summary refs log tree commit diff
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
-rw-r--r--.travis.yml40
-rw-r--r--CHANGES.md4
-rw-r--r--README.rst19
-rw-r--r--UPGRADE.rst4
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/3698.misc1
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/3786.misc1
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/3969.bugfix1
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/3975.feature1
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/4011.misc1
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/4051.feature1
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/4063.misc1
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/4068.bugfix1
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/4068.misc1
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/4072.misc1
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/4073.misc1
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/4074.bugfix1
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/4075.misc1
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/4076.misc1
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/4077.misc1
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/4081.bugfix2
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/4082.misc1
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/4083.bugfix1
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/4085.feature1
-rw-r--r--changelog.d/4089.feature1
-rw-r--r--docker/conf/homeserver.yaml4
-rw-r--r--scripts-dev/check_auth.py36
-rw-r--r--scripts-dev/check_event_hash.py32
-rw-r--r--scripts-dev/check_signature.py36
-rw-r--r--scripts-dev/convert_server_keys.py40
-rwxr-xr-xscripts-dev/definitions.py54
-rwxr-xr-xscripts-dev/dump_macaroon.py13
-rwxr-xr-xscripts-dev/federation_client.py99
-rw-r--r--scripts-dev/hash_history.py62
-rwxr-xr-xscripts-dev/list_url_patterns.py16
-rw-r--r--scripts-dev/tail-synapse.py26
-rwxr-xr-xscripts/hash_password5
-rwxr-xr-xscripts/move_remote_media_to_new_store.py36
-rwxr-xr-xscripts/register_new_matrix_user194
-rwxr-xr-xscripts/synapse_port_db275
-rw-r--r--setup.cfg17
-rwxr-xr-xsetup.py6
-rw-r--r--synapse/_scripts/__init__.py0
-rw-r--r--synapse/_scripts/register_new_matrix_user.py215
-rw-r--r--synapse/api/filtering.py5
-rwxr-xr-xsynapse/app/homeserver.py37
-rw-r--r--synapse/app/pusher.py6
-rw-r--r--synapse/config/__main__.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/config/_base.py121
-rw-r--r--synapse/config/emailconfig.py40
-rw-r--r--synapse/config/homeserver.py3
-rw-r--r--synapse/config/registration.py15
-rw-r--r--synapse/config/repository.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/config/room_directory.py102
-rw-r--r--synapse/crypto/keyclient.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/event_auth.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/federation/federation_server.py18
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/auth.py18
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/deactivate_account.py4
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/directory.py86
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/federation.py34
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/groups_local.py18
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/initial_sync.py4
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/message.py22
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/pagination.py15
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/receipts.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/register.py30
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/room.py27
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/sync.py97
-rw-r--r--synapse/handlers/user_directory.py14
-rw-r--r--synapse/http/matrixfederationclient.py12
-rw-r--r--synapse/push/emailpusher.py67
-rw-r--r--synapse/push/httppusher.py66
-rw-r--r--synapse/push/mailer.py8
-rw-r--r--synapse/push/pusherpool.py135
-rw-r--r--synapse/python_dependencies.py4
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v1/directory.py37
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v1/room.py3
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/auth.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/media/v1/media_repository.py24
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/media/v1/media_storage.py8
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/media/v1/preview_url_resource.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/rest/media/v1/storage_provider.py6
-rw-r--r--synapse/server.py1
-rw-r--r--synapse/state/__init__.py97
-rw-r--r--synapse/state/v1.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/state/v2.py544
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/_base.py4
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/directory.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/events.py47
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/keys.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/monthly_active_users.py71
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/pusher.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/registration.py37
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/signatures.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/state.py845
-rw-r--r--synapse/storage/transactions.py2
-rw-r--r--synapse/util/__init__.py25
-rw-r--r--synapse/util/caches/stream_change_cache.py4
-rw-r--r--synapse/util/logcontext.py120
-rw-r--r--synapse/visibility.py15
-rwxr-xr-xsynctl80
-rw-r--r--tests/api/test_filtering.py12
-rw-r--r--tests/config/test_generate.py2
-rw-r--r--tests/config/test_room_directory.py67
-rw-r--r--tests/events/test_utils.py4
-rw-r--r--tests/handlers/test_directory.py48
-rw-r--r--tests/handlers/test_register.py75
-rw-r--r--tests/scripts/__init__.py0
-rw-r--r--tests/scripts/test_new_matrix_user.py160
-rw-r--r--tests/state/__init__.py0
-rw-r--r--tests/state/test_v2.py663
-rw-r--r--tests/storage/test_monthly_active_users.py10
-rw-r--r--tests/storage/test_state.py175
-rw-r--r--tests/utils.py1
-rw-r--r--tox.ini9
115 files changed, 3799 insertions, 1683 deletions
diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 2077f6af72..fd41841c77 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -1,12 +1,27 @@
 sudo: false
 language: python
 
-# tell travis to cache ~/.cache/pip
-cache: pip
+cache:
+  directories:
+    # we only bother to cache the wheels; parts of the http cache get
+    # invalidated every build (because they get served with a max-age of 600
+    # seconds), which means that we end up re-uploading the whole cache for
+    # every build, which is time-consuming In any case, it's not obvious that
+    # downloading the cache from S3 would be much faster than downloading the
+    # originals from pypi.
+    #
+    - $HOME/.cache/pip/wheels
 
-before_script:
-  - git remote set-branches --add origin develop
-  - git fetch origin develop
+# don't clone the whole repo history, one commit will do
+git:
+  depth: 1
+
+# only build branches we care about (PRs are built seperately)
+branches:
+  only:
+    - master
+    - develop
+    - /^release-v/
 
 matrix:
   fast_finish: true
@@ -14,8 +29,8 @@ matrix:
   - python: 2.7
     env: TOX_ENV=packaging
 
-  - python: 2.7
-    env: TOX_ENV=pep8
+  - python: 3.6
+    env: TOX_ENV="pep8,check_isort"
 
   - python: 2.7
     env: TOX_ENV=py27
@@ -39,11 +54,14 @@ matrix:
     services:
       - postgresql
 
-  - python: 3.6
-    env: TOX_ENV=check_isort
-
-  - python: 3.6
+  - # we only need to check for the newsfragment if it's a PR build
+    if: type = pull_request
+    python: 3.6
     env: TOX_ENV=check-newsfragment
+    script:
+      - git remote set-branches --add origin develop
+      - git fetch origin develop
+      - tox -e $TOX_ENV
 
 install:
   - pip install tox
diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md
index 5f598559a0..fb98c934c0 100644
--- a/CHANGES.md
+++ b/CHANGES.md
@@ -11,10 +11,6 @@ If you have email notifications enabled, you should ensure that
 have installed customised templates, or leave it unset to use the default
 templates.
 
-The configuration parser will try to detect the situation where
-`email.template_dir` is incorrectly set to `res/templates` and do the right
-thing, but will warn about this.
-
 Synapse 0.33.7rc2 (2018-10-17)
 ==============================
 
diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index e1ea351f84..9165db8319 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -174,6 +174,12 @@ Alternatively, Andreas Peters (previously Silvio Fricke) has contributed a
 Dockerfile to automate a synapse server in a single Docker image, at
 https://hub.docker.com/r/avhost/docker-matrix/tags/
 
+Slavi Pantaleev has created an Ansible playbook,
+which installs the offical Docker image of Matrix Synapse
+along with many other Matrix-related services (Postgres database, riot-web, coturn, mxisd, SSL support, etc.).
+For more details, see
+https://github.com/spantaleev/matrix-docker-ansible-deploy
+
 Configuring Synapse
 -------------------
 
@@ -651,7 +657,8 @@ Using a reverse proxy with Synapse
 
 It is recommended to put a reverse proxy such as
 `nginx <https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_proxy_module.html>`_,
-`Apache <https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/mod/mod_proxy_http.html>`_ or
+`Apache <https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/mod/mod_proxy_http.html>`_,
+`Caddy <https://caddyserver.com/docs/proxy>`_ or
 `HAProxy <https://www.haproxy.org/>`_ in front of Synapse. One advantage of
 doing so is that it means that you can expose the default https port (443) to
 Matrix clients without needing to run Synapse with root privileges.
@@ -682,7 +689,15 @@ so an example nginx configuration might look like::
       }
   }
 
-and an example apache configuration may look like::
+an example Caddy configuration might look like::
+
+    matrix.example.com {
+      proxy /_matrix http://localhost:8008 {
+        transparent
+      }
+    }
+
+and an example Apache configuration might look like::
 
     <VirtualHost *:443>
         SSLEngine on
diff --git a/UPGRADE.rst b/UPGRADE.rst
index 201d298123..55c77eedde 100644
--- a/UPGRADE.rst
+++ b/UPGRADE.rst
@@ -61,10 +61,6 @@ If you have email notifications enabled, you should ensure that
 have installed customised templates, or leave it unset to use the default
 templates.
 
-The configuration parser will try to detect the situation where
-``email.template_dir`` is incorrectly set to ``res/templates`` and do the right
-thing, but will warn about this.
-
 Upgrading to v0.27.3
 ====================
 
diff --git a/changelog.d/3698.misc b/changelog.d/3698.misc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..12537e76f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/3698.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Add information about the [matrix-docker-ansible-deploy](https://github.com/spantaleev/matrix-docker-ansible-deploy) playbook
diff --git a/changelog.d/3786.misc b/changelog.d/3786.misc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a9f9a2bb27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/3786.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Add initial implementation of new state resolution algorithm
diff --git a/changelog.d/3969.bugfix b/changelog.d/3969.bugfix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ca2759e91e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/3969.bugfix
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fix HTTP error response codes for federated group requests.
diff --git a/changelog.d/3975.feature b/changelog.d/3975.feature
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..162f30a532
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/3975.feature
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Servers with auto-join rooms will now automatically create those rooms when the first user registers
diff --git a/changelog.d/4011.misc b/changelog.d/4011.misc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ad7768c4cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/4011.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Reduce database load when fetching state groups
diff --git a/changelog.d/4051.feature b/changelog.d/4051.feature
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9c1b3a72a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/4051.feature
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Add config option to control alias creation
diff --git a/changelog.d/4063.misc b/changelog.d/4063.misc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..677fcb90ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/4063.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Refactor room alias creation code
diff --git a/changelog.d/4068.bugfix b/changelog.d/4068.bugfix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..74bda7491f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/4068.bugfix
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fix bug which prevented email notifications from being sent unless an absolute path was given for `email_templates`.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/changelog.d/4068.misc b/changelog.d/4068.misc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..db6c4ade59
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/4068.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Make the Python scripts in the top-level scripts folders meet pep8 and pass flake8.
diff --git a/changelog.d/4072.misc b/changelog.d/4072.misc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9d7279fd2b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/4072.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+The README now contains example for the Caddy web server. Contributed by steamp0rt.
diff --git a/changelog.d/4073.misc b/changelog.d/4073.misc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fc304bef06
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/4073.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Add psutil as an explicit dependency
diff --git a/changelog.d/4074.bugfix b/changelog.d/4074.bugfix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b3b6b00243
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/4074.bugfix
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Correctly account for cpu usage by background threads
diff --git a/changelog.d/4075.misc b/changelog.d/4075.misc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d08b8cc271
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/4075.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Clean up threading and logcontexts in pushers
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/changelog.d/4076.misc b/changelog.d/4076.misc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9dd000decf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/4076.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Correctly manage logcontexts during startup to fix some "Unexpected logging context" warnings
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/changelog.d/4077.misc b/changelog.d/4077.misc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..52ca4c1de2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/4077.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Give some more things logcontexts
diff --git a/changelog.d/4081.bugfix b/changelog.d/4081.bugfix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cfe4b3e9d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/4081.bugfix
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Fix race condition where config defined reserved users were not being added to
+the monthly active user list prior to the homeserver reactor firing up
diff --git a/changelog.d/4082.misc b/changelog.d/4082.misc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a81faf5e9b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/4082.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Clean up some bits of code which were flagged by the linter
diff --git a/changelog.d/4083.bugfix b/changelog.d/4083.bugfix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b3b08cdfa6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/4083.bugfix
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fix bug which prevented backslashes being used in event field filters
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/changelog.d/4085.feature b/changelog.d/4085.feature
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4bd3ddcf2c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/4085.feature
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+The register_new_matrix_user script is now ported to Python 3.
diff --git a/changelog.d/4089.feature b/changelog.d/4089.feature
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..62c9d839bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/4089.feature
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+ Configure Docker image to listen on both ipv4 and ipv6.
diff --git a/docker/conf/homeserver.yaml b/docker/conf/homeserver.yaml
index a38b929f50..1b0f655d26 100644
--- a/docker/conf/homeserver.yaml
+++ b/docker/conf/homeserver.yaml
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ listeners:
   {% if not SYNAPSE_NO_TLS %}
   -
     port: 8448
-    bind_addresses: ['0.0.0.0']
+    bind_addresses: ['::']
     type: http
     tls: true
     x_forwarded: false
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ listeners:
 
   - port: 8008
     tls: false
-    bind_addresses: ['0.0.0.0']
+    bind_addresses: ['::']
     type: http
     x_forwarded: false
 
diff --git a/scripts-dev/check_auth.py b/scripts-dev/check_auth.py
index 4fa8792a5f..b3d11f49ec 100644
--- a/scripts-dev/check_auth.py
+++ b/scripts-dev/check_auth.py
@@ -1,21 +1,20 @@
-from synapse.events import FrozenEvent
-from synapse.api.auth import Auth
-
-from mock import Mock
+from __future__ import print_function
 
 import argparse
 import itertools
 import json
 import sys
 
+from mock import Mock
+
+from synapse.api.auth import Auth
+from synapse.events import FrozenEvent
+
 
 def check_auth(auth, auth_chain, events):
     auth_chain.sort(key=lambda e: e.depth)
 
-    auth_map = {
-        e.event_id: e
-        for e in auth_chain
-    }
+    auth_map = {e.event_id: e for e in auth_chain}
 
     create_events = {}
     for e in auth_chain:
@@ -25,31 +24,26 @@ def check_auth(auth, auth_chain, events):
     for e in itertools.chain(auth_chain, events):
         auth_events_list = [auth_map[i] for i, _ in e.auth_events]
 
-        auth_events = {
-            (e.type, e.state_key): e
-            for e in auth_events_list
-        }
+        auth_events = {(e.type, e.state_key): e for e in auth_events_list}
 
         auth_events[("m.room.create", "")] = create_events[e.room_id]
 
         try:
             auth.check(e, auth_events=auth_events)
         except Exception as ex:
-            print "Failed:", e.event_id, e.type, e.state_key
-            print "Auth_events:", auth_events
-            print ex
-            print json.dumps(e.get_dict(), sort_keys=True, indent=4)
+            print("Failed:", e.event_id, e.type, e.state_key)
+            print("Auth_events:", auth_events)
+            print(ex)
+            print(json.dumps(e.get_dict(), sort_keys=True, indent=4))
             # raise
-        print "Success:", e.event_id, e.type, e.state_key
+        print("Success:", e.event_id, e.type, e.state_key)
+
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
 
     parser.add_argument(
-        'json',
-        nargs='?',
-        type=argparse.FileType('r'),
-        default=sys.stdin,
+        'json', nargs='?', type=argparse.FileType('r'), default=sys.stdin
     )
 
     args = parser.parse_args()
diff --git a/scripts-dev/check_event_hash.py b/scripts-dev/check_event_hash.py
index 7ccae34d48..8535f99697 100644
--- a/scripts-dev/check_event_hash.py
+++ b/scripts-dev/check_event_hash.py
@@ -1,10 +1,15 @@
-from synapse.crypto.event_signing import *
-from unpaddedbase64 import encode_base64
-
 import argparse
 import hashlib
-import sys
 import json
+import logging
+import sys
+
+from unpaddedbase64 import encode_base64
+
+from synapse.crypto.event_signing import (
+    check_event_content_hash,
+    compute_event_reference_hash,
+)
 
 
 class dictobj(dict):
@@ -24,27 +29,26 @@ class dictobj(dict):
 
 def main():
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
-    parser.add_argument("input_json", nargs="?", type=argparse.FileType('r'),
-                        default=sys.stdin)
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "input_json", nargs="?", type=argparse.FileType('r'), default=sys.stdin
+    )
     args = parser.parse_args()
     logging.basicConfig()
 
     event_json = dictobj(json.load(args.input_json))
 
-    algorithms = {
-        "sha256": hashlib.sha256,
-    }
+    algorithms = {"sha256": hashlib.sha256}
 
     for alg_name in event_json.hashes:
         if check_event_content_hash(event_json, algorithms[alg_name]):
-            print "PASS content hash %s" % (alg_name,)
+            print("PASS content hash %s" % (alg_name,))
         else:
-            print "FAIL content hash %s" % (alg_name,)
+            print("FAIL content hash %s" % (alg_name,))
 
     for algorithm in algorithms.values():
         name, h_bytes = compute_event_reference_hash(event_json, algorithm)
-        print "Reference hash %s: %s" % (name, encode_base64(h_bytes))
+        print("Reference hash %s: %s" % (name, encode_base64(h_bytes)))
 
-if __name__=="__main__":
-    main()
 
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/scripts-dev/check_signature.py b/scripts-dev/check_signature.py
index 079577908a..612f17ca7f 100644
--- a/scripts-dev/check_signature.py
+++ b/scripts-dev/check_signature.py
@@ -1,15 +1,15 @@
 
-from signedjson.sign import verify_signed_json
-from signedjson.key import decode_verify_key_bytes, write_signing_keys
-from unpaddedbase64 import decode_base64
-
-import urllib2
+import argparse
 import json
+import logging
 import sys
+import urllib2
+
 import dns.resolver
-import pprint
-import argparse
-import logging
+from signedjson.key import decode_verify_key_bytes, write_signing_keys
+from signedjson.sign import verify_signed_json
+from unpaddedbase64 import decode_base64
+
 
 def get_targets(server_name):
     if ":" in server_name:
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ def get_targets(server_name):
     except dns.resolver.NXDOMAIN:
         yield (server_name, 8448)
 
+
 def get_server_keys(server_name, target, port):
     url = "https://%s:%i/_matrix/key/v1" % (target, port)
     keys = json.load(urllib2.urlopen(url))
@@ -33,12 +34,14 @@ def get_server_keys(server_name, target, port):
         verify_keys[key_id] = verify_key
     return verify_keys
 
+
 def main():
 
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
     parser.add_argument("signature_name")
-    parser.add_argument("input_json", nargs="?", type=argparse.FileType('r'),
-                        default=sys.stdin)
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "input_json", nargs="?", type=argparse.FileType('r'), default=sys.stdin
+    )
 
     args = parser.parse_args()
     logging.basicConfig()
@@ -48,24 +51,23 @@ def main():
     for target, port in get_targets(server_name):
         try:
             keys = get_server_keys(server_name, target, port)
-            print "Using keys from https://%s:%s/_matrix/key/v1" % (target, port)
+            print("Using keys from https://%s:%s/_matrix/key/v1" % (target, port))
             write_signing_keys(sys.stdout, keys.values())
             break
-        except:
+        except Exception:
             logging.exception("Error talking to %s:%s", target, port)
 
     json_to_check = json.load(args.input_json)
-    print "Checking JSON:"
+    print("Checking JSON:")
     for key_id in json_to_check["signatures"][args.signature_name]:
         try:
             key = keys[key_id]
             verify_signed_json(json_to_check, args.signature_name, key)
-            print "PASS %s" % (key_id,)
-        except:
+            print("PASS %s" % (key_id,))
+        except Exception:
             logging.exception("Check for key %s failed" % (key_id,))
-            print "FAIL %s" % (key_id,)
+            print("FAIL %s" % (key_id,))
 
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     main()
-
diff --git a/scripts-dev/convert_server_keys.py b/scripts-dev/convert_server_keys.py
index 151551f22c..dde8596697 100644
--- a/scripts-dev/convert_server_keys.py
+++ b/scripts-dev/convert_server_keys.py
@@ -1,13 +1,21 @@
-import psycopg2
-import yaml
-import sys
+import hashlib
 import json
+import sys
 import time
-import hashlib
-from unpaddedbase64 import encode_base64
+
+import six
+
+import psycopg2
+import yaml
+from canonicaljson import encode_canonical_json
 from signedjson.key import read_signing_keys
 from signedjson.sign import sign_json
-from canonicaljson import encode_canonical_json
+from unpaddedbase64 import encode_base64
+
+if six.PY2:
+    db_type = six.moves.builtins.buffer
+else:
+    db_type = memoryview
 
 
 def select_v1_keys(connection):
@@ -39,7 +47,9 @@ def select_v2_json(connection):
     cursor.close()
     results = {}
     for server_name, key_id, key_json in rows:
-        results.setdefault(server_name, {})[key_id] = json.loads(str(key_json).decode("utf-8"))
+        results.setdefault(server_name, {})[key_id] = json.loads(
+            str(key_json).decode("utf-8")
+        )
     return results
 
 
@@ -47,10 +57,7 @@ def convert_v1_to_v2(server_name, valid_until, keys, certificate):
     return {
         "old_verify_keys": {},
         "server_name": server_name,
-        "verify_keys": {
-            key_id: {"key": key}
-            for key_id, key in keys.items()
-        },
+        "verify_keys": {key_id: {"key": key} for key_id, key in keys.items()},
         "valid_until_ts": valid_until,
         "tls_fingerprints": [fingerprint(certificate)],
     }
@@ -65,7 +72,7 @@ def rows_v2(server, json):
     valid_until = json["valid_until_ts"]
     key_json = encode_canonical_json(json)
     for key_id in json["verify_keys"]:
-        yield (server, key_id, "-", valid_until, valid_until, buffer(key_json))
+        yield (server, key_id, "-", valid_until, valid_until, db_type(key_json))
 
 
 def main():
@@ -87,7 +94,7 @@ def main():
 
     result = {}
     for server in keys:
-        if not server in json:
+        if server not in json:
             v2_json = convert_v1_to_v2(
                 server, valid_until, keys[server], certificates[server]
             )
@@ -96,10 +103,7 @@ def main():
 
     yaml.safe_dump(result, sys.stdout, default_flow_style=False)
 
-    rows = list(
-        row for server, json in result.items()
-        for row in rows_v2(server, json)
-    )
+    rows = list(row for server, json in result.items() for row in rows_v2(server, json))
 
     cursor = connection.cursor()
     cursor.executemany(
@@ -107,7 +111,7 @@ def main():
         " server_name, key_id, from_server,"
         " ts_added_ms, ts_valid_until_ms, key_json"
         ") VALUES (%s, %s, %s, %s, %s, %s)",
-        rows
+        rows,
     )
     connection.commit()
 
diff --git a/scripts-dev/definitions.py b/scripts-dev/definitions.py
index 47dac7772d..1deb0fe2b7 100755
--- a/scripts-dev/definitions.py
+++ b/scripts-dev/definitions.py
@@ -1,8 +1,16 @@
 #! /usr/bin/python
 
+from __future__ import print_function
+
+import argparse
 import ast
+import os
+import re
+import sys
+
 import yaml
 
+
 class DefinitionVisitor(ast.NodeVisitor):
     def __init__(self):
         super(DefinitionVisitor, self).__init__()
@@ -42,15 +50,18 @@ def non_empty(defs):
     functions = {name: non_empty(f) for name, f in defs['def'].items()}
     classes = {name: non_empty(f) for name, f in defs['class'].items()}
     result = {}
-    if functions: result['def'] = functions
-    if classes: result['class'] = classes
+    if functions:
+        result['def'] = functions
+    if classes:
+        result['class'] = classes
     names = defs['names']
     uses = []
     for name in names.get('Load', ()):
         if name not in names.get('Param', ()) and name not in names.get('Store', ()):
             uses.append(name)
     uses.extend(defs['attrs'])
-    if uses: result['uses'] = uses
+    if uses:
+        result['uses'] = uses
     result['names'] = names
     result['attrs'] = defs['attrs']
     return result
@@ -95,7 +106,6 @@ def used_names(prefix, item, defs, names):
 
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
-    import sys, os, argparse, re
 
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='Find definitions.')
     parser.add_argument(
@@ -105,24 +115,28 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
         "--ignore", action="append", metavar="REGEXP", help="Ignore a pattern"
     )
     parser.add_argument(
-        "--pattern", action="append", metavar="REGEXP",
-        help="Search for a pattern"
+        "--pattern", action="append", metavar="REGEXP", help="Search for a pattern"
     )
     parser.add_argument(
-        "directories", nargs='+', metavar="DIR",
-        help="Directories to search for definitions"
+        "directories",
+        nargs='+',
+        metavar="DIR",
+        help="Directories to search for definitions",
     )
     parser.add_argument(
-        "--referrers", default=0, type=int,
-        help="Include referrers up to the given depth"
+        "--referrers",
+        default=0,
+        type=int,
+        help="Include referrers up to the given depth",
     )
     parser.add_argument(
-        "--referred", default=0, type=int,
-        help="Include referred down to the given depth"
+        "--referred",
+        default=0,
+        type=int,
+        help="Include referred down to the given depth",
     )
     parser.add_argument(
-        "--format", default="yaml",
-        help="Output format, one of 'yaml' or 'dot'"
+        "--format", default="yaml", help="Output format, one of 'yaml' or 'dot'"
     )
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
@@ -162,7 +176,7 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
             for used_by in entry.get("used", ()):
                 referrers.add(used_by)
         for name, definition in names.items():
-            if not name in referrers:
+            if name not in referrers:
                 continue
             if ignore and any(pattern.match(name) for pattern in ignore):
                 continue
@@ -176,7 +190,7 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
             for uses in entry.get("uses", ()):
                 referred.add(uses)
         for name, definition in names.items():
-            if not name in referred:
+            if name not in referred:
                 continue
             if ignore and any(pattern.match(name) for pattern in ignore):
                 continue
@@ -185,12 +199,12 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
     if args.format == 'yaml':
         yaml.dump(result, sys.stdout, default_flow_style=False)
     elif args.format == 'dot':
-        print "digraph {"
+        print("digraph {")
         for name, entry in result.items():
-            print name
+            print(name)
             for used_by in entry.get("used", ()):
                 if used_by in result:
-                    print used_by, "->", name
-        print "}"
+                    print(used_by, "->", name)
+        print("}")
     else:
         raise ValueError("Unknown format %r" % (args.format))
diff --git a/scripts-dev/dump_macaroon.py b/scripts-dev/dump_macaroon.py
index fcc5568835..22b30fa78e 100755
--- a/scripts-dev/dump_macaroon.py
+++ b/scripts-dev/dump_macaroon.py
@@ -1,8 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python2
 
-import pymacaroons
+from __future__ import print_function
+
 import sys
 
+import pymacaroons
+
 if len(sys.argv) == 1:
     sys.stderr.write("usage: %s macaroon [key]\n" % (sys.argv[0],))
     sys.exit(1)
@@ -11,14 +14,14 @@ macaroon_string = sys.argv[1]
 key = sys.argv[2] if len(sys.argv) > 2 else None
 
 macaroon = pymacaroons.Macaroon.deserialize(macaroon_string)
-print macaroon.inspect()
+print(macaroon.inspect())
 
-print ""
+print("")
 
 verifier = pymacaroons.Verifier()
 verifier.satisfy_general(lambda c: True)
 try:
     verifier.verify(macaroon, key)
-    print "Signature is correct"
+    print("Signature is correct")
 except Exception as e:
-    print str(e)
+    print(str(e))
diff --git a/scripts-dev/federation_client.py b/scripts-dev/federation_client.py
index d2acc7654d..2566ce7cef 100755
--- a/scripts-dev/federation_client.py
+++ b/scripts-dev/federation_client.py
@@ -18,21 +18,21 @@
 from __future__ import print_function
 
 import argparse
+import base64
+import json
+import sys
 from urlparse import urlparse, urlunparse
 
 import nacl.signing
-import json
-import base64
 import requests
-import sys
-
-from requests.adapters import HTTPAdapter
 import srvlookup
 import yaml
+from requests.adapters import HTTPAdapter
 
 # uncomment the following to enable debug logging of http requests
-#from httplib import HTTPConnection
-#HTTPConnection.debuglevel = 1
+# from httplib import HTTPConnection
+# HTTPConnection.debuglevel = 1
+
 
 def encode_base64(input_bytes):
     """Encode bytes as a base64 string without any padding."""
@@ -58,15 +58,15 @@ def decode_base64(input_string):
 
 def encode_canonical_json(value):
     return json.dumps(
-         value,
-         # Encode code-points outside of ASCII as UTF-8 rather than \u escapes
-         ensure_ascii=False,
-         # Remove unecessary white space.
-         separators=(',',':'),
-         # Sort the keys of dictionaries.
-         sort_keys=True,
-         # Encode the resulting unicode as UTF-8 bytes.
-     ).encode("UTF-8")
+        value,
+        # Encode code-points outside of ASCII as UTF-8 rather than \u escapes
+        ensure_ascii=False,
+        # Remove unecessary white space.
+        separators=(',', ':'),
+        # Sort the keys of dictionaries.
+        sort_keys=True,
+        # Encode the resulting unicode as UTF-8 bytes.
+    ).encode("UTF-8")
 
 
 def sign_json(json_object, signing_key, signing_name):
@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@ def sign_json(json_object, signing_key, signing_name):
 
 NACL_ED25519 = "ed25519"
 
+
 def decode_signing_key_base64(algorithm, version, key_base64):
     """Decode a base64 encoded signing key
     Args:
@@ -143,14 +144,12 @@ def request_json(method, origin_name, origin_key, destination, path, content):
     authorization_headers = []
 
     for key, sig in signed_json["signatures"][origin_name].items():
-        header = "X-Matrix origin=%s,key=\"%s\",sig=\"%s\"" % (
-            origin_name, key, sig,
-        )
+        header = "X-Matrix origin=%s,key=\"%s\",sig=\"%s\"" % (origin_name, key, sig)
         authorization_headers.append(bytes(header))
-        print ("Authorization: %s" % header, file=sys.stderr)
+        print("Authorization: %s" % header, file=sys.stderr)
 
     dest = "matrix://%s%s" % (destination, path)
-    print ("Requesting %s" % dest, file=sys.stderr)
+    print("Requesting %s" % dest, file=sys.stderr)
 
     s = requests.Session()
     s.mount("matrix://", MatrixConnectionAdapter())
@@ -158,10 +157,7 @@ def request_json(method, origin_name, origin_key, destination, path, content):
     result = s.request(
         method=method,
         url=dest,
-        headers={
-            "Host": destination,
-            "Authorization": authorization_headers[0]
-        },
+        headers={"Host": destination, "Authorization": authorization_headers[0]},
         verify=False,
         data=content,
     )
@@ -171,50 +167,50 @@ def request_json(method, origin_name, origin_key, destination, path, content):
 
 def main():
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
-        description=
-            "Signs and sends a federation request to a matrix homeserver",
+        description="Signs and sends a federation request to a matrix homeserver"
     )
 
     parser.add_argument(
-        "-N", "--server-name",
+        "-N",
+        "--server-name",
         help="Name to give as the local homeserver. If unspecified, will be "
-             "read from the config file.",
+        "read from the config file.",
     )
 
     parser.add_argument(
-        "-k", "--signing-key-path",
+        "-k",
+        "--signing-key-path",
         help="Path to the file containing the private ed25519 key to sign the "
-             "request with.",
+        "request with.",
     )
 
     parser.add_argument(
-        "-c", "--config",
+        "-c",
+        "--config",
         default="homeserver.yaml",
         help="Path to server config file. Ignored if --server-name and "
-             "--signing-key-path are both given.",
+        "--signing-key-path are both given.",
     )
 
     parser.add_argument(
-        "-d", "--destination",
+        "-d",
+        "--destination",
         default="matrix.org",
         help="name of the remote homeserver. We will do SRV lookups and "
-             "connect appropriately.",
+        "connect appropriately.",
     )
 
     parser.add_argument(
-        "-X", "--method",
+        "-X",
+        "--method",
         help="HTTP method to use for the request. Defaults to GET if --data is"
-             "unspecified, POST if it is."
+        "unspecified, POST if it is.",
     )
 
