Support for serving server well-known files (#11211)

Fixes https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/8308

changelog.d/11211.feature

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Add support for serving `/.well-known/matrix/server` files, to redirect federation traffic to port 443.

docs/delegate.md

@@ -1,4 +1,8 @@
-# Delegation
+# Delegation of incoming federation traffic
+
+In the following documentation, we use the term `server_name` to refer to that setting
+in your homeserver configuration file. It appears at the ends of user ids, and tells
+other homeservers where they can find your server.
 
 By default, other homeservers will expect to be able to reach yours via
 your `server_name`, on port 8448. For example, if you set your `server_name`
@@ -12,13 +16,21 @@ to a different server and/or port (e.g. `synapse.example.com:443`).
 
 ## .well-known delegation
 
-To use this method, you need to be able to alter the
-`server_name` 's https server to serve the `/.well-known/matrix/server`
-URL. Having an active server (with a valid TLS certificate) serving your
-`server_name` domain is out of the scope of this documentation.
+To use this method, you need to be able to configure the server at
+`https://<server_name>` to serve a file at
+`https://<server_name>/.well-known/matrix/server`.  There are two ways to do this, shown below.
 
-The URL `https://<server_name>/.well-known/matrix/server` should
-return a JSON structure containing the key `m.server` like so:
+Note that the `.well-known` file is hosted on the default port for `https` (port 443).
+
+### External server
+
+For maximum flexibility, you need to configure an external server such as nginx, Apache
+or HAProxy to serve the `https://<server_name>/.well-known/matrix/server` file. Setting
+up such a server is out of the scope of this documentation, but note that it is often
+possible to configure your [reverse proxy](reverse_proxy.md) for this.
+
+The URL `https://<server_name>/.well-known/matrix/server` should be configured
+return a JSON structure containing the key `m.server` like this:
 
 ```json
 {
@@ -26,8 +38,9 @@ return a JSON structure containing the key `m.server` like so:
 }
 ```
 
