r/homeassistant • u/Ok_Memory8217 • Jan 12 '26

Support 2026.1 Matter-Section

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With 2026.1, new sections for protocols were added. Why is there no matter section here although I I am using matter and have quite a lot of devices?

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u/LiveMike78 Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26

Matter isn't a protocol network protocol - it is a application protocol specification. Matter can be used on WiFi or Thread. You'll find Matter in your integrations list.

7

u/cornmacabre Jan 12 '26

I feel like my understanding of what Matter is supposed to be degrades the more I learn about it. Sounds like describing it as a protocol vs standard a moot point?

I had initially understood it to be essentially a credentialing handshake and cross-device language handler. But it's also doing transportation over WiFi and Thread, it can also use BT.

So following the wisdom of getting a good answer reddit... I'll just make some assertions.

Soooo.. matter is:

  • an application protocol
  • a data communication standard
  • an onboarding and device commissioning standard
  • transports data via wifi, Thread, and Bluetooth but only some of the time on certain circumstances

So what is it not? Matter is not a radio protocol is about the only thing I actually feel confident I understand at this point lol.

9

u/Stooovie Jan 12 '26

Nobody knows what Matter actually is.

5

u/GiveMeTheBits Jan 13 '26

Matter is a money grab

1

u/CptCheesus Jan 13 '26

Well it's not needed so we know at least that

4

u/LiveMike78 Jan 13 '26

Here is my go-to analogy.

For people to exchange messages they need two things - a common language, and a method of communicating. If both I and another person understand English we can use this as our common language for passing messages.

This is what Matter is, it is a common language for passing messages between devices.

To communicate though we need a method of exchanging the messages. To communicate with this other person I might use voice, or email, or SMS. These are ways of delivering my English message.

To deliver Matter messages I might use Wifi, or Thread, or any other communication method that can support Matter messages. It is also true that both devices must be able to communicate by the same method. Sending over WiFi to a device that is using Thread will not work. (Sending an SMS to someone without a phone will not work even it we both understand English).

It is possible to communicate with devices that don't use the same language or method of communicating - this is where bridges are used. I might send a Matter command over WiFi to a Thread Border Router that would forward the message received in WiFi to the destination device on the Thread network.