Matrix.org - About Matrix

📺 Missed a talk at The Matrix Conference? Watch the recordings now →
Matrix is an open protocol for decentralised, secure communications.
The Matrix.org Foundation exists to act as a neutral custodian for Matrix and to nurture it as efficiently as possible as a single unfragmented standard, for the greater benefit of the whole ecosystem, not benefiting or privileging any single player or subset of players.
For clarity: the Matrix ecosystem is defined as anyone who uses the Matrix protocol. This includes (non-exhaustively):
"Greater benefit" is defined as maximising:
N.B. that we consider success to be the growth of the open federated network rather than closed deployments. For example, if WhatsApp adopted Matrix it wouldn't be a complete win unless they openly federated with the rest of the Matrix network.
As Matrix evolves, it's critical that The Matrix.org Foundation team members remain aligned on the overall philosophy of the project, particularly in more subjective areas. The values we follow are:
Patent encumbered IP is strictly prohibited from being added to the standard.
Making the specification rely on non-standard/unspecified behaviour of other systems or actors (such as SaaS services, even open-sourced, not governed by a standard protocol) shall not be accepted, either.
The evolution of Matrix is managed through an open governance process, looked after by The Matrix.org Foundation - a non-profit UK Community Interest Company, incorporated to act as the neutral guardian of the standard on behalf of the whole Matrix community.
The Foundation defines the manifesto, mission and values of the project, the open governance process that determines how the specification develops, and provides a safety-net to ensure the project stays independent and true to its goals. The constitution of the project is defined in the Foundation's legal Articles of Association and Rules, and is enforced by the Guardians of Matrix: the directors of the Foundation appointed to provide a balance of independent experts and the founding Matrix team to ensure the project stays on track.
The Foundation is governed by two sets of documents - its Articles of Association, which define its legal structure and processes, and its Rules, which define the scope and mechanisms of its day-to-day activity.
The Rules were originally drafted through the open Matrix Specification Change proposal process in order to provide full transparency and review from the wider community. The result was MSC1779 - Proposal for Open Governance of Matrix.org, providing a comprehensive overview of the whole governance process.
The Proposal for Open Governance was then formalised into legal form and incorporated into the Articles of Association and a matching Rules document, which is canonically versioned in this Google Doc (for ease of use by lawyers). This is the official canonical version of the rulebook referred to by the Foundation's Articles.
The full history of the rules can be followed via:
One of the most important items defined in the Rules are The Guiding Principles of the project and the definition of the Spec Core Team, which are reproduced here from MSC1779 for ease of reference.
The ecosystem around Matrix is full of people who are enthusiastic about the mission to bring secure, interoperable, decentralised communication to the world. The Matrix.org Foundation, as the nonprofit that serves this ecosystem, is itself made up of many hard working people across several key groups that you can learn about on this page: the staff of the Foundation, the Spec Core Team, and the Guardians.
We have a small but mighty team of staffers who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Foundation. Because the organization doesn't yet have the capacity to take on employees directly, all of us are working under contract. We look forward to building the Foundation such that it can take on employees directly, in addition to being self-sustaining and more fully independent.
In the interest of transparency, we think it's important for people to know that most of our staffers are employees of Element, working under a contract with, and funded by, the Foundation. The exception is our Managing Director who contracts directly with the Foundation.
The Foundation is currently looking for a new Managing Director. A job description will be out soon, but if you believe you may be a good fit to the role, feel free to get in touch. In the mean time, the role is being covered by Amandine as Acting Managing Director.
Jim brings a calm optimism to building a safer, kinder Internet. He has worked with the Safety team for Matrix.org since 2021, after joining from 37signals. Jim works on policy and process, tooling and techniques for Matrix.org and Matrix as a whole.
Andy is a technologist, communicator, community builder, and long-time believer in open protocols doing useful things in the real world. He likes technology best when people can understand it, build on it, and choose how they use it. At the Foundation, he helps to tell the story of Matrix, connects its technical work with the wider ecosystem, and supports the community around an open and interoperable future for communication.
Travis is an avid volunteer, free software developer, Spec Core Team (SCT) member, makerspace director, and collector of strange hobbies. Travis started writing PRs for Matrix in 2016 to support his local makerspace in switching away from IRC, and has continued contributing to Matrix since. Travis’ latest role supports the SCT in operating the Matrix Spec Change (MSC) process, and engages with other standards bodies to advocate for and support Matrix.
Denise is passionate about justice and inclusion, which translates into her work in public policy and compliance. She has been working for Element, and Matrix.org, since early 2020 as their designated DPO and compliance lead. Denise is also in the final stages of her PhD, which focuses on the intersection of privacy, privil