Matrix

Matrix is a downloadable channel plugin (@openclaw/matrix) built on the official matrix-js-sdk. It supports DMs, rooms, threads, media, reactions, polls, location, and E2EE.

Node remains the recommended runtime. Matrix also accepts the opt-in Bun runtime; E2EE requires the Matrix SDK's native crypto bindings to be available for your platform.

What each page covers

• Matrix setup — install the plugin, point it at a homeserver, choose auth, and control invites and allowlists.
• Matrix access control — DM and room policy, allowlists, bot-to-bot traffic, context visibility, and command authorization.
• Matrix message behavior — streaming previews, inbound voice-note transcription, and reactions.
• Matrix rich messages and approvals — structured reply controls, approval event metadata, and exec approval prompts.
• Matrix encryption and verification — E2EE setup, device verification, cross-signing repair, room-key backup, and crypto-store layout.
• Matrix threads and sessions — session routing, reply threading, ACP conversation bindings, and room history context.
• Matrix accounts and homeservers — multi-account layout, private/LAN homeservers, proxies, profiles, direct-room repair, and target resolution.

Where each section moved

Every section heading from the previous single-page version keeps its anchor here, so an existing link such as /channels/matrix#streaming-previews still resolves. Each entry points at the page that now holds the content.

• Install
• Setup
• Interactive setup
• Minimal config
• Auto-join
• Group join introductions
• Allowlist target formats
• Account ID normalization
• Cached credentials
• Environment variables
• Configuration example
• Streaming previews
• Voice messages
• Reply controls and presentations
• Approval metadata
• Self-hosted push rules for quiet finalized previews
• Bot-to-bot rooms
• Encryption and verification
• Enable encryption
• Status and trust signals
• Verify this device with a recovery key
• Bootstrap or repair cross-signing
• Room-key backup
• Listing, requesting, and responding to verifications
• Multi-account notes
• Profile management
• Threads
• Session routing (sessionScope)
• Reply threading (threadReplies)
• Thread inheritance and slash commands
• ACP conversation bindings
• Thread binding config
• Reactions
• History context
• Context visibility
• DM and room policy
• Direct room repair
• Exec approvals
• Slash commands
• Multi-account
• Private/LAN homeservers
• Proxying Matrix traffic
• Target resolution
• Listing, requesting, and responding to verifications
• Session routing (sessionScope)
• Reply threading (threadReplies)
• Private/LAN homeservers
• Startup behavior
• Verification notices
• Deleted or invalid Matrix device
• Device hygiene
• Crypto store

Configuration reference

Allowlist-style user fields (groupAllowFrom, dm.allowFrom, groups.<room>.users) accept full Matrix user IDs (safest). Non-ID entries are ignored by default. If dangerouslyAllowNameMatching: true is set, exact Matrix directory display-name matches are resolved at startup and whenever the allowlist changes while the monitor is running; unresolvable entries are ignored at runtime.

Room allowlist keys (groups, legacy rooms) should be room IDs or aliases. Plain room-name keys are ignored by default; dangerouslyAllowNameMatching: true restores best-effort lookup against joined room names.

Account and connection

• enabled: enable or disable the channel.
• name: optional display label for the account.
• defaultAccount: preferred account ID when multiple Matrix accounts are configured.
• accounts: named per-account overrides. Top-level channels.matrix values are inherited as defaults.
• homeserver: homeserver URL, for example https://matrix.example.org.
• network.dangerouslyAllowPrivateNetwork: allow this account to connect to localhost, LAN/Tailscale IPs, or internal hostnames.
• proxy: optional HTTP(S) proxy URL for Matrix traffic. Per-account override supported.
• userId: full Matrix user ID (@bot:example.org).
• accessToken: access token for token-based auth. Plaintext and SecretRef values supported across env/file/exec/store providers (Secrets Management).
• password: password for password-based login. Plaintext and SecretRef values supported.
• deviceId: explicit Matrix device ID.
• deviceName: device display name used at password-login time.
• avatarUrl: stored self-avatar URL for profile sync and profile set updates.
• initialSyncLimit: maximum number of events fetched during startup sync.

Encryption

• encryption: enable E2EE. Default: false.
• startupVerification: "if-unverified" (default when E2EE is on) or "off". Auto-requests self-verification on startup when this device is unverified.
• startupVerificationCooldownHours: cooldown before the next automatic startup request. Default: 24.

