Permission Model Consideration
Federation operates across different permission models. Rocket.Chat uses a role-based permission system, while Matrix relies on power levels to define user capabilities within rooms. Due to the lack of a direct mapping between these models, changes to roles and permissions in Rocket.Chat may not be consistently reflected in federated rooms. This can result in unexpected behavior in certain scenarios, particularly when permissions are dynamically updated. It is recommended to validate permission changes carefully when operating in federated environments.
Once your workspace administrator has configured Federation and granted you the required permissions, you can start collaborating directly with users from other federated servers from within Rocket.Chat. Federated collaboration works similarly to local collaboration, with a few key differences outlined throughout this guide.
Before you begin
To participate in federated communication:
Federation must be enabled by your workspace administrator
You must be granted the
access-federationpermissionSome actions may also depend on your role in the room (owner, moderator, or member)
If you’re unsure whether federation is enabled or you have the required permissions, contact your workspace administrator.
What you can do
Federation allows you to:
Communicate with users on other Rocket.Chat or Matrix-compatible servers
Join and participate in federated rooms and direct messages
Invite external users to collaborate in shared rooms
Share messages, files, reactions, and mentions across servers
Manage roles and moderation in federated rooms (based on your permissions)
Key user guides
Use the guides below to learn how to work with federated conversations:
Create federated rooms: Learn how to create 1:1 DMs, group DMs, and channels that include users from different servers.
Invite external users: Understand how invitations work across servers and how to invite users from remote workspaces.
Roles and permissions in federated rooms: Learn how roles (owner, moderator) and permissions, such as access-federation, control who can join, participate, and manage federated rooms.