Element Parity by Month

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Robrix Element Parity Roadmap

Generated: 2026-05-11
Target: Feature parity with Element Web/Mobile
Timeline: 12 months (May 11, 2026 → May 10, 2027)

Timeline Overview

Month	Dates	Theme
1	May 11 – Jun 10, 2026	Foundation & Critical Gaps
2	Jun 11 – Jul 10, 2026	Media & Multimedia
3	Jul 11 – Aug 10, 2026	Room Management
4	Aug 11 – Sep 10, 2026	Voice & Video Calls Phase 1
5	Sep 11 – Oct 10, 2026	Voice & Video Calls Phase 2
6	Oct 11 – Nov 10, 2026	Search & Navigation
7	Nov 11 – Dec 10, 2026	Notifications & Presence
8	Dec 11, 2026 – Jan 10, 2027	User & Profile Management
9	Jan 11 – Feb 10, 2027	Moderation & Administration
10	Feb 11 – Mar 10, 2027	Threads & Advanced Messaging
11	Mar 11 – Apr 10, 2027	Platform Polish & Accessibility
12	Apr 11 – May 10, 2027	Integration & Polish

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Executive Summary

This roadmap outlines the path for Robrix to achieve feature parity with Element, the leading Matrix client. Based on analysis of:

• Current Robrix2 implementation
• 51 open issues on project-robius/robrix
• 15 open issues on Project-Robius-China/robrix2
• Comprehensive Element feature audit

Current Status: Robrix has ~40% of Element's core features implemented.

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Feature Gap Analysis

Legend

• ✅ Implemented in Robrix
• 🔶 Partially implemented
• ❌ Not implemented
• 🚧 In progress

1. Messaging Features

Feature	Element	Robrix	Gap
Text messages	✅	✅	-
Markdown support	✅	✅	-
HTML rendering	✅	✅	-
Edit messages	✅	✅	-
Delete/redact messages	✅	✅	-
Reply to messages	✅	✅	-
Reactions	✅	✅	-
@mentions	✅	✅	-
Pin messages	✅	🔶	UI needed
Forward messages	✅	❌	Gap
Threads	✅	🔶	Follow-ups needed (project-robius#760)
Typing indicators	✅	❌	Gap
Read receipts	✅	✅	-
Code syntax highlighting	✅	❌	Blocked on Makepad (#63)
LaTeX formulas	✅	❌	Gap
Visual effects (confetti, etc.)	✅	❌	Low priority
Spoiler text	✅	❌	Gap

2. Media & Files

Feature	Element	Robrix	Gap
Image display	✅	✅	-
Image viewer with zoom	✅	✅	-
Video playback	✅	🔶	Not fully implemented (#120)
Audio playback	✅	🔶	Not fully implemented (#120)
GIF support	✅	❌	Gap
File upload	✅	❌	Gap (#7)
File download	✅	🔶	Basic support
Stickers	✅	✅	-
Location sharing	✅	✅	-
Live location	✅	❌	Gap

3. Voice & Video Calls

Feature	Element	Robrix	Gap
1:1 voice calls	✅	❌	Major Gap (project-robius#375, #13)
1:1 video calls	✅	❌	Major Gap
Group video (Element Call)	✅	❌	Major Gap
Screen sharing	✅	❌	Major Gap
Call lobby	✅	❌	Gap

4. Rooms & Spaces

Feature	Element	Robrix	Gap
Room list	✅	✅	-
Room creation	✅	❌	Gap
Room settings	✅	❌	Gap
Room members pane	✅	❌	Gap (#119)
Room aliases	✅	🔶	Join only
Join by link	✅	✅	-
Room invites	✅	✅	-
Knock to join	✅	✅	-
Leave room	✅	✅	-
Room search/filter	✅	✅	-
Room directory	✅	❌	Gap
Spaces	✅	✅	-
Subspaces	✅	🔶	Basic support
Favorites	✅	❌	Gap
Low priority rooms	✅	❌	Gap

