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This documentation site is for the versions of Synapse maintained by the Matrix.org Foundation (github.com/matrix-org/synapse), available under the Apache 2.0 licence.

Since version 1.99, Synapse is now maintained by Element under a new licence (github.com/element-hq/synapse).

If you are interested in the documentation for a later version of Synapse, please click here to navigate to this same page on the latest Element Synapse documentation site, if it's available.

Templates

Synapse uses parametrised templates to generate the content of emails it sends and webpages it shows to users.

By default, Synapse will use the templates listed here. Server admins can configure an additional directory for Synapse to look for templates in, allowing them to specify custom templates:

templates:
  custom_template_directory: /path/to/custom/templates/

If this setting is not set, or the files named below are not found within the directory, default templates from within the Synapse package will be used.

Templates that are given variables when being rendered are rendered using Jinja 2. Templates rendered by Jinja 2 can also access two functions on top of the functions already available as part of Jinja 2:

format_ts(value: int, format: str) -> str

Formats a timestamp in milliseconds.

Example: reason.last_sent_ts|format_ts("%c")

mxc_to_http(value: str, width: int, height: int, resize_method: str = "crop") -> str

Turns a mxc:// URL for media content into an HTTP(S) one using the homeserver's public_baseurl configuration setting as the URL's base.

Example: message.sender_avatar_url|mxc_to_http(32,32)

localpart_from_email(address: str) -> str

Returns the local part of an email address (e.g. alice in alice@example.com).

Example: user.email_address|localpart_from_email

Email templates

Below are the templates Synapse will look for when generating the content of an email:

  • notif_mail.html and notif_mail.txt: The contents of email notifications of missed events. When rendering, this template is given the following variables:
    • user_display_name: the display name for the user receiving the notification
    • unsubscribe_link: the link users can click to unsubscribe from email notifications
    • summary_text: a summary of the notification(s). The text used can be customised by configuring the various settings in the email.subjects section of the configuration file.
    • rooms: a list of rooms containing events to include in the email. Each element is an object with the following attributes:
      • title: a human-readable name for the room
      • hash: a hash of the ID of the room
      • invite: a boolean, which is True if the room is an invite the user hasn't accepted yet, False otherwise
      • notifs: a list of events, or an empty list if invite is True. Each element is an object with the following attributes:
        • link: a matrix.to link to the event
        • ts: the time in milliseconds at which the event was received
        • messages: a list of messages containing one message before the event, the message in the event, and one message after the event. Each element is an object with the following attributes:
          • event_type: the type of the event
          • is_historical: a boolean, which is False if the message is the one that triggered the notification, True otherwise
          • id: the ID of the event
          • ts: the time in milliseconds at which the event was sent
          • sender_name: the display name for the event's sender
          • sender_avatar_url: the avatar URL (as a mxc:// URL) for the event's sender
          • sender_hash: a hash of the user ID of the sender
          • msgtype: the type of the message
          • body_text_html: html representation of the message
          • body_text_plain: plaintext representation of the message
          • image_url: mxc url of an image, when "msgtype" is "m.image"
      • link: a matrix.to link to the room
      • avator_url: url to the room's avator
    • reason: information on the event that triggered the email to be sent. It's an object with the following attributes:
      • room_id: the ID of the room the event was sent in
      • room_name: a human-readable name for the room the event was sent in
      • now: the current time in milliseconds
      • received_at: the time in milliseconds at which the event was received
      • delay_before_mail_ms: the amount of time in milliseconds Synapse always waits before ever emailing about a notification (to give the user a chance to respond to other push or notice the window)
      • last_sent_ts: the time in milliseconds at which a notification was last sent for an event in this room
      • throttle_ms: the minimum amount of time in milliseconds between two notifications can be sent for this room
  • password_reset.html and password_reset.txt: The contents of password reset emails sent by the homeserver. When rendering, these templates are given a link variable which contains the link the user must click in order to reset their password.
  • registration.html and registration.txt: The contents of address verification emails sent during registration. When rendering, these templates are given a link variable which contains the link the user must click in order to validate their email address.
  • add_threepid.html and add_threepid.txt: The contents of address verification emails sent when an address is added to a Matrix account. When rendering, these templates are given a link variable which contains the link the user must click in order to validate their email address.

HTML page templates for registration and password reset

Below are the templates Synapse will look for when generating pages related to registration and password reset:

  • password_reset_confirmation.html: An HTML page that a user will see when they follow the link in the password reset email. The user will be asked to confirm the action before their password is reset. When rendering, this template is given the following variables:
    • sid: the session ID for the password reset
    • token: the token for the password reset
    • client_secret: the client secret for the password reset
  • password_reset_success.html and password_reset_failure.html: HTML pages for success and failure that a user will see when they confirm the password reset flow using the page above. When rendering, password_reset_success.html is given no variable, and password_reset_failure.html is given a failure_reason, which contains the reason for the password reset failure.
  • registration_success.html and registration_failure.html: HTML pages for success and failure that a user will see when they follow the link in an address verification email sent during registration. When rendering, registration_success.html is given no variable, and registration_failure.html is given a failure_reason, which contains the reason for the registration failure.
  • add_threepid_success.html and add_threepid_failure.html: HTML pages for success and failure that a user will see when they follow the link in an address verification email sent when an address is added to a Matrix account. When rendering, add_threepid_success.html is given no variable, and add_threepid_failure.html is given a failure_reason, which contains the reason for the registration failure.

