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Matrix (protocol)
open-in-new
<p>Matrix (sometimes stylized as [matrix]) is an <a href="/facts/Open_standard/RGvhGQVI">open standard</a> and <a href="/facts/Communication_protocol/5uady7cB">communication protocol</a> for <a href="/facts/Real-time_communication/d9vVQfa9">real-time communication</a>. It aims to make real-time communication work seamlessly between different service providers, in the way that standard <a href="/facts/Simple_Mail_Transfer_Protocol/TeCRKDpJ">Simple Mail Transfer Protocol</a> email currently does for <a href="/facts/Store_and_forward/zwM8Amlv">store-and-forward</a> email service, by allowing users with accounts at one <a href="/facts/Communications_service_provider/jrWc1YHE">communications service provider</a> to communicate with users of a different service provider via <a href="/facts/Online_chat/UXwSoP4j">online chat</a>, <a href="/facts/Voice_over_IP/5QGBbXYg">voice over IP</a>, and <a href="/facts/Videotelephony/Ya9TMFQD">videotelephony</a>. It therefore serves a similar purpose to protocols like <a href="/facts/XMPP/hgulEuRA">XMPP</a>, but is not based on any existing communication protocol. </p><p>From a technical perspective, it is an <a href="/facts/Application_layer/FAFhLruA">application layer</a> <a href="/facts/Communication_protocol/5uady7cB">communication protocol</a> for <a href="/facts/Federation_(information_technology)/3SUojUub">federated</a> real-time communication. It provides HTTP APIs and <a href="/facts/Open_source/7X9rCdz4">open source</a> <a href="/facts/Reference_implementation/k9B97xel">reference implementations</a> for securely distributing and persisting messages in <a href="/facts/JSON/bs1rUAhd">JSON</a> format over an open federation of servers. It can integrate with standard <a href="/facts/Web_service/qxrwqB3D">web services</a> via <a href="/facts/WebRTC/Ph9R1k9R">WebRTC</a>, facilitating browser-to-browser applications. </p>