For Apache, the configuration looks like:



```

Header set X-Frame-Options SAMEORIGIN

Header set X-Content-Type-Options nosniff

Header set X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block"

Header set Content-Security-Policy "frame-ancestors 'self'"

```



Note: In case you are already setting a `Content-Security-Policy` header

elsewhere, you should modify it to include the `frame-ancestors` directive

instead of adding that last line.



# Building From Source



Element is a modular webapp built with modern ES6 and uses a Node.js build system.

Ensure you have the latest LTS version of Node.js installed.



Using `yarn` instead of `npm` is recommended. Please see the Yarn [install

guide](https://classic.yarnpkg.com/en/docs/install) if you do not have it already.



1. Install or update `node.js` so that your `node` is at least the current recommended LTS.

1. Install `yarn` if not present already.

1. Clone the repo: `git clone https://github.com/element-hq/element-web.git`.

1. Switch to the element-web directory: `cd element-web`.

1. Install the prerequisites: `yarn install`.

    - If you're using the `develop` branch, then it is recommended to set up a

      proper development environment (see [Setting up a dev

      environment](#setting-up-a-dev-environment) below). Alternatively, you

      can use  - the continuous integration release of

      the develop branch.

1. Configure the app by copying `config.sample.json` to `config.json` and

   modifying it. See the [configuration docs](docs/config.md) for details.

1. `yarn dist` to build a tarball to deploy. Untaring this file will give

   a version-specific directory containing all the files that need to go on your

   web server.



Note that `yarn dist` is not supported on Windows, so Windows users can run `yarn build`,

which will build all the necessary files into the `webapp` directory. The version of Element

will not appear in Settings without using the dist script. You can then mount the

`webapp` directory on your web server to actually serve up the app, which is

entirely static content.



# Running as a Desktop app



Element can also be run as a desktop app, wrapped in Electron. You can download a

pre-built version from  or, if you prefer,

build it yourself.



To build it yourself, follow the instructions at .



Many thanks to @aviraldg for the initial work on the Electron integration.



The [configuration docs](docs/config.md#desktop-app-configuration) show how to override the desktop app's default settings if desired.



# config.json



Element supports a variety of settings to configure default servers, behaviour, themes, etc.

See the [configuration docs](docs/config.md) for more details.



# Labs Features



Some features of Element may be enabled by flags in the `Labs` section of the settings.

Some of these features are described in [labs.md](https://github.com/element-hq/element-web/blob/develop/docs/labs.md).



# Caching requirements



Element requires the following URLs not to be cached, when/if you are serving Element from your own webserver:



```

/config.*.json

/i18n

/home

/sites

/index.html

```



We also recommend that you force browsers to re-validate any cached copy of Element on page load by configuring your

webserver to return `Cache-Control: no-cache` for `/`. This ensures the browser will fetch a new version of Element on

the next page load after it's been deployed. Note that this is already configured for you in the nginx config of our

Dockerfile.



# Development



Before attempting to develop on Element you **must** read the [developer guide

for `matrix-react-sdk`](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-react-sdk#developer-guide), which

also defines the design, architecture and style for Element too.



Read the [Choosing an issue](docs/choosing-an-issue.md) page for some guidance

about where to start. Before starting work on a feature, it's best to ensure

your plan aligns well with our vision for Element. Please chat with the team in

[#element-dev:matrix.org](https://matrix.to/#/#element-dev:matrix.org) before

you start so we can ensure it's something we'd be willing to merge.



You should also familiarise yourself with the ["Here be Dragons" guide

](https://docs.google.com/document/d/12jYzvkidrp1h7liEuLIe6BMdU0NUjndUYI971O06ooM)

to the tame & not-so-tame dragons (gotchas) which exist in the codebase.



The idea of Element is to be a relatively lightweight "skin" of customisations on

top of the underlying `matrix-react-sdk`. `matrix-react-sdk` provides both the

higher and lower level React components useful for building Matrix communication

apps using React.



Please note that Element is intended to run correctly without access to the public

internet. So please don't depend on resources (JS libs, CSS, images, fonts)

hosted by external CDNs or servers but instead please package all dependencies

into Element itself.



# Setting up a dev environment



Much of the functionality in Element is actually in the `matrix-js-sdk` module.

It is possible to set these up in a way that makes it easy to track the `develop` branches

in git and to make local changes without having to manually rebuild each time.



First clone and build `matrix-js-sdk`:



```bash

git clone https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-js-sdk.git

pushd matrix-js-sdk

yarn link

yarn install

popd

```



Clone the repo and switch to the `element-web` directory:



```bash

git clone https://github.com/element-hq/element-web.git

cd element-web

```



Configure the app by copying `config.sample.json` to `config.json` and

modifying it. See the [configuration docs](docs/config.md) for details.



Finally, build and start Element itself:



```bash

yarn link matrix-js-sdk

yarn install

yarn start

```



Wait a few seconds for the initial build to finish; you should see something like:



```

[element-js]  [webpack.Progress] 100%

[element-js]

[element-js] ℹ ｢wdm｣:    1840 modules

[element-js] ℹ ｢wdm｣: Compiled successfully.

```



Remember, the command will not terminate since it runs the web server

and rebuilds source files when they change. This development server also

disables caching, so do NOT use it in production.



Open  in your browser to see your newly built Element.



**Note**: The build script uses inotify by default on Linux to monitor directories

for changes. If the inotify limits are too low your build will fail silently or with

`Error: EMFILE: too many open files`. To avoid these issues, we recommend a watch limit

of at least `128M` and instance limit around `512`.



You may be interested in issues [#15750](https://github.com/element-hq/element-web/issues/15750) and

[#15774](https://github.com/element-hq/element-web/issues/15774) for further details.



To set a new inotify watch and instance limit, execute:



```

sudo sysctl fs.inotify.max_user_watches=131072

sudo sysctl fs.inotify.max_user_instances=512

sudo sysctl -p

```



If you wish, you can make the new limits permanent, by executing:



```

echo fs.inotify.max_user_watches=131072 | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf

echo fs.inotify.max_user_instances=512 | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf

sudo sysctl -p

```



---



When you make changes to `matrix-js-sdk` they should be automatically picked up by webpack and built.



If any of these steps error with, `file table overflow`, you are probably on a mac

which has a very low limit on max open files. Run `ulimit -Sn 1024` and try again.

You'll need to do this in each new terminal you open before building Element.



## Running the tests



There are a number of application-level tests in the `tests` directory; these

are designed to run with Jest and JSDOM. To run them



```

yarn test

```



### End-to-End tests



See [matrix-react-sdk](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-react-sdk/#end-to-end-tests) for how to run the end-to-end tests.



# Translations



To add a new translation, head to the [translating doc](docs/translating.md).



For a developer guide, see the [translating dev doc](docs/translating-dev.md).



# Triaging issues



Issues are triaged by community members and the Web App Team, following the [triage process](https://github.com/element-hq/element-meta/wiki/Triage-process).



We use [issue labels](https://github.com/element-hq/element-meta/wiki/Issue-labelling) to sort all incoming issues.