5. Encryption & Security

Feature	Element	Robrix	Gap
E2EE (Olm/Megolm)	✅	✅	-
Device verification	✅	✅	-
Cross-signing	✅	🔶	Needs improvement (project-robius#847)
Key backup	✅	❌	Gap
Recovery key	✅	❌	Gap
Encryption indicator	✅	❌	Gap (project-robius#858)
QR code verification	✅	❌	Gap

6. User Features

Feature	Element	Robrix	Gap
User profiles	✅	✅	-
Avatar display	✅	✅	-
Avatar upload	✅	❌	Gap
Display name change	✅	❌	Gap
Presence/status	✅	❌	Gap
Ignore users	✅	✅	-
User search	✅	🔶	Basic
Device management	✅	❌	Gap

7. Search

Feature	Element	Robrix	Gap
Room filter	✅	✅	-
Message search	✅	❌	Gap
Cross-room search	✅	❌	Gap
Jump to date	✅	❌	Gap

8. Notifications

Feature	Element	Robrix	Gap
Push notifications	✅	❌	Major Gap
Notification settings	✅	❌	Gap
Per-room settings	✅	❌	Gap
Keyword alerts	✅	❌	Gap
Unread badges	✅	❌	Blocked (project-robius#511)

9. Moderation

Feature	Element	Robrix	Gap
Kick users	✅	❌	Gap
Ban users	✅	❌	Gap
Redact messages	✅	✅	-
Report content	✅	❌	Gap
Power levels display	✅	🔶	Infrastructure exists

10. Integrations

Feature	Element	Robrix	Gap
Widgets	✅	❌	Gap
Bots	✅	✅	Robrix2 has bot support
Bridges	✅	N/A	Server-side

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Month-by-Month Roadmap

Month 1: Foundation & Critical Gaps

Dates: May 11 – June 10, 2026
Theme: Core messaging completeness

Goals:

1. File upload/attachment dialog (Attachment upload with file dialog #7)

   • File picker integration
   • Upload progress indicator
   • Drag-and-drop support

2. Typing indicators

   • Send typing notifications
   • Display typing users in room

3. Forward messages

   • Room selector for forwarding
   • Multi-room forward support

4. Encryption indicator (Robrix do not indicate if a room conversation is encrypted or not project-robius/robrix#858)

   • Show lock icon for encrypted rooms
   • Visual distinction in room list

Deliverables:

• Attachment upload with file dialog
• Typing indicator send/receive
• Message forwarding UI
• Encryption badge on rooms

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Month 2: Media & Multimedia

Dates: June 11 – July 10, 2026
Theme: Rich media experience

Goals:

1. Video playback completion (Palpo octos submodules #120)

   • Inline video player
   • Playback controls
   • Fullscreen support

2. Audio playback completion (Palpo octos submodules #120)

   • Inline audio player
   • Progress bar and controls
   • Background playback (mobile)

3. GIF support

   • GIF rendering in timeline
   • GIF picker integration (Tenor/Giphy)

4. Sticker picker enhancement

   • Custom sticker packs
   • Recent stickers

Deliverables:

• Full video player
• Full audio player
• GIF display and picker
• Enhanced sticker UI

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Month 3: Room Management

Dates: July 11 – August 10, 2026
Theme: Room creation and settings

Goals:

1. Room creation flow

   • Room name, topic, avatar
   • Visibility settings (public/private)
   • E2EE toggle
   • Invite initial members

2. Room settings screen

   • General settings
   • Security & privacy
   • Roles & permissions
   • Advanced settings

3. Room members pane (feat(login): OIDC (MAS) login for existing accounts — Phase 3b #119)

   • Member list with power levels
   • Search members
   • Member actions (invite, kick, ban)

4. Room directory browser

   • Search public rooms
   • Join from directory

Deliverables:

• Room creation wizard
• Room settings panel
• Members pane with actions
• Public room directory

