# Help

## [Frequently Asked Questions](https://etke.cc/help/faq/)

Common questions from new homeserver owners, answered.

Wondering what Matrix Federation is, whether it’s safe, or why you shouldn’t disable it? We have a [whole page on it](https://etke.cc/help/federation/).

## [Clients](https://etke.cc/help/clients/)

Which Matrix client should you actually use? Our picks for desktop, web, and phone.

## Additional Components

Matrix has a whole ecosystem of optional components. Here’s where to find them:

- [Bridges](https://etke.cc/help/bridges/): connect Matrix to other chat networks.
- [Bots](https://etke.cc/help/bots/): bots you can run on your server.
- [Extra Services](https://etke.cc/help/extras/): extra services we can install alongside Matrix.

### [Ketesa](https://etke.cc/help/extras/ketesa/) (formerly Synapse Admin) [made by etke.cc](https://etke.cc/made-by/ "made by etke.cc") 

Ketesa is a web-based tool for administering your Matrix homeserver. With it, you can manage user accounts, delete media, and clear chat history to reclaim disk space. As an etke.cc customer you also get exclusive features such as server status monitoring, server notifications, in-app billing, and support. Find detailed how-to instructions for using Ketesa on this page.

## Guides

A handful of guides for getting around your server:

### [Payments](https://etke.cc/help/payments/)

Get help with anything related to subscription management (Ko-fi) and payment processing (PayPal, Stripe).

### [`.well-known` redirects](https://etke.cc/help/well-known-redirects/)

How to configure `.well-known` redirects, with examples for the common web servers and platforms.

### [Restoring Backups](https://etke.cc/help/backups/)

Restoring your server from BorgBackup or local Postgres backups, whether you need one file or the whole snapshot.

### [VPS to VPS Migration](https://etke.cc/help/vps-migration/)

Moving your Matrix server from one VPS to another: DNS, SSH, the data itself, and the cleanup after.

### [Linux Distribution Upgrade](https://etke.cc/help/distro-upgrade/)

Upgrading your server’s host OS from one major version to the next: the prep, the upgrade itself, and what to check afterward.

### [Moderation](https://etke.cc/help/moderation/)

Keeping your server safe and welcoming: why moderation matters, what to watch for, and the tools that help.

## Still stuck?

If nothing on these pages sorts it out, [contact us](https://etke.cc/contacts/).


## [.well-known redirects](https://etke.cc/help/well-known-redirects/)

## Overview

Proper `.well-known` setup is a prerequisite for installing a Matrix server. It is required not only for Matrix clients and servers, but also for the [server admin panel](https://etke.cc/help/extras/ketesa/), [in-app calls](https://etke.cc/help/extras/matrix-rtc/), and other features.

You can either point your apex/base domain to the Matrix server IP address, or set up a few redirects on your apex/base domain.

This page covers the second option, as it keeps usernames clean (without the `matrix.` prefix) while leaving your base domain available for other uses, such as hosting a website.

## [Linux Distribution Upgrade](https://etke.cc/help/distro-upgrade/)

Need to bump your server’s host OS to a new major version? We can handle the whole upgrade for you for a one-time fee, start to finish. Or, if you’d rather do it yourself at no extra cost, here’s how.

## Ubuntu

Please use **LTS** (Long Term Support) versions of Ubuntu only. We recommend using the [latest LTS version](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases#List_of_releases) available at the time of installation.

### 1. Take a backup

**Hosting customers**: Daily backup (snapshot) is taken automatically every day, the backups are retained for 7 days, you don’t need to do anything.

## [Matrix Federation](https://etke.cc/help/federation/)

Federation is what lets Matrix users on different servers talk to each other, and it’s core to how the whole protocol works. This page explains what it is, how it works, and why you should leave it on.

