166 lines
7.6 KiB
Markdown
166 lines
7.6 KiB
Markdown
[](https://matrix.to/#/#fractal:gnome.org)
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[](https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/fractal/)
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[](https://gnome.pages.gitlab.gnome.org/fractal/)
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# Fractal
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Fractal is a Matrix messaging app for GNOME written in Rust. Its interface is optimized for
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collaboration in large groups, such as free software projects.
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## Work in Progress
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We already talked several times in the past about rewriting the application, but for different
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reasons we didn't do it. Now that the [matrix-rust-sdk](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-rust-sdk)
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exists, which does a lot of the heavy lifting for us, we have a good starting point to build Fractal
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without the need to implement every single feature from the Matrix API. Finally with the release of
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GTK4 we would need to rework most of Fractal's code anyways. Therefore, it just makes sense to start
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over and build Fractal with all the features (e.g end-to-end encryption) we have in mind.
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A year ago we started working on rewriting [Fractal](https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/fractal/) from
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scratch using [GTK4](https://www.gtk.org/) and the [matrix-rust-sdk](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-rust-sdk).
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This effort was called Fractal Next.
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Fractal Next now replaced our previous codebase, and has become the new nightly version. It isn't
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yet ready for a release and you can follow along our progress towards it by looking at the
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[Fractal v5 (Fractal-next)](https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/fractal/-/milestones/18) milestone.
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## Installation instructions
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### Stable version
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The current stable version is 4.4.0 (released August 2020).
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Flatpak is the recommended installation method.
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Until our next iteration is ready, you can get the official Fractal Flatpak on Flathub.
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<a href="https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.gnome.Fractal">
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<img
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src="https://flathub.org/assets/badges/flathub-badge-i-en.png"
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alt="Download Fractal on Flathub"
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width="240px"
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height="80px"
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/>
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</a>
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### Development version
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If you want to try Fractal Next without building it yourself, it is available as a nightly Flatpak
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in the gnome-nightly repo.
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First, setup the GNOME nightlies.
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<a href="https://nightly.gnome.org/gnome-nightly.flatpakrepo ">
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<img
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src="https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/fractal/uploads/447997cccc862eb27483b9c61b8a8a12/gnome-nightly.png"
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alt="Add gnome-nightly repository"
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width="240px"
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height="80px"
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/>
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</a>
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Then install the application.
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<a href="https://nightly.gnome.org/repo/appstream/org.gnome.Fractal.Devel.flatpakref">
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<img
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src="https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/fractal/uploads/a688e9176e8e76d630993869c13a0222/download-fractal-nightly.png"
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alt="Download Fractal Nightly"
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width="240px"
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height="80px"
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/>
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</a>
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Or from the command line:
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```sh
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# Add the gnome-nightly repo
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flatpak remote-add --user --if-not-exists gnome-nightly https://nightly.gnome.org/gnome-nightly.flatpakrepo
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# Install the nightly build
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flatpak install --user gnome-nightly org.gnome.Fractal.Devel
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```
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### Runtime Dependencies
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Fractal doesn’t store your **password**, but it stores your **access token** and the **passphrase**
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used to encrypt the database and the local cache.
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The stable Flatpak available on Flathub and any version that is not sandboxed rely on software that
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implements the [Secret Service API](https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specifications/secret-storage-spec/)
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to store those secrets. Therefore, you need to have software providing that service on your system,
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like gnome-keyring, KeepassXC ([setup guide](https://avaldes.co/2020/01/28/secret-service-keepassxc.html)),
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or a recent version of KWallet. If you are using GNOME this should just work.
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With the nightly Flatpak, Fractal uses the [Secret portal](https://docs.flatpak.org/en/latest/portal-api-reference.html#gdbus-org.freedesktop.portal.Secret)
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to store those secrets. Once again, if you are using GNOME this should just work. If you are using a
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different desktop environment or are facing issues, make sure `xdg-desktop-portal` is installed
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along with a service that provides the [Secret portal backend interface](https://docs.flatpak.org/en/latest/portal-api-reference.html#gdbus-org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Secret),
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which is currently only implemented by gnome-keyring.
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If you prefer to use other software that only implements the Secret Service API while using the
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nightly Flatpak, you need to make sure that no service implementing the Secret portal backend
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interface is running, and you need to allow Fractal to access the D-Bus service with this command:
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```sh
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flatpak override --user --talk-name=org.freedesktop.secrets org.gnome.Fractal.Devel
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```
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Or with [Flatseal](https://flathub.org/apps/details/com.github.tchx84.Flatseal), by adding
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`org.freedesktop.secrets` in the **Session Bus** > **Talk** list of Fractal.
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## Security Best Practices
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You should use a strong **password** that is hard to guess to protect the secrets stored on your
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device, whether the password is used directly to unlock your secrets (with a password manager for
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example) or if it is used to open your user session and your secrets are unlocked automatically
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(which is normally the case with a GNOME session).
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Furthermore, make sure to lock your system when stepping away from the computer since an unlocked
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computer can allow other people to access your private communications and your secrets.
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## Contributing
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### Code
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Please follow our [contributing guidelines](CONTRIBUTING.md).
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### Translations
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Fractal is translated by the GNOME translation team on [Damned lies](https://l10n.gnome.org/).
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Find your language in the list on [the Fractal module page on Damned lies](https://l10n.gnome.org/module/fractal/).
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The names of the emoji displayed during verification come from [the Matrix specification repository](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-spec/tree/main/data-definitions).
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They are translated on [Element’s translation platform](https://translate.element.io/projects/matrix-doc/sas-emoji-v1).
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## Frequently Asked Questions
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* Does Fractal have encryption support? Will it ever?
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Yes, the current development version (`main` branch) has encryption support using Cross-Signing. See
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<https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/fractal/-/issues/717> for more info on the state of encryption.
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* Can I run Fractal with the window closed?
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Currently Fractal does not support this. Fractal is a GNOME application, and accordingly adheres to
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the GNOME guidelines and paradigms. This will be revisited if or when GNOME gets a proper paradigm
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to interact with apps running in the background.
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## The origin of Fractal
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The development version is a complete rewrite of Fractal built on top of the
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[matrix-rust-sdk](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-rust-sdk) using [GTK4](https://gtk.org/).
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The previous version of Fractal was using GTK3 and its own backend to talk to a matrix homeserver,
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the code can be found in the [`legacy` branch](https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/fractal/-/tree/legacy).
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Initial versions were based on Fest <https://github.com/fest-im/fest>, formerly called ruma-gtk.
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In the origins of the project it was called guillotine, based on French revolution, in relation with
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the Riot client name, but it's a negative name so we decide to change for a math one.
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The name Fractal was proposed by Regina Bíró.
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## Code of Conduct
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Fractal follows the official GNOME Foundation code of conduct. You can read it [here](/code-of-conduct.md).
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