-In our example, this would mean that URL `https://example.com/.well-known/matrix/server`
-should return:
+In our example (where we want federation traffic to be routed to
+`https://synapse.example.com`, on port 443), this would mean that
+`https://example.com/.well-known/matrix/server` should return:
 
 ```json
 {
@@ -38,16 +51,29 @@ should return:
 Note, specifying a port is optional. If no port is specified, then it defaults
 to 8448.
 
-With .well-known delegation, federating servers will check for a valid TLS
-certificate for the delegated hostname (in our example: `synapse.example.com`).
+### Serving a `.well-known/matrix/server` file with Synapse
+
+If you are able to set up your domain so that `https://<server_name>` is routed to
+Synapse (i.e., the only change needed is to direct federation traffic to port 443
+instead of port 8448), then it is possible to configure Synapse to serve a suitable
+`.well-known/matrix/server` file. To do so, add the following to your `homeserver.yaml`
+file:
+
+```yaml
+serve_server_wellknown: true
+```
+
+**Note**: this *only* works if `https://<server_name>` is routed to Synapse, so is
+generally not suitable if Synapse is hosted at a subdomain such as
+`https://synapse.example.com`.
 
 ## SRV DNS record delegation
 
-It is also possible to do delegation using a SRV DNS record. However, that is
-considered an advanced topic since it's a bit complex to set up, and `.well-known`
-delegation is already enough in most cases.
+It is also possible to do delegation using a SRV DNS record. However, that is generally
+not recommended, as it can be difficult to configure the TLS certificates correctly in
+this case, and it offers little advantage over `.well-known` delegation.
 
-However, if you really need it, you can find some documentation on how such a
+However, if you really need it, you can find some documentation on what such a
 record should look like and how Synapse will use it in [the Matrix
 specification](https://matrix.org/docs/spec/server_server/latest#resolving-server-names).
 
@@ -68,27 +94,9 @@ wouldn't need any delegation set up.
 domain `server_name` points to, you will need to let other servers know how to
 find it using delegation.
 
-### Do you still recommend against using a reverse proxy on the federation port?
+### Should I use a reverse proxy for federation traffic?
 
-We no longer actively recommend against using a reverse proxy. Many admins will
-find it easier to direct federation traffic to a reverse proxy and manage their
-own TLS certificates, and this is a supported configuration.
-
-See [the reverse proxy documentation](reverse_proxy.md) for information on setting up a
+Generally, using a reverse proxy for both the federation and client traffic is a good
+idea, since it saves handling TLS traffic in Synapse. See
+[the reverse proxy documentation](reverse_proxy.md) for information on setting up a
 reverse proxy.
-
-### Do I still need to give my TLS certificates to Synapse if I am using a reverse proxy?
-
-This is no longer necessary. If you are using a reverse proxy for all of your
-TLS traffic, then you can set `no_tls: True` in the Synapse config.
-
-In that case, the only reason Synapse needs the certificate is to populate a legacy
-`tls_fingerprints` field in the federation API. This is ignored by Synapse 0.99.0
-and later, and the only time pre-0.99 Synapses will check it is when attempting to
-fetch the server keys - and generally this is delegated via `matrix.org`, which
-is running a modern version of Synapse.
-
-### Do I need the same certificate for the client and federation port?
-
-No. There is nothing stopping you from using different certificates,
-particularly if you are using a reverse proxy.

docs/sample_config.yaml

@@ -93,6 +93,24 @@ pid_file: DATADIR/homeserver.pid
 #
 #public_baseurl: https://example.com/
 
+# Uncomment the following to tell other servers to send federation traffic on
+# port 443.
+#
+# By default, other servers will try to reach our server on port 8448, which can
+# be inconvenient in some environments.
+#
+# Provided 'https://<server_name>/' on port 443 is routed to Synapse, this
+# option configures Synapse to serve a file at
+# 'https://<server_name>/.well-known/matrix/server'. This will tell other
+# servers to send traffic to port 443 instead.
+#
+# See https://matrix-org.github.io/synapse/latest/delegate.html for more
+# information.
+#
+# Defaults to 'false'.
+#
+#serve_server_wellknown: true
+
 # Set the soft limit on the number of file descriptors synapse can use
 # Zero is used to indicate synapse should set the soft limit to the
 # hard limit.

synapse/app/generic_worker.py

@@ -100,6 +100,7 @@ from synapse.rest.client.register import (
 from synapse.rest.health import HealthResource
 from synapse.rest.key.v2 import KeyApiV2Resource
 from synapse.rest.synapse.client import build_synapse_client_resource_tree
+from synapse.rest.well_known import well_known_resource
 from synapse.server import HomeServer
 from synapse.storage.databases.main.censor_events import CensorEventsStore
 from synapse.storage.databases.main.client_ips import ClientIpWorkerStore
@@ -318,6 +319,8 @@ class GenericWorkerServer(HomeServer):
                     resources.update({CLIENT_API_PREFIX: resource})
 
                     resources.update(build_synapse_client_resource_tree(self))
+                    resources.update({"/.well-known": well_known_resource(self)})
+
                 elif name == "federation":
                     resources.update({FEDERATION_PREFIX: TransportLayerServer(self)})
                 elif name == "media":

synapse/app/homeserver.py

@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ from synapse.rest.admin import AdminRestResource
 from synapse.rest.health import HealthResource
 from synapse.rest.key.v2 import KeyApiV2Resource
 from synapse.rest.synapse.client import build_synapse_client_resource_tree
-from synapse.rest.well_known import WellKnownResource
+from synapse.rest.well_known import well_known_resource
 from synapse.server import HomeServer
 from synapse.storage import DataStore
 from synapse.util.httpresourcetree import create_resource_tree
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ class SynapseHomeServer(HomeServer):
                     "/_matrix/client/unstable": client_resource,