HTML page templates for Single Sign-On (SSO)

Below are the templates Synapse will look for when generating pages related to SSO:

  • sso_login_idp_picker.html: HTML page to prompt the user to choose an Identity Provider during login. This is only used if multiple SSO Identity Providers are configured. When rendering, this template is given the following variables:
    • redirect_url: the URL that the user will be redirected to after login.
    • server_name: the homeserver's name.
    • providers: a list of available Identity Providers. Each element is an object with the following attributes:
      • idp_id: unique identifier for the IdP
      • idp_name: user-facing name for the IdP
      • idp_icon: if specified in the IdP config, an MXC URI for an icon for the IdP
      • idp_brand: if specified in the IdP config, a textual identifier for the brand of the IdP The rendered HTML page should contain a form which submits its results back as a GET request, with the following query parameters:
    • redirectUrl: the client redirect URI (ie, the redirect_url passed to the template)
    • idp: the 'idp_id' of the chosen IDP.
  • sso_auth_account_details.html: HTML page to prompt new users to enter a userid and confirm other details. This is only shown if the SSO implementation (with any user_mapping_provider) does not return a localpart. When rendering, this template is given the following variables:
    • server_name: the homeserver's name.
    • idp: details of the SSO Identity Provider that the user logged in with: an object with the following attributes:
      • idp_id: unique identifier for the IdP
      • idp_name: user-facing name for the IdP
      • idp_icon: if specified in the IdP config, an MXC URI for an icon for the IdP
      • idp_brand: if specified in the IdP config, a textual identifier for the brand of the IdP
    • user_attributes: an object containing details about the user that we received from the IdP. May have the following attributes:
      • display_name: the user's display name
      • emails: a list of email addresses
      • localpart: the local part of the Matrix user ID to register, if localpart_template is set in the mapping provider configuration (empty string if not) The template should render a form which submits the following fields:
    • username: the localpart of the user's chosen user id
  • sso_new_user_consent.html: HTML page allowing the user to consent to the server's terms and conditions. This is only shown for new users, and only if user_consent.require_at_registration is set. When rendering, this template is given the following variables:
    • server_name: the homeserver's name.
    • user_id: the user's matrix proposed ID.
    • user_profile.display_name: the user's proposed display name, if any.
    • consent_version: the version of the terms that the user will be shown
    • terms_url: a link to the page showing the terms. The template should render a form which submits the following fields:
    • accepted_version: the version of the terms accepted by the user (ie, 'consent_version' from the input variables).
  • sso_redirect_confirm.html: HTML page for a confirmation step before redirecting back to the client with the login token. When rendering, this template is given the following variables:
    • redirect_url: the URL the user is about to be redirected to.
    • display_url: the same as redirect_url, but with the query parameters stripped. The intention is to have a human-readable URL to show to users, not to use it as the final address to redirect to.
    • server_name: the homeserver's name.
    • new_user: a boolean indicating whether this is the user's first time logging in.
    • user_id: the user's matrix ID.
    • user_profile.avatar_url: an MXC URI for the user's avatar, if any. None if the user has not set an avatar.
    • user_profile.display_name: the user's display name. None if the user has not set a display name.
  • sso_auth_confirm.html: HTML page which notifies the user that they are authenticating to confirm an operation on their account during the user interactive authentication process. When rendering, this template is given the following variables:
    • redirect_url: the URL the user is about to be redirected to.
    • description: the operation which the user is being asked to confirm
    • idp: details of the Identity Provider that we will use to confirm the user's identity: an object with the following attributes:
      • idp_id: unique identifier for the IdP
      • idp_name: user-facing name for the IdP
      • idp_icon: if specified in the IdP config, an MXC URI for an icon for the IdP
      • idp_brand: if specified in the IdP config, a textual identifier for the brand of the IdP
  • sso_auth_success.html: HTML page shown after a successful user interactive authentication session. Note that this page must include the JavaScript which notifies of a successful authentication (see https://matrix.org/docs/spec/client_server/r0.6.0#fallback). This template has no additional variables.
  • sso_auth_bad_user.html: HTML page shown after a user-interactive authentication session which does not map correctly onto the expected user. When rendering, this template is given the following variables:
    • server_name: the homeserver's name.
    • user_id_to_verify: the MXID of the user that we are trying to validate.
  • sso_account_deactivated.html: HTML page shown during single sign-on if a deactivated user (according to Synapse's database) attempts to login. This template has no additional variables.
  • sso_error.html: HTML page to display to users if something goes wrong during the OpenID Connect authentication process. When rendering, this template is given two variables:
    • error: the technical name of the error
    • error_description: a human-readable message for the error