-    parser.add_argument(
-        "--body",
-        help="Data to send as the body of the HTTP request"
-    )
+    parser.add_argument("--body", help="Data to send as the body of the HTTP request")
 
     parser.add_argument(
-        "path",
-        help="request path. We will add '/_matrix/federation/v1/' to this."
+        "path", help="request path. We will add '/_matrix/federation/v1/' to this."
     )
 
     args = parser.parse_args()
@@ -227,13 +223,15 @@ def main():
 
     result = request_json(
         args.method,
-        args.server_name, key, args.destination,
+        args.server_name,
+        key,
+        args.destination,
         "/_matrix/federation/v1/" + args.path,
         content=args.body,
     )
 
     json.dump(result, sys.stdout)
-    print ("")
+    print("")
 
 
 def read_args_from_config(args):
@@ -253,7 +251,7 @@ class MatrixConnectionAdapter(HTTPAdapter):
             return s, 8448
 
         if ":" in s:
-            out = s.rsplit(":",1)
+            out = s.rsplit(":", 1)
             try:
                 port = int(out[1])
             except ValueError:
@@ -263,7 +261,7 @@ class MatrixConnectionAdapter(HTTPAdapter):
         try:
             srv = srvlookup.lookup("matrix", "tcp", s)[0]
             return srv.host, srv.port
-        except:
+        except Exception:
             return s, 8448
 
     def get_connection(self, url, proxies=None):
@@ -272,10 +270,9 @@ class MatrixConnectionAdapter(HTTPAdapter):
         (host, port) = self.lookup(parsed.netloc)
         netloc = "%s:%d" % (host, port)
         print("Connecting to %s" % (netloc,), file=sys.stderr)
-        url = urlunparse((
-            "https", netloc, parsed.path, parsed.params, parsed.query,
-            parsed.fragment,
-        ))
+        url = urlunparse(
+            ("https", netloc, parsed.path, parsed.params, parsed.query, parsed.fragment)
+        )
         return super(MatrixConnectionAdapter, self).get_connection(url, proxies)
 
 
diff --git a/scripts-dev/hash_history.py b/scripts-dev/hash_history.py
index 616d6a10e7..514d80fa60 100644
--- a/scripts-dev/hash_history.py
+++ b/scripts-dev/hash_history.py
@@ -1,23 +1,31 @@
-from synapse.storage.pdu import PduStore
-from synapse.storage.signatures import SignatureStore
-from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore
-from synapse.federation.units import Pdu
-from synapse.crypto.event_signing import (
-    add_event_pdu_content_hash, compute_pdu_event_reference_hash
-)
-from synapse.api.events.utils import prune_pdu
-from unpaddedbase64 import encode_base64, decode_base64
-from canonicaljson import encode_canonical_json
+from __future__ import print_function
+
 import sqlite3
 import sys
 
+from unpaddedbase64 import decode_base64, encode_base64
+
+from synapse.crypto.event_signing import (
+    add_event_pdu_content_hash,
+    compute_pdu_event_reference_hash,
+)
+from synapse.federation.units import Pdu
+from synapse.storage._base import SQLBaseStore
+from synapse.storage.pdu import PduStore
+from synapse.storage.signatures import SignatureStore
+
+
 class Store(object):
     _get_pdu_tuples = PduStore.__dict__["_get_pdu_tuples"]
     _get_pdu_content_hashes_txn = SignatureStore.__dict__["_get_pdu_content_hashes_txn"]
     _get_prev_pdu_hashes_txn = SignatureStore.__dict__["_get_prev_pdu_hashes_txn"]
-    _get_pdu_origin_signatures_txn = SignatureStore.__dict__["_get_pdu_origin_signatures_txn"]
+    _get_pdu_origin_signatures_txn = SignatureStore.__dict__[
+        "_get_pdu_origin_signatures_txn"
+    ]
     _store_pdu_content_hash_txn = SignatureStore.__dict__["_store_pdu_content_hash_txn"]
-    _store_pdu_reference_hash_txn = SignatureStore.__dict__["_store_pdu_reference_hash_txn"]
+    _store_pdu_reference_hash_txn = SignatureStore.__dict__[
+        "_store_pdu_reference_hash_txn"
+    ]
     _store_prev_pdu_hash_txn = SignatureStore.__dict__["_store_prev_pdu_hash_txn"]
     _simple_insert_txn = SQLBaseStore.__dict__["_simple_insert_txn"]
 
@@ -26,9 +34,7 @@ store = Store()
 
 
 def select_pdus(cursor):
-    cursor.execute(
-        "SELECT pdu_id, origin FROM pdus ORDER BY depth ASC"
-    )
+    cursor.execute("SELECT pdu_id, origin FROM pdus ORDER BY depth ASC")
 
     ids = cursor.fetchall()
 
@@ -41,23 +47,30 @@ def select_pdus(cursor):
     for pdu in pdus:
         try:
             if pdu.prev_pdus:
-                print "PROCESS", pdu.pdu_id, pdu.origin, pdu.prev_pdus
+                print("PROCESS", pdu.pdu_id, pdu.origin, pdu.prev_pdus)
                 for pdu_id, origin, hashes in pdu.prev_pdus:
                     ref_alg, ref_hsh = reference_hashes[(pdu_id, origin)]
                     hashes[ref_alg] = encode_base64(ref_hsh)
-                    store._store_prev_pdu_hash_txn(cursor,  pdu.pdu_id, pdu.origin, pdu_id, origin, ref_alg, ref_hsh)
-                print "SUCCESS", pdu.pdu_id, pdu.origin, pdu.prev_pdus
+                    store._store_prev_pdu_hash_txn(
+                        cursor, pdu.pdu_id, pdu.origin, pdu_id, origin, ref_alg, ref_hsh
+                    )
+                print("SUCCESS", pdu.pdu_id, pdu.origin, pdu.prev_pdus)
             pdu = add_event_pdu_content_hash(pdu)
             ref_alg, ref_hsh = compute_pdu_event_reference_hash(pdu)
             reference_hashes[(pdu.pdu_id, pdu.origin)] = (ref_alg, ref_hsh)
-            store._store_pdu_reference_hash_txn(cursor, pdu.pdu_id, pdu.origin, ref_alg, ref_hsh)
+            store._store_pdu_reference_hash_txn(
+                cursor, pdu.pdu_id, pdu.origin, ref_alg, ref_hsh
+            )
 
             for alg, hsh_base64 in pdu.hashes.items():
-                print alg, hsh_base64
-                store._store_pdu_content_hash_txn(cursor, pdu.pdu_id, pdu.origin, alg, decode_base64(hsh_base64))
+                print(alg, hsh_base64)
+                store._store_pdu_content_hash_txn(
+                    cursor, pdu.pdu_id, pdu.origin, alg, decode_base64(hsh_base64)
+                )
+
+        except Exception:
+            print("FAILED_", pdu.pdu_id, pdu.origin, pdu.prev_pdus)
 
-        except:
-            print "FAILED_", pdu.pdu_id, pdu.origin, pdu.prev_pdus
 
 def main():
     conn = sqlite3.connect(sys.argv[1])
@@ -65,5 +78,6 @@ def main():
     select_pdus(cursor)
     conn.commit()
 
-if __name__=='__main__':
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
     main()
diff --git a/scripts-dev/list_url_patterns.py b/scripts-dev/list_url_patterns.py
index 58d40c4ff4..da027be26e 100755
--- a/scripts-dev/list_url_patterns.py
+++ b/scripts-dev/list_url_patterns.py
@@ -1,18 +1,17 @@
 #! /usr/bin/python
 
-import ast
 import argparse
+import ast
 import os
 import sys
+
 import yaml
 
 PATTERNS_V1 = []
 PATTERNS_V2 = []
 
-RESULT = {
-    "v1": PATTERNS_V1,
-    "v2": PATTERNS_V2,
-}
+RESULT = {"v1": PATTERNS_V1, "v2": PATTERNS_V2}
+
 
 class CallVisitor(ast.NodeVisitor):
     def visit_Call(self, node):
@@ -21,7 +20,6 @@ class CallVisitor(ast.NodeVisitor):
         else:
             return
 
-
         if name == "client_path_patterns":
             PATTERNS_V1.append(node.args[0].s)
         elif name == "client_v2_patterns":
@@ -42,8 +40,10 @@ def find_patterns_in_file(filepath):
 parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='Find url patterns.')
 
 parser.add_argument(
-    "directories", nargs='+', metavar="DIR",
-    help="Directories to search for definitions"
+    "directories",
+    nargs='+',
+    metavar="DIR",
+    help="Directories to search for definitions",
 )
 
 args = parser.parse_args()
diff --git a/scripts-dev/tail-synapse.py b/scripts-dev/tail-synapse.py
index 18be711e92..7c9985d9f0 100644
--- a/scripts-dev/tail-synapse.py
+++ b/scripts-dev/tail-synapse.py
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
-import requests
 import collections
+import json
 import sys
 import time
-import json
+
+import requests
 
 Entry = collections.namedtuple("Entry", "name position rows")
 
@@ -30,11 +31,11 @@ def parse_response(content):
 
 
 def replicate(server, streams):
-    return parse_response(requests.get(
-        server + "/_synapse/replication",
-        verify=False,
-        params=streams
-    ).content)
+    return parse_response(
+        requests.get(
+            server + "/_synapse/replication", verify=False, params=streams
+        ).content
+    )
 
 
 def main():
@@ -45,16 +46,16 @@ def main():
         try:
             streams = {
                 row.name: row.position
-                for row in replicate(server, {"streams":"-1"})["streams"].rows
+                for row in replicate(server, {"streams": "-1"})["streams"].rows
             }
-        except requests.exceptions.ConnectionError as e:
+        except requests.exceptions.ConnectionError:
             time.sleep(0.1)
 
     while True:
         try:
             results = replicate(server, streams)
-        except:
-            sys.stdout.write("connection_lost("+ repr(streams) + ")\n")
+        except Exception:
+            sys.stdout.write("connection_lost(" + repr(streams) + ")\n")
             break
         for update in results.values():
             for row in update.rows:
@@ -62,6 +63,5 @@ def main():
             streams[update.name] = update.position
 
 
-
-if __name__=='__main__':
+if __name__ == '__main__':
     main()
diff --git a/scripts/hash_password b/scripts/hash_password
index 215ab25cfe..a62bb5aa83 100755
--- a/scripts/hash_password
+++ b/scripts/hash_password
@@ -1,12 +1,10 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
 
 import argparse
-
+import getpass
 import sys
 
 import bcrypt
-import getpass
-
 import yaml
 
 bcrypt_rounds=12
@@ -52,4 +50,3 @@ if __name__ == "__main__":
         password = prompt_for_pass()
 
     print bcrypt.hashpw(password + password_pepper, bcrypt.gensalt(bcrypt_rounds))
-
diff --git a/scripts/move_remote_media_to_new_store.py b/scripts/move_remote_media_to_new_store.py
index 7914ead889..e630936f78 100755
--- a/scripts/move_remote_media_to_new_store.py
+++ b/scripts/move_remote_media_to_new_store.py
@@ -36,12 +36,9 @@ from __future__ import print_function
 
 import argparse
 import logging
-
-import sys
-
 import os
-
 import shutil
+import sys
 
 from synapse.rest.media.v1.filepath import MediaFilePaths
 
@@ -77,24 +74,23 @@ def move_media(origin_server, file_id, src_paths, dest_paths):
     if not os.path.exists(original_file):
         logger.warn(
             "Original for %s/%s (%s) does not exist",
-            origin_server, file_id, original_file,
+            origin_server,
+            file_id,
+            original_file,
         )
     else:
         mkdir_and_move(
-            original_file,
-            dest_paths.remote_media_filepath(origin_server, file_id),
+            original_file, dest_paths.remote_media_filepath(origin_server, file_id)
         )
 
     # now look for thumbnails
-    original_thumb_dir = src_paths.remote_media_thumbnail_dir(
-        origin_server, file_id,
-    )
+    original_thumb_dir = src_paths.remote_media_thumbnail_dir(origin_server, file_id)
     if not os.path.exists(original_thumb_dir):
         return
 
     mkdir_and_move(
         original_thumb_dir,
-        dest_paths.remote_media_thumbnail_dir(origin_server, file_id)
+        dest_paths.remote_media_thumbnail_dir(origin_server, file_id),
     )
 
 
@@ -109,24 +105,16 @@ def mkdir_and_move(original_file, dest_file):
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
-        description=__doc__,
-        formatter_class = argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter,
-    )
-    parser.add_argument(
-        "-v", action='store_true', help='enable debug logging')
-    parser.add_argument(
-        "src_repo",
-        help="Path to source content repo",
-    )
-    parser.add_argument(
-        "dest_repo",
-        help="Path to source content repo",
+        description=__doc__, formatter_class=argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter
     )
+    parser.add_argument("-v", action='store_true', help='enable debug logging')
+    parser.add_argument("src_repo", help="Path to source content repo")
+    parser.add_argument("dest_repo", help="Path to source content repo")
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
     logging_config = {
         "level": logging.DEBUG if args.v else logging.INFO,
-        "format": "%(asctime)s - %(name)s - %(lineno)d - %(levelname)s - %(message)s"
+        "format": "%(asctime)s - %(name)s - %(lineno)d - %(levelname)s - %(message)s",
     }
     logging.basicConfig(**logging_config)
 
diff --git a/scripts/register_new_matrix_user b/scripts/register_new_matrix_user
index 91bdb3a25b..b450712ab7 100755
--- a/scripts/register_new_matrix_user
+++ b/scripts/register_new_matrix_user
@@ -14,197 +14,9 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
+from __future__ import print_function
 
-import argparse
-import getpass
-import hashlib
-import hmac
-import json
-import sys
-import urllib2
-import yaml
-
-
-def request_registration(user, password, server_location, shared_secret, admin=False):
-    req = urllib2.Request(
-        "%s/_matrix/client/r0/admin/register" % (server_location,),
-        headers={'Content-Type': 'application/json'}
-    )
-
-    try:
-        if sys.version_info[:3] >= (2, 7, 9):
-            # As of version 2.7.9, urllib2 now checks SSL certs
-            import ssl
-            f = urllib2.urlopen(req, context=ssl.SSLContext(ssl.PROTOCOL_SSLv23))
-        else:
-            f = urllib2.urlopen(req)
-        body = f.read()
-        f.close()
-        nonce = json.loads(body)["nonce"]
-    except urllib2.HTTPError as e:
-        print "ERROR! Received %d %s" % (e.code, e.reason,)
-        if 400 <= e.code < 500:
-            if e.info().type == "application/json":
-                resp = json.load(e)
-                if "error" in resp:
-                    print resp["error"]
-        sys.exit(1)
-
-    mac = hmac.new(
-        key=shared_secret,
-        digestmod=hashlib.sha1,
-    )
-
-    mac.update(nonce)
-    mac.update("\x00")
-    mac.update(user)
-    mac.update("\x00")
-    mac.update(password)
-    mac.update("\x00")
-    mac.update("admin" if admin else "notadmin")
-
-    mac = mac.hexdigest()
-
-    data = {
-        "nonce": nonce,
-        "username": user,
-        "password": password,
-        "mac": mac,
-        "admin": admin,
-    }
-
-    server_location = server_location.rstrip("/")
-
-    print "Sending registration request..."
-
-    req = urllib2.Request(
-        "%s/_matrix/client/r0/admin/register" % (server_location,),
-        data=json.dumps(data),
-        headers={'Content-Type': 'application/json'}
-    )
-    try:
-        if sys.version_info[:3] >= (2, 7, 9):
-            # As of version 2.7.9, urllib2 now checks SSL certs
-            import ssl
-            f = urllib2.urlopen(req, context=ssl.SSLContext(ssl.PROTOCOL_SSLv23))
-        else:
-            f = urllib2.urlopen(req)
-        f.read()
-        f.close()
-        print "Success."
-    except urllib2.HTTPError as e:
-        print "ERROR! Received %d %s" % (e.code, e.reason,)
-        if 400 <= e.code < 500:
-            if e.info().type == "application/json":
-                resp = json.load(e)
-                if "error" in resp:
-                    print resp["error"]
-        sys.exit(1)
-
-
-def register_new_user(user, password, server_location, shared_secret, admin):
-    if not user:
-        try:
-            default_user = getpass.getuser()
-        except:
-            default_user = None
-
-        if default_user:
-            user = raw_input("New user localpart [%s]: " % (default_user,))
-            if not user:
-                user = default_user
-        else:
-            user = raw_input("New user localpart: ")
-
-    if not user:
-        print "Invalid user name"
-        sys.exit(1)
-
-    if not password:
-        password = getpass.getpass("Password: ")
-
-        if not password:
-            print "Password cannot be blank."
-            sys.exit(1)
-
-        confirm_password = getpass.getpass("Confirm password: ")
-
-        if password != confirm_password:
-            print "Passwords do not match"
-            sys.exit(1)
-
-    if admin is None:
-        admin = raw_input("Make admin [no]: ")
-        if admin in ("y", "yes", "true"):
-            admin = True
-        else:
-            admin = False
-
-    request_registration(user, password, server_location, shared_secret, bool(admin))
-
+from synapse._scripts.register_new_matrix_user import main
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
-    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
-        description="Used to register new users with a given home server when"
-                    " registration has been disabled. The home server must be"
-                    " configured with the 'registration_shared_secret' option"
-                    " set.",
-    )
-    parser.add_argument(
-        "-u", "--user",
-        default=None,
-        help="Local part of the new user. Will prompt if omitted.",
-    )
-    parser.add_argument(
-        "-p", "--password",
-        default=None,
-        help="New password for user. Will prompt if omitted.",
-    )
-    admin_group = parser.add_mutually_exclusive_group()
-    admin_group.add_argument(
-        "-a", "--admin",
-        action="store_true",
-        help="Register new user as an admin. Will prompt if --no-admin is not set either.",
-    )
-    admin_group.add_argument(
-        "--no-admin",
-        action="store_true",
-        help="Register new user as a regular user. Will prompt if --admin is not set either.",
-    )
-
-    group = parser.add_mutually_exclusive_group(required=True)
-    group.add_argument(
-        "-c", "--config",
-        type=argparse.FileType('r'),
-        help="Path to server config file. Used to read in shared secret.",
-    )
-
-    group.add_argument(
-        "-k", "--shared-secret",
-        help="Shared secret as defined in server config file.",
-    )
-
-    parser.add_argument(
-        "server_url",
-        default="https://localhost:8448",
-        nargs='?',
-        help="URL to use to talk to the home server. Defaults to "
-             " 'https://localhost:8448'.",
-    )
-
-    args = parser.parse_args()
-
-    if "config" in args and args.config:
-        config = yaml.safe_load(args.config)
-        secret = config.get("registration_shared_secret", None)
-        if not secret:
-            print "No 'registration_shared_secret' defined in config."
-            sys.exit(1)
-    else:
-        secret = args.shared_secret
-
-    admin = None
-    if args.admin or args.no_admin:
-        admin = args.admin
-
-    register_new_user(args.user, args.password, args.server_url, secret, admin)
+    main()
diff --git a/scripts/synapse_port_db b/scripts/synapse_port_db
index b9b828c154..3c7b606323 100755
--- a/scripts/synapse_port_db
+++ b/scripts/synapse_port_db
@@ -15,23 +15,23 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-from twisted.internet import defer, reactor
-from twisted.enterprise import adbapi
-
-from synapse.storage._base import LoggingTransaction, SQLBaseStore
-from synapse.storage.engines import create_engine
-from synapse.storage.prepare_database import prepare_database
-
 import argparse
 import curses
 import logging
 import sys
 import time
 import traceback
-import yaml
 
 from six import string_types
 
+import yaml
+
+from twisted.enterprise import adbapi
+from twisted.internet import defer, reactor
+
+from synapse.storage._base import LoggingTransaction, SQLBaseStore
+from synapse.storage.engines import create_engine
+from synapse.storage.prepare_database import prepare_database
 
 logger = logging.getLogger("synapse_port_db")
 
@@ -105,6 +105,7 @@ class Store(object):
 
     *All* database interactions should go through this object.
     """
+
     def __init__(self, db_pool, engine):
         self.db_pool = db_pool
         self.database_engine = engine
@@ -135,7 +136,8 @@ class Store(object):
                         txn = conn.cursor()
                         return func(
                             LoggingTransaction(txn, desc, self.database_engine, [], []),
-                            *args, **kwargs
+                            *args,
+                            **kwargs
                         )
                     except self.database_engine.module.DatabaseError as e:
                         if self.database_engine.is_deadlock(e):
@@ -158,22 +160,20 @@ class Store(object):
         def r(txn):
             txn.execute(sql, args)
             return txn.fetchall()
+
         return self.runInteraction("execute_sql", r)
 
     def insert_many_txn(self, txn, table, headers, rows):
         sql = "INSERT INTO %s (%s) VALUES (%s)" % (
             table,
             ", ".join(k for k in headers),
-            ", ".join("%s" for _ in headers)
+            ", ".join("%s" for _ in headers),
         )
 
         try:
             txn.executemany(sql, rows)
-        except:
-            logger.exception(
-                "Failed to insert: %s",
-                table,
-            )
+        except Exception:
+            logger.exception("Failed to insert: %s", table)
             raise
 
 
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ class Porter(object):
                             "table_name": table,
                             "forward_rowid": 1,
                             "backward_rowid": 0,
-                        }
+                        },
                     )
 
                     forward_chunk = 1
@@ -221,10 +221,10 @@ class Porter(object):
                     table, forward_chunk, backward_chunk
                 )
         else:
+
             def delete_all(txn):
                 txn.execute(
-                    "DELETE FROM port_from_sqlite3 WHERE table_name = %s",
-                    (table,)
+                    "DELETE FROM port_from_sqlite3 WHERE table_name = %s", (table,)
                 )
                 txn.execute("TRUNCATE %s CASCADE" % (table,))
 
@@ -232,11 +232,7 @@ class Porter(object):
 
             yield self.postgres_store._simple_insert(
                 table="port_from_sqlite3",
-                values={
-                    "table_name": table,
-                    "forward_rowid": 1,
-                    "backward_rowid": 0,
-                }
+                values={"table_name": table, "forward_rowid": 1, "backward_rowid": 0},
             )
 
             forward_chunk = 1
@@ -251,12 +247,16 @@ class Porter(object):
         )
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def handle_table(self, table, postgres_size, table_size, forward_chunk,
-                     backward_chunk):
+    def handle_table(
+        self, table, postgres_size, table_size, forward_chunk, backward_chunk
+    ):
         logger.info(
             "Table %s: %i/%i (rows %i-%i) already ported",
-            table, postgres_size, table_size,
-            backward_chunk+1, forward_chunk-1,
+            table,
+            postgres_size,
+            table_size,
+            backward_chunk + 1,
+            forward_chunk - 1,
         )
 
         if not table_size:
@@ -271,7 +271,9 @@ class Porter(object):
             return
 
         if table in (
-            "user_directory", "user_directory_search", "users_who_share_rooms",
+            "user_directory",
+            "user_directory_search",
+            "users_who_share_rooms",
             "users_in_pubic_room",
         ):
             # We don't port these tables, as they're a faff and we can regenreate
@@ -283,37 +285,35 @@ class Porter(object):
             # We need to make sure there is a single row, `(X, null), as that is
             # what synapse expects to be there.
             yield self.postgres_store._simple_insert(
-                table=table,
-                values={"stream_id": None},
+                table=table, values={"stream_id": None}
             )
             self.progress.update(table, table_size)  # Mark table as done
             return
 
         forward_select = (
-            "SELECT rowid, * FROM %s WHERE rowid >= ? ORDER BY rowid LIMIT ?"
-            % (table,)
+            "SELECT rowid, * FROM %s WHERE rowid >= ? ORDER BY rowid LIMIT ?" % (table,)
         )
 
         backward_select = (
-            "SELECT rowid, * FROM %s WHERE rowid <= ? ORDER BY rowid LIMIT ?"
-            % (table,)
+            "SELECT rowid, * FROM %s WHERE rowid <= ? ORDER BY rowid LIMIT ?" % (table,)
         )
 
         do_forward = [True]
         do_backward = [True]
 
         while True:
+
             def r(txn):
                 forward_rows = []
                 backward_rows = []
                 if do_forward[0]:
-                    txn.execute(forward_select, (forward_chunk, self.batch_size,))
+                    txn.execute(forward_select, (forward_chunk, self.batch_size))
                     forward_rows = txn.fetchall()
                     if not forward_rows:
                         do_forward[0] = False
 
                 if do_backward[0]:
-                    txn.execute(backward_select, (backward_chunk, self.batch_size,))
+                    txn.execute(backward_select, (backward_chunk, self.batch_size))
                     backward_rows = txn.fetchall()
                     if not backward_rows:
                         do_backward[0] = False
@@ -325,9 +325,7 @@ class Porter(object):
 
                 return headers, forward_rows, backward_rows
 
-            headers, frows, brows = yield self.sqlite_store.runInteraction(
-                "select", r
-            )
+            headers, frows, brows = yield self.sqlite_store.runInteraction("select", r)
 
             if frows or brows:
                 if frows:
@@ -339,9 +337,7 @@ class Porter(object):
                 rows = self._convert_rows(table, headers, rows)
 
                 def insert(txn):
-                    self.postgres_store.insert_many_txn(
-                        txn, table, headers[1:], rows
-                    )
+                    self.postgres_store.insert_many_txn(txn, table, headers[1:], rows)
 
                     self.postgres_store._simple_update_one_txn(
                         txn,
@@ -362,8 +358,9 @@ class Porter(object):
                 return
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def handle_search_table(self, postgres_size, table_size, forward_chunk,
-                            backward_chunk):
+    def handle_search_table(
+        self, postgres_size, table_size, forward_chunk, backward_chunk
+    ):
         select = (
             "SELECT es.rowid, es.*, e.origin_server_ts, e.stream_ordering"
             " FROM event_search as es"
@@ -373,8 +370,9 @@ class Porter(object):
         )
 
         while True:
+
             def r(txn):
-                txn.execute(select, (forward_chunk, self.batch_size,))
+                txn.execute(select, (forward_chunk, self.batch_size))
                 rows = txn.fetchall()
                 headers = [column[0] for column in txn.description]
 
@@ -402,18 +400,21 @@ class Porter(object):
                         else:
                             rows_dict.append(d)
 
-                    txn.executemany(sql, [
-                        (
-                            row["event_id"],
-                            row["room_id"],
-                            row["key"],
-                            row["sender"],
-                            row["value"],
-                            row["origin_server_ts"],
-                            row["stream_ordering"],
-                        )
-                        for row in rows_dict
-                    ])
+                    txn.executemany(
+                        sql,
+                        [
+                            (
+                                row["event_id"],
+                                row["room_id"],
+                                row["key"],
+                                row["sender"],
+                                row["value"],
+                                row["origin_server_ts"],
+                                row["stream_ordering"],
+                            )
+                            for row in rows_dict
+                        ],
+                    )
 
                     self.postgres_store._simple_update_one_txn(
                         txn,
@@ -437,7 +438,8 @@ class Porter(object):
     def setup_db(self, db_config, database_engine):
         db_conn = database_engine.module.connect(
             **{
-                k: v for k, v in db_config.get("args", {}).items()
+                k: v
+                for k, v in db_config.get("args", {}).items()
                 if not k.startswith("cp_")
             }
         )
@@ -450,13 +452,11 @@ class Porter(object):
     def run(self):
         try:
             sqlite_db_pool = adbapi.ConnectionPool(
-                self.sqlite_config["name"],
-                **self.sqlite_config["args"]
+                self.sqlite_config["name"], **self.sqlite_config["args"]
             )
 
             postgres_db_pool = adbapi.ConnectionPool(
-                self.postgres_config["name"],
-                **self.postgres_config["args"]
+                self.postgres_config["name"], **self.postgres_config["args"]
             )
 
             sqlite_engine = create_engine(sqlite_config)
@@ -465,9 +465,7 @@ class Porter(object):
             self.sqlite_store = Store(sqlite_db_pool, sqlite_engine)
             self.postgres_store = Store(postgres_db_pool, postgres_engine)
 
-            yield self.postgres_store.execute(
-                postgres_engine.check_database
-            )
+            yield self.postgres_store.execute(postgres_engine.check_database)
 
             # Step 1. Set up databases.
             self.progress.set_state("Preparing SQLite3")
@@ -477,6 +475,7 @@ class Porter(object):
             self.setup_db(postgres_config, postgres_engine)
 
             self.progress.set_state("Creating port tables")
+
             def create_port_table(txn):
                 txn.execute(
                     "CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS port_from_sqlite3 ("
@@ -501,10 +500,9 @@ class Porter(object):
                 )
 
             try:
-                yield self.postgres_store.runInteraction(
-                    "alter_table", alter_table
-                )
-            except Exception as e:
+                yield self.postgres_store.runInteraction("alter_table", alter_table)
+            except Exception:
+                # On Error Resume Next
                 pass
 
             yield self.postgres_store.runInteraction(
@@ -514,11 +512,7 @@ class Porter(object):
             # Step 2. Get tables.
             self.progress.set_state("Fetching tables")
             sqlite_tables = yield self.sqlite_store._simple_select_onecol(
-                table="sqlite_master",
-                keyvalues={
-                    "type": "table",
-                },
-                retcol="name",
+                table="sqlite_master", keyvalues={"type": "table"}, retcol="name"
             )
 
             postgres_tables = yield self.postgres_store._simple_select_onecol(
@@ -545,18 +539,14 @@ class Porter(object):
             # Step 4. Do the copying.
             self.progress.set_state("Copying to postgres")
             yield defer.gatherResults(
-                [
-                    self.handle_table(*res)
-                    for res in setup_res
-                ],
-                consumeErrors=True,
+                [self.handle_table(*res) for res in setup_res], consumeErrors=True
             )
 
             # Step 5. Do final post-processing
             yield self._setup_state_group_id_seq()
 
             self.progress.done()
-        except:
+        except Exception:
             global end_error_exec_info
             end_error_exec_info = sys.exc_info()
             logger.exception("")
@@ -566,9 +556,7 @@ class Porter(object):
     def _convert_rows(self, table, headers, rows):
         bool_col_names = BOOLEAN_COLUMNS.get(table, [])
 
-        bool_cols = [
-            i for i, h in enumerate(headers) if h in bool_col_names
-        ]
+        bool_cols = [i for i, h in enumerate(headers) if h in bool_col_names]
 
         class BadValueException(Exception):
             pass
@@ -577,18 +565,21 @@ class Porter(object):
             if j in bool_cols:
                 return bool(col)
             elif isinstance(col, string_types) and "\0" in col:
-                logger.warn("DROPPING ROW: NUL value in table %s col %s: %r", table, headers[j], col)
-                raise BadValueException();
+                logger.warn(
+                    "DROPPING ROW: NUL value in table %s col %s: %r",
+                    table,
+                    headers[j],
+                    col,
+                )
+                raise BadValueException()
             return col
 
         outrows = []
         for i, row in enumerate(rows):
             try:
-                outrows.append(tuple(
-                    conv(j, col)
-                    for j, col in enumerate(row)
-                    if j > 0
-                ))
+                outrows.append(
+                    tuple(conv(j, col) for j, col in enumerate(row) if j > 0)
+                )
             except BadValueException:
                 pass
 
@@ -616,9 +607,7 @@ class Porter(object):
 
             return headers, [r for r in rows if r[ts_ind] < yesterday]
 
-        headers, rows = yield self.sqlite_store.runInteraction(
-            "select", r,
-        )
+        headers, rows = yield self.sqlite_store.runInteraction("select", r)
 
         rows = self._convert_rows("sent_transactions", headers, rows)
 
@@ -639,7 +628,7 @@ class Porter(object):
             txn.execute(
                 "SELECT rowid FROM sent_transactions WHERE ts >= ?"
                 " ORDER BY rowid ASC LIMIT 1",
-                (yesterday,)
+                (yesterday,),
             )
 
             rows = txn.fetchall()
@@ -657,21 +646,17 @@ class Porter(object):
                 "table_name": "sent_transactions",
                 "forward_rowid": next_chunk,
                 "backward_rowid": 0,
-            }
+            },
         )
 
         def get_sent_table_size(txn):
             txn.execute(
-                "SELECT count(*) FROM sent_transactions"
-                " WHERE ts >= ?",
-                (yesterday,)
+                "SELECT count(*) FROM sent_transactions" " WHERE ts >= ?", (yesterday,)
             )
             size, = txn.fetchone()
             return int(size)
 
-        remaining_count = yield self.sqlite_store.execute(
-            get_sent_table_size
-        )
+        remaining_count = yield self.sqlite_store.execute(get_sent_table_size)
 
         total_count = remaining_count + inserted_rows
 
@@ -680,13 +665,11 @@ class Porter(object):
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def _get_remaining_count_to_port(self, table, forward_chunk, backward_chunk):
         frows = yield self.sqlite_store.execute_sql(
-            "SELECT count(*) FROM %s WHERE rowid >= ?" % (table,),
-            forward_chunk,
+            "SELECT count(*) FROM %s WHERE rowid >= ?" % (table,), forward_chunk
         )
 
         brows = yield self.sqlite_store.execute_sql(
-            "SELECT count(*) FROM %s WHERE rowid <= ?" % (table,),
-            backward_chunk,
+            "SELECT count(*) FROM %s WHERE rowid <= ?" % (table,), backward_chunk
         )
 
         defer.returnValue(frows[0][0] + brows[0][0])
@@ -694,7 +677,7 @@ class Porter(object):
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def _get_already_ported_count(self, table):
         rows = yield self.postgres_store.execute_sql(
-            "SELECT count(*) FROM %s" % (table,),
+            "SELECT count(*) FROM %s" % (table,)
         )
 
         defer.returnValue(rows[0][0])
@@ -717,22 +700,21 @@ class Porter(object):
     def _setup_state_group_id_seq(self):
         def r(txn):
             txn.execute("SELECT MAX(id) FROM state_groups")
-            next_id = txn.fetchone()[0]+1
-            txn.execute(
-                "ALTER SEQUENCE state_group_id_seq RESTART WITH %s",
-                (next_id,),
-            )
+            next_id = txn.fetchone()[0] + 1
+            txn.execute("ALTER SEQUENCE state_group_id_seq RESTART WITH %s", (next_id,))
+
         return self.postgres_store.runInteraction("setup_state_group_id_seq", r)
 
 
 ##############################################
-###### The following is simply UI stuff ######
+# The following is simply UI stuff
 ##############################################
 
 
 class Progress(object):
     """Used to report progress of the port
     """
+
     def __init__(self):
         self.tables = {}
 
@@ -758,6 +740,7 @@ class Progress(object):
 class CursesProgress(Progress):
     """Reports progress to a curses window
     """
+
     def __init__(self, stdscr):
         self.stdscr = stdscr
 
@@ -801,7 +784,7 @@ class CursesProgress(Progress):
         duration = int(now) - int(self.start_time)
 
         minutes, seconds = divmod(duration, 60)
-        duration_str = '%02dm %02ds' % (minutes, seconds,)
+        duration_str = '%02dm %02ds' % (minutes, seconds)
 
         if self.finished:
             status = "Time spent: %s (Done!)" % (duration_str,)
@@ -814,16 +797,12 @@ class CursesProgress(Progress):
                 est_remaining_str = '%02dm %02ds remaining' % divmod(est_remaining, 60)
             else:
                 est_remaining_str = "Unknown"
-            status = (
-                "Time spent: %s (est. remaining: %s)"
-                % (duration_str, est_remaining_str,)
+            status = "Time spent: %s (est. remaining: %s)" % (
+                duration_str,
+                est_remaining_str,
             )
 
-        self.stdscr.addstr(
-            0, 0,
-            status,
-            curses.A_BOLD,
-        )
+        self.stdscr.addstr(0, 0, status, curses.A_BOLD)
 
         max_len = max([len(t) for t in self.tables.keys()])
 
@@ -831,9 +810,7 @@ class CursesProgress(Progress):
         middle_space = 1
 
         items = self.tables.items()
-        items.sort(
-            key=lambda i: (i[1]["perc"], i[0]),
-        )
+        items.sort(key=lambda i: (i[1]["perc"], i[0]))
 
         for i, (table, data) in enumerate(items):
             if i + 2 >= rows:
@@ -844,9 +821,7 @@ class CursesProgress(Progress):
             color = curses.color_pair(2) if perc == 100 else curses.color_pair(1)
 
             self.stdscr.addstr(
-                i + 2, left_margin + max_len - len(table),
-                table,
-                curses.A_BOLD | color,
+                i + 2, left_margin + max_len - len(table), table, curses.A_BOLD | color
             )
 
             size = 20
@@ -857,15 +832,13 @@ class CursesProgress(Progress):
             )
 
             self.stdscr.addstr(
-                i + 2, left_margin + max_len + middle_space,
+                i + 2,
+                left_margin + max_len + middle_space,
                 "%s %3d%% (%d/%d)" % (progress, perc, data["num_done"], data["total"]),
             )
 
         if self.finished:
-            self.stdscr.addstr(
-                rows - 1, 0,
-                "Press any key to exit...",
-            )
+            self.stdscr.addstr(rows - 1, 0, "Press any key to exit...")
 
         self.stdscr.refresh()
         self.last_update = time.time()
@@ -877,29 +850,25 @@ class CursesProgress(Progress):
 
     def set_state(self, state):
         self.stdscr.clear()
-        self.stdscr.addstr(
-            0, 0,
-            state + "...",
-            curses.A_BOLD,
-        )
+        self.stdscr.addstr(0, 0, state + "...", curses.A_BOLD)
         self.stdscr.refresh()
 
 
 class TerminalProgress(Progress):
     """Just prints progress to the terminal
     """
+
     def update(self, table, num_done):
         super(TerminalProgress, self).update(table, num_done)
 
         data = self.tables[table]
 
-        print "%s: %d%% (%d/%d)" % (
-            table, data["perc"],
-            data["num_done"], data["total"],
+        print(
+            "%s: %d%% (%d/%d)" % (table, data["perc"], data["num_done"], data["total"])
         )
 
     def set_state(self, state):
-        print state + "..."
+        print(state + "...")
 
