TL;DR
Users on a Mattermost instance reported seeing a hard cap that hides messages older than a calculated cutoff once a 10,000-message threshold is reached. The issue, raised on Mattermost's GitHub, sparked community pushback and suggestions to switch editions, fork the code or seek other workarounds.
What happened
A GitHub issue (#34271) opened by a user describing a school deployment reports that, after an upgrade, the instance displayed: "10.000-message limit reached. Messages sent before 26. September 2025 are hidden – Restore Access." The reporter said their installation serves roughly 2,000 active users and holds about 470,000 posts, with older messages suddenly inaccessible. Commenters on the thread indicated the restriction appeared tied to the Entry edition and may have been introduced around Mattermost v11, though that timeline was not definitively confirmed. Contributors suggested temporary workarounds including switching to the Teams Edition or using forks; others urged modifying the source/binary to raise limits. Several participants noted the change affects self-hosted systems as well and that the automatic conversion of Free instances to Entry during upgrades complicates recovery. The thread shows community frustration over perceived limits on data stored on on-premise servers and debate over licensing and edition boundaries.
Why it matters
- Organizations with long message histories or large user counts may suddenly lose convenient access to older communications.
- The restriction touches on trust in self-hosted deployments when vendor-controlled limits affect data on customer servers.
- Unclear upgrade notes or automatic edition changes during updates can create operational disruption for administrators.
- Community reaction — including proposals to fork or modify the code — indicates potential fragmentation risks for the project.
- Decisions about edition limits influence choices between paying for commercial licenses, downgrading features, or adopting alternative platforms.
Key facts
- A GitHub issue about the limit was opened as mattermost/mattermost #34271.
- Affected users report a message stating a "10.000-message limit" and a cutoff date (example given: 26 September 2025) after which older messages are hidden.
- The original reporter said their instance supports about 2,000 active users and roughly 470,000 posts.
- Some commenters on the issue said the limit arrived with v11 and that the cutoff date is calculated from the message cap.
- Participants noted the change impacts self-hosted installations as well as Entry edition deployments.
- Advice from community contributors included switching to the Teams Edition, using a fork, or altering source files to raise the limit, per comments in the thread.
- Community members reported losing pinned messages and expressed concern about automatic conversion from Free to Entry edition during upgrades.
- A Mattermost staff commenter referenced licensing/edition matters in the thread and an academic license was mentioned as available by a staff member.
What to watch next
- Whether Mattermost will clarify upgrade notes or publish an official explanation/mitigation for the 10,000-message limit — not confirmed in the source.
- If the company issues tools or guidance for migrating or restoring access after automatic conversion to Entry edition — not confirmed in the source.
- Whether Mattermost adjusts edition boundaries (e.g., a new small-business self-hosted plan) or changes the limit policy — not confirmed in the source.
Quick glossary
- Self-hosted: Software installed and run on servers controlled by the user or organization, rather than hosted by the vendor.
- Entry Edition: A commercial or limited-feature tier of software distribution; exact feature and limit sets vary by vendor and were discussed in the source thread.
- Teams Edition: An edition referenced in the discussion as having different limits and feature availability compared with the Entry Edition.
- Fork: A copy of a codebase that is independently developed, allowing users to alter behavior, limits, or features apart from the upstream project.
Reader FAQ
Is this limit a confirmed change in Mattermost v11?
Some commenters said the restriction arrived with v11, but that timeline is not definitively confirmed in the source.
Does the limit affect self-hosted servers?
Users in the thread reported the limit applies to self-hosted instances as well.
Can switching to the Teams Edition remove the limit?
Community contributors suggested the Teams Edition may avoid the limit, but an official solution was not confirmed in the source.
Are messages permanently deleted when the cutoff appears?
The reports describe older messages as hidden and inaccessible; whether they are permanently deleted was not confirmed in the source.
mattermost / mattermost Public Notifications Fork 8.2k Star 34.7k Code Issues 628 Pull requests 339 Actions Security Message limit 10000 team edition #34271 New issue Open Description steffenteichmannhska opened We have…
Sources
- Mattermost restricted access to old messages after 10000 limit is reached
- 10000 self host cap – Feedback
- General Mattermost
- Post.Message has size restrictions – Troubleshooting
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