Create Federated Rooms in Rocket Chat

Native Federation is currently in Alpha and not recommended for production use. Expect breaking changes and limited functionality. Use in testing environments only.

Federated rooms allow users from different servers to communicate seamlessly within the same Rocket.Chat environment. With native federation, rooms are created and managed directly in Rocket.Chat.

You can create and participate in the following types of federated rooms:

1:1 Direct Messages (DMs): Chat privately with one user from another server.
Multi-user DMs: Start a group DM with multiple users across servers.
Channels: Create shared spaces that include both local and federated users.

Federated rooms are marked with a globe icon next to the room name. Their names also include the home server where the room is hosted. For instance, a room created on another server may appear as:

project-team:chat.example.net

The part after the colon (chat.example.net) indicates which server the room belongs to. This helps distinguish between rooms that share the same name but exist on different servers.

With native federation, you can create 1:1 direct messages with users from other federated servers directly.

To create a federated DM:

Click the + button next to your room list and select Direct message .
In the New direct message dialog, search for or enter the federated user’s full address, for example:
```
@username:server.domain
```
Select the user and click Create.

Here @username:server.domain represents the federated user you want to start a DM with.

Create a multi-user direct message

With native federation, you can create multi-user DMs (group direct messages) that include users from your own workspace and external federated servers, all within the same chat.

To create a federated group DM:

Click the + button next to your room list and select Direct message.
In the New direct message dialog, search for or enter the federated users’ full addresses, for example:
```
@username1:server1.domain
@username2:server2.domain
```
Select all the users you want to include and click Create to start the group DM.

Each @username:server.domain represents a federated user you want to add to the group DM.

Create a channel

With native federation, you can create channels that include both local and federated users from other servers, directly from the creation dialog.

To create a federated channel:

Click the + button next to your room list and select Channel.
Enter a name for your channel.
(Optional) Add a topic to describe the purpose of the channel.
In the Members field, add users from your workspace or external federated users using their full addresses.
In Advanced settings, enable Federated which allows users from other servers to join and participate.

Notes:
Once federation is enabled for a room, encryption, read only and broadcast features cannot be turned on.
Discussions aren’t supported inside federated channels yet.
When you join a federated room hosted on another server, that server’s name appears next to the room title to help distinguish similarly named rooms.

Edit a federated room

After a federated room is created, only certain details can be modified. This ensures the room’s identity and federation links remain stable across all connected servers.

To edit a federated room

Open the room you want to update and click Edit in the room header.
Make your desired changes to the name, avatar, or topic.
Click Save.

You can update the following details:

Name: Change the room’s display name.
Avatar: Upload a new image or remove the current one.
Topic: Edit the room’s topic or description.

To hide a federated room

If you no longer want the room to appear in your sidebar but wish to remain a member:

Open the federated room.
Click Hide at the top of the room view.
- The room will disappear from your sidebar, but you’ll still be part of it.
- You can find it again later through search or when someone mentions you.

To leave a federated room

If you want to completely leave:

Open the federated room and click the kebab menu (⋮) next to Edit.
Select Leave to exit the room.
- After leaving, the room will no longer appear in your list

Notes:
Federation cannot be disabled or toggled off after a room is created.
Deleting federated rooms and sharing invite links are not supported yet.