                     "/_matrix/client/v2_alpha": client_resource,
                     "/_matrix/client/versions": client_resource,
-                    "/.well-known/matrix/client": WellKnownResource(self),
+                    "/.well-known": well_known_resource(self),
                     "/_synapse/admin": AdminRestResource(self),
                     **build_synapse_client_resource_tree(self),
                 }

synapse/config/server.py

@@ -262,6 +262,7 @@ class ServerConfig(Config):
         self.print_pidfile = config.get("print_pidfile")
         self.user_agent_suffix = config.get("user_agent_suffix")
         self.use_frozen_dicts = config.get("use_frozen_dicts", False)
+        self.serve_server_wellknown = config.get("serve_server_wellknown", False)
 
         self.public_baseurl = config.get("public_baseurl")
         if self.public_baseurl is not None:
@@ -774,6 +775,24 @@ class ServerConfig(Config):
         #
         #public_baseurl: https://example.com/
 
+        # Uncomment the following to tell other servers to send federation traffic on
+        # port 443.
+        #
+        # By default, other servers will try to reach our server on port 8448, which can
+        # be inconvenient in some environments.
+        #
+        # Provided 'https://<server_name>/' on port 443 is routed to Synapse, this
+        # option configures Synapse to serve a file at
+        # 'https://<server_name>/.well-known/matrix/server'. This will tell other
+        # servers to send traffic to port 443 instead.
+        #
+        # See https://matrix-org.github.io/synapse/latest/delegate.html for more
+        # information.
+        #
+        # Defaults to 'false'.
+        #
+        #serve_server_wellknown: true
+
         # Set the soft limit on the number of file descriptors synapse can use
         # Zero is used to indicate synapse should set the soft limit to the
         # hard limit.

synapse/rest/well_known.py

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ from twisted.web.server import Request
 from synapse.http.server import set_cors_headers
 from synapse.types import JsonDict
 from synapse.util import json_encoder
+from synapse.util.stringutils import parse_server_name
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from synapse.server import HomeServer
@@ -47,8 +48,8 @@ class WellKnownBuilder:
         return result
 
 
-class WellKnownResource(Resource):
-    """A Twisted web resource which renders the .well-known file"""
+class ClientWellKnownResource(Resource):
+    """A Twisted web resource which renders the .well-known/matrix/client file"""
 
     isLeaf = 1
 
@@ -67,3 +68,45 @@ class WellKnownResource(Resource):
         logger.debug("returning: %s", r)
         request.setHeader(b"Content-Type", b"application/json")
         return json_encoder.encode(r).encode("utf-8")
+
+
+class ServerWellKnownResource(Resource):
+    """Resource for .well-known/matrix/server, redirecting to port 443"""
+
+    isLeaf = 1
+
+    def __init__(self, hs: "HomeServer"):
+        super().__init__()
+        self._serve_server_wellknown = hs.config.server.serve_server_wellknown
+
+        host, port = parse_server_name(hs.config.server.server_name)
+
+        # If we've got this far, then https://<server_name>/ must route to us, so
+        # we just redirect the traffic to port 443 instead of 8448.
+        if port is None:
+            port = 443
+
+        self._response = json_encoder.encode({"m.server": f"{host}:{port}"}).encode(
+            "utf-8"
+        )
+
+    def render_GET(self, request: Request) -> bytes:
+        if not self._serve_server_wellknown:
+            request.setResponseCode(404)
+            request.setHeader(b"Content-Type", b"text/plain")
+            return b"404. Is anything ever truly *well* known?\n"
+
+        request.setHeader(b"Content-Type", b"application/json")
+        return self._response
+
+
+def well_known_resource(hs: "HomeServer") -> Resource:
+    """Returns a Twisted web resource which handles '.well-known' requests"""
+    res = Resource()
+    matrix_resource = Resource()
+    res.putChild(b"matrix", matrix_resource)
+
+    matrix_resource.putChild(b"server", ServerWellKnownResource(hs))
+    matrix_resource.putChild(b"client", ClientWellKnownResource(hs))
+
+    return res

tests/rest/test_well_known.py

@@ -11,17 +11,19 @@
 # WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
+from twisted.web.resource import Resource
 
-
-from synapse.rest.well_known import WellKnownResource
+from synapse.rest.well_known import well_known_resource
 
 from tests import unittest
 
 
 class WellKnownTests(unittest.HomeserverTestCase):
     def create_test_resource(self):
-        # replace the JsonResource with a WellKnownResource
-        return WellKnownResource(self.hs)
+        # replace the JsonResource with a Resource wrapping the WellKnownResource
+        res = Resource()
+        res.putChild(b".well-known", well_known_resource(self.hs))
+        return res
 
     @unittest.override_config(
         {
@@ -29,7 +31,7 @@ class WellKnownTests(unittest.HomeserverTestCase):
             "default_identity_server": "https://testis",
         }
     )
-    def test_well_known(self):
+    def test_client_well_known(self):
         channel = self.make_request(
             "GET", "/.well-known/matrix/client", shorthand=False
         )
@@ -48,9 +50,27 @@ class WellKnownTests(unittest.HomeserverTestCase):
             "public_baseurl": None,
         }
     )
-    def test_well_known_no_public_baseurl(self):
+    def test_client_well_known_no_public_baseurl(self):
         channel = self.make_request(
             "GET", "/.well-known/matrix/client", shorthand=False
         )
 
         self.assertEqual(channel.code, 404)
+
+    @unittest.override_config({"serve_server_wellknown": True})
+    def test_server_well_known(self):
+        channel = self.make_request(
+            "GET", "/.well-known/matrix/server", shorthand=False
+        )
+
+        self.assertEqual(channel.code, 200)
+        self.assertEqual(
+            channel.json_body,
+            {"m.server": "test:443"},
+        )
+
+    def test_server_well_known_disabled(self):
+        channel = self.make_request(
+            "GET", "/.well-known/matrix/server", shorthand=False
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(channel.code, 404)