Access and policy

• groupPolicy: "open", "allowlist", or "disabled". Default: "allowlist".
• groupAllowFrom: allowlist of user IDs for room traffic.
• mentionPatterns: scoped regex patterns for room mentions. Object with { mode: "allow"|"deny", allowIn: [roomId, ...], denyIn: [roomId, ...] }. Controls whether configured agents.entries.*.groupChat.mentionPatterns apply per-room.
• dm.enabled: when false, ignore all DMs. Default: true.
• dm.policy: "pairing" (default), "allowlist", "open", or "disabled". Applies after the bot has joined and classified the room as a DM; it does not affect invite handling.
• dm.allowFrom: allowlist of user IDs for DM traffic.
• dm.sessionScope: "per-user" (default) or "per-room".
• dm.threadReplies: DM-only override for reply threading ("off", "inbound", "always").
• allowBots: accept messages from other configured Matrix bot accounts (true or "mentions").
• allowlistOnly: when true, forces all active DM policies (except "disabled") and "open" group policies to "allowlist". Does not change "disabled" policies.
• dangerouslyAllowNameMatching: when true, allows Matrix display-name directory lookup for user allowlist entries and joined-room name lookup for room allowlist keys. Prefer full @user:server IDs and room IDs or aliases.
• autoJoin: "always", "allowlist", or "off". Default: "off". Applies to every Matrix invite, including DM-style invites.
• autoJoinAllowlist: rooms/aliases allowed when autoJoin is "allowlist". Alias entries resolve against the homeserver, not against state claimed by the invited room.
• contextVisibility: supplemental context visibility ("all" default, "allowlist", "allowlist_quote").

Reply behavior

• joinIntro: introduce when the bot joins an allowed group room. Default: true. Per-account override: accounts.<accountId>.joinIntro.
• replyToMode: "off" (default), "first", "all", or "batched".
• threadReplies: "off", "inbound" (default), or "always".
• threadBindings: per-channel overrides for thread-bound session routing and lifecycle.
• streaming: nested object { mode, chunkMode, block: { enabled, coalesce }, preview: { toolProgress }, progress: { label, labels, maxLines, maxLineChars, toolProgress } }. mode is "off" (default), "partial", "quiet", or "progress". Legacy scalar/boolean spellings migrate via openclaw doctor --fix.
• streaming.block.enabled: when true, completed assistant blocks are kept as separate progress messages. Default: false.
• markdown: optional Markdown rendering config for outbound text.
• responsePrefix: optional string prepended to outbound replies.
• textChunkLimit: outbound chunk size in characters when streaming.chunkMode: "length". Default: 4000.
• streaming.chunkMode: "length" (default, splits by character count) or "newline" (splits at line boundaries).
• historyLimit: number of recent room messages included as InboundHistory when a room message triggers the agent. Falls back to messages.groupChat.historyLimit; effective default 0 (disabled).
• mediaMaxMb: media size cap in MB for outbound sends and inbound processing. Default: 20.

Reaction settings

• ackReaction: ack reaction override for this channel/account.
• ackReactionScope: scope override ("group-mentions" default, "group-all", "direct", "all", "none", "off").
• reactionNotifications: inbound reaction notification mode ("own" default, "off").

Tooling and per-room overrides

• actions: per-action tool gating (messages, reactions, pins, profile, memberInfo, channelInfo, verification).
• groups: per-room policy map. Session identity uses the stable room ID after resolution. (rooms is a legacy alias.)
  • groups.<room>.account: restrict one inherited room entry to a specific account.
  • groups.<room>.enabled: per-room toggle. When false, the room is ignored as if it were not in the map.
  • groups.<room>.requireMention: per-room override of the channel-level mention requirement.
  • groups.<room>.allowBots: per-room override of the channel-level setting (true or "mentions").
  • groups.<room>.botLoopProtection: per-room override for bot-to-bot loop protection budget.
  • groups.<room>.users: per-room sender allowlist.
  • groups.<room>.tools: per-room tool allow/deny overrides.
  • groups.<room>.autoReply: per-room mention-gating override. true disables mention requirements for that room; false forces them back on.
  • groups.<room>.skills: per-room skill filter.
  • groups.<room>.systemPrompt: per-room system prompt snippet.

Exec approval settings

• execApprovals.enabled: deliver exec approvals through Matrix-native prompts.
• execApprovals.approvers: Matrix user IDs allowed to approve. Falls back to dm.allowFrom.
• execApprovals.target: "dm" (default), "channel", or "both".
• execApprovals.agentFilter / execApprovals.sessionFilter: optional agent/session allowlists for delivery.

Related

• Channels Overview - all supported channels
• Pairing - DM authentication and pairing flow
• Groups - group chat behavior and mention gating
• Channel routing - session routing for messages
• Security - access model and hardening