Text-Chat in Matrix

Matrix has a lot of features you’re likely used to from other apps. This includes, but is not limited to:

Not all of these features are 100% standardized across all Matrix clients. Each section will have sub-headers for client-specific information. If you find a client is missing, please consider contributing towards the documentation.

Mentions and Threads

Mentions on Matrix work largely similar to that of Discord. You can ping someone by using @ and either their display name or username.

In order to ping everyone in a room, you must use @room as opposed to Discord’s @everyone

Threads also work similar to Discord, whereas they act as a separate chat for people looking to talk about a specific topic. Keep in mind that not all clients support threads. You can check which features a client supports by checking out the matrix.org clients list.

Emotes and Stickers

Emotes and stickers work a little different in Matrix than Discord. The main difference is that joining a room/space will not let you use emotes and stickers everywhere like Discord. You absolutely can still have stickers you use everywhere though. It’s just a slightly different system.

To start, lets break the thought of emotes and stickers being different. In Matrix, stickers and emotes are the same. A sticker is just a bigger emote. All emotes can be sent as stickers, all stickers can be sent as emotes.

Now, in order to actually get stickers/emotes, you have to have a pack. A pack is just a collection of images you upload to be used as stickers/emotes. There are three types of packs:

If you upload a pack to your account, you can use them everywhere. If you have a space pack, every user in the space can use it for every room in the space. If you have a room pack, all users in the room can use it in that specific room. So if you want everybody in your space to be able to use emotes, upload a space pack! If you have some favorite emotes you like to use everywhere, upload them for yourself as an account pack.

Most clients that allow custom emote/sticker support follow this pack system, and packs will carry over between clients and devices.

–Element–

People using the Element client are able to view emotes and stickers sent by other users, but there is currently no default convenient way to use custom emotes in the Element client itself. If you are a big fan of the Element client and want to add sticker support, there is an advanced guide for adding custom stickers here.

For Element specifically, since the custom stickers work a bit differently, once you add your custom stickers, you’ll be able to use them everywhere!

–Cinny–

The Cinny client fully supports the pack system with emotes and stickers.

–Commet Chat–

Commet Chat also fully supports the pack system with emotes and stickers.

Where do I find emotes / stickers to make into packs?

There are lots of sites that arrange emotes! It is a similar process to Discord, so uploading your own emotes should be a familiar process. Here are two websites:

Converting Rooms to DMs, or DMs to Rooms

Some clients have a feature to separate group chats from DMs, but sometimes these chats get mixed up. You might get a group chat in your DMs, or a DM in the group chat section. This is easily fixed by specifically telling Matrix what you want the chat to be.

If you remember from basic Matrix terms, a DM is just a fancy name for a room with 2 people. There’s not actually any difference, so sometimes Matrix will guess and get it wrong. To fix this, type /room if the chat is a room, and /dm if the chat is a DM.

The exact command actually differs depending on which client you’re on. The actual command will be something along the lines of /converttoroom or /converttodm. Just try typing the above and the client will suggest the correct command.

Upload Limits in Matrix

Upload limits on Matrix are determined by your homeserver. This is the part where choosing your homeserver matters!

On the default Matrix.org homeserver, the following limits apply:

If you want better upload limits, consider joining another homeserver or hosting your own!

Next Steps:

If you’d like to continue learning about Matrix, check out the next recommended page:

Voice Chats in Matrix (1:1 calls, group calls, screensharing)

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