How-to create and configure a public space

This short How-to will guide you through the creation and basic configuration of a public space on the Ubuntu Matrix homeserver. This guide assumes you are using the Element desktop client.

:information_source: A Matrix Space is technically a type of room. Reference to rooms in this how-to are intentional to stay aligned with the Element client interface.

Public space creation

  1. Click on the + Icon on the left panel, below your user avatar.
  2. Select “Public”.
  3. In the “Name” field, you type the display name of the space. This name can contain upper and lower case characters, spaces, and can be changed later.
  4. In the “Address” field, type a space address. This should be all lower case. Parts of the name can be separated by using dash characters.
  5. In the description field, you can add a description of this space. This field is optional and can be filled later.
  6. Make sure the address is available, then click on “Create”.
  7. In the next screen, you can create rooms within your space. Click continue when ready.

Space configuration: General Settings

  1. After your space is created, click on the space name drop-down on the left side of your Element desktop client, under the search bar, and select “Settings”.
  2. In the “General” settings, you can change “Name”, “Description”, and upload an image.
  3. Once all changes are confirmed, select “Save Changes”.

Space configuration: Visibility

In the “Visibility” settings, you can:

  • Change your space from Public to Private, or Space members.
  • Enable or disable space preview. Keeping this option enabled is recommended for public spaces.
  • Add, remove, or modify local and published addresses.
  • If you cannot enable the “Publish this room to the public in the ubuntu.com’s room directory?”, please note this is intended behavior. Check steps in the “Room publishing and listing under spaces” section to complete this task.

Room publishing and listing under spaces

Please check How-to publish and list rooms and spaces if you’d like to:

  • Protect your space and rooms from abuse.
  • Publish your space in the server directory.
  • Add your space to the Ubuntu Community space.

Learn more

Congratulations! Your public space is now ready! If you would like to learn more about the Ubuntu Matrix homeserver, you can check our documentation: Matrix | Ubuntu.

This page was last modified 7 months ago. Help improve this document in the forum.