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Month 4: Voice & Video Calls - Phase 1

Dates: August 11 – September 10, 2026
Theme: WebRTC foundation (project-robius#375, #13)

Goals:

1. 1:1 voice calls

   • Call initiation/answer
   • In-call controls (mute, hang up)
   • Call notifications
   • Call history

2. 1:1 video calls

   • Video stream handling
   • Camera selection
   • Picture-in-picture

3. Call UI

   • Call modal/overlay
   • Minimized call view
   • Call quality indicators

Deliverables:

• 1:1 voice calling
• 1:1 video calling
• Call controls UI
• Call notifications

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Month 5: Voice & Video Calls - Phase 2

Dates: September 11 – October 10, 2026
Theme: Group calls and Element Call integration

Goals:

1. Element Call integration

   • Join group video calls
   • Speaker/gallery view
   • Screen sharing receive

2. Screen sharing send

   • Desktop: full screen/window/tab
   • Mobile: screen broadcast

3. Call enhancements

   • Raise hand
   • Speaking indicators
   • Participant grid

Deliverables:

• Group video calls
• Screen sharing (send/receive)
• Advanced call features
• Call lobby

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Month 6: Search & Navigation

Dates: October 11 – November 10, 2026
Theme: Finding content

Goals:

1. Message search

   • Search within room
   • Search results UI
   • Jump to message

2. Cross-room search

   • Global search
   • Filter by room, sender, date

3. Jump to date

   • Date picker
   • Navigate to specific day

4. Fuzzy search improvements (Fuzzy matching for romanized versions of other languages (e.g., matching pinyin) project-robius/robrix#564)

   • Pinyin support
   • Romanized language matching

Deliverables:

• In-room message search
• Global message search
• Date navigation
• Improved fuzzy matching

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Month 7: Notifications & Presence

Dates: November 11 – December 10, 2026
Theme: Real-time awareness

Goals:

1. Push notifications

   • iOS: APNs integration
   • Android: FCM integration
   • Desktop: system notifications

2. Notification settings

   • Global settings
   • Per-room overrides
   • Keyword alerts

3. Unread badges ([Info] Notification badge unread count tips (discussion) project-robius/robrix#511)

   • Room unread counts
   • Mention highlights
   • App badge

4. Presence/status

   • Online/offline indicators
   • Custom status messages
   • Last seen time

Deliverables:

• Push notification system
• Notification preferences
• Unread indicators
• User presence

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Month 8: User & Profile Management

Dates: December 11, 2026 – January 10, 2027
Theme: Account features

Goals:

1. Profile editing

   • Display name change
   • Avatar upload
   • Bio/about field

2. Device management

   • View logged-in devices
   • Rename devices
   • Sign out remote devices

3. Security improvements (Add "request verification" button in Account Settings project-robius/robrix#847)

   • Request verification button
   • Improved verification modal (Improve layout of verification modal project-robius/robrix#846)
   • QR code verification

4. Key backup

   • Security key generation
   • Recovery phrase
   • Backup restoration

Deliverables:

• Profile editor
• Device manager
• Enhanced verification
• Key backup system

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Month 9: Moderation & Administration

Dates: January 11 – February 10, 2027
Theme: Room control

Goals:

1. Moderation actions

   • Kick users
   • Ban/unban users
   • Mute users

2. Power level management

   • View/edit power levels
   • Role assignment
   • Action thresholds

3. Content moderation

   • Report messages
   • Server ACLs (admin)

4. Pin messages UI

   • View pinned messages
   • Pin/unpin actions

Deliverables:

• User moderation actions
• Power level editor
• Content reporting
• Message pinning UI

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Month 10: Threads & Advanced Messaging

Dates: February 11 – March 10, 2027
Theme: Conversation organization

Goals:

