Currently, Mattermost supports a beta version of built-in one-on-one video and audio calling based on a WebRTC integration.
We are now discontinuing the development of this WebRTC integration and plan to remove this feature in Mattermost v5.6.
Why?
The built-in integration was intended to be a prototype for community development. Since then, we have shifted focus towards open-source integrations and plugins, with several available for video conferencing in our marketplace. Current options include:
Zoom plugin enables users to start and join voice, video and screensharing meetings using either Zoom’s self-hosted private cloud or on-prem solutions, or its vendor-hosted SaaS solution. The plugin is installed by default on all Mattermost servers.
BigBlueButton plugin for one-on-one video and audio calling, video conferencing and screenshare, created by Blindside Networks, available in Beta. A test install is provided to try out the feature on a Mattermost install. For production use, you can self-host a server running BigBlueButton, or reach out to Blindside Networks about hosting it for you.
Kopano Web Meetings plugin for one-on-one video and audio calling, based on the WebRTC protocol, available in Alpha. The plugin is in active development with calls with multiple users and other user experience improvements planned.
For up-to-date video and audio calling solutions, see our documentation.
Moreover, support for other 3rd party video, audio and screensharing solutions via plugins is planned. A plugin for WebEx is currently in development by the Mattermost community, with updates posted in the WebEx Plugin community channel.
Why not keep the built-in integration while supporting open-source plugins?
We have found plugins to be a much more effective way to build an ecosystem of available video conferencing integrations. Given our current focus on open-source integrations, the Mattermost team is not able to prioritize development or testing on improving the built-in integration despite reports of challenges using the WebRTC built in integration.
Our prioritization is to ensure integrations are of the highest quality and provide options for which video conferencing tool is best for each organization using Mattermost.
Have feedback?
If anyone has feedback or concerns about the removal, we would love to hear it - please comment below!
When are we going to see plugins working on mobile clients?
Is it even possible? Considering the framework they are development on.
I agree voice and video chat are not the core of this app but without plugin support on mobile clients and have features design only for plugins, then we have a big issue.
Is it planned to extract actual WebRTC code from Mattermost to create a plugin? For small deployments, this solution is quite enough: a good trade-off between functionalities and deployment complexity.
For the moment, I was unable to locate such plugin.
Is it planned to extract actual WebRTC code from Mattermost to create a plugin?
It’s something we’ve considered, but haven’t planned for yet. The Kopano Web Meetings plugin linked above mimics our original WebRTC implementation in terms of code and functionality.
If the community is open to extracting the code to create a plugin, let us know! We’d be happy to work with you to make that happen.
Do i understand this right?
There is a Zoom plugin for Mattermost but Zoom itself is Closed Source and a payed service? Why does it matter if the plugin is copensource?
The informations i found for the on-premise zoom seems like there is no real self-host and every meeting connector has to pass their cloud “drm”.
If you are looking for a self-hosted audio/video collaboration tool, BigBlueButton plugin is our recommendation. It offers calls as well as screenshare.
It is getting considerable usage and there is an opportunity to work together with communities to enhance it.
Thanks for the hint jason. I was only searching for a possibility to call someone
I like bbb but its some kind of a behemoth for my use. Have a nice day
Both zoom and kopano seem to be closed-source + pure commercial solutions and dont have real on-premise solutions… not sure, why they are advertised as alternatives.
big blue button seems to be a major pain, ressource hungry and “not nice” (look at their setup script!), but will likely work…
speaking only for myself i am not interested in andy kind of meeting software. still only interedted in calls. and very much only embedded too. but im sure im not your target audience
Everything we at Kopano do is open source and can be freely used.
As the linked Plugin is at this moment it is actually 100% embedded only. The kwmserver component is the signalling server (comparable to the janus thing in the original integration). “But” it provides video calls, not audio only calls.
We have recently released a new standalone meeting solution called “Kopano Meet” and are currently debating if this should go into a new Plugin or be integrated with the existing one.
Hi…go into your Control Panel / Network Connections / either the Local Area Connection Properties or the Wireless Connection Properties, whichever is giving you the trouble / TCP/IP Properties, and make sure that IP address and DNS are set to “automatically obtain.” Also click the Advanced button and make sure that nothing is explicitly entered for Default Gateway, nor anything on the DNS tab.
