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Approximately 40 days after the first announcement, we are pleased to officially launch Helmholtz Matrix [m]. With the integration of Matrix, the Helmholtz Cloud now offers a total of 42 cloud services. And as we all know, 42 is not only the answer to the ultimate question of everything, but from today onwards, it is also the answer to the question of a modern collaboration platform for our centers.
What is Matrix?
Matrix is not an ordinary chat service. It is an open, decentralized protocol for real-time communication. This means for all users:
- Security: Default end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for your messages and files.
- Sovereignty: Data sovereignty remains with Helmholtz and the users.
- Interoperability: As a decentralized protocol, Matrix allows you to communicate with users from other institutions.
Who Can Use the Service?
Access is designed to be as simple as possible. All employees of the Helmholtz centers as well as the head office can participate:
- Employees of KIT or CISPA: Please use the institutional Matrix servers.
- Employees of DLR: Please wait for the implementation of the DLR Matrix Server (see internal channel for further information).
- Employees of HZB: Please wait for the internal HZB announcement; IT is currently setting up the HZB Space. Have a look at the new HZB Matrix page.
- Employees of GFZ: Please wait for the implementation of the GFZ Matrix Server (refer to internal communication).
All others Helmholtz employees: Log in directly with the usual account via Helmholtz ID at https://matrix.helmholtz.cloud.
If you are an external partner, you can participate in communication as follows:
- If you already have an institutional Matrix ID, please use it instead (e.g., Academic Cloud from GWDG, TU Dresden, …)
- If you are neither a Helmholtz employee nor do you have an external Matrix ID, you can use a public Matrix provider to participate:
- German academic users may consider Academic Cloud Chat.
- The Matrix.org Foundation offers the matrix.org homeserver. Other public homeservers also exist.
- Alternatively, you can ask your Helmholtz contact to invite you to a group (Virtual Organisation).
After Fresh Login: Save Your Recovery Key at Once!
- Follow the steps described here.
- You will likely lose chats if you don’t.
Your New Identity in Chat
To ensure uniqueness across all centers, your Matrix ID (MXID) follows a specific pattern:
@<preferred_username>-<xxxxx>:helmholtz.cloud
The format consists of your preferred username defined in Helmholtz ID, a 5-character suffix to avoid name collisions, and the suffix -guest for external users. Share this ID with other users so they can invite or contact you. You can use https://to.matrix.helmholtz.cloud for that.
Do I Need to Migrate from Mattermost Now?
Migration can be done in the coming months and is not mandatory at this point. Mattermost will no longer be available as a Helmholtz Cloud service starting mid-July. As of mid-May, an export tool will be available to archive Mattermost channels and teams.
Read more about why we have to leave Mattermost here: Helmholtz Mattermost Chat: Upcoming Changes and Helmholtz Chat: Upcoming Changes - Part II
Where Can I Get Support and Provide Feedback?
- 📝 Documentation is available here..
- 🌎 Join the Helmholtz Matrix Community.
- 📩 We welcome structured feedback in this GitLab project. Please do not share any personal data there.
- 🛠️ For technical support, please contact: support@hifis.net
- 🎥 Visit our Matrix Open Hour every Friday at 10:00 AM (Video conference, Meeting ID: 620 6808 2608, Code: 030485)
Changelog
- 2026-03-31: Slight reformatting, added infos on DLR, HZB, GFZ. Added hint on recovery key.
