Third party rules callbacks

Third party rules callbacks allow module developers to add extra checks to verify the validity of incoming events. Third party event rules callbacks can be registered using the module API's register_third_party_rules_callbacks method.

Callbacks

The available third party rules callbacks are:

`check_event_allowed`

First introduced in Synapse v1.39.0

async def check_event_allowed(
    event: "synapse.events.EventBase",
    state_events: "synapse.types.StateMap",
) -> Tuple[bool, Optional[dict]]

This callback is very experimental and can and will break without notice. Module developers are encouraged to implement check_event_for_spam from the spam checker category instead.

Called when processing any incoming event, with the event and a StateMap representing the current state of the room the event is being sent into. A StateMap is a dictionary that maps tuples containing an event type and a state key to the corresponding state event. For example retrieving the room's m.room.create event from the state_events argument would look like this: state_events.get(("m.room.create", "")). The module must return a boolean indicating whether the event can be allowed.

Note that this callback function processes incoming events coming via federation traffic (on top of client traffic). This means denying an event might cause the local copy of the room's history to diverge from that of remote servers. This may cause federation issues in the room. It is strongly recommended to only deny events using this callback function if the sender is a local user, or in a private federation in which all servers are using the same module, with the same configuration.

If the boolean returned by the module is True, it may also tell Synapse to replace the event with new data by returning the new event's data as a dictionary. In order to do that, it is recommended the module calls event.get_dict() to get the current event as a dictionary, and modify the returned dictionary accordingly.

If check_event_allowed raises an exception, the module is assumed to have failed. The event will not be accepted but is not treated as explicitly rejected, either. An HTTP request causing the module check will likely result in a 500 Internal Server Error.

When the boolean returned by the module is False, the event is rejected. (Module developers should not use exceptions for rejection.)

Note that replacing the event only works for events sent by local users, not for events received over federation.

If multiple modules implement this callback, they will be considered in order. If a callback returns True, Synapse falls through to the next one. The value of the first callback that does not return True will be used. If this happens, Synapse will not call any of the subsequent implementations of this callback.

`on_create_room`

First introduced in Synapse v1.39.0

async def on_create_room(
    requester: "synapse.types.Requester",
    request_content: dict,
    is_requester_admin: bool,
) -> None

Called when processing a room creation request, with the Requester object for the user performing the request, a dictionary representing the room creation request's JSON body (see the spec for a list of possible parameters), and a boolean indicating whether the user performing the request is a server admin.

Modules can modify the request_content (by e.g. adding events to its initial_state), or deny the room's creation by raising a module_api.errors.SynapseError.

If multiple modules implement this callback, they will be considered in order. If a callback returns without raising an exception, Synapse falls through to the next one. The room creation will be forbidden as soon as one of the callbacks raises an exception. If this happens, Synapse will not call any of the subsequent implementations of this callback.

`check_threepid_can_be_invited`

First introduced in Synapse v1.39.0

async def check_threepid_can_be_invited(
    medium: str,
    address: str,
    state_events: "synapse.types.StateMap",
) -> bool:

Called when processing an invite via a third-party identifier (i.e. email or phone number). The module must return a boolean indicating whether the invite can go through.

`check_visibility_can_be_modified`

First introduced in Synapse v1.39.0

async def check_visibility_can_be_modified(
    room_id: str,
    state_events: "synapse.types.StateMap",
    new_visibility: str,
) -> bool:

Called when changing the visibility of a room in the local public room directory. The visibility is a string that's either "public" or "private". The module must return a boolean indicating whether the change can go through.

`on_new_event`

First introduced in Synapse v1.47.0

async def on_new_event(
    event: "synapse.events.EventBase",
    state_events: "synapse.types.StateMap",
) -> None:

Called after sending an event into a room. The module is passed the event, as well as the state of the room after the event. This means that if the event is a state event, it will be included in this state.

Note that this callback is called when the event has already been processed and stored into the room, which means this callback cannot be used to deny persisting the event. To deny an incoming event, see check_event_for_spam instead.

For any given event, this callback will be called on every worker process, even if that worker will not end up acting on that event. This callback will not be called for events that are marked as rejected.

If multiple modules implement this callback, Synapse runs them all in order.

