Run with the dashboard

In the unpacked folder:

./uniform-chat-server

When started from a terminal, the server opens its dashboard and serves at http://localhost:8008:

┌Matrix server localhost───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ File  Server                                                                     │
│ Listening:  http://localhost:8008                                                │
│ Uptime:     0:12:31                                                              │
│ Requests:   1520 answered, 3 in progress, 2 failed                               │
│ Accounts:   4 users, 3 rooms                                                     │
│                                                                                  │
│ Data:       /home/alice/.local/share/uniform-chat-server                         │
│ Log:        /home/alice/.local/share/uniform-chat-server/logs/2026-10-26…        │
│                                                                                  │
│ F9 or Alt+F for the menu; Server → Users to create accounts. Ctrl+Q stops it.    │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
  • Listening shows the addresses clients connect to.
  • Requests counts client requests: answered, being answered now (syncing clients wait here for news), and failed with a server error.
  • Accounts counts users and rooms, every few seconds.
  • Data is the folder with the database and signing key; see Files.
  • Log is this session's log file.

The dashboard refreshes every second. The server keeps serving while menus and windows are open.

Key Action
F9 or Alt+F Open the File menu
File → Settings… View and change the server's settings
File → Logs… Read this session's log and earlier ones
Server → Users… Create users, reset passwords, give admin rights, deactivate accounts
Server → Rooms… See rooms and list them in the public room directory
Server → Reports… Review what users reported
Help → About The server's version, also in the window's title
Ctrl+Q or File → Quit Stop the server

Settings window

File → Settings lists every option with its current value, where the value comes from, and a description of the selected option.

  • Edit (or Enter) changes the selected option; options with fixed values offer a list.
  • Apply uses a change at once, until the server stops. Options marked ↻, such as the server name and the data folder, take effect only after a restart.
  • Save writes the changes to ~/.config/uniform-chat-server/settings.json, which is read at every start.
  • Reset undoes one step at a time: first an edit that is not applied, then an applied change that is not saved. Pressed again, it removes the option from the settings file on save, so the default applies again.
  • Edited options are marked *, applied but unsaved ones +. Values given on the command line override the settings file.
  • Registration tokens are secret: they are never shown in the window.

To open registration for a while, for example: select Server:Registration, choose Open and Apply. New users can register at once. Set it back to Disabled and Apply when they are done. Nothing is saved unless you choose Save.

Users window

Server → Users lists every account with its display name, logged-in devices, joined rooms, and whether it is an admin, suspended, locked or deactivated.

  • New asks for the user name, such as alice for @alice:localhost, the password twice, and whether the user is a server admin. Registration does not need to be open for this.
  • Password sets a new password for the selected user and logs out all their devices, for example when they forgot it.
  • Admin gives or takes server admin rights. Admins may delete any room alias and change any room's directory listing, and manage the server from a client; see Remote administration.
  • Suspend lets the user read and leave rooms, but not send, join, invite or upload; pressed again, it ends the suspension.
  • Lock makes the server refuse the user's devices until it is pressed again; the devices stay signed in.
  • Deactivate logs out every device of the user and stops them logging in; pressed again, it reactivates the account. Their rooms and messages stay.

Rooms window

Server → Rooms lists every room with its name, alias, joined members, and whether it is public (listed in the directory) or encrypted.

  • Publish lists the selected room in the public room directory, or removes it. Listing a room does not change who may join; that follows the room's own join rule.
  • Messages of encrypted rooms are encrypted on the members' devices, so the server cannot show or read them.

Reports window

Users can report a message, a room or another user from their client. Server → Reports lists the open reports, newest first, with who reported, what about and why; the dashboard shows how many are open.

  • The details below the list show the whole reason, and the reported message's text when the server has it. Messages of encrypted rooms cannot be read by the server.
  • Resolve marks the selected report as dealt with, so it leaves the list; pressed on a resolved report, it opens it again.
  • Show resolved shows or hides the resolved reports.
  • Delete removes a report for good, after confirmation.

Managing a running server

The dashboard also opens on a server that already runs, e.g. as a service, without stopping it: sudo uniform-chat-server manage. It shows the same windows, with the settings applied and saved by the running server itself; Ctrl+Q closes only the manager. See Run without the dashboard and Remote administration.

Logs window

File → Logs shows the log of this session, and lets you open earlier sessions. Each start writes its own file in logs under the data folder. The newest 20 are kept. Changes made in the Users and Rooms windows are logged, such as Admin created user @alice:localhost, so the log also shows what was done; passwords never appear in it.