Thunderbird Matrix Chat FAQ

How can I connect a Matrix account that uses Single Sign On (SSO) in Thunderbird?

Add your Matrix account with SSO as follows: ≡ > New Account > Chat > select Matrix > Next

• For "Username", enter your username e.g. For "Server", enter the primary domain of your SSO account. For example, if your account is: "@awesomeaccount:matrix.org", enter awesomeaccount in the "Username" field and matrix.org in the "Server" field. Click Next.
• Since you are using an SSO account, there is no need to enter a password i.e. please leave the "Password" field empty. Click Next.
• For most people, you can simply click Next; there is no need to change the "Advanced options".
• On the "Summary" page, ensure the checkbox for "Connect this account now" is ticked and click Finish.
• Thunderbird will now open a separate page to ask for the credentials of your SSO account, which you should complete as usual.

When done, Thunderbird will start requesting the chat rooms from your account. This is a slow process, please allow time, your rooms should appear one after another on the left side of that chat window.

Why do some Matrix rooms remain empty, why others show old messages?

Thunderbird does not support dynamic back scroll, which means most old messages from previous sessions will not be shown. Only your unread messages are shown on initial connection, and all messages that are sent to rooms later on. However, sometimes it is ambiguous which messages are still unread, and this can cause some old messages to be shown.

Why are images not shown?

At this time, only text messages are supported.