Connect with Commet

This guide takes you from a registration code to chatting on nether.im with Commet, our recommended Matrix client. No Matrix experience assumed. Fifteen minutes, one non-skippable step (you’ll know it when you get there).

Before you start

You’ll need:

• A registration code. Don’t have one? Start at joining.
• A device Commet runs on: Windows, Linux, or Android — or any browser via the web app. macOS and iOS versions are planned but not out yet; on those, use Element X instead (see clients) — every step below has an equivalent there.
• Your password manager open (Bitwarden, KeePassXC, whatever you use). You’ll be saving two things into it. If you don’t use one yet, Bitwarden is free — set it up first, seriously.

Joining means you’ve agreed to the Code of Conduct and you’re 18+.

Not joining nether.im? This guide still works: pick a server from recommended homeservers and substitute it wherever we say nether.im — and skip the registration-code parts.

Step 1 — Install Commet

Grab it from commet.chat/install:

• Windows: download and run the installer.
• Linux: .deb packages for Ubuntu 22.04/24.04, a Flatpak bundle, or a portable tarball.
• Android: it’s a direct APK download (Commet isn’t on the Play Store or F-Droid yet). Your phone will ask you to allow installing from your browser — that’s expected. Two variants: the google-services APK if your phone has Google services, the plain one if you’re de-Googled.
• Or skip installing: app.commet.chat runs in the browser.

Step 2 — Create your account on nether.im

Open Commet. On the welcome screen, don’t accept any default server — we’re going to ours:

1. Choose to create an account / register, and set the homeserver to nether.im.
2. Pick your username. This becomes your permanent Matrix ID — @yourname:nether.im — and cannot be changed later (your display name can, so don’t overthink the capitalization).
3. Set a strong password. Save it in your password manager now — that’s thing one of two.
4. When asked for a registration token, enter the code the mods gave you.

If registration in Commet doesn’t work (in-app signup support varies by client version): create the account through Element Web instead — choose Create account, edit the homeserver to nether.im, and complete the same steps there. Then come back to Commet and simply sign in with your new account. Everything else in this guide is the same.

Step 3 — Save your recovery key (do not skip)

This is the step. Your messages on Matrix are end-to-end encrypted, and the recovery key is what lets a future device — new phone, reinstall, stolen laptop replaced — read your message history. Lose it (and all your signed-in devices) and that history is unrecoverable by anyone, including us. The encryption page explains the whole picture; right now, just get the key saved.

In Commet:

1. Open Settings → Security.
2. Choose Recovery Key and follow the prompts to generate it.
3. Copy the key into your password manager as an entry like “Matrix recovery key — nether.im”. That’s thing two of two.

Do this now, in the same sitting as registration. Commet’s recovery/verification interface is one of its rougher corners right now (it’s being actively worked on upstream), and the setup option is easiest to find on a fresh session. Two minutes now saves your entire history later.

Step 4 — Make yourself presentable

In Settings, set your display name (this one you can change anytime) and an avatar. Do it before you start talking — a name and a face is half of not looking like a spammer.

Step 5 — Join the rooms

Nether’s rooms are organized in a space — Matrix’s version of a Discord server, a folder of rooms. Join the main space and you’ll see everything public we run:

• [TODO: main space alias] — the front door; introduce yourself in [TODO: lobby/intro room].
• Browse the space’s room list and join whatever fits. Mind each room’s labels — see the Code of Conduct on content labeling.

Step 6 — Add your other devices

Install Commet (or any client) on your other devices and sign in with the same account. Each new sign-in must be verified — the new device proves it’s really you, either by comparing emoji with an already-signed-in device or by entering your recovery key. Do it when prompted; an unverified session can’t read encrypted history and shows up with a warning to everyone else.

If the new session gets stuck at verification, the fixes live on the encryption page.

One current caveat: push notifications on Android are unreliable in Commet right now (known upstream bug as of mid-2026). If you need dependable mobile pings, run Element X on the phone alongside — same account, both signed in, no conflict.

Done — and if anything went sideways

You’re on Matrix. If something above didn’t match what you saw, or a message says “unable to decrypt”, or verification loops forever: encryption covers the crypto weirdness, help covers everything else, and the help room is full of people who did this last month.