uv installs to ~/.local/bin which is not in PATH for systemd services, and keeping uv updated on Ubuntu requires manual steps outside of apt. Switch to a plain Python venv with pip-tools for dependency locking. - Replace uv venv/sync with python3 -m venv --system-site-packages - Generate requirements.txt with pip-compile from pyproject.toml - Update service ExecStart to use .venv/bin/python directly - Remove uv.lock and [tool.uv] from pyproject.toml - Update README to document venv+pip-tools workflow
3.5 KiB
matrix-paperless-ingest
Monitors a Matrix room for PDF and JPEG files and uploads them to Paperless-ngx. Designed for rooms bridged from WhatsApp via mautrix-whatsapp.
- Processes the full room history on startup (skips files already in Paperless)
- Listens for new files indefinitely
- Retries failed uploads with exponential backoff
- State is tracked in a local SQLite database
Requirements
- Python 3.11+
libolm+python-olm— must be installed via the system package manager becausepython-olm's build system is incompatible with modern CMake
Arch Linux:
sudo pacman -S libolm python-olm
Ubuntu:
sudo apt install libolm3 python3-olm
Setup
1. Clone and install dependencies
git clone <repo>
cd matrix-paperless-ingest
python3 -m venv .venv --system-site-packages
.venv/bin/pip install -r requirements.txt
2. Create a Matrix bot account
Create a new Matrix account for the bot on your homeserver (e.g. via Element), then invite it to the room you want to monitor and accept the invite.
3. Generate a Matrix access token
Log in with the bot account to obtain an access token and device ID:
curl -XPOST 'https://jeena.net/_matrix/client/v3/login' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{
"type": "m.login.password",
"user": "@yourbot:jeena.net",
"password": "yourpassword"
}'
Copy access_token and device_id from the response. You can then delete the
password from your notes — it is not needed again.
4. Find your Matrix room ID
In Element: open the room → Settings → Advanced → Internal room ID.
It looks like !abc123:jeena.net.
5. Find your Paperless inbox tag ID
In Paperless-ngx, go to Tags and note the ID of your inbox tag, or look it up via the API:
curl -H 'Authorization: Token YOUR_TOKEN' https://paperless.jeena.net/api/tags/
6. Configure
cp .env.example .env
$EDITOR .env
Fill in all values:
MATRIX_HOMESERVER=https://jeena.net
MATRIX_USER=@yourbot:jeena.net
MATRIX_ACCESS_TOKEN=syt_...
MATRIX_DEVICE_ID=ABCDEFGH
MATRIX_ROOM_ID=!abc123:jeena.net
PAPERLESS_URL=https://paperless.jeena.net
PAPERLESS_TOKEN=your_paperless_api_token
PAPERLESS_INBOX_TAG_ID=1
7. Test
.venv/bin/python ingest.py
Watch the logs. It will process all historical messages, then listen for new ones. Press Ctrl-C to stop.
Install as a systemd user service
# Enable lingering so the service starts at boot without requiring login
loginctl enable-linger
# Install the service
mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user
cp matrix-paperless-ingest.service ~/.config/systemd/user/
systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now matrix-paperless-ingest
# Check logs
journalctl --user -u matrix-paperless-ingest -f
Updating dependencies
If you need to add or update a dependency, edit pyproject.toml and regenerate
the locked requirements.txt:
.venv/bin/pip install pip-tools
.venv/bin/pip-compile pyproject.toml
.venv/bin/pip install -r requirements.txt
Viewing retry queue
sqlite3 state.db "SELECT filename, status, retry_count, datetime(next_retry, 'unixepoch') FROM processed_events WHERE status = 'failed';"
Moving to a new server
- Copy the project directory to
~/matrix-paperless-ingest(including.envandstate.db) - Install
libolm3andpython3-olmvia the system package manager - Run
python3 -m venv .venv --system-site-packages && .venv/bin/pip install -r requirements.txt - Install the systemd user service as above