How to connect to Matrix servers on Chrome OS
If you host a Matrix server for work or personal chat or use a community server and want access to it on a Chromebook, this guide is for you. Follow along as we show you how you can connect to Matrix on Chrome OS.
What is a Matrix server?
Matrix is a federated chat service that anyone can host for themselves. Think of it like a self-hosted Discord service. A lot of open-source projects use it for support and development communication.
Matrix is really cool, and it’s part of the Fediverse. However, don’t let that intimidate you. You don’t have to be a developer to use it. Furthermore, you don’t even have to host your server. Anyone can make an account on Matrix.org and join or create a room to chat in.
How to enable Linux on Chrome OS
The Matrix clients we’ll be covering in this article are Linux-based, and as a result, you must have the Linux developer environment enabled on your Chromebook to use these apps. To enable Linux, do the following.
First, click on the clock icon in the Chrome OS dash. After selecting the clock, click on the gear icon to launch the settings window. In the Chrome OS settings area, find “Advanced” and click on it with the mouse to reveal its options.
Look through the available options in “Advanced” for “Developers.” When you’ve found it, select it. After selecting “Developers,” choose “Linux developer environment,” followed by the “Turn on” button.
Selecting the “Turn on” button will download a Debian Linux container and a terminal application for the Chrome OS desktop. When everything is downloaded, the Terminal app will open.
Inside of the terminal app, find “Penguin,” and select it with the mouse. When you select “Penguin,” you’ll have access to the Chrome OS Linux container. From here, enter the apt update command to update the container’s software sources.
sudo apt update
When all of the container’s software sources are up to date, you can install the latest patches on it by using the following apt upgrade command.
sudo apt upgrade
How to install and use Element
By far the best Matrix client out there is Element. It is fully-featured and has a lot to offer. If you’re a Matrix user, you’ll want to use Element on your Chrome OS device. To get it working on your Chromebook, do the following.
First, launch the Chrome OS terminal. Once open, search for “Penguin,” and select it with the mouse to open up the command-line interface. Lastly, use the apt install command to set up the flatpak package.
sudo apt install flatpak
Once you’ve installed the flatpak package, use the flatpak remote-add command to add the Flathub app store. This app store makes it possible to install Element.
flatpak --user remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
flatpak install flathub im.riot.Riot
How to connect to Matrix servers with Element on Chrome OS
To connect to Matrix servers with Element on Chrome OS, start by launching the app. You can launch the Element app on your Chromebook by searching for “Element” in the “Linux apps” folder.
Once Element is open, you’ll see the “Welcome to Element!” page. On this page, you’ll see “Sign in,” “Create Account,” and “Explore rooms.” If you do not already have a Matrix account to use in Element, click the “Create Account” button. Otherwise, log in by selecting the “Sign in” button.
When you select the “Sign in” button, you’ll see the sign-in window. If your account isn’t on Matrix.org, find the “Edit” button, select it, and change it to your home server. If you are unsure, visit your server’s website and find out the correct URL.
After adding in the correct home server URL, enter your username and password into the login window on Element. You’ll then be able to sign into your account using the “Sign in” button.
When you select the “Sign in” button, you’ll automatically log into your account. However, keep in mind that you will have to verify your session to access encrypted messages. To do this, access Element via another computer to verify.
Upon logging in, you’ll be able to start chatting with your friends and co-workers on Matrix via Element on your Chromebook. Enjoy, and happy chatting!