 
 ##############################################
@@ -909,34 +878,38 @@ class TerminalProgress(Progress):
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
         description="A script to port an existing synapse SQLite database to"
-                    " a new PostgreSQL database."
+        " a new PostgreSQL database."
     )
     parser.add_argument("-v", action='store_true')
     parser.add_argument(
-        "--sqlite-database", required=True,
+        "--sqlite-database",
+        required=True,
         help="The snapshot of the SQLite database file. This must not be"
-             " currently used by a running synapse server"
+        " currently used by a running synapse server",
     )
     parser.add_argument(
-        "--postgres-config", type=argparse.FileType('r'), required=True,
-        help="The database config file for the PostgreSQL database"
+        "--postgres-config",
+        type=argparse.FileType('r'),
+        required=True,
+        help="The database config file for the PostgreSQL database",
     )
     parser.add_argument(
-        "--curses", action='store_true',
-        help="display a curses based progress UI"
+        "--curses", action='store_true', help="display a curses based progress UI"
     )
 
     parser.add_argument(
-        "--batch-size", type=int, default=1000,
+        "--batch-size",
+        type=int,
+        default=1000,
         help="The number of rows to select from the SQLite table each"
-             " iteration [default=1000]",
+        " iteration [default=1000]",
     )
 
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
     logging_config = {
         "level": logging.DEBUG if args.v else logging.INFO,
-        "format": "%(asctime)s - %(name)s - %(lineno)d - %(levelname)s - %(message)s"
+        "format": "%(asctime)s - %(name)s - %(lineno)d - %(levelname)s - %(message)s",
     }
 
     if args.curses:
diff --git a/setup.cfg b/setup.cfg
index 52feaa9cc7..b6b4aa740d 100644
--- a/setup.cfg
+++ b/setup.cfg
@@ -14,17 +14,16 @@ ignore =
     pylint.cfg
     tox.ini
 
-[pep8]
-max-line-length = 90
-#  W503 requires that binary operators be at the end, not start, of lines. Erik
-#  doesn't like it.  E203 is contrary to PEP8.  E731 is silly.
-ignore = W503,E203,E731
-
 [flake8]
-# note that flake8 inherits the "ignore" settings from "pep8" (because it uses
-# pep8 to do those checks), but not the "max-line-length" setting
 max-line-length = 90
-ignore=W503,E203,E731
+
+# see https://pycodestyle.readthedocs.io/en/latest/intro.html#error-codes
+# for error codes. The ones we ignore are:
+#  W503: line break before binary operator
+#  W504: line break after binary operator
+#  E203: whitespace before ':' (which is contrary to pep8?)
+#  E731: do not assign a lambda expression, use a def
+ignore=W503,W504,E203,E731
 
 [isort]
 line_length = 89
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index b00c2af367..00b69c43f5 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
 
-# Copyright 2014-2016 OpenMarket Ltd
+# Copyright 2014-2017 OpenMarket Ltd
+# Copyright 2017 Vector Creations Ltd
+# Copyright 2017-2018 New Vector Ltd
 #
 # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -86,7 +88,7 @@ setup(
     name="matrix-synapse",
     version=version,
     packages=find_packages(exclude=["tests", "tests.*"]),
-    description="Reference Synapse Home Server",
+    description="Reference homeserver for the Matrix decentralised comms protocol",
     install_requires=dependencies['requirements'](include_conditional=True).keys(),
     dependency_links=dependencies["DEPENDENCY_LINKS"].values(),
     include_package_data=True,
diff --git a/synapse/_scripts/__init__.py b/synapse/_scripts/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/synapse/_scripts/__init__.py
diff --git a/synapse/_scripts/register_new_matrix_user.py b/synapse/_scripts/register_new_matrix_user.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..70cecde486
--- /dev/null
+++ b/synapse/_scripts/register_new_matrix_user.py
@@ -0,0 +1,215 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+# Copyright 2015, 2016 OpenMarket Ltd
+# Copyright 2018 New Vector
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+from __future__ import print_function
+
+import argparse
+import getpass
+import hashlib
+import hmac
+import logging
+import sys
+
+from six.moves import input
+
+import requests as _requests
+import yaml
+
+
+def request_registration(
+    user,
+    password,
+    server_location,
+    shared_secret,
+    admin=False,
+    requests=_requests,
+    _print=print,
+    exit=sys.exit,
+):
+
+    url = "%s/_matrix/client/r0/admin/register" % (server_location,)
+
+    # Get the nonce
+    r = requests.get(url, verify=False)
+
+    if r.status_code is not 200:
+        _print("ERROR! Received %d %s" % (r.status_code, r.reason))
+        if 400 <= r.status_code < 500:
+            try:
+                _print(r.json()["error"])
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+        return exit(1)
+
+    nonce = r.json()["nonce"]
+
+    mac = hmac.new(key=shared_secret.encode('utf8'), digestmod=hashlib.sha1)
+
+    mac.update(nonce.encode('utf8'))
+    mac.update(b"\x00")
+    mac.update(user.encode('utf8'))
+    mac.update(b"\x00")
+    mac.update(password.encode('utf8'))
+    mac.update(b"\x00")
+    mac.update(b"admin" if admin else b"notadmin")
+
+    mac = mac.hexdigest()
+
+    data = {
+        "nonce": nonce,
+        "username": user,
+        "password": password,
+        "mac": mac,
+        "admin": admin,
+    }
+
+    _print("Sending registration request...")
+    r = requests.post(url, json=data, verify=False)
+
+    if r.status_code is not 200:
+        _print("ERROR! Received %d %s" % (r.status_code, r.reason))
+        if 400 <= r.status_code < 500:
+            try:
+                _print(r.json()["error"])
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+        return exit(1)
+
+    _print("Success!")
+
+
+def register_new_user(user, password, server_location, shared_secret, admin):
+    if not user:
+        try:
+            default_user = getpass.getuser()
+        except Exception:
+            default_user = None
+
+        if default_user:
+            user = input("New user localpart [%s]: " % (default_user,))
+            if not user:
+                user = default_user
+        else:
+            user = input("New user localpart: ")
+
+    if not user:
+        print("Invalid user name")
+        sys.exit(1)
+
+    if not password:
+        password = getpass.getpass("Password: ")
+
+        if not password:
+            print("Password cannot be blank.")
+            sys.exit(1)
+
+        confirm_password = getpass.getpass("Confirm password: ")
+
+        if password != confirm_password:
+            print("Passwords do not match")
+            sys.exit(1)
+
+    if admin is None:
+        admin = input("Make admin [no]: ")
+        if admin in ("y", "yes", "true"):
+            admin = True
+        else:
+            admin = False
+
+    request_registration(user, password, server_location, shared_secret, bool(admin))
+
+
+def main():
+
+    logging.captureWarnings(True)
+
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
+        description="Used to register new users with a given home server when"
+        " registration has been disabled. The home server must be"
+        " configured with the 'registration_shared_secret' option"
+        " set."
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-u",
+        "--user",
+        default=None,
+        help="Local part of the new user. Will prompt if omitted.",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-p",
+        "--password",
+        default=None,
+        help="New password for user. Will prompt if omitted.",
+    )
+    admin_group = parser.add_mutually_exclusive_group()
+    admin_group.add_argument(
+        "-a",
+        "--admin",
+        action="store_true",
+        help=(
+            "Register new user as an admin. "
+            "Will prompt if --no-admin is not set either."
+        ),
+    )
+    admin_group.add_argument(
+        "--no-admin",
+        action="store_true",
+        help=(
+            "Register new user as a regular user. "
+            "Will prompt if --admin is not set either."
+        ),
+    )
+
+    group = parser.add_mutually_exclusive_group(required=True)
+    group.add_argument(
+        "-c",
+        "--config",
+        type=argparse.FileType('r'),
+        help="Path to server config file. Used to read in shared secret.",
+    )
+
+    group.add_argument(
+        "-k", "--shared-secret", help="Shared secret as defined in server config file."
+    )
+
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "server_url",
+        default="https://localhost:8448",
+        nargs='?',
+        help="URL to use to talk to the home server. Defaults to "
+        " 'https://localhost:8448'.",
+    )
+
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    if "config" in args and args.config:
+        config = yaml.safe_load(args.config)
+        secret = config.get("registration_shared_secret", None)
+        if not secret:
+            print("No 'registration_shared_secret' defined in config.")
+            sys.exit(1)
+    else:
+        secret = args.shared_secret
+
+    admin = None
+    if args.admin or args.no_admin:
+        admin = args.admin
+
+    register_new_user(args.user, args.password, args.server_url, secret, admin)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/synapse/api/filtering.py b/synapse/api/filtering.py
index eed8c67e6a..677c0bdd4c 100644
--- a/synapse/api/filtering.py
+++ b/synapse/api/filtering.py
@@ -172,7 +172,10 @@ USER_FILTER_SCHEMA = {
                 # events a lot easier as we can then use a negative lookbehind
                 # assertion to split '\.' If we allowed \\ then it would
                 # incorrectly split '\\.' See synapse.events.utils.serialize_event
-                "pattern": "^((?!\\\).)*$"
+                #
+                # Note that because this is a regular expression, we have to escape
+                # each backslash in the pattern.
+                "pattern": r"^((?!\\\\).)*$"
             }
         }
     },
diff --git a/synapse/app/homeserver.py b/synapse/app/homeserver.py
index e3f0d99a3f..593e1e75db 100755
--- a/synapse/app/homeserver.py
+++ b/synapse/app/homeserver.py
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import sys
 
 from six import iteritems
 
+import psutil
 from prometheus_client import Gauge
 
 from twisted.application import service
@@ -502,7 +503,6 @@ def run(hs):
 
     def performance_stats_init():
         try:
-            import psutil
             process = psutil.Process()
             # Ensure we can fetch both, and make the initial request for cpu_percent
             # so the next request will use this as the initial point.
@@ -510,12 +510,9 @@ def run(hs):
             process.cpu_percent(interval=None)
             logger.info("report_stats can use psutil")
             stats_process.append(process)
-        except (ImportError, AttributeError):
-            logger.warn(
-                "report_stats enabled but psutil is not installed or incorrect version."
-                " Disabling reporting of memory/cpu stats."
-                " Ensuring psutil is available will help matrix.org track performance"
-                " changes across releases."
+        except (AttributeError):
+            logger.warning(
+                "Unable to read memory/cpu stats. Disabling reporting."
             )
 
     def generate_user_daily_visit_stats():
@@ -530,10 +527,13 @@ def run(hs):
     clock.looping_call(generate_user_daily_visit_stats, 5 * 60 * 1000)
 
     # monthly active user limiting functionality
-    clock.looping_call(
-        hs.get_datastore().reap_monthly_active_users, 1000 * 60 * 60
-    )
-    hs.get_datastore().reap_monthly_active_users()
+    def reap_monthly_active_users():
+        return run_as_background_process(
+            "reap_monthly_active_users",
+            hs.get_datastore().reap_monthly_active_users,
+        )
+    clock.looping_call(reap_monthly_active_users, 1000 * 60 * 60)
+    reap_monthly_active_users()
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def generate_monthly_active_users():
@@ -547,12 +547,15 @@ def run(hs):
         registered_reserved_users_mau_gauge.set(float(reserved_count))
         max_mau_gauge.set(float(hs.config.max_mau_value))
 
-    hs.get_datastore().initialise_reserved_users(
-        hs.config.mau_limits_reserved_threepids
-    )
-    generate_monthly_active_users()
+    def start_generate_monthly_active_users():
+        return run_as_background_process(
+            "generate_monthly_active_users",
+            generate_monthly_active_users,
+        )
+
+    start_generate_monthly_active_users()
     if hs.config.limit_usage_by_mau:
-        clock.looping_call(generate_monthly_active_users, 5 * 60 * 1000)
+        clock.looping_call(start_generate_monthly_active_users, 5 * 60 * 1000)
     # End of monthly active user settings
 
     if hs.config.report_stats:
@@ -568,7 +571,7 @@ def run(hs):
         clock.call_later(5 * 60, start_phone_stats_home)
 
     if hs.config.daemonize and hs.config.print_pidfile:
-        print (hs.config.pid_file)
+        print(hs.config.pid_file)
 
     _base.start_reactor(
         "synapse-homeserver",
diff --git a/synapse/app/pusher.py b/synapse/app/pusher.py
index 0f9f8e19f6..83b0863f00 100644
--- a/synapse/app/pusher.py
+++ b/synapse/app/pusher.py
@@ -161,11 +161,11 @@ class PusherReplicationHandler(ReplicationClientHandler):
                     else:
                         yield self.start_pusher(row.user_id, row.app_id, row.pushkey)
             elif stream_name == "events":
-                self.pusher_pool.on_new_notifications(
+                yield self.pusher_pool.on_new_notifications(
                     token, token,
                 )
             elif stream_name == "receipts":
-                self.pusher_pool.on_new_receipts(
+                yield self.pusher_pool.on_new_receipts(
                     token, token, set(row.room_id for row in rows)
                 )
         except Exception:
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ class PusherReplicationHandler(ReplicationClientHandler):
     def start_pusher(self, user_id, app_id, pushkey):
         key = "%s:%s" % (app_id, pushkey)
         logger.info("Starting pusher %r / %r", user_id, key)
-        return self.pusher_pool._refresh_pusher(app_id, pushkey, user_id)
+        return self.pusher_pool.start_pusher_by_id(app_id, pushkey, user_id)
 
 
 def start(config_options):
diff --git a/synapse/config/__main__.py b/synapse/config/__main__.py
index 8fccf573ee..79fe9c3dac 100644
--- a/synapse/config/__main__.py
+++ b/synapse/config/__main__.py
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ if __name__ == "__main__":
             sys.stderr.write("\n" + str(e) + "\n")
             sys.exit(1)
 
-        print (getattr(config, key))
+        print(getattr(config, key))
         sys.exit(0)
     else:
         sys.stderr.write("Unknown command %r\n" % (action,))
diff --git a/synapse/config/_base.py b/synapse/config/_base.py
index 3d2e90dd5b..14dae65ea0 100644
--- a/synapse/config/_base.py
+++ b/synapse/config/_base.py
@@ -106,10 +106,7 @@ class Config(object):
     @classmethod
     def check_file(cls, file_path, config_name):
         if file_path is None:
-            raise ConfigError(
-                "Missing config for %s."
-                % (config_name,)
-            )
+            raise ConfigError("Missing config for %s." % (config_name,))
         try:
             os.stat(file_path)
         except OSError as e:
@@ -128,9 +125,7 @@ class Config(object):
             if e.errno != errno.EEXIST:
                 raise
         if not os.path.isdir(dir_path):
-            raise ConfigError(
-                "%s is not a directory" % (dir_path,)
-            )
+            raise ConfigError("%s is not a directory" % (dir_path,))
         return dir_path
 
     @classmethod
@@ -156,21 +151,20 @@ class Config(object):
         return results
 
     def generate_config(
-            self,
-            config_dir_path,
-            server_name,
-            is_generating_file,
-            report_stats=None,
+        self, config_dir_path, server_name, is_generating_file, report_stats=None
     ):
         default_config = "# vim:ft=yaml\n"
 
-        default_config += "\n\n".join(dedent(conf) for conf in self.invoke_all(
-            "default_config",
-            config_dir_path=config_dir_path,
-            server_name=server_name,
-            is_generating_file=is_generating_file,
-            report_stats=report_stats,
-        ))
+        default_config += "\n\n".join(
+            dedent(conf)
+            for conf in self.invoke_all(
+                "default_config",
+                config_dir_path=config_dir_path,
+                server_name=server_name,
+                is_generating_file=is_generating_file,
+                report_stats=report_stats,
+            )
+        )
 
         config = yaml.load(default_config)
 
@@ -178,23 +172,22 @@ class Config(object):
 
     @classmethod
     def load_config(cls, description, argv):
-        config_parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
-            description=description,
-        )
+        config_parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=description)
         config_parser.add_argument(
-            "-c", "--config-path",
+            "-c",
+            "--config-path",
             action="append",
             metavar="CONFIG_FILE",
             help="Specify config file. Can be given multiple times and"
-                 " may specify directories containing *.yaml files."
+            " may specify directories containing *.yaml files.",
         )
 
         config_parser.add_argument(
             "--keys-directory",
             metavar="DIRECTORY",
             help="Where files such as certs and signing keys are stored when"
-                 " their location is given explicitly in the config."
-                 " Defaults to the directory containing the last config file",
+            " their location is given explicitly in the config."
+            " Defaults to the directory containing the last config file",
         )
 
         config_args = config_parser.parse_args(argv)
@@ -203,9 +196,7 @@ class Config(object):
 
         obj = cls()
         obj.read_config_files(
-            config_files,
-            keys_directory=config_args.keys_directory,
-            generate_keys=False,
+            config_files, keys_directory=config_args.keys_directory, generate_keys=False
         )
         return obj
 
@@ -213,38 +204,38 @@ class Config(object):
     def load_or_generate_config(cls, description, argv):
         config_parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(add_help=False)
         config_parser.add_argument(
-            "-c", "--config-path",
+            "-c",
+            "--config-path",
             action="append",
             metavar="CONFIG_FILE",
             help="Specify config file. Can be given multiple times and"
-                 " may specify directories containing *.yaml files."
+            " may specify directories containing *.yaml files.",
         )
         config_parser.add_argument(
             "--generate-config",
             action="store_true",
-            help="Generate a config file for the server name"
+            help="Generate a config file for the server name",
         )
         config_parser.add_argument(
             "--report-stats",
             action="store",
             help="Whether the generated config reports anonymized usage statistics",
-            choices=["yes", "no"]
+            choices=["yes", "no"],
         )
         config_parser.add_argument(
             "--generate-keys",
             action="store_true",
-            help="Generate any missing key files then exit"
+            help="Generate any missing key files then exit",
         )
         config_parser.add_argument(
             "--keys-directory",
             metavar="DIRECTORY",
             help="Used with 'generate-*' options to specify where files such as"
-                 " certs and signing keys should be stored in, unless explicitly"
-                 " specified in the config."
+            " certs and signing keys should be stored in, unless explicitly"
+            " specified in the config.",
         )
         config_parser.add_argument(
-            "-H", "--server-name",
-            help="The server name to generate a config file for"
+            "-H", "--server-name", help="The server name to generate a config file for"
         )
         config_args, remaining_args = config_parser.parse_known_args(argv)
 
@@ -257,8 +248,8 @@ class Config(object):
         if config_args.generate_config:
             if config_args.report_stats is None:
                 config_parser.error(
-                    "Please specify either --report-stats=yes or --report-stats=no\n\n" +
-                    MISSING_REPORT_STATS_SPIEL
+                    "Please specify either --report-stats=yes or --report-stats=no\n\n"
+                    + MISSING_REPORT_STATS_SPIEL
                 )
             if not config_files:
                 config_parser.error(
@@ -287,26 +278,32 @@ class Config(object):
                         config_dir_path=config_dir_path,
                         server_name=server_name,
                         report_stats=(config_args.report_stats == "yes"),
-                        is_generating_file=True
+                        is_generating_file=True,
                     )
                     obj.invoke_all("generate_files", config)
                     config_file.write(config_str)
-                print((
-                    "A config file has been generated in %r for server name"
-                    " %r with corresponding SSL keys and self-signed"
-                    " certificates. Please review this file and customise it"
-                    " to your needs."
-                ) % (config_path, server_name))
+                print(
+                    (
+                        "A config file has been generated in %r for server name"
+                        " %r with corresponding SSL keys and self-signed"
+                        " certificates. Please review this file and customise it"
+                        " to your needs."
+                    )
+                    % (config_path, server_name)
+                )
                 print(
                     "If this server name is incorrect, you will need to"
                     " regenerate the SSL certificates"
                 )
                 return
             else:
-                print((
-                    "Config file %r already exists. Generating any missing key"
-                    " files."
-                ) % (config_path,))
+                print(
+                    (
+                        "Config file %r already exists. Generating any missing key"
+                        " files."
+                    )
+                    % (config_path,)
+                )
                 generate_keys = True
 
         parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
@@ -338,8 +335,7 @@ class Config(object):
 
         return obj
 
-    def read_config_files(self, config_files, keys_directory=None,
-                          generate_keys=False):
+    def read_config_files(self, config_files, keys_directory=None, generate_keys=False):
         if not keys_directory:
             keys_directory = os.path.dirname(config_files[-1])
 
@@ -364,8 +360,9 @@ class Config(object):
 
         if "report_stats" not in config:
             raise ConfigError(
-                MISSING_REPORT_STATS_CONFIG_INSTRUCTIONS + "\n" +
-                MISSING_REPORT_STATS_SPIEL
+                MISSING_REPORT_STATS_CONFIG_INSTRUCTIONS
+                + "\n"
+                + MISSING_REPORT_STATS_SPIEL
             )
 
         if generate_keys:
@@ -399,16 +396,16 @@ def find_config_files(search_paths):
                 for entry in os.listdir(config_path):
                     entry_path = os.path.join(config_path, entry)
                     if not os.path.isfile(entry_path):
-                        print (
-                            "Found subdirectory in config directory: %r. IGNORING."
-                        ) % (entry_path, )
+                        err = "Found subdirectory in config directory: %r. IGNORING."
+                        print(err % (entry_path,))
                         continue
 
                     if not entry.endswith(".yaml"):
-                        print (
-                            "Found file in config directory that does not"
-                            " end in '.yaml': %r. IGNORING."
-                        ) % (entry_path, )
+                        err = (
+                            "Found file in config directory that does not end in "
+                            "'.yaml': %r. IGNORING."
+                        )
+                        print(err % (entry_path,))
                         continue
 
                     files.append(entry_path)
diff --git a/synapse/config/emailconfig.py b/synapse/config/emailconfig.py
index e2582cfecc..93d70cff14 100644
--- a/synapse/config/emailconfig.py
+++ b/synapse/config/emailconfig.py
@@ -19,18 +19,12 @@ from __future__ import print_function
 import email.utils
 import logging
 import os
-import sys
-import textwrap
 
-from ._base import Config
+import pkg_resources
 
-logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+from ._base import Config, ConfigError
 
-TEMPLATE_DIR_WARNING = """\
-WARNING: The email notifier is configured to look for templates in '%(template_dir)s',
-but no templates could be found there. We will fall back to using the example templates;
-to get rid of this warning, leave 'email.template_dir' unset.
-"""
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
 class EmailConfig(Config):
@@ -78,20 +72,22 @@ class EmailConfig(Config):
             self.email_notif_template_html = email_config["notif_template_html"]
             self.email_notif_template_text = email_config["notif_template_text"]
 
-            self.email_template_dir = email_config.get("template_dir")
-
-            # backwards-compatibility hack
-            if (
-                self.email_template_dir == "res/templates"
-                and not os.path.isfile(
-                    os.path.join(self.email_template_dir, self.email_notif_template_text)
+            template_dir = email_config.get("template_dir")
+            # we need an absolute path, because we change directory after starting (and
+            # we don't yet know what auxilliary templates like mail.css we will need).
+            # (Note that loading as package_resources with jinja.PackageLoader doesn't
+            # work for the same reason.)
+            if not template_dir:
+                template_dir = pkg_resources.resource_filename(
+                    'synapse', 'res/templates'
                 )
-            ):
-                t = TEMPLATE_DIR_WARNING % {
-                    "template_dir": self.email_template_dir,
-                }
-                print(textwrap.fill(t, width=80) + "\n", file=sys.stderr)
-                self.email_template_dir = None
+            template_dir = os.path.abspath(template_dir)
+
+            for f in self.email_notif_template_text, self.email_notif_template_html:
+                p = os.path.join(template_dir, f)
+                if not os.path.isfile(p):
+                    raise ConfigError("Unable to find email template file %s" % (p, ))
+            self.email_template_dir = template_dir
 
             self.email_notif_for_new_users = email_config.get(
                 "notif_for_new_users", True
diff --git a/synapse/config/homeserver.py b/synapse/config/homeserver.py
index b8d5690f2b..10dd40159f 100644
--- a/synapse/config/homeserver.py
+++ b/synapse/config/homeserver.py
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ from .push import PushConfig
 from .ratelimiting import RatelimitConfig
 from .registration import RegistrationConfig
 from .repository import ContentRepositoryConfig
+from .room_directory import RoomDirectoryConfig
 from .saml2 import SAML2Config
 from .server import ServerConfig
 from .server_notices_config import ServerNoticesConfig
@@ -49,7 +50,7 @@ class HomeServerConfig(TlsConfig, ServerConfig, DatabaseConfig, LoggingConfig,
                        WorkerConfig, PasswordAuthProviderConfig, PushConfig,
                        SpamCheckerConfig, GroupsConfig, UserDirectoryConfig,
                        ConsentConfig,
-                       ServerNoticesConfig,
+                       ServerNoticesConfig, RoomDirectoryConfig,
                        ):
     pass
 
diff --git a/synapse/config/registration.py b/synapse/config/registration.py
index 0fb964eb67..7480ed5145 100644
--- a/synapse/config/registration.py
+++ b/synapse/config/registration.py
@@ -15,10 +15,10 @@
 
 from distutils.util import strtobool
 
+from synapse.config._base import Config, ConfigError
+from synapse.types import RoomAlias
 from synapse.util.stringutils import random_string_with_symbols
 
-from ._base import Config
-
 
 class RegistrationConfig(Config):
 
