# Setting up WeChat bridging (optional)

The playbook can install and configure the [matrix-wechat](https://github.com/duo/matrix-wechat) bridge for you (for bridging to the [WeChat](https://www.wechat.com/) network).

See the project's [documentation](https://github.com/duo/matrix-wechat/blob/master/README.md) to learn what it does and why it might be useful to you.

## Adjusting the playbook configuration

To enable the bridge, add the following configuration to your `inventory/host_vars/matrix.example.com/vars.yml` file:

```yaml
matrix_wechat_enabled: true
```

## Installing

After configuring the playbook, run it with [playbook tags](playbook-tags.md) as below:

<!-- NOTE: let this conservative command run (instead of install-all) to make it clear that failure of the command means something is clearly broken. -->
```sh
ansible-playbook -i inventory/hosts setup.yml --tags=setup-all,ensure-matrix-users-created,start
```

**Notes**:

- The `ensure-matrix-users-created` playbook tag makes the playbook automatically create the bot's user account.

- The shortcut commands with the [`just` program](just.md) are also available: `just install-all` or `just setup-all`

  `just install-all` is useful for maintaining your setup quickly ([2x-5x faster](../CHANGELOG.md#2x-5x-performance-improvements-in-playbook-runtime) than `just setup-all`) when its components remain unchanged. If you adjust your `vars.yml` to remove other components, you'd need to run `just setup-all`, or these components will still remain installed.

## Usage

Once the bridge is installed, start a chat with `@wechatbot:example.com` (where `example.com` is your base domain, not the `matrix.` domain).

Send `help` to the bot to see the available commands.