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Matrix

COMMS
Velocity5.0

Open standard and decentralized communication protocol for federated real-time messaging, VoIP, and IoT.

matrix.org ↗

Matrix ships spec, not product — v1.19 restores encrypted history sharing

protocol-specmsc-processcommunity-newslettere2eedecentralisationgovernance
◆Current state
This feed is almost entirely This Week in Matrix, the project's community newsletter: Matrix Live episodes, meetups and workations, conference logistics, and a weekly roll of Matrix Spec Change proposals moving through the process. The one actual release in the window is Matrix 1.19, which merged six MSCs and landed encrypted room history sharing and custom emoji alongside smaller clarifications. Spec activity is steady, with roughly five to seven new MSCs proposed per week across moderation, push rules, sliding sync, and federation.
◆Where it's heading
Development here runs on protocol time rather than release time — three months between 1.18 and 1.19, with the intervening weeks visible as proposals rather than shipped features. The MSCs accumulating in the newsletter point at where the next releases go: moderation via policy servers, homeserver decentralisation, sliding sync extensions, and a global spec version scheme. Governance and community work occupy as much of the feed as engineering does.
◆Prediction
Expect the next spec release in roughly a quarter, drawing from the moderation and sliding-sync MSCs currently in flight; the weekly newsletter will keep carrying proposals rather than shipped changes in between.

◆Recent moves

  1. 4d ago

    Matrix Live on Continuwuity; local-first Matrix talk published

    Weekly newsletter: a Matrix Live episode on Continuwuity, the release of a Local-first Conference talk covering recent P2P work and the ERA paper, and upcoming Stammtisch meetups. Community coverage, no protocol or implementation change.

    View source ↗
  2. 11d ago

    Community workation in Krems set for 22 August to 13 September

    Newsletter issue given over largely to the Krems workation, a three-week co-working gathering split into themed blocks. Event logistics rather than project news.

    View source ↗
  3. 18d ago

    Matrix Live: Homeserver Decentralisation Working Group

    A Matrix Live episode on the Homeserver Decentralisation Working Group plus conference merchandise deadlines. The working group is worth noting as a direction signal, but nothing shipped here.

    View source ↗
  4. 25d ago

    Weekly spec update: seven new MSCs, global spec versioning

    Weekly spec roundup listing seven new MSCs, including a global version number for the whole specification, sliding sync typing notifications, and push rules for knocking and live location sharing. These are proposals entering the process, not accepted changes.

    View source ↗
  5. 1mo ago

    Weekly spec update: moderation policy servers, rooms as pages

    Spec roundup covering MSCs on holding messages pending moderation via policy servers, rooms as social media pages, and stricter server signing key caching. The moderation and identity-shape proposals are the ones to watch for future releases.

    View source ↗
  6. 1mo ago

    Matrix 1.19 adds encrypted history sharing and custom emoji

    Matrix 1.19 merges six MSCs three months after 1.18, most substantially encrypted room history sharing — which fixes invitees and joiners being unable to see prior history in encrypted rooms — plus custom emoji, mutual rooms lookup, and server ACL clarifications. This is the only shipped change in the window and it closes a long-standing gap rather than opening new ground.

    View source ↗