@@ -44,6 +44,10 @@ class RegistrationConfig(Config):
         )
 
         self.auto_join_rooms = config.get("auto_join_rooms", [])
+        for room_alias in self.auto_join_rooms:
+            if not RoomAlias.is_valid(room_alias):
+                raise ConfigError('Invalid auto_join_rooms entry %s' % (room_alias,))
+        self.autocreate_auto_join_rooms = config.get("autocreate_auto_join_rooms", True)
 
     def default_config(self, **kwargs):
         registration_shared_secret = random_string_with_symbols(50)
@@ -98,6 +102,13 @@ class RegistrationConfig(Config):
         # to these rooms
         #auto_join_rooms:
         #    - "#example:example.com"
+
+        # Where auto_join_rooms are specified, setting this flag ensures that the
+        # the rooms exist by creating them when the first user on the
+        # homeserver registers.
+        # Setting to false means that if the rooms are not manually created,
+        # users cannot be auto-joined since they do not exist.
+        autocreate_auto_join_rooms: true
         """ % locals()
 
     def add_arguments(self, parser):
diff --git a/synapse/config/repository.py b/synapse/config/repository.py
index fc909c1fac..06c62ab62c 100644
--- a/synapse/config/repository.py
+++ b/synapse/config/repository.py
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ class ContentRepositoryConfig(Config):
     def default_config(self, **kwargs):
         media_store = self.default_path("media_store")
         uploads_path = self.default_path("uploads")
-        return """
+        return r"""
         # Directory where uploaded images and attachments are stored.
         media_store_path: "%(media_store)s"
 
diff --git a/synapse/config/room_directory.py b/synapse/config/room_directory.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9da13ab11b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/synapse/config/room_directory.py
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+# Copyright 2018 New Vector Ltd
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+from synapse.util import glob_to_regex
+
+from ._base import Config, ConfigError
+
+
+class RoomDirectoryConfig(Config):
+    def read_config(self, config):
+        alias_creation_rules = config["alias_creation_rules"]
+
+        self._alias_creation_rules = [
+            _AliasRule(rule)
+            for rule in alias_creation_rules
+        ]
+
+    def default_config(self, config_dir_path, server_name, **kwargs):
+        return """
+        # The `alias_creation` option controls who's allowed to create aliases
+        # on this server.
+        #
+        # The format of this option is a list of rules that contain globs that
+        # match against user_id and the new alias (fully qualified with server
+        # name). The action in the first rule that matches is taken, which can
+        # currently either be "allow" or "deny".
+        #
+        # If no rules match the request is denied.
+        alias_creation_rules:
+            - user_id: "*"
+              alias: "*"
+              action: allow
+        """
+
+    def is_alias_creation_allowed(self, user_id, alias):
+        """Checks if the given user is allowed to create the given alias
+
+        Args:
+            user_id (str)
+            alias (str)
+
+        Returns:
+            boolean: True if user is allowed to crate the alias
+        """
+        for rule in self._alias_creation_rules:
+            if rule.matches(user_id, alias):
+                return rule.action == "allow"
+
+        return False
+
+
+class _AliasRule(object):
+    def __init__(self, rule):
+        action = rule["action"]
+        user_id = rule["user_id"]
+        alias = rule["alias"]
+
+        if action in ("allow", "deny"):
+            self.action = action
+        else:
+            raise ConfigError(
+                "alias_creation_rules rules can only have action of 'allow'"
+                " or 'deny'"
+            )
+
+        try:
+            self._user_id_regex = glob_to_regex(user_id)
+            self._alias_regex = glob_to_regex(alias)
+        except Exception as e:
+            raise ConfigError("Failed to parse glob into regex: %s", e)
+
+    def matches(self, user_id, alias):
+        """Tests if this rule matches the given user_id and alias.
+
+        Args:
+            user_id (str)
+            alias (str)
+
+        Returns:
+            boolean
+        """
+
+        # Note: The regexes are anchored at both ends
+        if not self._user_id_regex.match(user_id):
+            return False
+
+        if not self._alias_regex.match(alias):
+            return False
+
+        return True
diff --git a/synapse/crypto/keyclient.py b/synapse/crypto/keyclient.py
index 57d4665e84..080c81f14b 100644
--- a/synapse/crypto/keyclient.py
+++ b/synapse/crypto/keyclient.py
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ def fetch_server_key(server_name, tls_client_options_factory, path=KEY_API_V1):
                 raise IOError("Cannot get key for %r" % server_name)
         except (ConnectError, DomainError) as e:
             logger.warn("Error getting key for %r: %s", server_name, e)
-        except Exception as e:
+        except Exception:
             logger.exception("Error getting key for %r", server_name)
     raise IOError("Cannot get key for %r" % server_name)
 
diff --git a/synapse/event_auth.py b/synapse/event_auth.py
index af3eee95b9..d4d4474847 100644
--- a/synapse/event_auth.py
+++ b/synapse/event_auth.py
@@ -690,7 +690,7 @@ def auth_types_for_event(event):
     auth_types = []
 
     auth_types.append((EventTypes.PowerLevels, "", ))
-    auth_types.append((EventTypes.Member, event.user_id, ))
+    auth_types.append((EventTypes.Member, event.sender, ))
     auth_types.append((EventTypes.Create, "", ))
 
     if event.type == EventTypes.Member:
diff --git a/synapse/federation/federation_server.py b/synapse/federation/federation_server.py
index 4efe95faa4..0f9302a6a8 100644
--- a/synapse/federation/federation_server.py
+++ b/synapse/federation/federation_server.py
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 import logging
-import re
 
 import six
 from six import iteritems
@@ -44,6 +43,7 @@ from synapse.replication.http.federation import (
     ReplicationGetQueryRestServlet,
 )
 from synapse.types import get_domain_from_id
+from synapse.util import glob_to_regex
 from synapse.util.async_helpers import Linearizer, concurrently_execute
 from synapse.util.caches.response_cache import ResponseCache
 from synapse.util.logcontext import nested_logging_context
@@ -729,22 +729,10 @@ def _acl_entry_matches(server_name, acl_entry):
     if not isinstance(acl_entry, six.string_types):
         logger.warn("Ignoring non-str ACL entry '%s' (is %s)", acl_entry, type(acl_entry))
         return False
-    regex = _glob_to_regex(acl_entry)
+    regex = glob_to_regex(acl_entry)
     return regex.match(server_name)
 
 
-def _glob_to_regex(glob):
-    res = ''
-    for c in glob:
-        if c == '*':
-            res = res + '.*'
-        elif c == '?':
-            res = res + '.'
-        else:
-            res = res + re.escape(c)
-    return re.compile(res + "\\Z", re.IGNORECASE)
-
-
 class FederationHandlerRegistry(object):
     """Allows classes to register themselves as handlers for a given EDU or
     query type for incoming federation traffic.
@@ -800,7 +788,7 @@ class FederationHandlerRegistry(object):
             yield handler(origin, content)
         except SynapseError as e:
             logger.info("Failed to handle edu %r: %r", edu_type, e)
-        except Exception as e:
+        except Exception:
             logger.exception("Failed to handle edu %r", edu_type)
 
     def on_query(self, query_type, args):
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/auth.py b/synapse/handlers/auth.py
index 2a5eab124f..329e3c7d71 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/auth.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/auth.py
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ import bcrypt
 import pymacaroons
 from canonicaljson import json
 
-from twisted.internet import defer, threads
+from twisted.internet import defer
 from twisted.web.client import PartialDownloadError
 
 import synapse.util.stringutils as stringutils
@@ -37,8 +37,8 @@ from synapse.api.errors import (
 )
 from synapse.module_api import ModuleApi
 from synapse.types import UserID
+from synapse.util import logcontext
 from synapse.util.caches.expiringcache import ExpiringCache
-from synapse.util.logcontext import make_deferred_yieldable
 
 from ._base import BaseHandler
 
@@ -884,11 +884,7 @@ class AuthHandler(BaseHandler):
                 bcrypt.gensalt(self.bcrypt_rounds),
             ).decode('ascii')
 
-        return make_deferred_yieldable(
-            threads.deferToThreadPool(
-                self.hs.get_reactor(), self.hs.get_reactor().getThreadPool(), _do_hash
-            ),
-        )
+        return logcontext.defer_to_thread(self.hs.get_reactor(), _do_hash)
 
     def validate_hash(self, password, stored_hash):
         """Validates that self.hash(password) == stored_hash.
@@ -913,13 +909,7 @@ class AuthHandler(BaseHandler):
             if not isinstance(stored_hash, bytes):
                 stored_hash = stored_hash.encode('ascii')
 
-            return make_deferred_yieldable(
-                threads.deferToThreadPool(
-                    self.hs.get_reactor(),
-                    self.hs.get_reactor().getThreadPool(),
-                    _do_validate_hash,
-                ),
-            )
+            return logcontext.defer_to_thread(self.hs.get_reactor(), _do_validate_hash)
         else:
             return defer.succeed(False)
 
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/deactivate_account.py b/synapse/handlers/deactivate_account.py
index b078df4a76..75fe50c42c 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/deactivate_account.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/deactivate_account.py
@@ -17,8 +17,8 @@ import logging
 from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.api.errors import SynapseError
+from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
 from synapse.types import UserID, create_requester
-from synapse.util.logcontext import run_in_background
 
 from ._base import BaseHandler
 
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ class DeactivateAccountHandler(BaseHandler):
             None
         """
         if not self._user_parter_running:
-            run_in_background(self._user_parter_loop)
+            run_as_background_process("user_parter_loop", self._user_parter_loop)
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def _user_parter_loop(self):
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/directory.py b/synapse/handlers/directory.py
index 18741c5fac..7d67bf803a 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/directory.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/directory.py
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ class DirectoryHandler(BaseHandler):
         self.state = hs.get_state_handler()
         self.appservice_handler = hs.get_application_service_handler()
         self.event_creation_handler = hs.get_event_creation_handler()
+        self.config = hs.config
 
         self.federation = hs.get_federation_client()
         hs.get_federation_registry().register_query_handler(
@@ -80,42 +81,68 @@ class DirectoryHandler(BaseHandler):
         )
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def create_association(self, user_id, room_alias, room_id, servers=None):
-        # association creation for human users
-        # TODO(erikj): Do user auth.
+    def create_association(self, requester, room_alias, room_id, servers=None,
+                           send_event=True):
+        """Attempt to create a new alias
 
-        if not self.spam_checker.user_may_create_room_alias(user_id, room_alias):
-            raise SynapseError(
-                403, "This user is not permitted to create this alias",
-            )
+        Args:
+            requester (Requester)
+            room_alias (RoomAlias)
+            room_id (str)
+            servers (list[str]|None): List of servers that others servers
+                should try and join via
+            send_event (bool): Whether to send an updated m.room.aliases event
 
-        can_create = yield self.can_modify_alias(
-            room_alias,
-            user_id=user_id
-        )
-        if not can_create:
-            raise SynapseError(
-                400, "This alias is reserved by an application service.",
-                errcode=Codes.EXCLUSIVE
-            )
-        yield self._create_association(room_alias, room_id, servers, creator=user_id)
+        Returns:
+            Deferred
+        """
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def create_appservice_association(self, service, room_alias, room_id,
-                                      servers=None):
-        if not service.is_interested_in_alias(room_alias.to_string()):
-            raise SynapseError(
-                400, "This application service has not reserved"
-                " this kind of alias.", errcode=Codes.EXCLUSIVE
+        user_id = requester.user.to_string()
+
+        service = requester.app_service
+        if service:
+            if not service.is_interested_in_alias(room_alias.to_string()):
+                raise SynapseError(
+                    400, "This application service has not reserved"
+                    " this kind of alias.", errcode=Codes.EXCLUSIVE
+                )
+        else:
+            if not self.spam_checker.user_may_create_room_alias(user_id, room_alias):
+                raise AuthError(
+                    403, "This user is not permitted to create this alias",
+                )
+
+            if not self.config.is_alias_creation_allowed(user_id, room_alias.to_string()):
+                # Lets just return a generic message, as there may be all sorts of
+                # reasons why we said no. TODO: Allow configurable error messages
+                # per alias creation rule?
+                raise SynapseError(
+                    403, "Not allowed to create alias",
+                )
+
+            can_create = yield self.can_modify_alias(
+                room_alias,
+                user_id=user_id
             )
+            if not can_create:
+                raise AuthError(
+                    400, "This alias is reserved by an application service.",
+                    errcode=Codes.EXCLUSIVE
+                )
 
-        # association creation for app services
-        yield self._create_association(room_alias, room_id, servers)
+        yield self._create_association(room_alias, room_id, servers, creator=user_id)
+        if send_event:
+            yield self.send_room_alias_update_event(
+                requester,
+                room_id
+            )
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def delete_association(self, requester, user_id, room_alias):
+    def delete_association(self, requester, room_alias):
         # association deletion for human users
 
+        user_id = requester.user.to_string()
+
         try:
             can_delete = yield self._user_can_delete_alias(room_alias, user_id)
         except StoreError as e:
@@ -143,7 +170,6 @@ class DirectoryHandler(BaseHandler):
         try:
             yield self.send_room_alias_update_event(
                 requester,
-                requester.user.to_string(),
                 room_id
             )
 
@@ -261,7 +287,7 @@ class DirectoryHandler(BaseHandler):
             )
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def send_room_alias_update_event(self, requester, user_id, room_id):
+    def send_room_alias_update_event(self, requester, room_id):
         aliases = yield self.store.get_aliases_for_room(room_id)
 
         yield self.event_creation_handler.create_and_send_nonmember_event(
@@ -270,7 +296,7 @@ class DirectoryHandler(BaseHandler):
                 "type": EventTypes.Aliases,
                 "state_key": self.hs.hostname,
                 "room_id": room_id,
-                "sender": user_id,
+                "sender": requester.user.to_string(),
                 "content": {"aliases": aliases},
             },
             ratelimit=False
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/federation.py b/synapse/handlers/federation.py
index cab57a8849..cd5b9bbb19 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/federation.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/federation.py
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ from synapse.replication.http.federation import (
     ReplicationFederationSendEventsRestServlet,
 )
 from synapse.replication.http.membership import ReplicationUserJoinedLeftRoomRestServlet
-from synapse.state import resolve_events_with_factory
+from synapse.state import StateResolutionStore, resolve_events_with_store
 from synapse.types import UserID, get_domain_from_id
 from synapse.util import logcontext, unwrapFirstError
 from synapse.util.async_helpers import Linearizer
@@ -384,24 +384,24 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
                             for x in remote_state:
                                 event_map[x.event_id] = x
 
-                    # Resolve any conflicting state
-                    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-                    def fetch(ev_ids):
-                        fetched = yield self.store.get_events(
-                            ev_ids, get_prev_content=False, check_redacted=False,
-                        )
-                        # add any events we fetch here to the `event_map` so that we
-                        # can use them to build the state event list below.
-                        event_map.update(fetched)
-                        defer.returnValue(fetched)
-
                     room_version = yield self.store.get_room_version(room_id)
-                    state_map = yield resolve_events_with_factory(
-                        room_version, state_maps, event_map, fetch,
+                    state_map = yield resolve_events_with_store(
+                        room_version, state_maps, event_map,
+                        state_res_store=StateResolutionStore(self.store),
                     )
 
-                    # we need to give _process_received_pdu the actual state events
+                    # We need to give _process_received_pdu the actual state events
                     # rather than event ids, so generate that now.
+
+                    # First though we need to fetch all the events that are in
+                    # state_map, so we can build up the state below.
+                    evs = yield self.store.get_events(
+                        list(state_map.values()),
+                        get_prev_content=False,
+                        check_redacted=False,
+                    )
+                    event_map.update(evs)
+
                     state = [
                         event_map[e] for e in six.itervalues(state_map)
                     ]
@@ -2520,7 +2520,7 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
 
             if not backfilled:  # Never notify for backfilled events
                 for event, _ in event_and_contexts:
-                    self._notify_persisted_event(event, max_stream_id)
+                    yield self._notify_persisted_event(event, max_stream_id)
 
     def _notify_persisted_event(self, event, max_stream_id):
         """Checks to see if notifier/pushers should be notified about the
@@ -2553,7 +2553,7 @@ class FederationHandler(BaseHandler):
             extra_users=extra_users
         )
 
-        self.pusher_pool.on_new_notifications(
+        return self.pusher_pool.on_new_notifications(
             event_stream_id, max_stream_id,
         )
 
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/groups_local.py b/synapse/handlers/groups_local.py
index 53e5e2648b..173315af6c 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/groups_local.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/groups_local.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ from six import iteritems
 
 from twisted.internet import defer
 
-from synapse.api.errors import SynapseError
+from synapse.api.errors import HttpResponseException, SynapseError
 from synapse.types import get_domain_from_id
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -37,9 +37,23 @@ def _create_rerouter(func_name):
             )
         else:
             destination = get_domain_from_id(group_id)
-            return getattr(self.transport_client, func_name)(
+            d = getattr(self.transport_client, func_name)(
                 destination, group_id, *args, **kwargs
             )
+
+            # Capture errors returned by the remote homeserver and
+            # re-throw specific errors as SynapseErrors. This is so
+            # when the remote end responds with things like 403 Not
+            # In Group, we can communicate that to the client instead
+            # of a 500.
+            def h(failure):
+                failure.trap(HttpResponseException)
+                e = failure.value
+                if e.code == 403:
+                    raise e.to_synapse_error()
+                return failure
+            d.addErrback(h)
+            return d
     return f
 
 
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/initial_sync.py b/synapse/handlers/initial_sync.py
index e009395207..563bb3cea3 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/initial_sync.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/initial_sync.py
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ class InitialSyncHandler(BaseHandler):
                     room_end_token = "s%d" % (event.stream_ordering,)
                     deferred_room_state = run_in_background(
                         self.store.get_state_for_events,
-                        [event.event_id], None,
+                        [event.event_id],
                     )
                     deferred_room_state.addCallback(
                         lambda states: states[event.event_id]
@@ -301,7 +301,7 @@ class InitialSyncHandler(BaseHandler):
     def _room_initial_sync_parted(self, user_id, room_id, pagin_config,
                                   membership, member_event_id, is_peeking):
         room_state = yield self.store.get_state_for_events(
-            [member_event_id], None
+            [member_event_id],
         )
 
         room_state = room_state[member_event_id]
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/message.py b/synapse/handlers/message.py
index 4954b23a0d..969e588e73 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/message.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/message.py
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ from synapse.crypto.event_signing import add_hashes_and_signatures
 from synapse.events.utils import serialize_event
 from synapse.events.validator import EventValidator
 from synapse.replication.http.send_event import ReplicationSendEventRestServlet
+from synapse.storage.state import StateFilter
 from synapse.types import RoomAlias, UserID
 from synapse.util.async_helpers import Linearizer
 from synapse.util.frozenutils import frozendict_json_encoder
@@ -80,7 +81,7 @@ class MessageHandler(object):
         elif membership == Membership.LEAVE:
             key = (event_type, state_key)
             room_state = yield self.store.get_state_for_events(
-                [membership_event_id], [key]
+                [membership_event_id], StateFilter.from_types([key])
             )
             data = room_state[membership_event_id].get(key)
 
@@ -88,7 +89,7 @@ class MessageHandler(object):
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_state_events(
-        self, user_id, room_id, types=None, filtered_types=None,
+        self, user_id, room_id, state_filter=StateFilter.all(),
         at_token=None, is_guest=False,
     ):
         """Retrieve all state events for a given room. If the user is
@@ -100,13 +101,8 @@ class MessageHandler(object):
         Args:
             user_id(str): The user requesting state events.
             room_id(str): The room ID to get all state events from.
-            types(list[(str, str|None)]|None): List of (type, state_key) tuples
-                which are used to filter the state fetched. If `state_key` is None,
-                all events are returned of the given type.
-                May be None, which matches any key.
-            filtered_types(list[str]|None): Only apply filtering via `types` to this
-                list of event types.  Other types of events are returned unfiltered.
-                If None, `types` filtering is applied to all events.
+            state_filter (StateFilter): The state filter used to fetch state
+                from the database.
             at_token(StreamToken|None): the stream token of the at which we are requesting
                 the stats. If the user is not allowed to view the state as of that
                 stream token, we raise a 403 SynapseError. If None, returns the current
@@ -139,7 +135,7 @@ class MessageHandler(object):
             event = last_events[0]
             if visible_events:
                 room_state = yield self.store.get_state_for_events(
-                    [event.event_id], types, filtered_types=filtered_types,
+                    [event.event_id], state_filter=state_filter,
                 )
                 room_state = room_state[event.event_id]
             else:
@@ -158,12 +154,12 @@ class MessageHandler(object):
 
             if membership == Membership.JOIN:
                 state_ids = yield self.store.get_filtered_current_state_ids(
-                    room_id, types, filtered_types=filtered_types,
+                    room_id, state_filter=state_filter,
                 )
                 room_state = yield self.store.get_events(state_ids.values())
             elif membership == Membership.LEAVE:
                 room_state = yield self.store.get_state_for_events(
-                    [membership_event_id], types, filtered_types=filtered_types,
+                    [membership_event_id], state_filter=state_filter,
                 )
                 room_state = room_state[membership_event_id]
 
@@ -779,7 +775,7 @@ class EventCreationHandler(object):
             event, context=context
         )
 
-        self.pusher_pool.on_new_notifications(
+        yield self.pusher_pool.on_new_notifications(
             event_stream_id, max_stream_id,
         )
 
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/pagination.py b/synapse/handlers/pagination.py
index a155b6e938..43f81bd607 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/pagination.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/pagination.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ from twisted.python.failure import Failure
 from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes, Membership
 from synapse.api.errors import SynapseError
 from synapse.events.utils import serialize_event
+from synapse.storage.state import StateFilter
 from synapse.types import RoomStreamToken
 from synapse.util.async_helpers import ReadWriteLock
 from synapse.util.logcontext import run_in_background
@@ -255,16 +256,14 @@ class PaginationHandler(object):
         if event_filter and event_filter.lazy_load_members():
             # TODO: remove redundant members
 
-            types = [
-                (EventTypes.Member, state_key)
-                for state_key in set(
-                    event.sender  # FIXME: we also care about invite targets etc.
-                    for event in events
-                )
-            ]
+            # FIXME: we also care about invite targets etc.
+            state_filter = StateFilter.from_types(
+                (EventTypes.Member, event.sender)
+                for event in events
+            )
 
             state_ids = yield self.store.get_state_ids_for_event(
-                events[0].event_id, types=types,
+                events[0].event_id, state_filter=state_filter,
             )
 
             if state_ids:
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/receipts.py b/synapse/handlers/receipts.py
index a6f3181f09..4c2690ba26 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/receipts.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/receipts.py
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ class ReceiptsHandler(BaseHandler):
             "receipt_key", max_batch_id, rooms=affected_room_ids
         )
         # Note that the min here shouldn't be relied upon to be accurate.
-        self.hs.get_pusherpool().on_new_receipts(
+        yield self.hs.get_pusherpool().on_new_receipts(
             min_batch_id, max_batch_id, affected_room_ids,
         )
 
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/register.py b/synapse/handlers/register.py
index da914c46ff..e9d7b25a36 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/register.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/register.py
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ class RegistrationHandler(BaseHandler):
         self._auth_handler = hs.get_auth_handler()
         self.profile_handler = hs.get_profile_handler()
         self.user_directory_handler = hs.get_user_directory_handler()
+        self.room_creation_handler = self.hs.get_room_creation_handler()
         self.captcha_client = CaptchaServerHttpClient(hs)
 
         self._next_generated_user_id = None
@@ -220,9 +221,36 @@ class RegistrationHandler(BaseHandler):
 
         # auto-join the user to any rooms we're supposed to dump them into
         fake_requester = create_requester(user_id)
+
+        # try to create the room if we're the first user on the server
+        should_auto_create_rooms = False
+        if self.hs.config.autocreate_auto_join_rooms:
+            count = yield self.store.count_all_users()
+            should_auto_create_rooms = count == 1
+
         for r in self.hs.config.auto_join_rooms:
             try:
-                yield self._join_user_to_room(fake_requester, r)
+                if should_auto_create_rooms:
+                    room_alias = RoomAlias.from_string(r)
+                    if self.hs.hostname != room_alias.domain:
+                        logger.warning(
+                            'Cannot create room alias %s, '
+                            'it does not match server domain',
+                            r,
+                        )
+                    else:
+                        # create room expects the localpart of the room alias
+                        room_alias_localpart = room_alias.localpart
+                        yield self.room_creation_handler.create_room(
+                            fake_requester,
+                            config={
+                                "preset": "public_chat",
+                                "room_alias_name": room_alias_localpart
+                            },
+                            ratelimit=False,
+                        )
+                else:
+                    yield self._join_user_to_room(fake_requester, r)
             except Exception as e:
                 logger.error("Failed to join new user to %r: %r", r, e)
 
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/room.py b/synapse/handlers/room.py
index c3f820b975..3ba92bdb4c 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/room.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/room.py
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ from synapse.api.constants import (
     RoomCreationPreset,
 )
 from synapse.api.errors import AuthError, Codes, StoreError, SynapseError
+from synapse.storage.state import StateFilter
 from synapse.types import RoomAlias, RoomID, RoomStreamToken, StreamToken, UserID
 from synapse.util import stringutils
 from synapse.visibility import filter_events_for_client
@@ -190,10 +191,11 @@ class RoomCreationHandler(BaseHandler):
         if room_alias:
             directory_handler = self.hs.get_handlers().directory_handler
             yield directory_handler.create_association(
-                user_id=user_id,
+                requester=requester,
                 room_id=room_id,
                 room_alias=room_alias,
                 servers=[self.hs.hostname],
+                send_event=False,
             )
 
         preset_config = config.get(
@@ -289,7 +291,7 @@ class RoomCreationHandler(BaseHandler):
         if room_alias:
             result["room_alias"] = room_alias.to_string()
             yield directory_handler.send_room_alias_update_event(
-                requester, user_id, room_id
+                requester, room_id
             )
 
         defer.returnValue(result)
@@ -488,23 +490,24 @@ class RoomContextHandler(object):
         else:
             last_event_id = event_id
 
-        types = None
-        filtered_types = None
         if event_filter and event_filter.lazy_load_members():
-            members = set(ev.sender for ev in itertools.chain(
-                results["events_before"],
-                (results["event"],),
-                results["events_after"],
-            ))
-            filtered_types = [EventTypes.Member]
-            types = [(EventTypes.Member, member) for member in members]
+            state_filter = StateFilter.from_lazy_load_member_list(
+                ev.sender
+                for ev in itertools.chain(
+                    results["events_before"],
+                    (results["event"],),
+                    results["events_after"],
+                )
+            )
+        else:
+            state_filter = StateFilter.all()
 
         # XXX: why do we return the state as of the last event rather than the
         # first? Shouldn't we be consistent with /sync?
         # https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/issues/687
 
         state = yield self.store.get_state_for_events(
-            [last_event_id], types, filtered_types=filtered_types,
+            [last_event_id], state_filter=state_filter,
         )
         results["state"] = list(state[last_event_id].values())
 
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/sync.py b/synapse/handlers/sync.py
index 351892a94f..09739f2862 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/sync.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/sync.py
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ from twisted.internet import defer
 from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes, Membership
 from synapse.push.clientformat import format_push_rules_for_user
 from synapse.storage.roommember import MemberSummary
+from synapse.storage.state import StateFilter
 from synapse.types import RoomStreamToken
 from synapse.util.async_helpers import concurrently_execute
 from synapse.util.caches.expiringcache import ExpiringCache
@@ -469,25 +470,20 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         ))
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def get_state_after_event(self, event, types=None, filtered_types=None):
+    def get_state_after_event(self, event, state_filter=StateFilter.all()):
         """
         Get the room state after the given event
 
         Args:
             event(synapse.events.EventBase): event of interest
-            types(list[(str, str|None)]|None): List of (type, state_key) tuples
-                which are used to filter the state fetched. If `state_key` is None,
-                all events are returned of the given type.
-                May be None, which matches any key.
-            filtered_types(list[str]|None): Only apply filtering via `types` to this
-                list of event types.  Other types of events are returned unfiltered.
-                If None, `types` filtering is applied to all events.
+            state_filter (StateFilter): The state filter used to fetch state
+                from the database.
 
         Returns:
             A Deferred map from ((type, state_key)->Event)
         """
         state_ids = yield self.store.get_state_ids_for_event(
-            event.event_id, types, filtered_types=filtered_types,
+            event.event_id, state_filter=state_filter,
         )
         if event.is_state():
             state_ids = state_ids.copy()
@@ -495,18 +491,14 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         defer.returnValue(state_ids)
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def get_state_at(self, room_id, stream_position, types=None, filtered_types=None):
+    def get_state_at(self, room_id, stream_position, state_filter=StateFilter.all()):
         """ Get the room state at a particular stream position
 
         Args:
             room_id(str): room for which to get state
             stream_position(StreamToken): point at which to get state
-            types(list[(str, str|None)]|None): List of (type, state_key) tuples
-                which are used to filter the state fetched. If `state_key` is None,
-                all events are returned of the given type.
-            filtered_types(list[str]|None): Only apply filtering via `types` to this
-                list of event types.  Other types of events are returned unfiltered.
-                If None, `types` filtering is applied to all events.
+            state_filter (StateFilter): The state filter used to fetch state
+                from the database.
 
         Returns:
             A Deferred map from ((type, state_key)->Event)
@@ -522,7 +514,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
         if last_events:
             last_event = last_events[-1]
             state = yield self.get_state_after_event(
-                last_event, types, filtered_types=filtered_types,
+                last_event, state_filter=state_filter,
             )
 
         else:
@@ -563,10 +555,11 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
 
         last_event = last_events[-1]
         state_ids = yield self.store.get_state_ids_for_event(
-            last_event.event_id, [
+            last_event.event_id,
+            state_filter=StateFilter.from_types([
                 (EventTypes.Name, ''),
                 (EventTypes.CanonicalAlias, ''),
-            ]
+            ]),
         )
 
         # this is heavily cached, thus: fast.
@@ -717,8 +710,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
 
         with Measure(self.clock, "compute_state_delta"):
 
-            types = None
-            filtered_types = None
+            members_to_fetch = None
 
             lazy_load_members = sync_config.filter_collection.lazy_load_members()
             include_redundant_members = (
@@ -729,16 +721,21 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
                 # We only request state for the members needed to display the
                 # timeline:
 
-                types = [
-                    (EventTypes.Member, state_key)
-                    for state_key in set(
-                        event.sender  # FIXME: we also care about invite targets etc.
-                        for event in batch.events
-                    )
-                ]
+                members_to_fetch = set(
+                    event.sender  # FIXME: we also care about invite targets etc.
+                    for event in batch.events
+                )
+
+                if full_state:
+                    # always make sure we LL ourselves so we know we're in the room
+                    # (if we are) to fix https://github.com/vector-im/riot-web/issues/7209
+                    # We only need apply this on full state syncs given we disabled
+                    # LL for incr syncs in #3840.
+                    members_to_fetch.add(sync_config.user.to_string())
 
-                # only apply the filtering to room members
-                filtered_types = [EventTypes.Member]
+                state_filter = StateFilter.from_lazy_load_member_list(members_to_fetch)
+            else:
+                state_filter = StateFilter.all()
 
             timeline_state = {
                 (event.type, event.state_key): event.event_id
@@ -746,28 +743,19 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             }
 
             if full_state:
-                if lazy_load_members:
-                    # always make sure we LL ourselves so we know we're in the room
-                    # (if we are) to fix https://github.com/vector-im/riot-web/issues/7209
-                    # We only need apply this on full state syncs given we disabled
-                    # LL for incr syncs in #3840.
-                    types.append((EventTypes.Member, sync_config.user.to_string()))
-
                 if batch:
                     current_state_ids = yield self.store.get_state_ids_for_event(
-                        batch.events[-1].event_id, types=types,
-                        filtered_types=filtered_types,
+                        batch.events[-1].event_id, state_filter=state_filter,
                     )
 
                     state_ids = yield self.store.get_state_ids_for_event(
-                        batch.events[0].event_id, types=types,
-                        filtered_types=filtered_types,
+                        batch.events[0].event_id, state_filter=state_filter,
                     )
 
                 else:
                     current_state_ids = yield self.get_state_at(
-                        room_id, stream_position=now_token, types=types,
-                        filtered_types=filtered_types,
+                        room_id, stream_position=now_token,
+                        state_filter=state_filter,
                     )
 
                     state_ids = current_state_ids
@@ -781,8 +769,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
                 )
             elif batch.limited:
                 state_at_timeline_start = yield self.store.get_state_ids_for_event(
-                    batch.events[0].event_id, types=types,
-                    filtered_types=filtered_types,
+                    batch.events[0].event_id, state_filter=state_filter,
                 )
 
                 # for now, we disable LL for gappy syncs - see
@@ -797,17 +784,15 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
                 # members to just be ones which were timeline senders, which then ensures
                 # all of the rest get included in the state block (if we need to know
                 # about them).
-                types = None
-                filtered_types = None
+                state_filter = StateFilter.all()
 
                 state_at_previous_sync = yield self.get_state_at(
-                    room_id, stream_position=since_token, types=types,
-                    filtered_types=filtered_types,
+                    room_id, stream_position=since_token,
+                    state_filter=state_filter,
                 )
 
                 current_state_ids = yield self.store.get_state_ids_for_event(
-                    batch.events[-1].event_id, types=types,
-                    filtered_types=filtered_types,
+                    batch.events[-1].event_id, state_filter=state_filter,
                 )
 
                 state_ids = _calculate_state(
@@ -821,7 +806,7 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
             else:
                 state_ids = {}
                 if lazy_load_members:
-                    if types and batch.events:
+                    if members_to_fetch and batch.events:
                         # We're returning an incremental sync, with no
                         # "gap" since the previous sync, so normally there would be
                         # no state to return.
@@ -831,8 +816,12 @@ class SyncHandler(object):
                         # timeline here, and then dedupe any redundant ones below.
 
                         state_ids = yield self.store.get_state_ids_for_event(
-                            batch.events[0].event_id, types=types,
-                            filtered_types=None,  # we only want members!
+                            batch.events[0].event_id,
+                            # we only want members!
+                            state_filter=StateFilter.from_types(
+                                (EventTypes.Member, member)
+                                for member in members_to_fetch
+                            ),
                         )
 
             if lazy_load_members and not include_redundant_members:
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/user_directory.py b/synapse/handlers/user_directory.py
index d8413d6aa7..f11b430126 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/user_directory.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/user_directory.py
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ from six import iteritems
 from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes, JoinRules, Membership
+from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
 from synapse.storage.roommember import ProfileInfo
 from synapse.types import get_localpart_from_id
 from synapse.util.metrics import Measure
@@ -98,7 +99,6 @@ class UserDirectoryHandler(object):
         """
         return self.store.search_user_dir(user_id, search_term, limit)
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def notify_new_event(self):
         """Called when there may be more deltas to process
         """
@@ -108,11 +108,15 @@ class UserDirectoryHandler(object):
         if self._is_processing:
             return
 
+        @defer.inlineCallbacks
+        def process():
+            try:
+                yield self._unsafe_process()
+            finally:
+                self._is_processing = False
+
         self._is_processing = True
-        try:
-            yield self._unsafe_process()
-        finally:
-            self._is_processing = False
+        run_as_background_process("user_directory.notify_new_event", process)
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def handle_local_profile_change(self, user_id, profile):
diff --git a/synapse/http/matrixfederationclient.py b/synapse/http/matrixfederationclient.py
index fcc02fc77d..24b6110c20 100644
--- a/synapse/http/matrixfederationclient.py
+++ b/synapse/http/matrixfederationclient.py
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ class MatrixFederationHttpClient(object):
         Returns:
             Deferred: resolves with the http response object on success.
 
