---
title: "Federation"
slug: "federation-user-guide"
description: "Explore how to use Rocket Chat Federation. Enable secure messaging, collaboration, and operational resilience across servers."
tags: ["Premium"]
updated: 2026-05-18T18:51:51Z
published: 2026-05-18T21:38:57Z
canonical: "docs.rocket.chat/federation-user-guide"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.rocket.chat/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Federation

![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6ae79a05-7252-45d0-96e8-8f375e07b1b2/Images/Documentation/Premium(1).svg)

> [!WARNING]
> **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-federation` permission
- Some 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**](/v1/docs/create-federated-rooms)**:** Learn how to create 1:1 DMs, group DMs, and channels that include users from different servers.
- [**Invite external users:**](/v1/docs/invite-external-users-to-your-rocketchat-server) Understand how invitations work across servers and how to invite users from remote workspaces.
- [**Roles and permissions in federated rooms:**](/v1/docs/federated-room-governance-and-permissions) Learn how roles (owner, moderator) and permissions, such as access-federation, control who can join, participate, and manage federated rooms.