`check_can_shutdown_room`

First introduced in Synapse v1.55.0

async def check_can_shutdown_room(
    user_id: str, room_id: str,
) -> bool:

Called when an admin user requests the shutdown of a room. The module must return a boolean indicating whether the shutdown can go through. If the callback returns False, the shutdown will not proceed and the caller will see a M_FORBIDDEN error.

`check_can_deactivate_user`

First introduced in Synapse v1.55.0

async def check_can_deactivate_user(
    user_id: str, by_admin: bool,
) -> bool:

Called when the deactivation of a user is requested. User deactivation can be performed by an admin or the user themselves, so developers are encouraged to check the requester when implementing this callback. The module must return a boolean indicating whether the deactivation can go through. If the callback returns False, the deactivation will not proceed and the caller will see a M_FORBIDDEN error.

The module is passed two parameters, user_id which is the ID of the user being deactivated, and by_admin which is True if the request is made by a serve admin, and False otherwise.

`on_profile_update`

First introduced in Synapse v1.54.0

async def on_profile_update(
    user_id: str,
    new_profile: "synapse.module_api.ProfileInfo",
    by_admin: bool,
    deactivation: bool,
) -> None:

Called after updating a local user's profile. The update can be triggered either by the user themselves or a server admin. The update can also be triggered by a user being deactivated (in which case their display name is set to an empty string ("") and the avatar URL is set to None). The module is passed the Matrix ID of the user whose profile has been updated, their new profile, as well as a by_admin boolean that is True if the update was triggered by a server admin (and False otherwise), and a deactivated boolean that is True if the update is a result of the user being deactivated.

Note that the by_admin boolean is also True if the profile change happens as a result of the user logging in through Single Sign-On, or if a server admin updates their own profile.

Per-room profile changes do not trigger this callback to be called. Synapse administrators wishing this callback to be called on every profile change are encouraged to disable per-room profiles globally using the allow_per_room_profiles configuration setting in Synapse's configuration file. This callback is not called when registering a user, even when setting it through the get_displayname_for_registration module callback.

If multiple modules implement this callback, Synapse runs them all in order.

`on_user_deactivation_status_changed`

First introduced in Synapse v1.54.0

async def on_user_deactivation_status_changed(
    user_id: str, deactivated: bool, by_admin: bool
) -> None:

Called after deactivating a local user, or reactivating them through the admin API. The deactivation can be triggered either by the user themselves or a server admin. The module is passed the Matrix ID of the user whose status is changed, as well as a deactivated boolean that is True if the user is being deactivated and False if they're being reactivated, and a by_admin boolean that is True if the deactivation was triggered by a server admin (and False otherwise). This latter by_admin boolean is always True if the user is being reactivated, as this operation can only be performed through the admin API.

If multiple modules implement this callback, Synapse runs them all in order.

`on_threepid_bind`

First introduced in Synapse v1.56.0

async def on_threepid_bind(user_id: str, medium: str, address: str) -> None:

Called after creating an association between a local user and a third-party identifier (email address, phone number). The module is given the Matrix ID of the user the association is for, as well as the medium (email or msisdn) and address of the third-party identifier.

Note that this callback is not called after a successful association on an identity server.

If multiple modules implement this callback, Synapse runs them all in order.

Example

The example below is a module that implements the third-party rules callback check_event_allowed to censor incoming messages as dictated by a third-party service.

from typing import Optional, Tuple

from synapse.module_api import ModuleApi

_DEFAULT_CENSOR_ENDPOINT = "https://my-internal-service.local/censor-event"

class EventCensorer:
    def __init__(self, config: dict, api: ModuleApi):
        self.api = api
        self._endpoint = config.get("endpoint", _DEFAULT_CENSOR_ENDPOINT)

        self.api.register_third_party_rules_callbacks(
            check_event_allowed=self.check_event_allowed,
        )

    async def check_event_allowed(
        self,
        event: "synapse.events.EventBase",
        state_events: "synapse.types.StateMap",
    ) -> Tuple[bool, Optional[dict]]:
        event_dict = event.get_dict()
        new_event_content = await self.api.http_client.post_json_get_json(
            uri=self._endpoint, post_json=event_dict,
        )
        event_dict["content"] = new_event_content
        return event_dict