Element
Element (formerly known as Vector and Riot) is a Matrix web & desktop client built using the Matrix
JS SDK.
Supported Environments
Element has several tiers of support for different environments:
- Supported
- Definition:
- Issues actively triaged, regressions block the release
- Last 2 major versions of Chrome, Firefox, and Edge on desktop OSes
- Last 2 versions of Safari
- Latest release of official Element Desktop app on desktop OSes
- Desktop OSes means macOS, Windows, and Linux versions for desktop devices
that are actively supported by the OS vendor and receive security updates
- Best effort
- Definition:
- Issues accepted, regressions do not block the release
- The wider Element Products (including Element Call and the Enterprise Server Suite) do still not officially support these browsers.
- The element web project and its contributors should keep the client functioning and gracefully degrade where other sibling features (E.g. Element Call) may not function.
- Last major release of Firefox ESR and Chrome/Edge Extended Stable
- Community Supported
- Definition:
- Issues accepted, regressions do not block the release
- Community contributions are welcome to support these issues
- Mobile web for current stable version of Chrome, Firefox, and Safari on Android, iOS, and iPadOS
- Not supported
- Definition: Issues only affecting unsupported environments are closed
- Everything else
The period of support for these tiers should last until the releases specified above, plus 1 app release cycle(2 weeks). In the case of Firefox ESR this is extended further to allow it land in Debian Stable.
For accessing Element on an Android or iOS device, we currently recommend the
native apps element-x-android
and element-x-ios.
Getting Started
The easiest way to test Element is to just use the hosted copy at https://app.element.io.
The develop branch is continuously deployed to https://develop.element.io
for those who like living dangerously.
To host your own instance of Element see Installing Element Web.
To install Element as a desktop application, see Running as a desktop app below.
Monorepo
This repository is a monorepo hosting Element Web and other related projects in various subdirectories.
You can read more about the structure here.
Element Web
To learn more about Element Web click here
Running as a Desktop app
Element can also be run as a desktop app, wrapped in Electron. You can download a
pre-built version from https://element.io/get-started or, if you prefer,
build it yourself.
To build it yourself, follow the instructions at https://github.com/element-hq/element-web/tree/develop/apps/desktop.
Many thanks to @aviraldg for the initial work on the Electron integration.
The configuration docs show how to override the desktop app's default settings if desired.
Development
Please read through the following:
- Developer guide
- Code style
- Contribution guide
Translations
To add a new translation, head to the translating doc.
For a developer guide, see the translating dev doc.
Triaging issues
Issues are triaged by community members and the Web App Team, following the triage process.
We use issue labels to sort all incoming issues.
Copyright & License
Copyright (c) 2014-2017 OpenMarket Ltd
Copyright (c) 2017 Vector Creations Ltd
Copyright (c) 2017-2025 New Vector Ltd
This software is multi licensed by New Vector Ltd (Element). It can be used either:
(1) for free under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License (as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version); OR
(2) for free under the terms of the GNU General Public License (as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version); OR
(3) under the terms of a paid-for Element Commercial License agreement between you and Element (the terms of which may vary depending on what you and Element have agreed to).
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the Licenses is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the Licenses for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the Licenses.
Please contact [email protected] to purchase
an Element commercial license for this software.
/element-web