-            Fails with ``HTTPRequestException``: if we get an HTTP response
+            Fails with ``HttpResponseException``: if we get an HTTP response
                 code >= 300.
 
             Fails with ``NotRetryingDestination`` if we are not yet ready
@@ -480,7 +480,7 @@ class MatrixFederationHttpClient(object):
             Deferred: Succeeds when we get a 2xx HTTP response. The result
             will be the decoded JSON body.
 
-            Fails with ``HTTPRequestException`` if we get an HTTP response
+            Fails with ``HttpResponseException`` if we get an HTTP response
             code >= 300.
 
             Fails with ``NotRetryingDestination`` if we are not yet ready
@@ -534,7 +534,7 @@ class MatrixFederationHttpClient(object):
             Deferred: Succeeds when we get a 2xx HTTP response. The result
             will be the decoded JSON body.
 
-            Fails with ``HTTPRequestException`` if we get an HTTP response
+            Fails with ``HttpResponseException`` if we get an HTTP response
             code >= 300.
 
             Fails with ``NotRetryingDestination`` if we are not yet ready
@@ -589,7 +589,7 @@ class MatrixFederationHttpClient(object):
             Deferred: Succeeds when we get a 2xx HTTP response. The result
             will be the decoded JSON body.
 
-            Fails with ``HTTPRequestException`` if we get an HTTP response
+            Fails with ``HttpResponseException`` if we get an HTTP response
             code >= 300.
 
             Fails with ``NotRetryingDestination`` if we are not yet ready
@@ -640,7 +640,7 @@ class MatrixFederationHttpClient(object):
             Deferred: Succeeds when we get a 2xx HTTP response. The result
             will be the decoded JSON body.
 
-            Fails with ``HTTPRequestException`` if we get an HTTP response
+            Fails with ``HttpResponseException`` if we get an HTTP response
             code >= 300.
 
             Fails with ``NotRetryingDestination`` if we are not yet ready
@@ -684,7 +684,7 @@ class MatrixFederationHttpClient(object):
             Deferred: resolves with an (int,dict) tuple of the file length and
             a dict of the response headers.
 
-            Fails with ``HTTPRequestException`` if we get an HTTP response code
+            Fails with ``HttpResponseException`` if we get an HTTP response code
             >= 300
 
             Fails with ``NotRetryingDestination`` if we are not yet ready
diff --git a/synapse/push/emailpusher.py b/synapse/push/emailpusher.py
index d746371420..f369124258 100644
--- a/synapse/push/emailpusher.py
+++ b/synapse/push/emailpusher.py
@@ -18,8 +18,7 @@ import logging
 from twisted.internet import defer
 from twisted.internet.error import AlreadyCalled, AlreadyCancelled
 
-from synapse.util.logcontext import LoggingContext
-from synapse.util.metrics import Measure
+from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -71,18 +70,11 @@ class EmailPusher(object):
         # See httppusher
         self.max_stream_ordering = None
 
-        self.processing = False
+        self._is_processing = False
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def on_started(self):
         if self.mailer is not None:
-            try:
-                self.throttle_params = yield self.store.get_throttle_params_by_room(
-                    self.pusher_id
-                )
-                yield self._process()
-            except Exception:
-                logger.exception("Error starting email pusher")
+            self._start_processing()
 
     def on_stop(self):
         if self.timed_call:
@@ -92,43 +84,52 @@ class EmailPusher(object):
                 pass
             self.timed_call = None
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def on_new_notifications(self, min_stream_ordering, max_stream_ordering):
         self.max_stream_ordering = max(max_stream_ordering, self.max_stream_ordering)
-        yield self._process()
+        self._start_processing()
 
     def on_new_receipts(self, min_stream_id, max_stream_id):
         # We could wake up and cancel the timer but there tend to be quite a
         # lot of read receipts so it's probably less work to just let the
         # timer fire
-        return defer.succeed(None)
+        pass
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def on_timer(self):
         self.timed_call = None
-        yield self._process()
+        self._start_processing()
+
+    def _start_processing(self):
+        if self._is_processing:
+            return
+
+        run_as_background_process("emailpush.process", self._process)
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def _process(self):
-        if self.processing:
-            return
+        # we should never get here if we are already processing
+        assert not self._is_processing
+
+        try:
+            self._is_processing = True
+
+            if self.throttle_params is None:
+                # this is our first loop: load up the throttle params
+                self.throttle_params = yield self.store.get_throttle_params_by_room(
+                    self.pusher_id
+                )
 
-        with LoggingContext("emailpush._process"):
-            with Measure(self.clock, "emailpush._process"):
+            # if the max ordering changes while we're running _unsafe_process,
+            # call it again, and so on until we've caught up.
+            while True:
+                starting_max_ordering = self.max_stream_ordering
                 try:
-                    self.processing = True
-                    # if the max ordering changes while we're running _unsafe_process,
-                    # call it again, and so on until we've caught up.
-                    while True:
-                        starting_max_ordering = self.max_stream_ordering
-                        try:
-                            yield self._unsafe_process()
-                        except Exception:
-                            logger.exception("Exception processing notifs")
-                        if self.max_stream_ordering == starting_max_ordering:
-                            break
-                finally:
-                    self.processing = False
+                    yield self._unsafe_process()
+                except Exception:
+                    logger.exception("Exception processing notifs")
+                if self.max_stream_ordering == starting_max_ordering:
+                    break
+        finally:
+            self._is_processing = False
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def _unsafe_process(self):
diff --git a/synapse/push/httppusher.py b/synapse/push/httppusher.py
index 48abd5e4d6..6bd703632d 100644
--- a/synapse/push/httppusher.py
+++ b/synapse/push/httppusher.py
@@ -22,9 +22,8 @@ from prometheus_client import Counter
 from twisted.internet import defer
 from twisted.internet.error import AlreadyCalled, AlreadyCancelled
 
+from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
 from synapse.push import PusherConfigException
-from synapse.util.logcontext import LoggingContext
-from synapse.util.metrics import Measure
 
 from . import push_rule_evaluator, push_tools
 
@@ -61,7 +60,7 @@ class HttpPusher(object):
         self.backoff_delay = HttpPusher.INITIAL_BACKOFF_SEC
         self.failing_since = pusherdict['failing_since']
         self.timed_call = None
-        self.processing = False
+        self._is_processing = False
 
         # This is the highest stream ordering we know it's safe to process.
         # When new events arrive, we'll be given a window of new events: we
@@ -92,34 +91,27 @@ class HttpPusher(object):
         self.data_minus_url.update(self.data)
         del self.data_minus_url['url']
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def on_started(self):
-        try:
-            yield self._process()
-        except Exception:
-            logger.exception("Error starting http pusher")
+        self._start_processing()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def on_new_notifications(self, min_stream_ordering, max_stream_ordering):
         self.max_stream_ordering = max(max_stream_ordering, self.max_stream_ordering or 0)
-        yield self._process()
+        self._start_processing()
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def on_new_receipts(self, min_stream_id, max_stream_id):
         # Note that the min here shouldn't be relied upon to be accurate.
 
         # We could check the receipts are actually m.read receipts here,
         # but currently that's the only type of receipt anyway...
-        with LoggingContext("push.on_new_receipts"):
-            with Measure(self.clock, "push.on_new_receipts"):
-                badge = yield push_tools.get_badge_count(
-                    self.hs.get_datastore(), self.user_id
-                )
-            yield self._send_badge(badge)
+        run_as_background_process("http_pusher.on_new_receipts", self._update_badge)
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def _update_badge(self):
+        badge = yield push_tools.get_badge_count(self.hs.get_datastore(), self.user_id)
+        yield self._send_badge(badge)
+
     def on_timer(self):
-        yield self._process()
+        self._start_processing()
 
     def on_stop(self):
         if self.timed_call:
@@ -129,27 +121,31 @@ class HttpPusher(object):
                 pass
             self.timed_call = None
 
+    def _start_processing(self):
+        if self._is_processing:
+            return
+
+        run_as_background_process("httppush.process", self._process)
+
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def _process(self):
-        if self.processing:
-            return
+        # we should never get here if we are already processing
+        assert not self._is_processing
 
-        with LoggingContext("push._process"):
-            with Measure(self.clock, "push._process"):
+        try:
+            self._is_processing = True
+            # if the max ordering changes while we're running _unsafe_process,
+            # call it again, and so on until we've caught up.
+            while True:
+                starting_max_ordering = self.max_stream_ordering
                 try:
-                    self.processing = True
-                    # if the max ordering changes while we're running _unsafe_process,
-                    # call it again, and so on until we've caught up.
-                    while True:
-                        starting_max_ordering = self.max_stream_ordering
-                        try:
-                            yield self._unsafe_process()
-                        except Exception:
-                            logger.exception("Exception processing notifs")
-                        if self.max_stream_ordering == starting_max_ordering:
-                            break
-                finally:
-                    self.processing = False
+                    yield self._unsafe_process()
+                except Exception:
+                    logger.exception("Exception processing notifs")
+                if self.max_stream_ordering == starting_max_ordering:
+                    break
+        finally:
+            self._is_processing = False
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def _unsafe_process(self):
diff --git a/synapse/push/mailer.py b/synapse/push/mailer.py
index b9dcfee740..16fb5e8471 100644
--- a/synapse/push/mailer.py
+++ b/synapse/push/mailer.py
@@ -526,12 +526,8 @@ def load_jinja2_templates(config):
     Returns:
         (notif_template_html, notif_template_text)
     """
-    logger.info("loading jinja2")
-
-    if config.email_template_dir:
-        loader = jinja2.FileSystemLoader(config.email_template_dir)
-    else:
-        loader = jinja2.PackageLoader('synapse', 'res/templates')
+    logger.info("loading email templates from '%s'", config.email_template_dir)
+    loader = jinja2.FileSystemLoader(config.email_template_dir)
     env = jinja2.Environment(loader=loader)
     env.filters["format_ts"] = format_ts_filter
     env.filters["mxc_to_http"] = _create_mxc_to_http_filter(config)
diff --git a/synapse/push/pusherpool.py b/synapse/push/pusherpool.py
index 9f7d5ef217..5a4e73ccd6 100644
--- a/synapse/push/pusherpool.py
+++ b/synapse/push/pusherpool.py
@@ -20,24 +20,39 @@ from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
 from synapse.push.pusher import PusherFactory
-from synapse.util.logcontext import make_deferred_yieldable, run_in_background
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
 class PusherPool:
+    """
+    The pusher pool. This is responsible for dispatching notifications of new events to
+    the http and email pushers.
+
+    It provides three methods which are designed to be called by the rest of the
+    application: `start`, `on_new_notifications`, and `on_new_receipts`: each of these
+    delegates to each of the relevant pushers.
+
+    Note that it is expected that each pusher will have its own 'processing' loop which
+    will send out the notifications in the background, rather than blocking until the
+    notifications are sent; accordingly Pusher.on_started, Pusher.on_new_notifications and
+    Pusher.on_new_receipts are not expected to return deferreds.
+    """
     def __init__(self, _hs):
         self.hs = _hs
         self.pusher_factory = PusherFactory(_hs)
-        self.start_pushers = _hs.config.start_pushers
+        self._should_start_pushers = _hs.config.start_pushers
         self.store = self.hs.get_datastore()
         self.clock = self.hs.get_clock()
         self.pushers = {}
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def start(self):
-        pushers = yield self.store.get_all_pushers()
-        self._start_pushers(pushers)
+        """Starts the pushers off in a background process.
+        """
+        if not self._should_start_pushers:
+            logger.info("Not starting pushers because they are disabled in the config")
+            return
+        run_as_background_process("start_pushers", self._start_pushers)
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def add_pusher(self, user_id, access_token, kind, app_id,
@@ -86,7 +101,7 @@ class PusherPool:
             last_stream_ordering=last_stream_ordering,
             profile_tag=profile_tag,
         )
-        yield self._refresh_pusher(app_id, pushkey, user_id)
+        yield self.start_pusher_by_id(app_id, pushkey, user_id)
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def remove_pushers_by_app_id_and_pushkey_not_user(self, app_id, pushkey,
@@ -123,45 +138,23 @@ class PusherPool:
                     p['app_id'], p['pushkey'], p['user_name'],
                 )
 
-    def on_new_notifications(self, min_stream_id, max_stream_id):
-        run_as_background_process(
-            "on_new_notifications",
-            self._on_new_notifications, min_stream_id, max_stream_id,
-        )
-
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _on_new_notifications(self, min_stream_id, max_stream_id):
+    def on_new_notifications(self, min_stream_id, max_stream_id):
         try:
             users_affected = yield self.store.get_push_action_users_in_range(
                 min_stream_id, max_stream_id
             )
 
-            deferreds = []
-
             for u in users_affected:
                 if u in self.pushers:
                     for p in self.pushers[u].values():
-                        deferreds.append(
-                            run_in_background(
-                                p.on_new_notifications,
-                                min_stream_id, max_stream_id,
-                            )
-                        )
-
-            yield make_deferred_yieldable(
-                defer.gatherResults(deferreds, consumeErrors=True),
-            )
+                        p.on_new_notifications(min_stream_id, max_stream_id)
+
         except Exception:
             logger.exception("Exception in pusher on_new_notifications")
 
-    def on_new_receipts(self, min_stream_id, max_stream_id, affected_room_ids):
-        run_as_background_process(
-            "on_new_receipts",
-            self._on_new_receipts, min_stream_id, max_stream_id, affected_room_ids,
-        )
-
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _on_new_receipts(self, min_stream_id, max_stream_id, affected_room_ids):
+    def on_new_receipts(self, min_stream_id, max_stream_id, affected_room_ids):
         try:
             # Need to subtract 1 from the minimum because the lower bound here
             # is not inclusive
@@ -171,26 +164,20 @@ class PusherPool:
             # This returns a tuple, user_id is at index 3
             users_affected = set([r[3] for r in updated_receipts])
 
-            deferreds = []
-
             for u in users_affected:
                 if u in self.pushers:
                     for p in self.pushers[u].values():
-                        deferreds.append(
-                            run_in_background(
-                                p.on_new_receipts,
-                                min_stream_id, max_stream_id,
-                            )
-                        )
-
-            yield make_deferred_yieldable(
-                defer.gatherResults(deferreds, consumeErrors=True),
-            )
+                        p.on_new_receipts(min_stream_id, max_stream_id)
+
         except Exception:
             logger.exception("Exception in pusher on_new_receipts")
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _refresh_pusher(self, app_id, pushkey, user_id):
+    def start_pusher_by_id(self, app_id, pushkey, user_id):
+        """Look up the details for the given pusher, and start it"""
+        if not self._should_start_pushers:
+            return
+
         resultlist = yield self.store.get_pushers_by_app_id_and_pushkey(
             app_id, pushkey
         )
@@ -201,33 +188,49 @@ class PusherPool:
                 p = r
 
         if p:
+            self._start_pusher(p)
 
-            self._start_pushers([p])
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def _start_pushers(self):
+        """Start all the pushers
 
-    def _start_pushers(self, pushers):
-        if not self.start_pushers:
-            logger.info("Not starting pushers because they are disabled in the config")
-            return
+        Returns:
+            Deferred
+        """
+        pushers = yield self.store.get_all_pushers()
         logger.info("Starting %d pushers", len(pushers))
         for pusherdict in pushers:
-            try:
-                p = self.pusher_factory.create_pusher(pusherdict)
-            except Exception:
-                logger.exception("Couldn't start a pusher: caught Exception")
-                continue
-            if p:
-                appid_pushkey = "%s:%s" % (
-                    pusherdict['app_id'],
-                    pusherdict['pushkey'],
-                )
-                byuser = self.pushers.setdefault(pusherdict['user_name'], {})
+            self._start_pusher(pusherdict)
+        logger.info("Started pushers")
 
-                if appid_pushkey in byuser:
-                    byuser[appid_pushkey].on_stop()
-                byuser[appid_pushkey] = p
-                run_in_background(p.on_started)
+    def _start_pusher(self, pusherdict):
+        """Start the given pusher
 
-        logger.info("Started pushers")
+        Args:
+            pusherdict (dict):
+
+        Returns:
+            None
+        """
+        try:
+            p = self.pusher_factory.create_pusher(pusherdict)
+        except Exception:
+            logger.exception("Couldn't start a pusher: caught Exception")
+            return
+
+        if not p:
+            return
+
+        appid_pushkey = "%s:%s" % (
+            pusherdict['app_id'],
+            pusherdict['pushkey'],
+        )
+        byuser = self.pushers.setdefault(pusherdict['user_name'], {})
+
+        if appid_pushkey in byuser:
+            byuser[appid_pushkey].on_stop()
+        byuser[appid_pushkey] = p
+        p.on_started()
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def remove_pusher(self, app_id, pushkey, user_id):
diff --git a/synapse/python_dependencies.py b/synapse/python_dependencies.py
index f51184b50d..943876456b 100644
--- a/synapse/python_dependencies.py
+++ b/synapse/python_dependencies.py
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ REQUIREMENTS = {
     "pillow>=3.1.2": ["PIL"],
     "pydenticon>=0.2": ["pydenticon"],
     "sortedcontainers>=1.4.4": ["sortedcontainers"],
+    "psutil>=2.0.0": ["psutil>=2.0.0"],
     "pysaml2>=3.0.0": ["saml2"],
     "pymacaroons-pynacl>=0.9.3": ["pymacaroons"],
     "msgpack-python>=0.4.2": ["msgpack"],
@@ -79,9 +80,6 @@ CONDITIONAL_REQUIREMENTS = {
     "matrix-synapse-ldap3": {
         "matrix-synapse-ldap3>=0.1": ["ldap_auth_provider"],
     },
-    "psutil": {
-        "psutil>=2.0.0": ["psutil>=2.0.0"],
-    },
     "postgres": {
         "psycopg2>=2.6": ["psycopg2"]
     }
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v1/directory.py b/synapse/rest/client/v1/directory.py
index 97733f3026..0220acf644 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v1/directory.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v1/directory.py
@@ -74,38 +74,11 @@ class ClientDirectoryServer(ClientV1RestServlet):
         if room is None:
             raise SynapseError(400, "Room does not exist")
 
-        dir_handler = self.handlers.directory_handler
+        requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
 
-        try:
-            # try to auth as a user
-            requester = yield self.auth.get_user_by_req(request)
-            try:
-                user_id = requester.user.to_string()
-                yield dir_handler.create_association(
-                    user_id, room_alias, room_id, servers
-                )
-                yield dir_handler.send_room_alias_update_event(
-                    requester,
-                    user_id,
-                    room_id
-                )
-            except SynapseError as e:
-                raise e
-            except Exception:
-                logger.exception("Failed to create association")
-                raise
-        except AuthError:
-            # try to auth as an application service
-            service = yield self.auth.get_appservice_by_req(request)
-            yield dir_handler.create_appservice_association(
-                service, room_alias, room_id, servers
-            )
-            logger.info(
-                "Application service at %s created alias %s pointing to %s",
-                service.url,
-                room_alias.to_string(),
-                room_id
-            )
+        yield self.handlers.directory_handler.create_association(
+            requester, room_alias, room_id, servers
+        )
 
         defer.returnValue((200, {}))
 
@@ -135,7 +108,7 @@ class ClientDirectoryServer(ClientV1RestServlet):
         room_alias = RoomAlias.from_string(room_alias)
 
         yield dir_handler.delete_association(
-            requester, user.to_string(), room_alias
+            requester, room_alias
         )
 
         logger.info(
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v1/room.py b/synapse/rest/client/v1/room.py
index 663934efd0..fcfe7857f6 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v1/room.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v1/room.py
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ from synapse.http.servlet import (
     parse_json_object_from_request,
     parse_string,
 )
+from synapse.storage.state import StateFilter
 from synapse.streams.config import PaginationConfig
 from synapse.types import RoomAlias, RoomID, StreamToken, ThirdPartyInstanceID, UserID
 
@@ -409,7 +410,7 @@ class RoomMemberListRestServlet(ClientV1RestServlet):
             room_id=room_id,
             user_id=requester.user.to_string(),
             at_token=at_token,
-            types=[(EventTypes.Member, None)],
+            state_filter=StateFilter.from_types([(EventTypes.Member, None)]),
         )
 
         chunk = []
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/auth.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/auth.py
index bd8b5f4afa..693b303881 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/auth.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/auth.py
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ class AuthRestServlet(RestServlet):
     cannot be handled in the normal flow (with requests to the same endpoint).
     Current use is for web fallback auth.
     """
-    PATTERNS = client_v2_patterns("/auth/(?P<stagetype>[\w\.]*)/fallback/web")
+    PATTERNS = client_v2_patterns(r"/auth/(?P<stagetype>[\w\.]*)/fallback/web")
 
     def __init__(self, hs):
         super(AuthRestServlet, self).__init__()
diff --git a/synapse/rest/media/v1/media_repository.py b/synapse/rest/media/v1/media_repository.py
index a828ff4438..08b1867fab 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/media/v1/media_repository.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/media/v1/media_repository.py
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ from six.moves.urllib import parse as urlparse
 
 import twisted.internet.error
 import twisted.web.http
-from twisted.internet import defer, threads
+from twisted.internet import defer
 from twisted.web.resource import Resource
 
 from synapse.api.errors import (
@@ -36,8 +36,8 @@ from synapse.api.errors import (
 )
 from synapse.http.matrixfederationclient import MatrixFederationHttpClient
 from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
+from synapse.util import logcontext
 from synapse.util.async_helpers import Linearizer
-from synapse.util.logcontext import make_deferred_yieldable
 from synapse.util.retryutils import NotRetryingDestination
 from synapse.util.stringutils import is_ascii, random_string
 
@@ -492,10 +492,11 @@ class MediaRepository(object):
         ))
 
         thumbnailer = Thumbnailer(input_path)
-        t_byte_source = yield make_deferred_yieldable(threads.deferToThread(
+        t_byte_source = yield logcontext.defer_to_thread(
+            self.hs.get_reactor(),
             self._generate_thumbnail,
             thumbnailer, t_width, t_height, t_method, t_type
-        ))
+        )
 
         if t_byte_source:
             try:
@@ -534,10 +535,11 @@ class MediaRepository(object):
         ))
 
         thumbnailer = Thumbnailer(input_path)
-        t_byte_source = yield make_deferred_yieldable(threads.deferToThread(
+        t_byte_source = yield logcontext.defer_to_thread(
+            self.hs.get_reactor(),
             self._generate_thumbnail,
             thumbnailer, t_width, t_height, t_method, t_type
-        ))
+        )
 
         if t_byte_source:
             try:
@@ -620,15 +622,17 @@ class MediaRepository(object):
         for (t_width, t_height, t_type), t_method in iteritems(thumbnails):
             # Generate the thumbnail
             if t_method == "crop":
-                t_byte_source = yield make_deferred_yieldable(threads.deferToThread(
+                t_byte_source = yield logcontext.defer_to_thread(
+                    self.hs.get_reactor(),
                     thumbnailer.crop,
                     t_width, t_height, t_type,
-                ))
+                )
             elif t_method == "scale":
-                t_byte_source = yield make_deferred_yieldable(threads.deferToThread(
+                t_byte_source = yield logcontext.defer_to_thread(
+                    self.hs.get_reactor(),
                     thumbnailer.scale,
                     t_width, t_height, t_type,
-                ))
+                )
             else:
                 logger.error("Unrecognized method: %r", t_method)
                 continue
diff --git a/synapse/rest/media/v1/media_storage.py b/synapse/rest/media/v1/media_storage.py
index a6189224ee..896078fe76 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/media/v1/media_storage.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/media/v1/media_storage.py
@@ -21,9 +21,10 @@ import sys
 
 import six
 
-from twisted.internet import defer, threads
+from twisted.internet import defer
 from twisted.protocols.basic import FileSender
 
+from synapse.util import logcontext
 from synapse.util.file_consumer import BackgroundFileConsumer
 from synapse.util.logcontext import make_deferred_yieldable
 
@@ -64,9 +65,10 @@ class MediaStorage(object):
 
         with self.store_into_file(file_info) as (f, fname, finish_cb):
             # Write to the main repository
-            yield make_deferred_yieldable(threads.deferToThread(
+            yield logcontext.defer_to_thread(
+                self.hs.get_reactor(),
                 _write_file_synchronously, source, f,
-            ))
+            )
             yield finish_cb()
 
         defer.returnValue(fname)
diff --git a/synapse/rest/media/v1/preview_url_resource.py b/synapse/rest/media/v1/preview_url_resource.py
index 8c892ff187..1a7bfd6b56 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/media/v1/preview_url_resource.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/media/v1/preview_url_resource.py
@@ -674,7 +674,7 @@ def summarize_paragraphs(text_nodes, min_size=200, max_size=500):
         # This splits the paragraph into words, but keeping the
         # (preceeding) whitespace intact so we can easily concat
         # words back together.
-        for match in re.finditer("\s*\S+", description):
+        for match in re.finditer(r"\s*\S+", description):
             word = match.group()
 
             # Keep adding words while the total length is less than
diff --git a/synapse/rest/media/v1/storage_provider.py b/synapse/rest/media/v1/storage_provider.py
index 7b9f8b4d79..5aa03031f6 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/media/v1/storage_provider.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/media/v1/storage_provider.py
@@ -17,9 +17,10 @@ import logging
 import os
 import shutil
 
-from twisted.internet import defer, threads
+from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.config._base import Config
+from synapse.util import logcontext
 from synapse.util.logcontext import run_in_background
 
 from .media_storage import FileResponder
@@ -120,7 +121,8 @@ class FileStorageProviderBackend(StorageProvider):
         if not os.path.exists(dirname):
             os.makedirs(dirname)
 
-        return threads.deferToThread(
+        return logcontext.defer_to_thread(
+            self.hs.get_reactor(),
             shutil.copyfile, primary_fname, backup_fname,
         )
 
diff --git a/synapse/server.py b/synapse/server.py
index 3e9d3d8256..cf6b872cbd 100644
--- a/synapse/server.py
+++ b/synapse/server.py
@@ -207,6 +207,7 @@ class HomeServer(object):
         logger.info("Setting up.")
         with self.get_db_conn() as conn:
             self.datastore = self.DATASTORE_CLASS(conn, self)
+            conn.commit()
         logger.info("Finished setting up.")
 
     def get_reactor(self):
diff --git a/synapse/state/__init__.py b/synapse/state/__init__.py
index b22495c1f9..9b40b18d5b 100644
--- a/synapse/state/__init__.py
+++ b/synapse/state/__init__.py
@@ -19,13 +19,14 @@ from collections import namedtuple
 
 from six import iteritems, itervalues
 
+import attr
 from frozendict import frozendict
 
 from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes, RoomVersions
 from synapse.events.snapshot import EventContext
-from synapse.state import v1
+from synapse.state import v1, v2
 from synapse.util.async_helpers import Linearizer
 from synapse.util.caches import get_cache_factor_for
 from synapse.util.caches.expiringcache import ExpiringCache
@@ -372,15 +373,10 @@ class StateHandler(object):
 
         result = yield self._state_resolution_handler.resolve_state_groups(
             room_id, room_version, state_groups_ids, None,
-            self._state_map_factory,
+            state_res_store=StateResolutionStore(self.store),
         )
         defer.returnValue(result)
 
-    def _state_map_factory(self, ev_ids):
-        return self.store.get_events(
-            ev_ids, get_prev_content=False, check_redacted=False,
-        )
-
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def resolve_events(self, room_version, state_sets, event):
         logger.info(
@@ -398,10 +394,10 @@ class StateHandler(object):
         }
 
         with Measure(self.clock, "state._resolve_events"):
-            new_state = yield resolve_events_with_factory(
+            new_state = yield resolve_events_with_store(
                 room_version, state_set_ids,
                 event_map=state_map,
-                state_map_factory=self._state_map_factory
+                state_res_store=StateResolutionStore(self.store),
             )
 
         new_state = {
@@ -436,7 +432,7 @@ class StateResolutionHandler(object):
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     @log_function
     def resolve_state_groups(
-        self, room_id, room_version, state_groups_ids, event_map, state_map_factory,
+        self, room_id, room_version, state_groups_ids, event_map, state_res_store,
     ):
         """Resolves conflicts between a set of state groups
 
@@ -454,9 +450,11 @@ class StateResolutionHandler(object):
                 a dict from event_id to event, for any events that we happen to
                 have in flight (eg, those currently being persisted). This will be
                 used as a starting point fof finding the state we need; any missing
-                events will be requested via state_map_factory.
+                events will be requested via state_res_store.
+
+                If None, all events will be fetched via state_res_store.
 
-                If None, all events will be fetched via state_map_factory.
+            state_res_store (StateResolutionStore)
 
         Returns:
             Deferred[_StateCacheEntry]: resolved state
@@ -480,10 +478,10 @@ class StateResolutionHandler(object):
 
             # start by assuming we won't have any conflicted state, and build up the new
             # state map by iterating through the state groups. If we discover a conflict,
-            # we give up and instead use `resolve_events_with_factory`.
+            # we give up and instead use `resolve_events_with_store`.
             #
             # XXX: is this actually worthwhile, or should we just let
-            # resolve_events_with_factory do it?
+            # resolve_events_with_store do it?
             new_state = {}
             conflicted_state = False
             for st in itervalues(state_groups_ids):
@@ -498,11 +496,11 @@ class StateResolutionHandler(object):
             if conflicted_state:
                 logger.info("Resolving conflicted state for %r", room_id)
                 with Measure(self.clock, "state._resolve_events"):
-                    new_state = yield resolve_events_with_factory(
+                    new_state = yield resolve_events_with_store(
                         room_version,
                         list(itervalues(state_groups_ids)),
                         event_map=event_map,
-                        state_map_factory=state_map_factory,
+                        state_res_store=state_res_store,
                     )
 
             # if the new state matches any of the input state groups, we can
@@ -583,7 +581,7 @@ def _make_state_cache_entry(
     )
 
 
-def resolve_events_with_factory(room_version, state_sets, event_map, state_map_factory):
+def resolve_events_with_store(room_version, state_sets, event_map, state_res_store):
     """
     Args:
         room_version(str): Version of the room
@@ -599,17 +597,19 @@ def resolve_events_with_factory(room_version, state_sets, event_map, state_map_f
 
             If None, all events will be fetched via state_map_factory.
 
