# Setting up Mautrix Google Messages bridging (optional)

<sup>Refer the common guide for configuring mautrix bridges: [Setting up a Generic Mautrix Bridge](configuring-playbook-bridge-mautrix-bridges.md)</sup>

The playbook can install and configure [mautrix-gmessages](https://github.com/mautrix/gmessages) for you, for bridging to [Google Messages](https://messages.google.com/).

See the project's [documentation](https://docs.mau.fi/bridges/go/gmessages/index.html) to learn what it does and why it might be useful to you.

## Prerequisite (optional)

### Enable Appservice Double Puppet

If you want to set up [Double Puppeting](https://docs.mau.fi/bridges/general/double-puppeting.html) (hint: you most likely do) for this bridge automatically, you need to have enabled [Appservice Double Puppet](configuring-playbook-appservice-double-puppet.md) for this playbook.

See [this section](configuring-playbook-bridge-mautrix-bridges.md#set-up-double-puppeting-optional) on the [common guide for configuring mautrix bridges](configuring-playbook-bridge-mautrix-bridges.md) for details about setting up Double Puppeting.

## 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_mautrix_gmessages_enabled: true
```

### Extending the configuration

There are some additional things you may wish to configure about the bridge.

<!-- NOTE: relay mode is not supported for this bridge -->
See [this section](configuring-playbook-bridge-mautrix-bridges.md#extending-the-configuration) on the [common guide for configuring mautrix bridges](configuring-playbook-bridge-mautrix-bridges.md) for details about variables that you can customize and the bridge's default configuration, including [bridge permissions](configuring-playbook-bridge-mautrix-bridges.md#configure-bridge-permissions-optional), [encryption support](configuring-playbook-bridge-mautrix-bridges.md#enable-encryption-optional), [bot's username](configuring-playbook-bridge-mautrix-bridges.md#setting-the-bot-s-username-optional), etc.

## 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

To use the bridge, you need to start a chat with `@gmessagesbot:example.com` (where `example.com` is your base domain, not the `matrix.` domain).

You can learn more here about authentication from the bridge's [official documentation on Authentication](https://docs.mau.fi/bridges/go/gmessages/authentication.html).