matrix-docker-ansible-deploy/docs/configuring-playbook-dimension.md

Setting up Dimension integration manager (optional, unmaintained)

Dimension can only be installed after Matrix services are installed and running. If you're just installing Matrix services for the first time, please continue with the Configuration / Installation flow and come back here later.

Note: Dimension is officially unmaintained. We recommend not bothering with installing it.

Note: This playbook now supports running Dimension in both a federated and unfederated environments. This is handled automatically based on the value of matrix_homeserver_federation_enabled. Enabling Dimension, means that the openid API endpoints will be exposed on the Matrix Federation port (usually 8448), even if federation is disabled. It's something to be aware of, especially in terms of firewall whitelisting (make sure port 8448 is accessible).

Adjusting the playbook configuration

To enable Dimension, add this to your configuration file (inventory/host_vars/matrix.example.com/vars.yml):

matrix_dimension_enabled: true

Define admin users

These users can modify the integrations this Dimension supports. Add this to your configuration file (inventory/host_vars/matrix.example.com/vars.yml):

matrix_dimension_admins:
  - "@alice:{{ matrix_domain }}"
  - "@bob:{{ matrix_domain }}"

The admin interface is accessible within Element Web by accessing it in any room and clicking the cog wheel/settings icon in the top right. Currently, Dimension can be opened in Element Web by the "Add widgets, bridges, & bots" link in the room information.

Access token

We recommend that you create a dedicated Matrix user for Dimension (dimension is a good username). Follow our Registering users guide to learn how to register a regular (non-admin) user.

You are required to specify an access token (belonging to this new user) for Dimension to work. To get an access token for the Dimension user, you can follow the documentation on how to do obtain an access token.

Access tokens are sensitive information. Do not include them in any bug reports, messages, or logs. Do not share the access token with anyone.

Add access token to your configuration file (inventory/host_vars/matrix.example.com/vars.yml):

matrix_dimension_access_token: "YOUR ACCESS TOKEN HERE"

For more information on how to acquire an access token, visit https://t2bot.io/docs/access_tokens.

Adjusting the Dimension URL

By default, this playbook installs Dimension on the dimension. subdomain (dimension.example.com) and requires you to adjust your DNS records.

By tweaking the matrix_dimension_hostname and matrix_dimension_path_prefix variables, you can easily make the service available at a different hostname and/or path than the default one.

Example additional configuration for your inventory/host_vars/matrix.example.com/vars.yml file:

# Switch to the domain used for Matrix services (`matrix.example.com`),
# so we won't need to add additional DNS records for Dimension.
matrix_dimension_hostname: "{{ matrix_server_fqn_matrix }}"

# Expose under the /dimension subpath
# matrix_dimension_path_prefix: /dimension

Note: While there is a matrix_dimension_path_prefix variable for changing the path where Dimension is served, overriding it is not possible due to this Dimension issue. You must serve Dimension at a dedicated subdomain.

Adjusting DNS records

Once you've decided on the domain and path, you may need to adjust your DNS records to point the Dimension domain to the Matrix server.

By default, you will need to create a CNAME record for dimension. See Configuring DNS for details about DNS changes.

Installing

After configuring the playbook and potentially adjusting your DNS records, run the playbook with playbook tags as below:

ansible-playbook -i inventory/hosts setup.yml --tags=setup-all,start

Notes:

• The shortcut commands with the just program are also available: just install-all or just setup-all

  just install-all is useful for maintaining your setup quickly (2x-5x faster 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. Note these shortcuts run the ensure-matrix-users-created tag too.

• After Dimension has been installed you may need to log out and log back in for it to pick up the new integration manager. Then you can access integrations in Element Web by opening a room, clicking the Room info button (i) button in the top right corner of the screen, and then clicking Add widgets, bridges & bots.

Jitsi domain

By default Dimension will use jitsi.riot.im as the conferenceDomain of Jitsi audio/video conference widgets. For users running a self-hosted Jitsi instance, you will likely want the widget to use your own Jitsi instance. Currently there is no way to configure this via the playbook, see this issue for details.

In the interim until the above limitation is resolved, an admin user needs to configure the domain via the admin ui once dimension is running. In Element Web, go to Manage Integrations → Settings → Widgets → Jitsi Conference Settings and set Jitsi Domain and Jitsi Script URL appropriately.

Additional features

To use a more custom configuration, you can define a matrix_dimension_configuration_extension_yaml string variable and put your configuration in it. To learn more about how to do this, refer to the information about matrix_dimension_configuration_extension_yaml in the default variables file of the Dimension component.

You can find all configuration options on GitHub page of Dimension project.