-        state_map_factory(func): will be called
-            with a list of event_ids that are needed, and should return with
-            a Deferred of dict of event_id to event.
+        state_res_store (StateResolutionStore)
 
     Returns
         Deferred[dict[(str, str), str]]:
             a map from (type, state_key) to event_id.
     """
-    if room_version in (RoomVersions.V1, RoomVersions.VDH_TEST,):
-        return v1.resolve_events_with_factory(
-            state_sets, event_map, state_map_factory,
+    if room_version == RoomVersions.V1:
+        return v1.resolve_events_with_store(
+            state_sets, event_map, state_res_store.get_events,
+        )
+    elif room_version == RoomVersions.VDH_TEST:
+        return v2.resolve_events_with_store(
+            state_sets, event_map, state_res_store,
         )
     else:
         # This should only happen if we added a version but forgot to add it to
@@ -617,3 +617,54 @@ def resolve_events_with_factory(room_version, state_sets, event_map, state_map_f
         raise Exception(
             "No state resolution algorithm defined for version %r" % (room_version,)
         )
+
+
+@attr.s
+class StateResolutionStore(object):
+    """Interface that allows state resolution algorithms to access the database
+    in well defined way.
+
+    Args:
+        store (DataStore)
+    """
+
+    store = attr.ib()
+
+    def get_events(self, event_ids, allow_rejected=False):
+        """Get events from the database
+
+        Args:
+            event_ids (list): The event_ids of the events to fetch
+            allow_rejected (bool): If True return rejected events.
+
+        Returns:
+            Deferred[dict[str, FrozenEvent]]: Dict from event_id to event.
+        """
+
+        return self.store.get_events(
+            event_ids,
+            check_redacted=False,
+            get_prev_content=False,
+            allow_rejected=allow_rejected,
+        )
+
+    def get_auth_chain(self, event_ids):
+        """Gets the full auth chain for a set of events (including rejected
+        events).
+
+        Includes the given event IDs in the result.
+
+        Note that:
+            1. All events must be state events.
+            2. For v1 rooms this may not have the full auth chain in the
+               presence of rejected events
+
+        Args:
+            event_ids (list): The event IDs of the events to fetch the auth
+                chain for. Must be state events.
+
+        Returns:
+            Deferred[list[str]]: List of event IDs of the auth chain.
+        """
+
+        return self.store.get_auth_chain_ids(event_ids, include_given=True)
diff --git a/synapse/state/v1.py b/synapse/state/v1.py
index 7a7157b352..70a981f4a2 100644
--- a/synapse/state/v1.py
+++ b/synapse/state/v1.py
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ POWER_KEY = (EventTypes.PowerLevels, "")
 
 
 @defer.inlineCallbacks
-def resolve_events_with_factory(state_sets, event_map, state_map_factory):
+def resolve_events_with_store(state_sets, event_map, state_map_factory):
     """
     Args:
         state_sets(list): List of dicts of (type, state_key) -> event_id,
diff --git a/synapse/state/v2.py b/synapse/state/v2.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5d06f7e928
--- /dev/null
+++ b/synapse/state/v2.py
@@ -0,0 +1,544 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+# Copyright 2018 New Vector Ltd
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+import heapq
+import itertools
+import logging
+
+from six import iteritems, itervalues
+
+from twisted.internet import defer
+
+from synapse import event_auth
+from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes
+from synapse.api.errors import AuthError
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+@defer.inlineCallbacks
+def resolve_events_with_store(state_sets, event_map, state_res_store):
+    """Resolves the state using the v2 state resolution algorithm
+
+    Args:
+        state_sets(list): List of dicts of (type, state_key) -> event_id,
+            which are the different state groups to resolve.
+
+        event_map(dict[str,FrozenEvent]|None):
+            a dict from event_id to event, for any events that we happen to
+            have in flight (eg, those currently being persisted). This will be
+            used as a starting point fof finding the state we need; any missing
+            events will be requested via state_res_store.
+
+            If None, all events will be fetched via state_res_store.
+
+        state_res_store (StateResolutionStore)
+
+    Returns
+        Deferred[dict[(str, str), str]]:
+            a map from (type, state_key) to event_id.
+    """
+
+    logger.debug("Computing conflicted state")
+
+    # First split up the un/conflicted state
+    unconflicted_state, conflicted_state = _seperate(state_sets)
+
+    if not conflicted_state:
+        defer.returnValue(unconflicted_state)
+
+    logger.debug("%d conflicted state entries", len(conflicted_state))
+    logger.debug("Calculating auth chain difference")
+
+    # Also fetch all auth events that appear in only some of the state sets'
+    # auth chains.
+    auth_diff = yield _get_auth_chain_difference(
+        state_sets, event_map, state_res_store,
+    )
+
+    full_conflicted_set = set(itertools.chain(
+        itertools.chain.from_iterable(itervalues(conflicted_state)),
+        auth_diff,
+    ))
+
+    events = yield state_res_store.get_events([
+        eid for eid in full_conflicted_set
+        if eid not in event_map
+    ], allow_rejected=True)
+    event_map.update(events)
+
+    full_conflicted_set = set(eid for eid in full_conflicted_set if eid in event_map)
+
+    logger.debug("%d full_conflicted_set entries", len(full_conflicted_set))
+
+    # Get and sort all the power events (kicks/bans/etc)
+    power_events = (
+        eid for eid in full_conflicted_set
+        if _is_power_event(event_map[eid])
+    )
+
+    sorted_power_events = yield _reverse_topological_power_sort(
+        power_events,
+        event_map,
+        state_res_store,
+        full_conflicted_set,
+    )
+
+    logger.debug("sorted %d power events", len(sorted_power_events))
+
+    # Now sequentially auth each one
+    resolved_state = yield _iterative_auth_checks(
+        sorted_power_events, unconflicted_state, event_map,
+        state_res_store,
+    )
+
+    logger.debug("resolved power events")
+
+    # OK, so we've now resolved the power events. Now sort the remaining
+    # events using the mainline of the resolved power level.
+
+    leftover_events = [
+        ev_id
+        for ev_id in full_conflicted_set
+        if ev_id not in sorted_power_events
+    ]
+
+    logger.debug("sorting %d remaining events", len(leftover_events))
+
+    pl = resolved_state.get((EventTypes.PowerLevels, ""), None)
+    leftover_events = yield _mainline_sort(
+        leftover_events, pl, event_map, state_res_store,
+    )
+
+    logger.debug("resolving remaining events")
+
+    resolved_state = yield _iterative_auth_checks(
+        leftover_events, resolved_state, event_map,
+        state_res_store,
+    )
+
+    logger.debug("resolved")
+
+    # We make sure that unconflicted state always still applies.
+    resolved_state.update(unconflicted_state)
+
+    logger.debug("done")
+
+    defer.returnValue(resolved_state)
+
+
+@defer.inlineCallbacks
+def _get_power_level_for_sender(event_id, event_map, state_res_store):
+    """Return the power level of the sender of the given event according to
+    their auth events.
+
+    Args:
+        event_id (str)
+        event_map (dict[str,FrozenEvent])
+        state_res_store (StateResolutionStore)
+
+    Returns:
+        Deferred[int]
+    """
+    event = yield _get_event(event_id, event_map, state_res_store)
+
+    pl = None
+    for aid, _ in event.auth_events:
+        aev = yield _get_event(aid, event_map, state_res_store)
+        if (aev.type, aev.state_key) == (EventTypes.PowerLevels, ""):
+            pl = aev
+            break
+
+    if pl is None:
+        # Couldn't find power level. Check if they're the creator of the room
+        for aid, _ in event.auth_events:
+            aev = yield _get_event(aid, event_map, state_res_store)
+            if (aev.type, aev.state_key) == (EventTypes.Create, ""):
+                if aev.content.get("creator") == event.sender:
+                    defer.returnValue(100)
+                break
+        defer.returnValue(0)
+
+    level = pl.content.get("users", {}).get(event.sender)
+    if level is None:
+        level = pl.content.get("users_default", 0)
+
+    if level is None:
+        defer.returnValue(0)
+    else:
+        defer.returnValue(int(level))
+
+
+@defer.inlineCallbacks
+def _get_auth_chain_difference(state_sets, event_map, state_res_store):
+    """Compare the auth chains of each state set and return the set of events
+    that only appear in some but not all of the auth chains.
+
+    Args:
+        state_sets (list)
+        event_map (dict[str,FrozenEvent])
+        state_res_store (StateResolutionStore)
+
+    Returns:
+        Deferred[set[str]]: Set of event IDs
+    """
+    common = set(itervalues(state_sets[0])).intersection(
+        *(itervalues(s) for s in state_sets[1:])
+    )
+
+    auth_sets = []
+    for state_set in state_sets:
+        auth_ids = set(
+            eid
+            for key, eid in iteritems(state_set)
+            if (key[0] in (
+                EventTypes.Member,
+                EventTypes.ThirdPartyInvite,
+            ) or key in (
+                (EventTypes.PowerLevels, ''),
+                (EventTypes.Create, ''),
+                (EventTypes.JoinRules, ''),
+            )) and eid not in common
+        )
+
+        auth_chain = yield state_res_store.get_auth_chain(auth_ids)
+        auth_ids.update(auth_chain)
+
+        auth_sets.append(auth_ids)
+
+    intersection = set(auth_sets[0]).intersection(*auth_sets[1:])
+    union = set().union(*auth_sets)
+
+    defer.returnValue(union - intersection)
+
+
+def _seperate(state_sets):
+    """Return the unconflicted and conflicted state. This is different than in
+    the original algorithm, as this defines a key to be conflicted if one of
+    the state sets doesn't have that key.
+
+    Args:
+        state_sets (list)
+
+    Returns:
+        tuple[dict, dict]: A tuple of unconflicted and conflicted state. The
+        conflicted state dict is a map from type/state_key to set of event IDs
+    """
+    unconflicted_state = {}
+    conflicted_state = {}
+
+    for key in set(itertools.chain.from_iterable(state_sets)):
+        event_ids = set(state_set.get(key) for state_set in state_sets)
+        if len(event_ids) == 1:
+            unconflicted_state[key] = event_ids.pop()
+        else:
+            event_ids.discard(None)
+            conflicted_state[key] = event_ids
+
+    return unconflicted_state, conflicted_state
+
+
+def _is_power_event(event):
+    """Return whether or not the event is a "power event", as defined by the
+    v2 state resolution algorithm
+
+    Args:
+        event (FrozenEvent)
+
+    Returns:
+        boolean
+    """
+    if (event.type, event.state_key) in (
+        (EventTypes.PowerLevels, ""),
+        (EventTypes.JoinRules, ""),
+        (EventTypes.Create, ""),
+    ):
+        return True
+
+    if event.type == EventTypes.Member:
+        if event.membership in ('leave', 'ban'):
+            return event.sender != event.state_key
+
+    return False
+
+
+@defer.inlineCallbacks
+def _add_event_and_auth_chain_to_graph(graph, event_id, event_map,
+                                       state_res_store, auth_diff):
+    """Helper function for _reverse_topological_power_sort that add the event
+    and its auth chain (that is in the auth diff) to the graph
+
+    Args:
+        graph (dict[str, set[str]]): A map from event ID to the events auth
+            event IDs
+        event_id (str): Event to add to the graph
+        event_map (dict[str,FrozenEvent])
+        state_res_store (StateResolutionStore)
+        auth_diff (set[str]): Set of event IDs that are in the auth difference.
+    """
+
+    state = [event_id]
+    while state:
+        eid = state.pop()
+        graph.setdefault(eid, set())
+
+        event = yield _get_event(eid, event_map, state_res_store)
+        for aid, _ in event.auth_events:
+            if aid in auth_diff:
+                if aid not in graph:
+                    state.append(aid)
+
+                graph.setdefault(eid, set()).add(aid)
+
+
+@defer.inlineCallbacks
+def _reverse_topological_power_sort(event_ids, event_map, state_res_store, auth_diff):
+    """Returns a list of the event_ids sorted by reverse topological ordering,
+    and then by power level and origin_server_ts
+
+    Args:
+        event_ids (list[str]): The events to sort
+        event_map (dict[str,FrozenEvent])
+        state_res_store (StateResolutionStore)
+        auth_diff (set[str]): Set of event IDs that are in the auth difference.
+
+    Returns:
+        Deferred[list[str]]: The sorted list
+    """
+
+    graph = {}
+    for event_id in event_ids:
+        yield _add_event_and_auth_chain_to_graph(
+            graph, event_id, event_map, state_res_store, auth_diff,
+        )
+
+    event_to_pl = {}
+    for event_id in graph:
+        pl = yield _get_power_level_for_sender(event_id, event_map, state_res_store)
+        event_to_pl[event_id] = pl
+
+    def _get_power_order(event_id):
+        ev = event_map[event_id]
+        pl = event_to_pl[event_id]
+
+        return -pl, ev.origin_server_ts, event_id
+
+    # Note: graph is modified during the sort
+    it = lexicographical_topological_sort(
+        graph,
+        key=_get_power_order,
+    )
+    sorted_events = list(it)
+
+    defer.returnValue(sorted_events)
+
+
+@defer.inlineCallbacks
+def _iterative_auth_checks(event_ids, base_state, event_map, state_res_store):
+    """Sequentially apply auth checks to each event in given list, updating the
+    state as it goes along.
+
+    Args:
+        event_ids (list[str]): Ordered list of events to apply auth checks to
+        base_state (dict[tuple[str, str], str]): The set of state to start with
+        event_map (dict[str,FrozenEvent])
+        state_res_store (StateResolutionStore)
+
+    Returns:
+        Deferred[dict[tuple[str, str], str]]: Returns the final updated state
+    """
+    resolved_state = base_state.copy()
+
+    for event_id in event_ids:
+        event = event_map[event_id]
+
+        auth_events = {}
+        for aid, _ in event.auth_events:
+            ev = yield _get_event(aid, event_map, state_res_store)
+
+            if ev.rejected_reason is None:
+                auth_events[(ev.type, ev.state_key)] = ev
+
+        for key in event_auth.auth_types_for_event(event):
+            if key in resolved_state:
+                ev_id = resolved_state[key]
+                ev = yield _get_event(ev_id, event_map, state_res_store)
+
+                if ev.rejected_reason is None:
+                    auth_events[key] = event_map[ev_id]
+
+        try:
+            event_auth.check(
+                event, auth_events,
+                do_sig_check=False,
+                do_size_check=False
+            )
+
+            resolved_state[(event.type, event.state_key)] = event_id
+        except AuthError:
+            pass
+
+    defer.returnValue(resolved_state)
+
+
+@defer.inlineCallbacks
+def _mainline_sort(event_ids, resolved_power_event_id, event_map,
+                   state_res_store):
+    """Returns a sorted list of event_ids sorted by mainline ordering based on
+    the given event resolved_power_event_id
+
+    Args:
+        event_ids (list[str]): Events to sort
+        resolved_power_event_id (str): The final resolved power level event ID
+        event_map (dict[str,FrozenEvent])
+        state_res_store (StateResolutionStore)
+
+    Returns:
+        Deferred[list[str]]: The sorted list
+    """
+    mainline = []
+    pl = resolved_power_event_id
+    while pl:
+        mainline.append(pl)
+        pl_ev = yield _get_event(pl, event_map, state_res_store)
+        auth_events = pl_ev.auth_events
+        pl = None
+        for aid, _ in auth_events:
+            ev = yield _get_event(aid, event_map, state_res_store)
+            if (ev.type, ev.state_key) == (EventTypes.PowerLevels, ""):
+                pl = aid
+                break
+
+    mainline_map = {ev_id: i + 1 for i, ev_id in enumerate(reversed(mainline))}
+
+    event_ids = list(event_ids)
+
+    order_map = {}
+    for ev_id in event_ids:
+        depth = yield _get_mainline_depth_for_event(
+            event_map[ev_id], mainline_map,
+            event_map, state_res_store,
+        )
+        order_map[ev_id] = (depth, event_map[ev_id].origin_server_ts, ev_id)
+
+    event_ids.sort(key=lambda ev_id: order_map[ev_id])
+
+    defer.returnValue(event_ids)
+
+
+@defer.inlineCallbacks
+def _get_mainline_depth_for_event(event, mainline_map, event_map, state_res_store):
+    """Get the mainline depths for the given event based on the mainline map
+
+    Args:
+        event (FrozenEvent)
+        mainline_map (dict[str, int]): Map from event_id to mainline depth for
+            events in the mainline.
+        event_map (dict[str,FrozenEvent])
+        state_res_store (StateResolutionStore)
+
+    Returns:
+        Deferred[int]
+    """
+
+    # We do an iterative search, replacing `event with the power level in its
+    # auth events (if any)
+    while event:
+        depth = mainline_map.get(event.event_id)
+        if depth is not None:
+            defer.returnValue(depth)
+
+        auth_events = event.auth_events
+        event = None
+
+        for aid, _ in auth_events:
+            aev = yield _get_event(aid, event_map, state_res_store)
+            if (aev.type, aev.state_key) == (EventTypes.PowerLevels, ""):
+                event = aev
+                break
+
+    # Didn't find a power level auth event, so we just return 0
+    defer.returnValue(0)
+
+
+@defer.inlineCallbacks
+def _get_event(event_id, event_map, state_res_store):
+    """Helper function to look up event in event_map, falling back to looking
+    it up in the store
+
+    Args:
+        event_id (str)
+        event_map (dict[str,FrozenEvent])
+        state_res_store (StateResolutionStore)
+
+    Returns:
+        Deferred[FrozenEvent]
+    """
+    if event_id not in event_map:
+        events = yield state_res_store.get_events([event_id], allow_rejected=True)
+        event_map.update(events)
+    defer.returnValue(event_map[event_id])
+
+
+def lexicographical_topological_sort(graph, key):
+    """Performs a lexicographic reverse topological sort on the graph.
+
+    This returns a reverse topological sort (i.e. if node A references B then B
+    appears before A in the sort), with ties broken lexicographically based on
+    return value of the `key` function.
+
+    NOTE: `graph` is modified during the sort.
+
+    Args:
+        graph (dict[str, set[str]]): A representation of the graph where each
+            node is a key in the dict and its value are the nodes edges.
+        key (func): A function that takes a node and returns a value that is
+            comparable and used to order nodes
+
+    Yields:
+        str: The next node in the topological sort
+    """
+
+    # Note, this is basically Kahn's algorithm except we look at nodes with no
+    # outgoing edges, c.f.
+    # https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topological_sorting#Kahn's_algorithm
+    outdegree_map = graph
+    reverse_graph = {}
+
+    # Lists of nodes with zero out degree. Is actually a tuple of
+    # `(key(node), node)` so that sorting does the right thing
+    zero_outdegree = []
+
+    for node, edges in iteritems(graph):
+        if len(edges) == 0:
+            zero_outdegree.append((key(node), node))
+
+        reverse_graph.setdefault(node, set())
+        for edge in edges:
+            reverse_graph.setdefault(edge, set()).add(node)
+
+    # heapq is a built in implementation of a sorted queue.
+    heapq.heapify(zero_outdegree)
+
+    while zero_outdegree:
+        _, node = heapq.heappop(zero_outdegree)
+
+        for parent in reverse_graph[node]:
+            out = outdegree_map[parent]
+            out.discard(node)
+            if len(out) == 0:
+                heapq.heappush(zero_outdegree, (key(parent), parent))
+
+        yield node
diff --git a/synapse/storage/_base.py b/synapse/storage/_base.py
index be61147b9b..d9d0255d0b 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/_base.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/_base.py
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ import threading
 import time
 
 from six import PY2, iteritems, iterkeys, itervalues
-from six.moves import intern, range
+from six.moves import builtins, intern, range
 
 from canonicaljson import json
 from prometheus_client import Histogram
@@ -1233,7 +1233,7 @@ def db_to_json(db_content):
 
     # psycopg2 on Python 2 returns buffer objects, which we need to cast to
     # bytes to decode
-    if PY2 and isinstance(db_content, buffer):
+    if PY2 and isinstance(db_content, builtins.buffer):
         db_content = bytes(db_content)
 
     # Decode it to a Unicode string before feeding it to json.loads, so we
diff --git a/synapse/storage/directory.py b/synapse/storage/directory.py
index cfb687cb53..61a029a53c 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/directory.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/directory.py
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ class DirectoryWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
 class DirectoryStore(DirectoryWorkerStore):
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def create_room_alias_association(self, room_alias, room_id, servers, creator=None):
-        """ Creates an associatin between  a room alias and room_id/servers
+        """ Creates an association between a room alias and room_id/servers
 
         Args:
             room_alias (RoomAlias)
diff --git a/synapse/storage/events.py b/synapse/storage/events.py
index 379b5c514f..e791922733 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/events.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/events.py
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ from synapse.api.errors import SynapseError
 from synapse.events import EventBase  # noqa: F401
 from synapse.events.snapshot import EventContext  # noqa: F401
 from synapse.metrics.background_process_metrics import run_as_background_process
+from synapse.state import StateResolutionStore
 from synapse.storage.background_updates import BackgroundUpdateStore
 from synapse.storage.event_federation import EventFederationStore
 from synapse.storage.events_worker import EventsWorkerStore
@@ -733,11 +734,6 @@ class EventsStore(StateGroupWorkerStore, EventFederationStore, EventsWorkerStore
 
         # Ok, we need to defer to the state handler to resolve our state sets.
 
-        def get_events(ev_ids):
-            return self.get_events(
-                ev_ids, get_prev_content=False, check_redacted=False,
-            )
-
         state_groups = {
             sg: state_groups_map[sg] for sg in new_state_groups
         }
@@ -747,7 +743,8 @@ class EventsStore(StateGroupWorkerStore, EventFederationStore, EventsWorkerStore
 
         logger.debug("calling resolve_state_groups from preserve_events")
         res = yield self._state_resolution_handler.resolve_state_groups(
-            room_id, room_version, state_groups, events_map, get_events
+            room_id, room_version, state_groups, events_map,
+            state_res_store=StateResolutionStore(self)
         )
 
         defer.returnValue((res.state, None))
@@ -856,6 +853,27 @@ class EventsStore(StateGroupWorkerStore, EventFederationStore, EventsWorkerStore
         # Insert into event_to_state_groups.
         self._store_event_state_mappings_txn(txn, events_and_contexts)
 
+        # We want to store event_auth mappings for rejected events, as they're
+        # used in state res v2.
+        # This is only necessary if the rejected event appears in an accepted
+        # event's auth chain, but its easier for now just to store them (and
+        # it doesn't take much storage compared to storing the entire event
+        # anyway).
+        self._simple_insert_many_txn(
+            txn,
+            table="event_auth",
+            values=[
+                {
+                    "event_id": event.event_id,
+                    "room_id": event.room_id,
+                    "auth_id": auth_id,
+                }
+                for event, _ in events_and_contexts
+                for auth_id, _ in event.auth_events
+                if event.is_state()
+            ],
+        )
+
         # _store_rejected_events_txn filters out any events which were
         # rejected, and returns the filtered list.
         events_and_contexts = self._store_rejected_events_txn(
@@ -1331,21 +1349,6 @@ class EventsStore(StateGroupWorkerStore, EventFederationStore, EventsWorkerStore
                     txn, event.room_id, event.redacts
                 )
 
-        self._simple_insert_many_txn(
-            txn,
-            table="event_auth",
-            values=[
-                {
-                    "event_id": event.event_id,
-                    "room_id": event.room_id,
-                    "auth_id": auth_id,
-                }
-                for event, _ in events_and_contexts
-                for auth_id, _ in event.auth_events
-                if event.is_state()
-            ],
-        )
-
         # Update the event_forward_extremities, event_backward_extremities and
         # event_edges tables.
         self._handle_mult_prev_events(
@@ -2068,7 +2071,7 @@ class EventsStore(StateGroupWorkerStore, EventFederationStore, EventsWorkerStore
         for sg in remaining_state_groups:
             logger.info("[purge] de-delta-ing remaining state group %s", sg)
             curr_state = self._get_state_groups_from_groups_txn(
-                txn, [sg], types=None
+                txn, [sg],
             )
             curr_state = curr_state[sg]
 
diff --git a/synapse/storage/keys.py b/synapse/storage/keys.py
index a1331c1a61..8af17921e3 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/keys.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/keys.py
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 # py2 sqlite has buffer hardcoded as only binary type, so we must use it,
 # despite being deprecated and removed in favor of memoryview
 if six.PY2:
-    db_binary_type = buffer
+    db_binary_type = six.moves.builtins.buffer
 else:
     db_binary_type = memoryview
 
diff --git a/synapse/storage/monthly_active_users.py b/synapse/storage/monthly_active_users.py
index 0fe8c8e24c..cf4104dc2e 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/monthly_active_users.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/monthly_active_users.py
@@ -33,19 +33,29 @@ class MonthlyActiveUsersStore(SQLBaseStore):
         self._clock = hs.get_clock()
         self.hs = hs
         self.reserved_users = ()
+        # Do not add more reserved users than the total allowable number
+        self._initialise_reserved_users(
+            dbconn.cursor(),
+            hs.config.mau_limits_reserved_threepids[:self.hs.config.max_mau_value],
+        )
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def initialise_reserved_users(self, threepids):
-        store = self.hs.get_datastore()
+    def _initialise_reserved_users(self, txn, threepids):
+        """Ensures that reserved threepids are accounted for in the MAU table, should
+        be called on start up.
+
+        Args:
+            txn (cursor):
+            threepids (list[dict]): List of threepid dicts to reserve
+        """
         reserved_user_list = []
 
-        # Do not add more reserved users than the total allowable number
-        for tp in threepids[:self.hs.config.max_mau_value]:
-            user_id = yield store.get_user_id_by_threepid(
+        for tp in threepids:
+            user_id = self.get_user_id_by_threepid_txn(
+                txn,
                 tp["medium"], tp["address"]
             )
             if user_id:
-                yield self.upsert_monthly_active_user(user_id)
+                self.upsert_monthly_active_user_txn(txn, user_id)
                 reserved_user_list.append(user_id)
             else:
                 logger.warning(
@@ -55,8 +65,7 @@ class MonthlyActiveUsersStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def reap_monthly_active_users(self):
-        """
-        Cleans out monthly active user table to ensure that no stale
+        """Cleans out monthly active user table to ensure that no stale
         entries exist.
 
         Returns:
@@ -165,19 +174,44 @@ class MonthlyActiveUsersStore(SQLBaseStore):
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def upsert_monthly_active_user(self, user_id):
+        """Updates or inserts the user into the monthly active user table, which
+        is used to track the current MAU usage of the server
+
+        Args:
+            user_id (str): user to add/update
         """
-            Updates or inserts monthly active user member
-            Arguments:
-                user_id (str): user to add/update
-            Deferred[bool]: True if a new entry was created, False if an
-                existing one was updated.
+        is_insert = yield self.runInteraction(
+            "upsert_monthly_active_user", self.upsert_monthly_active_user_txn,
+            user_id
+        )
+
+        if is_insert:
+            self.user_last_seen_monthly_active.invalidate((user_id,))
+            self.get_monthly_active_count.invalidate(())
+
+    def upsert_monthly_active_user_txn(self, txn, user_id):
+        """Updates or inserts monthly active user member
+
+        Note that, after calling this method, it will generally be necessary
+        to invalidate the caches on user_last_seen_monthly_active and
+        get_monthly_active_count. We can't do that here, because we are running
+        in a database thread rather than the main thread, and we can't call
+        txn.call_after because txn may not be a LoggingTransaction.
+
+        Args:
+            txn (cursor):
+            user_id (str): user to add/update
+
+        Returns:
+            bool: True if a new entry was created, False if an
+            existing one was updated.
         """
         # Am consciously deciding to lock the table on the basis that is ought
         # never be a big table and alternative approaches (batching multiple
         # upserts into a single txn) introduced a lot of extra complexity.
         # See https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/3854 for more
-        is_insert = yield self._simple_upsert(
-            desc="upsert_monthly_active_user",
+        is_insert = self._simple_upsert_txn(
+            txn,
             table="monthly_active_users",
             keyvalues={
                 "user_id": user_id,
@@ -186,9 +220,8 @@ class MonthlyActiveUsersStore(SQLBaseStore):
                 "timestamp": int(self._clock.time_msec()),
             },
         )
-        if is_insert:
-            self.user_last_seen_monthly_active.invalidate((user_id,))
-            self.get_monthly_active_count.invalidate(())
+
+        return is_insert
 
     @cached(num_args=1)
     def user_last_seen_monthly_active(self, user_id):
diff --git a/synapse/storage/pusher.py b/synapse/storage/pusher.py
index c7987bfcdd..2743b52bad 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/pusher.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/pusher.py
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ from ._base import SQLBaseStore
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 if six.PY2:
-    db_binary_type = buffer
+    db_binary_type = six.moves.builtins.buffer
 else:
     db_binary_type = memoryview
 
diff --git a/synapse/storage/registration.py b/synapse/storage/registration.py
index 26b429e307..80d76bf9d7 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/registration.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/registration.py
@@ -474,17 +474,44 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationWorkerStore,
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def get_user_id_by_threepid(self, medium, address):
-        ret = yield self._simple_select_one(
+        """Returns user id from threepid
+
+        Args:
+            medium (str): threepid medium e.g. email
+            address (str): threepid address e.g. me@example.com
+
+        Returns:
+            Deferred[str|None]: user id or None if no user id/threepid mapping exists
+        """
+        user_id = yield self.runInteraction(
+            "get_user_id_by_threepid", self.get_user_id_by_threepid_txn,
+            medium, address
+        )
+        defer.returnValue(user_id)
+
+    def get_user_id_by_threepid_txn(self, txn, medium, address):
+        """Returns user id from threepid
+
+        Args:
+            txn (cursor):
+            medium (str): threepid medium e.g. email
+            address (str): threepid address e.g. me@example.com
+
+        Returns:
+            str|None: user id or None if no user id/threepid mapping exists
+        """
+        ret = self._simple_select_one_txn(
+            txn,
             "user_threepids",
             {
                 "medium": medium,
                 "address": address
             },
-            ['user_id'], True, 'get_user_id_by_threepid'
+            ['user_id'], True
         )
         if ret:
-            defer.returnValue(ret['user_id'])
-        defer.returnValue(None)
+            return ret['user_id']
+        return None
 
     def user_delete_threepid(self, user_id, medium, address):
         return self._simple_delete(
@@ -567,7 +594,7 @@ class RegistrationStore(RegistrationWorkerStore,
         def _find_next_generated_user_id(txn):
             txn.execute("SELECT name FROM users")
 
-            regex = re.compile("^@(\d+):")
+            regex = re.compile(r"^@(\d+):")
 
             found = set()
 
diff --git a/synapse/storage/signatures.py b/synapse/storage/signatures.py
index 5623391f6e..158e9dbe7b 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/signatures.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/signatures.py
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ from ._base import SQLBaseStore
 # py2 sqlite has buffer hardcoded as only binary type, so we must use it,
 # despite being deprecated and removed in favor of memoryview
 if six.PY2:
-    db_binary_type = buffer
+    db_binary_type = six.moves.builtins.buffer
 else:
     db_binary_type = memoryview
 
diff --git a/synapse/storage/state.py b/synapse/storage/state.py
index 0f86311ed4..59a50a5df9 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/state.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/state.py
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ from collections import namedtuple
 from six import iteritems, itervalues
 from six.moves import range
 
+import attr
+
 from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes
@@ -48,6 +50,318 @@ class _GetStateGroupDelta(namedtuple("_GetStateGroupDelta", ("prev_group", "delt
         return len(self.delta_ids) if self.delta_ids else 0
 
