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

Configuring Dendrite (optional)

By default, this playbook configures the Synapse Matrix server, but you can also use Dendrite.

Notes:

• You can't switch an existing Matrix server's implementation (e.g. Synapse -> Dendrite). Proceed below only if you're OK with losing data or you're dealing with a server on a new domain name, which hasn't participated in the Matrix federation yet.

• homeserver implementations other than Synapse may not be fully functional. The playbook may also not assist you in an optimal way (like it does with Synapse). Make yourself familiar with the downsides before proceeding

Adjusting the playbook configuration

To use Dendrite, you generally need to add the following configuration to your inventory/host_vars/matrix.example.com/vars.yml file:

matrix_homeserver_implementation: dendrite

The playbook provides lots of customization variables you could use to change Dendrite's settings.

Their defaults are defined in roles/custom/matrix-dendrite/defaults/main.yml and they ultimately end up in the generated /matrix/dendrite/config/dendrite.yaml file (on the server). This file is generated from the roles/custom/matrix-dendrite/templates/dendrite.yaml.j2 template.

If there's an existing variable which controls a setting you wish to change, you can simply define that variable in your configuration file (inventory/host_vars/matrix.example.com/vars.yml) and re-run the playbook to apply the changes.

Alternatively, if there is no pre-defined variable for a Dendrite setting you wish to change:

• you can either request a variable to be created (or you can submit such a contribution yourself). Keep in mind that it's probably not a good idea to create variables for each one of Dendrite's various settings that rarely get used.

• or, you can extend and override the default configuration (dendrite.yaml.j2) by making use of the matrix_dendrite_configuration_extension_yaml variable. You can find information about this in roles/custom/matrix-dendrite/defaults/main.yml.

• or, if extending the configuration is still not powerful enough for your needs, you can override the configuration completely using matrix_dendrite_configuration (or matrix_dendrite_configuration_yaml). You can find information about this in roles/custom/matrix-dendrite/defaults/main.yml.

Installing

After configuring the playbook, run it with playbook tags as below:

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

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.