Overview

ShortMesh is a messaging API service built on the Matrix protocol, providing a unified interface for sending and receiving messages across social media platforms.

Architecture

Components

Interface API

The Interface API is the public-facing REST API that enables third-party integrations with ShortMesh. It is designed with security, authentication, and session management as first-class concerns.

This layer serves two key purposes: it shields Matrix credentials from external exposure, and it abstracts away the location of the underlying Matrix Homeserver. This address would otherwise be visible if integrations were built directly into the client.

Client

The Client is a Matrix client built in Go using the Mautrix SDK, an implementation of the Matrix protocol specification. It provides the core protocol integration layer that powers ShortMesh’s messaging capabilities.

Integrations

Authy API

Authy is an integration built on top of ShortMesh’s Interface API. Its primary purpose is delivering authentication codes to users on demand, as an alternative to traditional SMS-based OTP delivery. By leveraging Matrix bridges, these codes can instead be sent to any supported third-party platform.

Authy handles the full authentication lifecycle: cryptographic code generation, session management, and code validation.

Developers integrate Authy into their applications through an embeddable JavaScript widget (demo), similar in concept to Google OAuth buttons. When a user selects their preferred platform for receiving a one-time password (OTP), the widget triggers the Interface API, which instructs the Client to deliver the code through the appropriate channel.