Matrix.org

Matrix is a decentralized/distributed real-time communication network that combines the openness and flexibility of solutions like IRC with the user-friendliness of modern centralized communication networks like Discord, Mattermost, Slack, Telegram, and so on.

Indeed, it is based on an open protocol stewarded by a non-profit with community participation, several open-source server and client implementations, ability to host your own server and federate it with the other servers, interoperability with other communication networks.

It comes with many conveniences of up-to-date solutions, like web interface and mobile apps, rich HTML, easy catch-up on missed conversation, search, notifications, read-message tracking, message editing, emoji responses, voice calls and video conferencing.

For the most techy and nostalgic people, the official Matrix client, Element, can also be used as an IRC client or bouncer.

To avoid confusion with various other things it is often referred to as matrix.org, after its main website.

The easiest way to get started with Matrix is using the web interface of the standard client, Element (formerly Riot). To register, create a free Matrix account. You'll be able to use it both as a Matrix client and as an IRC client that can receive messages while offline.

There's also an Android and iOS app for Element, and a desktop app. Just install the appropriate version.

There's also a vast number of alternative clients, see “Try Matrix Now“ and “Clients” on Matrix website.

Register a Matrix account, as above. Your username does not have to match your IRC nick (although it's always nice for avoiding confusion).

The UI-specific parts of the instructions above assume you are using the Element web interface.

(This is optional, but your default nick is <your matrix nickname>[m] which is not very nice.)

(Make sure your nick is actually available. If have are using an IRC bouncer, make sure to disconnect it first. If you are using IRCCloud, signing out is not enough; you'll need to click on the gear icon next to the "LiberaChat" heading in the upper-right corner, and choose "Disconnect" to release the nick.)

(This is optional but currently many LiberaChat channels don't allow unauthenticated users due to spam problems.)

If you do not already have a LiberaChat account, you need to register one first; see instructions. In case you use Element for that, when the instructions say /msg nickserv <blah> you just need to send <blah> as a private message to NickServ (@NickServ:libera.chat; see Send private messages section below).

Open a private chat with appservice as above, then type !username irc.libera.chat <your NickServ username> and then !storepass irc.libera.chat <your password>. This will permanently store your username and password on the Matrix application server and use it automatically answer NickServ queries. (In the past this was somewhat unreliable but these days it seems to be working well.)

You can then type !reconnect to verify the bridge properly authenticates you to NickServ upon connection.

If you don't want to store your password, you can also just start a private chat with LiberaChat's NickServ and type identify <username> <password>, as you would in an IRC client. (There is no way to use a secure protocol such as SASL, but your connection is to the Matrix homeserver and that part is always encrypted via HTTPS.)

Click the (+) icon in the left sidebar next to "People", enter the username and click the "Start Chat" button. You can use the full Matrix ID which is @<username>:libera.chat for LiberaChat users (e.g. @tgr:libera.chat for the tgr nick), but just typing the username into the dialog and relying on search should work too. If you are already on the same channel then you can also just click on the username in the right sidebar (there is a field for filtering at the bottom, in case it's too long) and then on the "Start a chat" option.

If you have already sent messages to this person before (or received messages from them), you can just click on their name in the "People" section of the left sidebar instead.

LiberaChat channels can be referenced within Matrix as <channel>:libera.chat (e.g. #mediawiki:libera.chat) and can be linked as https://app.element.io/#/room/<channel>:libera.chat. On this wiki, you can also use the {{matrix-channel}} template.

If you need further help with your LiberaChat connection, try issuing the command !help in your chat with @appservice:libera.chat. If that doesn't work, you can try asking for help in the #irc:matrix.org room, where people who maintain the IRC bridge code hang out.

To allow messages from unregistered IRC users send !cmd irc.libera.chat MODE <your nick> -R to appservice. Due to LiberaChat's spam issues, this is not advised.

In addition to bridging to IRC channels, there are a few rooms on matrix.org as well, hereafter grouped by language (some are just test spaces):

• Element help
• Matrix FAQ
• Matrix wiki
• Moderation FAQ
• IRC bridge FAQ
• "IRC for the 21st Century: Introducing Element.io", Justin W. Flory, opensource.com, 19 May 2017