 
+@attr.s(slots=True)
+class StateFilter(object):
+    """A filter used when querying for state.
+
+    Attributes:
+        types (dict[str, set[str]|None]): Map from type to set of state keys (or
+            None). This specifies which state_keys for the given type to fetch
+            from the DB. If None then all events with that type are fetched. If
+            the set is empty then no events with that type are fetched.
+        include_others (bool): Whether to fetch events with types that do not
+            appear in `types`.
+    """
+
+    types = attr.ib()
+    include_others = attr.ib(default=False)
+
+    def __attrs_post_init__(self):
+        # If `include_others` is set we canonicalise the filter by removing
+        # wildcards from the types dictionary
+        if self.include_others:
+            self.types = {
+                k: v for k, v in iteritems(self.types)
+                if v is not None
+            }
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def all():
+        """Creates a filter that fetches everything.
+
+        Returns:
+            StateFilter
+        """
+        return StateFilter(types={}, include_others=True)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def none():
+        """Creates a filter that fetches nothing.
+
+        Returns:
+            StateFilter
+        """
+        return StateFilter(types={}, include_others=False)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def from_types(types):
+        """Creates a filter that only fetches the given types
+
+        Args:
+            types (Iterable[tuple[str, str|None]]): A list of type and state
+                keys to fetch. A state_key of None fetches everything for
+                that type
+
+        Returns:
+            StateFilter
+        """
+        type_dict = {}
+        for typ, s in types:
+            if typ in type_dict:
+                if type_dict[typ] is None:
+                    continue
+
+            if s is None:
+                type_dict[typ] = None
+                continue
+
+            type_dict.setdefault(typ, set()).add(s)
+
+        return StateFilter(types=type_dict)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def from_lazy_load_member_list(members):
+        """Creates a filter that returns all non-member events, plus the member
+        events for the given users
+
+        Args:
+            members (iterable[str]): Set of user IDs
+
+        Returns:
+            StateFilter
+        """
+        return StateFilter(
+            types={EventTypes.Member: set(members)},
+            include_others=True,
+        )
+
+    def return_expanded(self):
+        """Creates a new StateFilter where type wild cards have been removed
+        (except for memberships). The returned filter is a superset of the
+        current one, i.e. anything that passes the current filter will pass
+        the returned filter.
+
+        This helps the caching as the DictionaryCache knows if it has *all* the
+        state, but does not know if it has all of the keys of a particular type,
+        which makes wildcard lookups expensive unless we have a complete cache.
+        Hence, if we are doing a wildcard lookup, populate the cache fully so
+        that we can do an efficient lookup next time.
+
+        Note that since we have two caches, one for membership events and one for
+        other events, we can be a bit more clever than simply returning
+        `StateFilter.all()` if `has_wildcards()` is True.
+
+        We return a StateFilter where:
+            1. the list of membership events to return is the same
+            2. if there is a wildcard that matches non-member events we
+               return all non-member events
+
+        Returns:
+            StateFilter
+        """
+
+        if self.is_full():
+            # If we're going to return everything then there's nothing to do
+            return self
+
+        if not self.has_wildcards():
+            # If there are no wild cards, there's nothing to do
+            return self
+
+        if EventTypes.Member in self.types:
+            get_all_members = self.types[EventTypes.Member] is None
+        else:
+            get_all_members = self.include_others
+
+        has_non_member_wildcard = self.include_others or any(
+            state_keys is None
+            for t, state_keys in iteritems(self.types)
+            if t != EventTypes.Member
+        )
+
+        if not has_non_member_wildcard:
+            # If there are no non-member wild cards we can just return ourselves
+            return self
+
+        if get_all_members:
+            # We want to return everything.
+            return StateFilter.all()
+        else:
+            # We want to return all non-members, but only particular
+            # memberships
+            return StateFilter(
+                types={EventTypes.Member: self.types[EventTypes.Member]},
+                include_others=True,
+            )
+
+    def make_sql_filter_clause(self):
+        """Converts the filter to an SQL clause.
+
+        For example:
+
+            f = StateFilter.from_types([("m.room.create", "")])
+            clause, args = f.make_sql_filter_clause()
+            clause == "(type = ? AND state_key = ?)"
+            args == ['m.room.create', '']
+
+
+        Returns:
+            tuple[str, list]: The SQL string (may be empty) and arguments. An
+            empty SQL string is returned when the filter matches everything
+            (i.e. is "full").
+        """
+
+        where_clause = ""
+        where_args = []
+
+        if self.is_full():
+            return where_clause, where_args
+
+        if not self.include_others and not self.types:
+            # i.e. this is an empty filter, so we need to return a clause that
+            # will match nothing
+            return "1 = 2", []
+
+        # First we build up a lost of clauses for each type/state_key combo
+        clauses = []
+        for etype, state_keys in iteritems(self.types):
+            if state_keys is None:
+                clauses.append("(type = ?)")
+                where_args.append(etype)
+                continue
+
+            for state_key in state_keys:
+                clauses.append("(type = ? AND state_key = ?)")
+                where_args.extend((etype, state_key))
+
+        # This will match anything that appears in `self.types`
+        where_clause = " OR ".join(clauses)
+
+        # If we want to include stuff that's not in the types dict then we add
+        # a `OR type NOT IN (...)` clause to the end.
+        if self.include_others:
+            if where_clause:
+                where_clause += " OR "
+
+            where_clause += "type NOT IN (%s)" % (
+                ",".join(["?"] * len(self.types)),
+            )
+            where_args.extend(self.types)
+
+        return where_clause, where_args
+
+    def max_entries_returned(self):
+        """Returns the maximum number of entries this filter will return if
+        known, otherwise returns None.
+
+        For example a simple state filter asking for `("m.room.create", "")`
+        will return 1, whereas the default state filter will return None.
+
+        This is used to bail out early if the right number of entries have been
+        fetched.
+        """
+        if self.has_wildcards():
+            return None
+
+        return len(self.concrete_types())
+
+    def filter_state(self, state_dict):
+        """Returns the state filtered with by this StateFilter
+
+        Args:
+            state (dict[tuple[str, str], Any]): The state map to filter
+
+        Returns:
+            dict[tuple[str, str], Any]: The filtered state map
+        """
+        if self.is_full():
+            return dict(state_dict)
+
+        filtered_state = {}
+        for k, v in iteritems(state_dict):
+            typ, state_key = k
+            if typ in self.types:
+                state_keys = self.types[typ]
+                if state_keys is None or state_key in state_keys:
+                    filtered_state[k] = v
+            elif self.include_others:
+                filtered_state[k] = v
+
+        return filtered_state
+
+    def is_full(self):
+        """Whether this filter fetches everything or not
+
+        Returns:
+            bool
+        """
+        return self.include_others and not self.types
+
+    def has_wildcards(self):
+        """Whether the filter includes wildcards or is attempting to fetch
+        specific state.
+
+        Returns:
+            bool
+        """
+
+        return (
+            self.include_others
+            or any(
+                state_keys is None
+                for state_keys in itervalues(self.types)
+            )
+        )
+
+    def concrete_types(self):
+        """Returns a list of concrete type/state_keys (i.e. not None) that
+        will be fetched. This will be a complete list if `has_wildcards`
+        returns False, but otherwise will be a subset (or even empty).
+
+        Returns:
+            list[tuple[str,str]]
+        """
+        return [
+            (t, s)
+            for t, state_keys in iteritems(self.types)
+            if state_keys is not None
+            for s in state_keys
+        ]
+
+    def get_member_split(self):
+        """Return the filter split into two: one which assumes it's exclusively
+        matching against member state, and one which assumes it's matching
+        against non member state.
+
+        This is useful due to the returned filters giving correct results for
+        `is_full()`, `has_wildcards()`, etc, when operating against maps that
+        either exclusively contain member events or only contain non-member
+        events. (Which is the case when dealing with the member vs non-member
+        state caches).
+
+        Returns:
+            tuple[StateFilter, StateFilter]: The member and non member filters
+        """
+
+        if EventTypes.Member in self.types:
+            state_keys = self.types[EventTypes.Member]
+            if state_keys is None:
+                member_filter = StateFilter.all()
+            else:
+                member_filter = StateFilter({EventTypes.Member: state_keys})
+        elif self.include_others:
+            member_filter = StateFilter.all()
+        else:
+            member_filter = StateFilter.none()
+
+        non_member_filter = StateFilter(
+            types={k: v for k, v in iteritems(self.types) if k != EventTypes.Member},
+            include_others=self.include_others,
+        )
+
+        return member_filter, non_member_filter
+
+
 # this inherits from EventsWorkerStore because it calls self.get_events
 class StateGroupWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
     """The parts of StateGroupStore that can be called from workers.
@@ -152,61 +466,41 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
     # FIXME: how should this be cached?
-    def get_filtered_current_state_ids(self, room_id, types, filtered_types=None):
+    def get_filtered_current_state_ids(self, room_id, state_filter=StateFilter.all()):
         """Get the current state event of a given type for a room based on the
         current_state_events table.  This may not be as up-to-date as the result
         of doing a fresh state resolution as per state_handler.get_current_state
+
         Args:
             room_id (str)
-            types (list[(Str, (Str|None))]): List of (type, state_key) tuples
-                which are used to filter the state fetched. `state_key` may be
-                None, which matches any `state_key`
-            filtered_types (list[Str]|None): List of types to apply the above filter to.
+            state_filter (StateFilter): The state filter used to fetch state
+                from the database.
+
         Returns:
-            deferred: dict of (type, state_key) -> event
+            Deferred[dict[tuple[str, str], str]]: Map from type/state_key to
+            event ID.
         """
 
-        include_other_types = False if filtered_types is None else True
-
         def _get_filtered_current_state_ids_txn(txn):
             results = {}
-            sql = """SELECT type, state_key, event_id FROM current_state_events
-                     WHERE room_id = ? %s"""
-            # Turns out that postgres doesn't like doing a list of OR's and
-            # is about 1000x slower, so we just issue a query for each specific
-            # type seperately.
-            if types:
-                clause_to_args = [
-                    (
-                        "AND type = ? AND state_key = ?",
-                        (etype, state_key)
-                    ) if state_key is not None else (
-                        "AND type = ?",
-                        (etype,)
-                    )
-                    for etype, state_key in types
-                ]
-
-                if include_other_types:
-                    unique_types = set(filtered_types)
-                    clause_to_args.append(
-                        (
-                            "AND type <> ? " * len(unique_types),
-                            list(unique_types)
-                        )
-                    )
-            else:
-                # If types is None we fetch all the state, and so just use an
-                # empty where clause with no extra args.
-                clause_to_args = [("", [])]
-            for where_clause, where_args in clause_to_args:
-                args = [room_id]
-                args.extend(where_args)
-                txn.execute(sql % (where_clause,), args)
-                for row in txn:
-                    typ, state_key, event_id = row
-                    key = (intern_string(typ), intern_string(state_key))
-                    results[key] = event_id
+            sql = """
+                SELECT type, state_key, event_id FROM current_state_events
+                WHERE room_id = ?
+            """
+
+            where_clause, where_args = state_filter.make_sql_filter_clause()
+
+            if where_clause:
+                sql += " AND (%s)" % (where_clause,)
+
+            args = [room_id]
+            args.extend(where_args)
+            txn.execute(sql, args)
+            for row in txn:
+                typ, state_key, event_id = row
+                key = (intern_string(typ), intern_string(state_key))
+                results[key] = event_id
+
             return results
 
         return self.runInteraction(
@@ -322,20 +616,14 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
         })
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _get_state_groups_from_groups(self, groups, types, members=None):
+    def _get_state_groups_from_groups(self, groups, state_filter):
         """Returns the state groups for a given set of groups, filtering on
         types of state events.
 
         Args:
             groups(list[int]): list of state group IDs to query
-            types (Iterable[str, str|None]|None): list of 2-tuples of the form
-                (`type`, `state_key`), where a `state_key` of `None` matches all
-                state_keys for the `type`. If None, all types are returned.
-            members (bool|None): If not None, then, in addition to any filtering
-                implied by types, the results are also filtered to only include
-                member events (if True), or to exclude member events (if False)
-
-        Returns:
+            state_filter (StateFilter): The state filter used to fetch state
+                from the database.
         Returns:
             Deferred[dict[int, dict[tuple[str, str], str]]]:
                 dict of state_group_id -> (dict of (type, state_key) -> event id)
@@ -346,19 +634,23 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
         for chunk in chunks:
             res = yield self.runInteraction(
                 "_get_state_groups_from_groups",
-                self._get_state_groups_from_groups_txn, chunk, types, members,
+                self._get_state_groups_from_groups_txn, chunk, state_filter,
             )
             results.update(res)
 
         defer.returnValue(results)
 
     def _get_state_groups_from_groups_txn(
-        self, txn, groups, types=None, members=None,
+        self, txn, groups, state_filter=StateFilter.all(),
     ):
         results = {group: {} for group in groups}
 
-        if types is not None:
-            types = list(set(types))  # deduplicate types list
+        where_clause, where_args = state_filter.make_sql_filter_clause()
+
+        # Unless the filter clause is empty, we're going to append it after an
+        # existing where clause
+        if where_clause:
+            where_clause = " AND (%s)" % (where_clause,)
 
         if isinstance(self.database_engine, PostgresEngine):
             # Temporarily disable sequential scans in this transaction. This is
@@ -374,79 +666,33 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
             # group for the given type, state_key.
             # This may return multiple rows per (type, state_key), but last_value
             # should be the same.
-            sql = ("""
+            sql = """
                 WITH RECURSIVE state(state_group) AS (
                     VALUES(?::bigint)
                     UNION ALL
                     SELECT prev_state_group FROM state_group_edges e, state s
                     WHERE s.state_group = e.state_group
                 )
-                SELECT type, state_key, last_value(event_id) OVER (
+                SELECT DISTINCT type, state_key, last_value(event_id) OVER (
                     PARTITION BY type, state_key ORDER BY state_group ASC
                     ROWS BETWEEN UNBOUNDED PRECEDING AND UNBOUNDED FOLLOWING
                 ) AS event_id FROM state_groups_state
                 WHERE state_group IN (
                     SELECT state_group FROM state
                 )
-                %s
-            """)
-
-            if members is True:
-                sql += " AND type = '%s'" % (EventTypes.Member,)
-            elif members is False:
-                sql += " AND type <> '%s'" % (EventTypes.Member,)
-
-            # Turns out that postgres doesn't like doing a list of OR's and
-            # is about 1000x slower, so we just issue a query for each specific
-            # type seperately.
-            if types is not None:
-                clause_to_args = [
-                    (
-                        "AND type = ? AND state_key = ?",
-                        (etype, state_key)
-                    ) if state_key is not None else (
-                        "AND type = ?",
-                        (etype,)
-                    )
-                    for etype, state_key in types
-                ]
-            else:
-                # If types is None we fetch all the state, and so just use an
-                # empty where clause with no extra args.
-                clause_to_args = [("", [])]
+            """
 
-            for where_clause, where_args in clause_to_args:
-                for group in groups:
-                    args = [group]
-                    args.extend(where_args)
+            for group in groups:
+                args = [group]
+                args.extend(where_args)
 
-                    txn.execute(sql % (where_clause,), args)
-                    for row in txn:
-                        typ, state_key, event_id = row
-                        key = (typ, state_key)
-                        results[group][key] = event_id
+                txn.execute(sql + where_clause, args)
+                for row in txn:
+                    typ, state_key, event_id = row
+                    key = (typ, state_key)
+                    results[group][key] = event_id
         else:
-            where_args = []
-            where_clauses = []
-            wildcard_types = False
-            if types is not None:
-                for typ in types:
-                    if typ[1] is None:
-                        where_clauses.append("(type = ?)")
-                        where_args.append(typ[0])
-                        wildcard_types = True
-                    else:
-                        where_clauses.append("(type = ? AND state_key = ?)")
-                        where_args.extend([typ[0], typ[1]])
-
-                where_clause = "AND (%s)" % (" OR ".join(where_clauses))
-            else:
-                where_clause = ""
-
-            if members is True:
-                where_clause += " AND type = '%s'" % EventTypes.Member
-            elif members is False:
-                where_clause += " AND type <> '%s'" % EventTypes.Member
+            max_entries_returned = state_filter.max_entries_returned()
 
             # We don't use WITH RECURSIVE on sqlite3 as there are distributions
             # that ship with an sqlite3 version that doesn't support it (e.g. wheezy)
@@ -460,12 +706,11 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
                     # without the right indices (which we can't add until
                     # after we finish deduping state, which requires this func)
                     args = [next_group]
-                    if types:
-                        args.extend(where_args)
+                    args.extend(where_args)
 
                     txn.execute(
                         "SELECT type, state_key, event_id FROM state_groups_state"
-                        " WHERE state_group = ? %s" % (where_clause,),
+                        " WHERE state_group = ? " + where_clause,
                         args
                     )
                     results[group].update(
@@ -481,9 +726,8 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
                     # wildcards (i.e. Nones) in which case we have to do an exhaustive
                     # search
                     if (
-                        types is not None and
-                        not wildcard_types and
-                        len(results[group]) == len(types)
+                        max_entries_returned is not None and
+                        len(results[group]) == max_entries_returned
                     ):
                         break
 
@@ -498,20 +742,14 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
         return results
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def get_state_for_events(self, event_ids, types, filtered_types=None):
+    def get_state_for_events(self, event_ids, state_filter=StateFilter.all()):
         """Given a list of event_ids and type tuples, return a list of state
-        dicts for each event. The state dicts will only have the type/state_keys
-        that are in the `types` list.
+        dicts for each event.
 
         Args:
             event_ids (list[string])
-            types (list[(str, str|None)]|None): List of (type, state_key) tuples
-                which are used to filter the state fetched. If `state_key` is None,
-                all events are returned of the given type.
-                May be None, which matches any key.
-            filtered_types(list[str]|None): Only apply filtering via `types` to this
-                list of event types.  Other types of events are returned unfiltered.
-                If None, `types` filtering is applied to all events.
+            state_filter (StateFilter): The state filter used to fetch state
+                from the database.
 
         Returns:
             deferred: A dict of (event_id) -> (type, state_key) -> [state_events]
@@ -521,7 +759,7 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
         groups = set(itervalues(event_to_groups))
-        group_to_state = yield self._get_state_for_groups(groups, types, filtered_types)
+        group_to_state = yield self._get_state_for_groups(groups, state_filter)
 
         state_event_map = yield self.get_events(
             [ev_id for sd in itervalues(group_to_state) for ev_id in itervalues(sd)],
@@ -540,20 +778,15 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
         defer.returnValue({event: event_to_state[event] for event in event_ids})
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def get_state_ids_for_events(self, event_ids, types=None, filtered_types=None):
+    def get_state_ids_for_events(self, event_ids, state_filter=StateFilter.all()):
         """
         Get the state dicts corresponding to a list of events, containing the event_ids
         of the state events (as opposed to the events themselves)
 
         Args:
             event_ids(list(str)): events whose state should be returned
-            types(list[(str, str|None)]|None): List of (type, state_key) tuples
-                which are used to filter the state fetched. If `state_key` is None,
-                all events are returned of the given type.
-                May be None, which matches any key.
-            filtered_types(list[str]|None): Only apply filtering via `types` to this
-                list of event types.  Other types of events are returned unfiltered.
-                If None, `types` filtering is applied to all events.
+            state_filter (StateFilter): The state filter used to fetch state
+                from the database.
 
         Returns:
             A deferred dict from event_id -> (type, state_key) -> event_id
@@ -563,7 +796,7 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
         )
 
         groups = set(itervalues(event_to_groups))
-        group_to_state = yield self._get_state_for_groups(groups, types, filtered_types)
+        group_to_state = yield self._get_state_for_groups(groups, state_filter)
 
         event_to_state = {
             event_id: group_to_state[group]
@@ -573,45 +806,35 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
         defer.returnValue({event: event_to_state[event] for event in event_ids})
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def get_state_for_event(self, event_id, types=None, filtered_types=None):
+    def get_state_for_event(self, event_id, state_filter=StateFilter.all()):
         """
         Get the state dict corresponding to a particular event
 
         Args:
             event_id(str): event whose state should be returned
-            types(list[(str, str|None)]|None): List of (type, state_key) tuples
-                which are used to filter the state fetched. If `state_key` is None,
-                all events are returned of the given type.
-                May be None, which matches any key.
-            filtered_types(list[str]|None): Only apply filtering via `types` to this
-                list of event types.  Other types of events are returned unfiltered.
-                If None, `types` filtering is applied to all events.
+            state_filter (StateFilter): The state filter used to fetch state
+                from the database.
 
         Returns:
             A deferred dict from (type, state_key) -> state_event
         """
-        state_map = yield self.get_state_for_events([event_id], types, filtered_types)
+        state_map = yield self.get_state_for_events([event_id], state_filter)
         defer.returnValue(state_map[event_id])
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def get_state_ids_for_event(self, event_id, types=None, filtered_types=None):
+    def get_state_ids_for_event(self, event_id, state_filter=StateFilter.all()):
         """
         Get the state dict corresponding to a particular event
 
         Args:
             event_id(str): event whose state should be returned
-            types(list[(str, str|None)]|None): List of (type, state_key) tuples
-                which are used to filter the state fetched. If `state_key` is None,
-                all events are returned of the given type.
-                May be None, which matches any key.
-            filtered_types(list[str]|None): Only apply filtering via `types` to this
-                list of event types.  Other types of events are returned unfiltered.
-                If None, `types` filtering is applied to all events.
+            state_filter (StateFilter): The state filter used to fetch state
+                from the database.
 
         Returns:
             A deferred dict from (type, state_key) -> state_event
         """
-        state_map = yield self.get_state_ids_for_events([event_id], types, filtered_types)
+        state_map = yield self.get_state_ids_for_events([event_id], state_filter)
         defer.returnValue(state_map[event_id])
 
     @cached(max_entries=50000)
@@ -642,18 +865,14 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
 
         defer.returnValue({row["event_id"]: row["state_group"] for row in rows})
 
-    def _get_some_state_from_cache(self, cache, group, types, filtered_types=None):
+    def _get_state_for_group_using_cache(self, cache, group, state_filter):
         """Checks if group is in cache. See `_get_state_for_groups`
 
         Args:
             cache(DictionaryCache): the state group cache to use
             group(int): The state group to lookup
-            types(list[str, str|None]): List of 2-tuples of the form
-                (`type`, `state_key`), where a `state_key` of `None` matches all
-                state_keys for the `type`.
-            filtered_types(list[str]|None): Only apply filtering via `types` to this
-                list of event types.  Other types of events are returned unfiltered.
-                If None, `types` filtering is applied to all events.
+            state_filter (StateFilter): The state filter used to fetch state
+                from the database.
 
         Returns 2-tuple (`state_dict`, `got_all`).
         `got_all` is a bool indicating if we successfully retrieved all
@@ -662,124 +881,102 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
         """
         is_all, known_absent, state_dict_ids = cache.get(group)
 
-        type_to_key = {}
+        if is_all or state_filter.is_full():
+            # Either we have everything or want everything, either way
+            # `is_all` tells us whether we've gotten everything.
+            return state_filter.filter_state(state_dict_ids), is_all
 
         # tracks whether any of our requested types are missing from the cache
         missing_types = False
 
-        for typ, state_key in types:
-            key = (typ, state_key)
-
-            if (
-                state_key is None or
-                (filtered_types is not None and typ not in filtered_types)
-            ):
-                type_to_key[typ] = None
-                # we mark the type as missing from the cache because
-                # when the cache was populated it might have been done with a
-                # restricted set of state_keys, so the wildcard will not work
-                # and the cache may be incomplete.
-                missing_types = True
-            else:
-                if type_to_key.get(typ, object()) is not None:
-                    type_to_key.setdefault(typ, set()).add(state_key)
-
+        if state_filter.has_wildcards():
+            # We don't know if we fetched all the state keys for the types in
+            # the filter that are wildcards, so we have to assume that we may
+            # have missed some.
+            missing_types = True
+        else:
+            # There aren't any wild cards, so `concrete_types()` returns the
+            # complete list of event types we're wanting.
+            for key in state_filter.concrete_types():
                 if key not in state_dict_ids and key not in known_absent:
                     missing_types = True
+                    break
 
-        sentinel = object()
-
-        def include(typ, state_key):
-            valid_state_keys = type_to_key.get(typ, sentinel)
-            if valid_state_keys is sentinel:
-                return filtered_types is not None and typ not in filtered_types
-            if valid_state_keys is None:
-                return True
-            if state_key in valid_state_keys:
-                return True
-            return False
-
-        got_all = is_all
-        if not got_all:
-            # the cache is incomplete. We may still have got all the results we need, if
-            # we don't have any wildcards in the match list.
-            if not missing_types and filtered_types is None:
-                got_all = True
-
-        return {
-            k: v for k, v in iteritems(state_dict_ids)
-            if include(k[0], k[1])
-        }, got_all
-
-    def _get_all_state_from_cache(self, cache, group):
-        """Checks if group is in cache. See `_get_state_for_groups`
-
-        Returns 2-tuple (`state_dict`, `got_all`). `got_all` is a bool
-        indicating if we successfully retrieved all requests state from the
-        cache, if False we need to query the DB for the missing state.
-
-        Args:
-            cache(DictionaryCache): the state group cache to use
-            group: The state group to lookup
-        """
-        is_all, _, state_dict_ids = cache.get(group)
-
-        return state_dict_ids, is_all
+        return state_filter.filter_state(state_dict_ids), not missing_types
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def _get_state_for_groups(self, groups, types=None, filtered_types=None):
+    def _get_state_for_groups(self, groups, state_filter=StateFilter.all()):
         """Gets the state at each of a list of state groups, optionally
         filtering by type/state_key
 
         Args:
             groups (iterable[int]): list of state groups for which we want
                 to get the state.
-            types (None|iterable[(str, None|str)]):
-                indicates the state type/keys required. If None, the whole
-                state is fetched and returned.
-
-                Otherwise, each entry should be a `(type, state_key)` tuple to
-                include in the response. A `state_key` of None is a wildcard
-                meaning that we require all state with that type.
-            filtered_types(list[str]|None): Only apply filtering via `types` to this
-                list of event types.  Other types of events are returned unfiltered.
-                If None, `types` filtering is applied to all events.
-
+            state_filter (StateFilter): The state filter used to fetch state
+                from the database.
         Returns:
             Deferred[dict[int, dict[tuple[str, str], str]]]:
                 dict of state_group_id -> (dict of (type, state_key) -> event id)
         """
-        if types is not None:
-            non_member_types = [t for t in types if t[0] != EventTypes.Member]
-
-            if filtered_types is not None and EventTypes.Member not in filtered_types:
-                # we want all of the membership events
-                member_types = None
-            else:
-                member_types = [t for t in types if t[0] == EventTypes.Member]
 
-        else:
-            non_member_types = None
-            member_types = None
+        member_filter, non_member_filter = state_filter.get_member_split()
 
-        non_member_state = yield self._get_state_for_groups_using_cache(
-            groups, self._state_group_cache, non_member_types, filtered_types,
+        # Now we look them up in the member and non-member caches
+        non_member_state, incomplete_groups_nm, = (
+            yield self._get_state_for_groups_using_cache(
+                groups, self._state_group_cache,
+                state_filter=non_member_filter,
+            )
         )
-        # XXX: we could skip this entirely if member_types is []
-        member_state = yield self._get_state_for_groups_using_cache(
-            # we set filtered_types=None as member_state only ever contain members.
-            groups, self._state_group_members_cache, member_types, None,
+
+        member_state, incomplete_groups_m, = (
+            yield self._get_state_for_groups_using_cache(
+                groups, self._state_group_members_cache,
+                state_filter=member_filter,
+            )
         )
 
-        state = non_member_state
+        state = dict(non_member_state)
         for group in groups:
             state[group].update(member_state[group])
 
+        # Now fetch any missing groups from the database
+
+        incomplete_groups = incomplete_groups_m | incomplete_groups_nm
+
+        if not incomplete_groups:
+            defer.returnValue(state)
+
+        cache_sequence_nm = self._state_group_cache.sequence
+        cache_sequence_m = self._state_group_members_cache.sequence
+
+        # Help the cache hit ratio by expanding the filter a bit
+        db_state_filter = state_filter.return_expanded()
+
+        group_to_state_dict = yield self._get_state_groups_from_groups(
+            list(incomplete_groups),
+            state_filter=db_state_filter,
+        )
+
+        # Now lets update the caches
+        self._insert_into_cache(
+            group_to_state_dict,
+            db_state_filter,
+            cache_seq_num_members=cache_sequence_m,
+            cache_seq_num_non_members=cache_sequence_nm,
+        )
+
+        # And finally update the result dict, by filtering out any extra
+        # stuff we pulled out of the database.
+        for group, group_state_dict in iteritems(group_to_state_dict):
+            # We just replace any existing entries, as we will have loaded
+            # everything we need from the database anyway.
+            state[group] = state_filter.filter_state(group_state_dict)
+
         defer.returnValue(state)
 
-    @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def _get_state_for_groups_using_cache(
-        self, groups, cache, types=None, filtered_types=None
+        self, groups, cache, state_filter,
     ):
         """Gets the state at each of a list of state groups, optionally
         filtering by type/state_key, querying from a specific cache.
@@ -790,89 +987,85 @@ class StateGroupWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
             cache (DictionaryCache): the cache of group ids to state dicts which
                 we will pass through - either the normal state cache or the specific
                 members state cache.
-            types (None|iterable[(str, None|str)]):
-                indicates the state type/keys required. If None, the whole
-                state is fetched and returned.
-
-                Otherwise, each entry should be a `(type, state_key)` tuple to
-                include in the response. A `state_key` of None is a wildcard
-                meaning that we require all state with that type.
-            filtered_types(list[str]|None): Only apply filtering via `types` to this
-                list of event types.  Other types of events are returned unfiltered.
-                If None, `types` filtering is applied to all events.
+            state_filter (StateFilter): The state filter used to fetch state
+                from the database.
 
         Returns:
-            Deferred[dict[int, dict[tuple[str, str], str]]]:
-                dict of state_group_id -> (dict of (type, state_key) -> event id)
+            tuple[dict[int, dict[tuple[str, str], str]], set[int]]: Tuple of
+            dict of state_group_id -> (dict of (type, state_key) -> event id)
+            of entries in the cache, and the state group ids either missing
+            from the cache or incomplete.
         """
-        if types:
-            types = frozenset(types)
         results = {}
-        missing_groups = []
-        if types is not None:
-            for group in set(groups):
-                state_dict_ids, got_all = self._get_some_state_from_cache(
-                    cache, group, types, filtered_types
-                )
-                results[group] = state_dict_ids
+        incomplete_groups = set()
+        for group in set(groups):
+            state_dict_ids, got_all = self._get_state_for_group_using_cache(
+                cache, group, state_filter
+            )
+            results[group] = state_dict_ids
 
-                if not got_all:
-                    missing_groups.append(group)
-        else:
-            for group in set(groups):
-                state_dict_ids, got_all = self._get_all_state_from_cache(
-                    cache, group
-                )
+            if not got_all:
+                incomplete_groups.add(group)
 
-                results[group] = state_dict_ids
+        return results, incomplete_groups
 
-                if not got_all:
-                    missing_groups.append(group)
+    def _insert_into_cache(self, group_to_state_dict, state_filter,
+                           cache_seq_num_members, cache_seq_num_non_members):
+        """Inserts results from querying the database into the relevant cache.
 
-        if missing_groups:
-            # Okay, so we have some missing_types, let's fetch them.
-            cache_seq_num = cache.sequence
+        Args:
+            group_to_state_dict (dict): The new entries pulled from database.
+                Map from state group to state dict
+            state_filter (StateFilter): The state filter used to fetch state
+                from the database.
+            cache_seq_num_members (int): Sequence number of member cache since
+                last lookup in cache
+            cache_seq_num_non_members (int): Sequence number of member cache since
+                last lookup in cache
+        """
 
-            # the DictionaryCache knows if it has *all* the state, but
-            # does not know if it has all of the keys of a particular type,
-            # which makes wildcard lookups expensive unless we have a complete
-            # cache. Hence, if we are doing a wildcard lookup, populate the
-            # cache fully so that we can do an efficient lookup next time.
+        # We need to work out which types we've fetched from the DB for the
+        # member vs non-member caches. This should be as accurate as possible,
+        # but can be an underestimate (e.g. when we have wild cards)
 
-            if filtered_types or (types and any(k is None for (t, k) in types)):
-                types_to_fetch = None
-            else:
-                types_to_fetch = types
+        member_filter, non_member_filter = state_filter.get_member_split()
+        if member_filter.is_full():
+            # We fetched all member events
+            member_types = None
+        else:
+            # `concrete_types()` will only return a subset when there are wild
+            # cards in the filter, but that's fine.
+            member_types = member_filter.concrete_types()
 
-            group_to_state_dict = yield self._get_state_groups_from_groups(
-                missing_groups, types_to_fetch, cache == self._state_group_members_cache,
-            )
+        if non_member_filter.is_full():
+            # We fetched all non member events
+            non_member_types = None
+        else:
+            non_member_types = non_member_filter.concrete_types()
+
+        for group, group_state_dict in iteritems(group_to_state_dict):
+            state_dict_members = {}
+            state_dict_non_members = {}
 
-            for group, group_state_dict in iteritems(group_to_state_dict):
-                state_dict = results[group]
-
-                # update the result, filtering by `types`.
-                if types:
-                    for k, v in iteritems(group_state_dict):
-                        (typ, _) = k
-                        if (
-                            (k in types or (typ, None) in types) or
-                            (filtered_types and typ not in filtered_types)
-                        ):
-                            state_dict[k] = v
+            for k, v in iteritems(group_state_dict):
+                if k[0] == EventTypes.Member:
+                    state_dict_members[k] = v
                 else:
-                    state_dict.update(group_state_dict)
-
-                # update the cache with all the things we fetched from the
-                # database.
-                cache.update(
-                    cache_seq_num,
-                    key=group,
-                    value=group_state_dict,
-                    fetched_keys=types_to_fetch,
-                )
+                    state_dict_non_members[k] = v
 
-        defer.returnValue(results)
+            self._state_group_members_cache.update(
+                cache_seq_num_members,
+                key=group,
+                value=state_dict_members,
+                fetched_keys=member_types,
+            )
+
+            self._state_group_cache.update(
+                cache_seq_num_non_members,
+                key=group,
+                value=state_dict_non_members,
+                fetched_keys=non_member_types,
+            )
 
     def store_state_group(self, event_id, room_id, prev_group, delta_ids,
                           current_state_ids):
@@ -1268,12 +1461,12 @@ class StateStore(StateGroupWorkerStore, BackgroundUpdateStore):
                         continue
 
                     prev_state = self._get_state_groups_from_groups_txn(
-                        txn, [prev_group], types=None
+                        txn, [prev_group],
                     )
                     prev_state = prev_state[prev_group]
 
                     curr_state = self._get_state_groups_from_groups_txn(
-                        txn, [state_group], types=None
+                        txn, [state_group],
                     )
                     curr_state = curr_state[state_group]
 
diff --git a/synapse/storage/transactions.py b/synapse/storage/transactions.py
index a3032cdce9..d8bf953ec0 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/transactions.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/transactions.py
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ from ._base import SQLBaseStore, db_to_json
 # py2 sqlite has buffer hardcoded as only binary type, so we must use it,
 # despite being deprecated and removed in favor of memoryview
 if six.PY2:
-    db_binary_type = buffer
+    db_binary_type = six.moves.builtins.buffer
 else:
     db_binary_type = memoryview
 
diff --git a/synapse/util/__init__.py b/synapse/util/__init__.py
index 9a8fae0497..0ae7e2ef3b 100644
--- a/synapse/util/__init__.py
+++ b/synapse/util/__init__.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 import logging
+import re
 from itertools import islice
 
 import attr
@@ -138,3 +139,27 @@ def log_failure(failure, msg, consumeErrors=True):
 
     if not consumeErrors:
         return failure
+
+
+def glob_to_regex(glob):
+    """Converts a glob to a compiled regex object.
+
+    The regex is anchored at the beginning and end of the string.
+
+    Args:
+        glob (str)
+
+    Returns:
+        re.RegexObject
+    """
+    res = ''
+    for c in glob:
+        if c == '*':
+            res = res + '.*'
+        elif c == '?':
+            res = res + '.'
+        else:
+            res = res + re.escape(c)
+
+    # \A anchors at start of string, \Z at end of string
+    return re.compile(r"\A" + res + r"\Z", re.IGNORECASE)
diff --git a/synapse/util/caches/stream_change_cache.py b/synapse/util/caches/stream_change_cache.py
index f2bde74dc5..625aedc940 100644
--- a/synapse/util/caches/stream_change_cache.py
+++ b/synapse/util/caches/stream_change_cache.py
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@
 
 import logging
 
+from six import integer_types
+
 from sortedcontainers import SortedDict
 
 from synapse.util import caches
@@ -47,7 +49,7 @@ class StreamChangeCache(object):
     def has_entity_changed(self, entity, stream_pos):
         """Returns True if the entity may have been updated since stream_pos
         """
-        assert type(stream_pos) is int or type(stream_pos) is long
+        assert type(stream_pos) in integer_types
 
         if stream_pos < self._earliest_known_stream_pos:
             self.metrics.inc_misses()
diff --git a/synapse/util/logcontext.py b/synapse/util/logcontext.py
index 89224b26cc..4c6e92beb8 100644
--- a/synapse/util/logcontext.py
+++ b/synapse/util/logcontext.py
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ See doc/log_contexts.rst for details on how this works.
 import logging
 import threading
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
+from twisted.internet import defer, threads
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -562,58 +562,76 @@ def _set_context_cb(result, context):
     return result
 
 
-# modules to ignore in `logcontext_tracer`
-_to_ignore = [
-    "synapse.util.logcontext",
-    "synapse.http.server",
-    "synapse.storage._base",
-    "synapse.util.async_helpers",
-]
+def defer_to_thread(reactor, f, *args, **kwargs):
+    """
+    Calls the function `f` using a thread from the reactor's default threadpool and
+    returns the result as a Deferred.
+
+    Creates a new logcontext for `f`, which is created as a child of the current
+    logcontext (so its CPU usage metrics will get attributed to the current
+    logcontext). `f` should preserve the logcontext it is given.
+
+    The result deferred follows the Synapse logcontext rules: you should `yield`
+    on it.
+
+    Args:
+        reactor (twisted.internet.base.ReactorBase): The reactor in whose main thread
+            the Deferred will be invoked, and whose threadpool we should use for the
+            function.
+
+            Normally this will be hs.get_reactor().
+
+        f (callable): The function to call.
 
