Federation is currently in its final stability and performance tuning phase. While the feature is already suitable for evaluation and non-critical use cases, you may occasionally encounter intermittent behavior as we complete ongoing audits and optimizations. For this reason, we currently recommend avoiding Federation for mission-critical workloads until the final stabilization phase is complete.
Once Federation is enabled by a workspace administrator, users with the appropriate permissions can communicate and collaborate with users from other federated servers.
This includes:
direct messages
group direct messages
channels
Federated user address format
To invite a user from another federated server, you must use their full federated user ID:
@username:server.domainInviting external users
Inviting external users follows the same process for DMs, group DMs, and channels. To invite an external user:
Click Create new and select Direct message or Channel.
Enter the user’s full federated ID:
@username:server.domainComplete creation as usual.
For channels, simply enable Federated in Advanced settings when needed.
What happens after you send the invitation
Once the invitation is sent:
The chat opens immediately on your side.
A system message confirms that the conversation was created and the user was invited.
You can send messages right away, even before the invitation is accepted.
The invited user appears in the room with an invitation status indicator.
The invitation status is visible in the room’s contextual panel, making it easy to track what happens next.
When you invite an external user to a federated chat, the invitation progresses through one of the following states. Each state reflects how the remote user and server have responded.
Invitation state | What it means | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
Invited (Pending) | The invitation has been sent to the remote user’s home server, but the user has not yet responded. | You can send messages (they will be delivered once the user joins) or revoke the invitation from the contextual panel. |
Accepted | The remote user accepted the invitation and joined the chat. | The conversation becomes an active federated DM. Messages, typing indicators, and supported interactions work normally. |
Rejected | The remote user declined the invitation. No federated conversation was established. | You remain the only participant and can delete the DM if it is no longer needed. |
If the invitation is rejected, the chat remains visible to you, but no further interaction is possible unless a new invitation is sent.
Revoke invitation
While an invitation is still pending, you can revoke it from the room’s contextual panel.
Revoking an invitation:
Cancels the pending request on the remote server
Removes the invited user from the chat
Leaves you as the sole participant in the conversation
In federated channels, invitations are handled per user. Revoking or rejecting an invitation affects only that user and does not impact the channel itself or other participants.