1. Thread improvements (Follow-ups to thread support, plus additional features project-robius/robrix#760)

   • Thread list view
   • Unread thread indicators
   • Thread notifications

2. Spoiler text

   • Render spoilers
   • Create spoilers

3. Code syntax highlighting (if Makepad ready)

   • Language detection
   • Syntax themes

4. Message formatting enhancements

   • LaTeX rendering
   • Better blockquotes

Deliverables:

• Complete thread support
• Spoiler text
• Code highlighting (pending Makepad)
• Advanced formatting

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Month 11: Platform Polish & Accessibility

Dates: March 11 – April 10, 2027
Theme: Cross-platform excellence

Goals:

1. Font size settings (Support changing the base font size project-robius/robrix#848)

   • Adjustable text size
   • Accessibility presets

2. Platform-specific fixes

   • iOS room population (New room's RoomScreen is not being populated in iOS app project-robius/robrix#850)
   • Windows verification (On Windows version (maybe all desktop versions) the verification popup dialogue is not persistent project-robius/robrix#860)
   • macOS icon assets (Robrix macos 0.1.0-pre-alpha-1, the icon assets cant right import. #110)

3. F-Droid preparation (F-Droid inclusion project-robius/robrix#856)

   • Remove proprietary dependencies
   • Reproducible builds

4. About/Privacy screen (About screen needed with Privacy Policy Link project-robius/robrix#862)

   • Version info
   • Privacy policy
   • Licenses

Deliverables:

• Accessibility features
• Platform bug fixes
• F-Droid submission
• About screen

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Month 12: Integration & Polish

Dates: April 11 – May 10, 2027
Theme: Feature completion

Goals:

1. Room favorites & organization

   • Favorite rooms
   • Low priority section
   • Custom room ordering

2. Multi-account support (Support multiple Matrix accounts simultaneously  project-robius/robrix#374)

   • Account switcher
   • Account-specific settings
   • Unified notification view

3. Widgets (basic)

   • Widget display
   • Jitsi integration

4. Final polish

   • Performance optimization
   • Bug fixes
   • UI consistency audit

Deliverables:

• Room organization
• Multi-account
• Basic widgets
• Release candidate

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Priority Matrix

Critical Path (Must Have)

1. File upload
2. Voice/video calls
3. Push notifications
4. Message search
5. Room creation/settings

High Priority

1. Typing indicators
2. Encryption indicators
3. Room members pane
4. Key backup
5. Device management

Medium Priority

1. Threads completion
2. Moderation tools
3. Presence/status
4. Profile editing
5. GIF support

Nice to Have

1. Widgets
2. Visual effects
3. LaTeX
4. Multi-account
5. Live location

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Dependencies & Blockers

Makepad Blockers (project-robius#594)

• Syntax highlighting - Requires text editor improvements
• Tooltips/context menus - Widget repositioning after draw
• Unread badges - Notification badge API

External Dependencies

• WebRTC - Requires platform-specific implementations
• Push notifications - APNs/FCM integration
• F-Droid - Proprietary dependency audit

Robrix-Specific

• Sliding sync - Requires server support
• TSP integration - Optional feature track

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Success Metrics

Feature Parity Score

• June 2026 (Month 1): 45% (current ~40%)
• August 2026 (Month 3): 55%
• November 2026 (Month 6): 70%
• February 2027 (Month 9): 85%
• May 2027 (Month 12): 95%

Key Milestones

• September 2026 (Month 4): First voice call
• December 2026 (Month 7): Push notifications live
• April 2027 (Month 11): F-Droid submission
• May 2027 (Month 12): Element parity release

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Resources

GitHub Issues Referenced

• robrix #375 - Element Call
• robrix #374 - Multi-account
• robrix #119 - Room members
• robrix #120 - Multimedia
• robrix #858 - Encryption indicator
• robrix #848 - Font size
• robrix2 #7 - File upload
• robrix2 #13 - WebRTC VoIP

Documentation

• Element Features
• Matrix Spec
• Robrix README

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This roadmap is a living document. Priorities may shift based on community feedback, resource availability, and technical discoveries.