## TL;DR

- **Is it secure?** Yes ✅
- **Is it safe?** Yes ✅
- **Will any information be leaked?** No
- **Will any random person be able to join my rooms?** No
- **Should I disable it?** No
- **What happens if I disable it?** ⚠️ You will not be able to access to many essential features, such as:
  
  - [Matrix RTC calls](https://etke.cc/help/extras/matrix-rtc/) (In-App Calls for Matrix Clients)
  - [dedicated etke.cc support](https://etke.cc/services/support/#dedicated) (priority support)
  - [the self-service bot](https://etke.cc/help/extras/scheduler/)
  - [community moderation policies](https://etke.cc/help/bots/draupnir/#policies) (shared moderation efforts)
  - sticker picker
  - integration manager
  - and *many other functionalities*
- **Can I disable it anyway?** Yes, but it is not recommended.
- **I am scared of federation. Should I be?** No

*We hope this clarifies any confusion about Matrix Federation.*

## [Matrix Homeserver Moderation](https://etke.cc/help/moderation/)

We run managed Matrix servers, but we don’t own or control them, and that’s the whole point. We handle the technical side (installation, updates, backups, monitoring), your data stays yours, and we never touch what happens inside your homeserver.

The flip side of that freedom: moderation is **your** job as the owner. This guide walks through why it matters, what to watch for, which tools actually work, and where to find people who’ve been through it.

## [Payments](https://etke.cc/help/payments/)

etke.cc uses the [Ko-Fi](https://etke.cc/ko-fi) payment and subscription management platform, which itself uses [PayPal](https://www.paypal.com/) and [Stripe](https://stripe.com/) for payment processing. At the moment, we don’t support any other subscription or payment options.

Ko-Fi works well, but a few corners of it aren’t exactly obvious. So here’s how to handle the common payment scenarios, step by step.

## How to Become a Subscriber

To access etke.cc’s services and manage your subscription later (to [update its price](#how-to-update-your-subscription-price), to [fix it if payments are failing](#how-to-fix-a-failing-subscription), or to [cancel it](#how-to-cancel-your-subscription)), you’ll need to set up a subscription with recurring payments on Ko-Fi. For this reason:

## [Removed Components](https://etke.cc/help/removed-components/)

**You were likely redirected here from a removed or deprecated page. You may wish to check our full list of [bridges](https://etke.cc/help/bridges/), [bots](https://etke.cc/help/bots/), or [extra services](https://etke.cc/help/extras/) for the latest information.**

It’s been a long time since we deprecated certain components and replaced them with better-working alternatives. Even though the old components were deprecated and considered unmaintained by us, some of our customers continued using them for a long time.

Even after marking these components unmaintained, we kept putting effort into supporting them, trying to fix the problems our customers ran into. In the end, such components still misbehaved once in a while and we couldn’t always make them fully work. If a component is unmaintained by its developers, we cannot help maintaining it ourselves because eventually it becomes incompatible with modern APIs, and there is nobody to fix the component’s code and make it compatible again.

## [Restoring servers from backups](https://etke.cc/help/backups/)

Servers die. A disk gives out, an update goes sideways, and suddenly the only thing between you and a very bad day is a backup. Good news: you’ve got them. Here’s how to bring one back.

Honestly, the easiest path is to [contact us](https://etke.cc/contacts/) and let us do the restore. Pulling servers back from the brink is sort of our whole thing. But if you’d rather get your hands dirty, read on: we’ll walk you through it and flag the spots where it bites. And if you’re [on one of our hosting plans](https://etke.cc/services/hosting/), you’re already covered: daily full-server snapshots, kept for 7 days, nothing for you to set up.

## [VPS to VPS migration](https://etke.cc/help/vps-migration/)

Need to move your Matrix server from one box to another? We can handle the whole migration for you for a one-time fee: setting up the new server, transferring the data, and making sure everything comes back up. Or, if you’d rather do it yourself at no extra cost, here’s how.

> **Important:** This applies only to Matrix servers with custom domains. It covers migrations between cloud hosting and on-premises servers (in either direction), as well as between on-premises servers, but not migrations between two cloud-hosted servers.


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* [llms.txt](https://etke.cc/llms.txt): full site index in markdown