+        args: positional arguments to pass to f.
 
-def logcontext_tracer(frame, event, arg):
-    """A tracer that logs whenever a logcontext "unexpectedly" changes within
-    a function. Probably inaccurate.
+        kwargs: keyword arguments to pass to f.
 
-    Use by calling `sys.settrace(logcontext_tracer)` in the main thread.
+    Returns:
+        Deferred: A Deferred which fires a callback with the result of `f`, or an
+            errback if `f` throws an exception.
     """
-    if event == 'call':
-        name = frame.f_globals["__name__"]
-        if name.startswith("synapse"):
-            if name == "synapse.util.logcontext":
-                if frame.f_code.co_name in ["__enter__", "__exit__"]:
-                    tracer = frame.f_back.f_trace
-                    if tracer:
-                        tracer.just_changed = True
-
-            tracer = frame.f_trace
-            if tracer:
-                return tracer
-
-            if not any(name.startswith(ig) for ig in _to_ignore):
-                return LineTracer()
-
-
-class LineTracer(object):
-    __slots__ = ["context", "just_changed"]
-
-    def __init__(self):
-        self.context = LoggingContext.current_context()
-        self.just_changed = False
-
-    def __call__(self, frame, event, arg):
-        if event in 'line':
-            if self.just_changed:
-                self.context = LoggingContext.current_context()
-                self.just_changed = False
-            else:
-                c = LoggingContext.current_context()
-                if c != self.context:
-                    logger.info(
-                        "Context changed! %s -> %s, %s, %s",
-                        self.context, c,
-                        frame.f_code.co_filename, frame.f_lineno
-                    )
-                    self.context = c
+    return defer_to_threadpool(reactor, reactor.getThreadPool(), f, *args, **kwargs)
 
-        return self
+
+def defer_to_threadpool(reactor, threadpool, f, *args, **kwargs):
+    """
+    A wrapper for twisted.internet.threads.deferToThreadpool, which handles
+    logcontexts correctly.
+
+    Calls the function `f` using a thread from the given threadpool and returns
+    the result as a Deferred.
+
+    Creates a new logcontext for `f`, which is created as a child of the current
+    logcontext (so its CPU usage metrics will get attributed to the current
+    logcontext). `f` should preserve the logcontext it is given.
+
+    The result deferred follows the Synapse logcontext rules: you should `yield`
+    on it.
+
+    Args:
+        reactor (twisted.internet.base.ReactorBase): The reactor in whose main thread
+            the Deferred will be invoked. Normally this will be hs.get_reactor().
+
+        threadpool (twisted.python.threadpool.ThreadPool): The threadpool to use for
+            running `f`. Normally this will be hs.get_reactor().getThreadPool().
+
+        f (callable): The function to call.
+
+        args: positional arguments to pass to f.
+
+        kwargs: keyword arguments to pass to f.
+
+    Returns:
+        Deferred: A Deferred which fires a callback with the result of `f`, or an
+            errback if `f` throws an exception.
+    """
+    logcontext = LoggingContext.current_context()
+
+    def g():
+        with LoggingContext(parent_context=logcontext):
+            return f(*args, **kwargs)
+
+    return make_deferred_yieldable(
+        threads.deferToThreadPool(reactor, threadpool, g)
+    )
diff --git a/synapse/visibility.py b/synapse/visibility.py
index 43f48196be..0281a7c919 100644
--- a/synapse/visibility.py
+++ b/synapse/visibility.py
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes, Membership
 from synapse.events.utils import prune_event
+from synapse.storage.state import StateFilter
 from synapse.types import get_domain_from_id
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -72,7 +73,7 @@ def filter_events_for_client(store, user_id, events, is_peeking=False,
     )
     event_id_to_state = yield store.get_state_for_events(
         frozenset(e.event_id for e in events),
-        types=types,
+        state_filter=StateFilter.from_types(types),
     )
 
     ignore_dict_content = yield store.get_global_account_data_by_type_for_user(
@@ -273,8 +274,8 @@ def filter_events_for_server(store, server_name, events):
     # need to check membership (as we know the server is in the room).
     event_to_state_ids = yield store.get_state_ids_for_events(
         frozenset(e.event_id for e in events),
-        types=(
-            (EventTypes.RoomHistoryVisibility, ""),
+        state_filter=StateFilter.from_types(
+            types=((EventTypes.RoomHistoryVisibility, ""),),
         )
     )
 
@@ -314,9 +315,11 @@ def filter_events_for_server(store, server_name, events):
     # of the history vis and membership state at those events.
     event_to_state_ids = yield store.get_state_ids_for_events(
         frozenset(e.event_id for e in events),
-        types=(
-            (EventTypes.RoomHistoryVisibility, ""),
-            (EventTypes.Member, None),
+        state_filter=StateFilter.from_types(
+            types=(
+                (EventTypes.RoomHistoryVisibility, ""),
+                (EventTypes.Member, None),
+            ),
         )
     )
 
diff --git a/synctl b/synctl
index bb8cb084cc..7e79b05c39 100755
--- a/synctl
+++ b/synctl
@@ -76,8 +76,7 @@ def start(configfile):
 
     try:
         subprocess.check_call(args)
-        write("started synapse.app.homeserver(%r)" %
-              (configfile,), colour=GREEN)
+        write("started synapse.app.homeserver(%r)" % (configfile,), colour=GREEN)
     except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
         write(
             "error starting (exit code: %d); see above for logs" % e.returncode,
@@ -86,21 +85,15 @@ def start(configfile):
 
 
 def start_worker(app, configfile, worker_configfile):
-    args = [
-        sys.executable, "-B",
-        "-m", app,
-        "-c", configfile,
-        "-c", worker_configfile
-    ]
+    args = [sys.executable, "-B", "-m", app, "-c", configfile, "-c", worker_configfile]
 
     try:
         subprocess.check_call(args)
         write("started %s(%r)" % (app, worker_configfile), colour=GREEN)
     except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
         write(
-            "error starting %s(%r) (exit code: %d); see above for logs" % (
-                app, worker_configfile, e.returncode,
-            ),
+            "error starting %s(%r) (exit code: %d); see above for logs"
+            % (app, worker_configfile, e.returncode),
             colour=RED,
         )
 
@@ -120,9 +113,9 @@ def stop(pidfile, app):
                 abort("Cannot stop %s: Unknown error" % (app,))
 
 
-Worker = collections.namedtuple("Worker", [
-    "app", "configfile", "pidfile", "cache_factor", "cache_factors",
-])
+Worker = collections.namedtuple(
+    "Worker", ["app", "configfile", "pidfile", "cache_factor", "cache_factors"]
+)
 
 
 def main():
@@ -141,24 +134,20 @@ def main():
         help="the homeserver config file, defaults to homeserver.yaml",
     )
     parser.add_argument(
-        "-w", "--worker",
-        metavar="WORKERCONFIG",
-        help="start or stop a single worker",
+        "-w", "--worker", metavar="WORKERCONFIG", help="start or stop a single worker"
     )
     parser.add_argument(
-        "-a", "--all-processes",
+        "-a",
+        "--all-processes",
         metavar="WORKERCONFIGDIR",
         help="start or stop all the workers in the given directory"
-             " and the main synapse process",
+        " and the main synapse process",
     )
 
     options = parser.parse_args()
 
     if options.worker and options.all_processes:
-        write(
-            'Cannot use "--worker" with "--all-processes"',
-            stream=sys.stderr
-        )
+        write('Cannot use "--worker" with "--all-processes"', stream=sys.stderr)
         sys.exit(1)
 
     configfile = options.configfile
@@ -167,9 +156,7 @@ def main():
         write(
             "No config file found\n"
             "To generate a config file, run '%s -c %s --generate-config"
-            " --server-name=<server name>'\n" % (
-                " ".join(SYNAPSE), options.configfile
-            ),
+            " --server-name=<server name>'\n" % (" ".join(SYNAPSE), options.configfile),
             stream=sys.stderr,
         )
         sys.exit(1)
@@ -194,8 +181,7 @@ def main():
         worker_configfile = options.worker
         if not os.path.exists(worker_configfile):
             write(
-                "No worker config found at %r" % (worker_configfile,),
-                stream=sys.stderr,
+                "No worker config found at %r" % (worker_configfile,), stream=sys.stderr
             )
             sys.exit(1)
         worker_configfiles.append(worker_configfile)
@@ -211,9 +197,9 @@ def main():
                 stream=sys.stderr,
             )
             sys.exit(1)
-        worker_configfiles.extend(sorted(glob.glob(
-            os.path.join(worker_configdir, "*.yaml")
-        )))
+        worker_configfiles.extend(
+            sorted(glob.glob(os.path.join(worker_configdir, "*.yaml")))
+        )
 
     workers = []
     for worker_configfile in worker_configfiles:
@@ -223,14 +209,12 @@ def main():
         if worker_app == "synapse.app.homeserver":
             # We need to special case all of this to pick up options that may
             # be set in the main config file or in this worker config file.
-            worker_pidfile = (
-                worker_config.get("pid_file")
-                or pidfile
+            worker_pidfile = worker_config.get("pid_file") or pidfile
+            worker_cache_factor = (
+                worker_config.get("synctl_cache_factor") or cache_factor
             )
-            worker_cache_factor = worker_config.get("synctl_cache_factor") or cache_factor
             worker_cache_factors = (
-                worker_config.get("synctl_cache_factors")
-                or cache_factors
+                worker_config.get("synctl_cache_factors") or cache_factors
             )
             daemonize = worker_config.get("daemonize") or config.get("daemonize")
             assert daemonize, "Main process must have daemonize set to true"
@@ -239,19 +223,27 @@ def main():
             for key in worker_config:
                 if key == "worker_app":  # But we allow worker_app
                     continue
-                assert not key.startswith("worker_"), \
-                    "Main process cannot use worker_* config"
+                assert not key.startswith(
+                    "worker_"
+                ), "Main process cannot use worker_* config"
         else:
             worker_pidfile = worker_config["worker_pid_file"]
             worker_daemonize = worker_config["worker_daemonize"]
             assert worker_daemonize, "In config %r: expected '%s' to be True" % (
-                worker_configfile, "worker_daemonize")
+                worker_configfile,
+                "worker_daemonize",
+            )
             worker_cache_factor = worker_config.get("synctl_cache_factor")
             worker_cache_factors = worker_config.get("synctl_cache_factors", {})
-        workers.append(Worker(
-            worker_app, worker_configfile, worker_pidfile, worker_cache_factor,
-            worker_cache_factors,
-        ))
+        workers.append(
+            Worker(
+                worker_app,
+                worker_configfile,
+                worker_pidfile,
+                worker_cache_factor,
+                worker_cache_factors,
+            )
+        )
 
     action = options.action
 
diff --git a/tests/api/test_filtering.py b/tests/api/test_filtering.py
index 48b2d3d663..2a7044801a 100644
--- a/tests/api/test_filtering.py
+++ b/tests/api/test_filtering.py
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ class FilteringTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
         invalid_filters = [
             {"boom": {}},
             {"account_data": "Hello World"},
-            {"event_fields": ["\\foo"]},
+            {"event_fields": [r"\\foo"]},
             {"room": {"timeline": {"limit": 0}, "state": {"not_bars": ["*"]}}},
             {"event_format": "other"},
             {"room": {"not_rooms": ["#foo:pik-test"]}},
@@ -109,6 +109,16 @@ class FilteringTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
                 "event_format": "client",
                 "event_fields": ["type", "content", "sender"],
             },
+
+            # a single backslash should be permitted (though it is debatable whether
+            # it should be permitted before anything other than `.`, and what that
+            # actually means)
+            #
+            # (note that event_fields is implemented in
+            # synapse.events.utils.serialize_event, and so whether this actually works
+            # is tested elsewhere. We just want to check that it is allowed through the
+            # filter validation)
+            {"event_fields": [r"foo\.bar"]},
         ]
         for filter in valid_filters:
             try:
diff --git a/tests/config/test_generate.py b/tests/config/test_generate.py
index f88d28a19d..0c23068bcf 100644
--- a/tests/config/test_generate.py
+++ b/tests/config/test_generate.py
@@ -67,6 +67,6 @@ class ConfigGenerationTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
         with open(log_config_file) as f:
             config = f.read()
             # find the 'filename' line
-            matches = re.findall("^\s*filename:\s*(.*)$", config, re.M)
+            matches = re.findall(r"^\s*filename:\s*(.*)$", config, re.M)
             self.assertEqual(1, len(matches))
             self.assertEqual(matches[0], expected)
diff --git a/tests/config/test_room_directory.py b/tests/config/test_room_directory.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f37a17d618
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/config/test_room_directory.py
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+# Copyright 2018 New Vector Ltd
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+import yaml
+
+from synapse.config.room_directory import RoomDirectoryConfig
+
+from tests import unittest
+
+
+class RoomDirectoryConfigTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_alias_creation_acl(self):
+        config = yaml.load("""
+        alias_creation_rules:
+            - user_id: "*bob*"
+              alias: "*"
+              action: "deny"
+            - user_id: "*"
+              alias: "#unofficial_*"
+              action: "allow"
+            - user_id: "@foo*:example.com"
+              alias: "*"
+              action: "allow"
+            - user_id: "@gah:example.com"
+              alias: "#goo:example.com"
+              action: "allow"
+        """)
+
+        rd_config = RoomDirectoryConfig()
+        rd_config.read_config(config)
+
+        self.assertFalse(rd_config.is_alias_creation_allowed(
+            user_id="@bob:example.com",
+            alias="#test:example.com",
+        ))
+
+        self.assertTrue(rd_config.is_alias_creation_allowed(
+            user_id="@test:example.com",
+            alias="#unofficial_st:example.com",
+        ))
+
+        self.assertTrue(rd_config.is_alias_creation_allowed(
+            user_id="@foobar:example.com",
+            alias="#test:example.com",
+        ))
+
+        self.assertTrue(rd_config.is_alias_creation_allowed(
+            user_id="@gah:example.com",
+            alias="#goo:example.com",
+        ))
+
+        self.assertFalse(rd_config.is_alias_creation_allowed(
+            user_id="@test:example.com",
+            alias="#test:example.com",
+        ))
diff --git a/tests/events/test_utils.py b/tests/events/test_utils.py
index ff217ca8b9..d0cc492deb 100644
--- a/tests/events/test_utils.py
+++ b/tests/events/test_utils.py
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ class SerializeEventTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
                     room_id="!foo:bar",
                     content={"key.with.dots": {}},
                 ),
-                ["content.key\.with\.dots"],
+                [r"content.key\.with\.dots"],
             ),
             {"content": {"key.with.dots": {}}},
         )
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ class SerializeEventTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
                         "nested.dot.key": {"leaf.key": 42, "not_me_either": 1},
                     },
                 ),
-                ["content.nested\.dot\.key.leaf\.key"],
+                [r"content.nested\.dot\.key.leaf\.key"],
             ),
             {"content": {"nested.dot.key": {"leaf.key": 42}}},
         )
diff --git a/tests/handlers/test_directory.py b/tests/handlers/test_directory.py
index ec7355688b..8ae6556c0a 100644
--- a/tests/handlers/test_directory.py
+++ b/tests/handlers/test_directory.py
@@ -18,7 +18,9 @@ from mock import Mock
 
 from twisted.internet import defer
 
+from synapse.config.room_directory import RoomDirectoryConfig
 from synapse.handlers.directory import DirectoryHandler
+from synapse.rest.client.v1 import directory, room
 from synapse.types import RoomAlias
 
 from tests import unittest
@@ -102,3 +104,49 @@ class DirectoryTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
         )
 
         self.assertEquals({"room_id": "!8765asdf:test", "servers": ["test"]}, response)
+
+
+class TestCreateAliasACL(unittest.HomeserverTestCase):
+    user_id = "@test:test"
+
+    servlets = [directory.register_servlets, room.register_servlets]
+
+    def prepare(self, hs, reactor, clock):
+        # We cheekily override the config to add custom alias creation rules
+        config = {}
+        config["alias_creation_rules"] = [
+            {
+                "user_id": "*",
+                "alias": "#unofficial_*",
+                "action": "allow",
+            }
+        ]
+
+        rd_config = RoomDirectoryConfig()
+        rd_config.read_config(config)
+
+        self.hs.config.is_alias_creation_allowed = rd_config.is_alias_creation_allowed
+
+        return hs
+
+    def test_denied(self):
+        room_id = self.helper.create_room_as(self.user_id)
+
+        request, channel = self.make_request(
+            "PUT",
+            b"directory/room/%23test%3Atest",
+            ('{"room_id":"%s"}' % (room_id,)).encode('ascii'),
+        )
+        self.render(request)
+        self.assertEquals(403, channel.code, channel.result)
+
+    def test_allowed(self):
+        room_id = self.helper.create_room_as(self.user_id)
+
+        request, channel = self.make_request(
+            "PUT",
+            b"directory/room/%23unofficial_test%3Atest",
+            ('{"room_id":"%s"}' % (room_id,)).encode('ascii'),
+        )
+        self.render(request)
+        self.assertEquals(200, channel.code, channel.result)
diff --git a/tests/handlers/test_register.py b/tests/handlers/test_register.py
index 7b4ade3dfb..3e9a190727 100644
--- a/tests/handlers/test_register.py
+++ b/tests/handlers/test_register.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.api.errors import ResourceLimitError
 from synapse.handlers.register import RegistrationHandler
-from synapse.types import UserID, create_requester
+from synapse.types import RoomAlias, UserID, create_requester
 
 from tests.utils import setup_test_homeserver
 
@@ -41,30 +41,27 @@ class RegistrationTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
         self.mock_captcha_client = Mock()
         self.hs = yield setup_test_homeserver(
             self.addCleanup,
-            handlers=None,
-            http_client=None,
             expire_access_token=True,
-            profile_handler=Mock(),
         )
         self.macaroon_generator = Mock(
             generate_access_token=Mock(return_value='secret')
         )
         self.hs.get_macaroon_generator = Mock(return_value=self.macaroon_generator)
-        self.hs.handlers = RegistrationHandlers(self.hs)
         self.handler = self.hs.get_handlers().registration_handler
         self.store = self.hs.get_datastore()
         self.hs.config.max_mau_value = 50
         self.lots_of_users = 100
         self.small_number_of_users = 1
 
+        self.requester = create_requester("@requester:test")
+
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def test_user_is_created_and_logged_in_if_doesnt_exist(self):
-        local_part = "someone"
-        display_name = "someone"
-        user_id = "@someone:test"
-        requester = create_requester("@as:test")
+        frank = UserID.from_string("@frank:test")
+        user_id = frank.to_string()
+        requester = create_requester(user_id)
         result_user_id, result_token = yield self.handler.get_or_create_user(
-            requester, local_part, display_name
+            requester, frank.localpart, "Frankie"
         )
         self.assertEquals(result_user_id, user_id)
         self.assertEquals(result_token, 'secret')
@@ -78,12 +75,11 @@ class RegistrationTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
             token="jkv;g498752-43gj['eamb!-5",
             password_hash=None,
         )
-        local_part = "frank"
-        display_name = "Frank"
-        user_id = "@frank:test"
-        requester = create_requester("@as:test")
+        local_part = frank.localpart
+        user_id = frank.to_string()
+        requester = create_requester(user_id)
         result_user_id, result_token = yield self.handler.get_or_create_user(
-            requester, local_part, display_name
+            requester, local_part, None
         )
         self.assertEquals(result_user_id, user_id)
         self.assertEquals(result_token, 'secret')
@@ -92,7 +88,7 @@ class RegistrationTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_mau_limits_when_disabled(self):
         self.hs.config.limit_usage_by_mau = False
         # Ensure does not throw exception
-        yield self.handler.get_or_create_user("requester", 'a', "display_name")
+        yield self.handler.get_or_create_user(self.requester, 'a', "display_name")
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def test_get_or_create_user_mau_not_blocked(self):
@@ -101,7 +97,7 @@ class RegistrationTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
             return_value=defer.succeed(self.hs.config.max_mau_value - 1)
         )
         # Ensure does not throw exception
-        yield self.handler.get_or_create_user("@user:server", 'c', "User")
+        yield self.handler.get_or_create_user(self.requester, 'c', "User")
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def test_get_or_create_user_mau_blocked(self):
@@ -110,13 +106,13 @@ class RegistrationTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
             return_value=defer.succeed(self.lots_of_users)
         )
         with self.assertRaises(ResourceLimitError):
-            yield self.handler.get_or_create_user("requester", 'b', "display_name")
+            yield self.handler.get_or_create_user(self.requester, 'b', "display_name")
 
         self.store.get_monthly_active_count = Mock(
             return_value=defer.succeed(self.hs.config.max_mau_value)
         )
         with self.assertRaises(ResourceLimitError):
-            yield self.handler.get_or_create_user("requester", 'b', "display_name")
+            yield self.handler.get_or_create_user(self.requester, 'b', "display_name")
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def test_register_mau_blocked(self):
@@ -147,3 +143,44 @@ class RegistrationTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
         )
         with self.assertRaises(ResourceLimitError):
             yield self.handler.register_saml2(localpart="local_part")
+
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def test_auto_create_auto_join_rooms(self):
+        room_alias_str = "#room:test"
+        self.hs.config.auto_join_rooms = [room_alias_str]
+        res = yield self.handler.register(localpart='jeff')
+        rooms = yield self.store.get_rooms_for_user(res[0])
+
+        directory_handler = self.hs.get_handlers().directory_handler
+        room_alias = RoomAlias.from_string(room_alias_str)
+        room_id = yield directory_handler.get_association(room_alias)
+
+        self.assertTrue(room_id['room_id'] in rooms)
+        self.assertEqual(len(rooms), 1)
+
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def test_auto_create_auto_join_rooms_with_no_rooms(self):
+        self.hs.config.auto_join_rooms = []
+        frank = UserID.from_string("@frank:test")
+        res = yield self.handler.register(frank.localpart)
+        self.assertEqual(res[0], frank.to_string())
+        rooms = yield self.store.get_rooms_for_user(res[0])
+        self.assertEqual(len(rooms), 0)
+
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def test_auto_create_auto_join_where_room_is_another_domain(self):
+        self.hs.config.auto_join_rooms = ["#room:another"]
+        frank = UserID.from_string("@frank:test")
+        res = yield self.handler.register(frank.localpart)
+        self.assertEqual(res[0], frank.to_string())
+        rooms = yield self.store.get_rooms_for_user(res[0])
+        self.assertEqual(len(rooms), 0)
+
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def test_auto_create_auto_join_where_auto_create_is_false(self):
+        self.hs.config.autocreate_auto_join_rooms = False
+        room_alias_str = "#room:test"
+        self.hs.config.auto_join_rooms = [room_alias_str]
+        res = yield self.handler.register(localpart='jeff')
+        rooms = yield self.store.get_rooms_for_user(res[0])
+        self.assertEqual(len(rooms), 0)
diff --git a/tests/scripts/__init__.py b/tests/scripts/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/scripts/__init__.py
diff --git a/tests/scripts/test_new_matrix_user.py b/tests/scripts/test_new_matrix_user.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6f56893f5e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/scripts/test_new_matrix_user.py
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+# Copyright 2018 New Vector
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+from mock import Mock
+
+from synapse._scripts.register_new_matrix_user import request_registration
+
+from tests.unittest import TestCase
+
+
+class RegisterTestCase(TestCase):
+    def test_success(self):
+        """
+        The script will fetch a nonce, and then generate a MAC with it, and then
+        post that MAC.
+        """
+
+        def get(url, verify=None):
+            r = Mock()
+            r.status_code = 200
+            r.json = lambda: {"nonce": "a"}
+            return r
+
+        def post(url, json=None, verify=None):
+            # Make sure we are sent the correct info
+            self.assertEqual(json["username"], "user")
+            self.assertEqual(json["password"], "pass")
+            self.assertEqual(json["nonce"], "a")
+            # We want a 40-char hex MAC
+            self.assertEqual(len(json["mac"]), 40)
+
+            r = Mock()
+            r.status_code = 200
+            return r
+
+        requests = Mock()
+        requests.get = get
+        requests.post = post
+
+        # The fake stdout will be written here
+        out = []
+        err_code = []
+
+        request_registration(
+            "user",
+            "pass",
+            "matrix.org",
+            "shared",
+            admin=False,
+            requests=requests,
+            _print=out.append,
+            exit=err_code.append,
+        )
+
+        # We should get the success message making sure everything is OK.
+        self.assertIn("Success!", out)
+
+        # sys.exit shouldn't have been called.
+        self.assertEqual(err_code, [])
+
+    def test_failure_nonce(self):
+        """
+        If the script fails to fetch a nonce, it throws an error and quits.
+        """
+
+        def get(url, verify=None):
+            r = Mock()
+            r.status_code = 404
+            r.reason = "Not Found"
+            r.json = lambda: {"not": "error"}
+            return r
+
+        requests = Mock()
+        requests.get = get
+
+        # The fake stdout will be written here
+        out = []
+        err_code = []
+
+        request_registration(
+            "user",
+            "pass",
+            "matrix.org",
+            "shared",
+            admin=False,
+            requests=requests,
+            _print=out.append,
+            exit=err_code.append,
+        )
+
+        # Exit was called
+        self.assertEqual(err_code, [1])
+
+        # We got an error message
+        self.assertIn("ERROR! Received 404 Not Found", out)
+        self.assertNotIn("Success!", out)
+
+    def test_failure_post(self):
+        """
+        The script will fetch a nonce, and then if the final POST fails, will
+        report an error and quit.
+        """
+
+        def get(url, verify=None):
+            r = Mock()
+            r.status_code = 200
+            r.json = lambda: {"nonce": "a"}
+            return r
+
+        def post(url, json=None, verify=None):
+            # Make sure we are sent the correct info
+            self.assertEqual(json["username"], "user")
+            self.assertEqual(json["password"], "pass")
+            self.assertEqual(json["nonce"], "a")
+            # We want a 40-char hex MAC
+            self.assertEqual(len(json["mac"]), 40)
+
+            r = Mock()
+            # Then 500 because we're jerks
+            r.status_code = 500
+            r.reason = "Broken"
+            return r
+
+        requests = Mock()
+        requests.get = get
+        requests.post = post
+
+        # The fake stdout will be written here
+        out = []
+        err_code = []
+
+        request_registration(
+            "user",
+            "pass",
+            "matrix.org",
+            "shared",
+            admin=False,
+            requests=requests,
+            _print=out.append,
+            exit=err_code.append,
+        )
+
+        # Exit was called
+        self.assertEqual(err_code, [1])
+
+        # We got an error message
+        self.assertIn("ERROR! Received 500 Broken", out)
+        self.assertNotIn("Success!", out)
diff --git a/tests/state/__init__.py b/tests/state/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/state/__init__.py
diff --git a/tests/state/test_v2.py b/tests/state/test_v2.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..efd85ebe6c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/state/test_v2.py
@@ -0,0 +1,663 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+# Copyright 2018 New Vector Ltd
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+import itertools
+
+from six.moves import zip
+
+import attr
+
+from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes, JoinRules, Membership
+from synapse.event_auth import auth_types_for_event
+from synapse.events import FrozenEvent
+from synapse.state.v2 import lexicographical_topological_sort, resolve_events_with_store
+from synapse.types import EventID
+
+from tests import unittest
+
+ALICE = "@alice:example.com"
+BOB = "@bob:example.com"
+CHARLIE = "@charlie:example.com"
+EVELYN = "@evelyn:example.com"
+ZARA = "@zara:example.com"
+
+ROOM_ID = "!test:example.com"
+
+MEMBERSHIP_CONTENT_JOIN = {"membership": Membership.JOIN}
+MEMBERSHIP_CONTENT_BAN = {"membership": Membership.BAN}
+
+
+ORIGIN_SERVER_TS = 0
+
+
+class FakeEvent(object):
+    """A fake event we use as a convenience.
+
+    NOTE: Again as a convenience we use "node_ids" rather than event_ids to
+    refer to events. The event_id has node_id as localpart and example.com
+    as domain.
+    """
+    def __init__(self, id, sender, type, state_key, content):
+        self.node_id = id
+        self.event_id = EventID(id, "example.com").to_string()
+        self.sender = sender
+        self.type = type
+        self.state_key = state_key
+        self.content = content
+
+    def to_event(self, auth_events, prev_events):
+        """Given the auth_events and prev_events, convert to a Frozen Event
+
+        Args:
+            auth_events (list[str]): list of event_ids
+            prev_events (list[str]): list of event_ids
+
+        Returns:
+            FrozenEvent
+        """
+        global ORIGIN_SERVER_TS
+
+        ts = ORIGIN_SERVER_TS
+        ORIGIN_SERVER_TS = ORIGIN_SERVER_TS + 1
+
+        event_dict = {
+            "auth_events": [(a, {}) for a in auth_events],
+            "prev_events": [(p, {}) for p in prev_events],
+            "event_id": self.node_id,
+            "sender": self.sender,
+            "type": self.type,
+            "content": self.content,
+            "origin_server_ts": ts,
+            "room_id": ROOM_ID,
+        }
+
+        if self.state_key is not None:
+            event_dict["state_key"] = self.state_key
+
+        return FrozenEvent(event_dict)
+
+
+# All graphs start with this set of events
+INITIAL_EVENTS = [
+    FakeEvent(
+        id="CREATE",
+        sender=ALICE,
+        type=EventTypes.Create,
+        state_key="",
+        content={"creator": ALICE},
+    ),
+    FakeEvent(
+        id="IMA",
+        sender=ALICE,
+        type=EventTypes.Member,
+        state_key=ALICE,
+        content=MEMBERSHIP_CONTENT_JOIN,
+    ),
+    FakeEvent(
+        id="IPOWER",
+        sender=ALICE,
+        type=EventTypes.PowerLevels,
+        state_key="",
+        content={"users": {ALICE: 100}},
+    ),
+    FakeEvent(
+        id="IJR",
+        sender=ALICE,
+        type=EventTypes.JoinRules,
+        state_key="",
+        content={"join_rule": JoinRules.PUBLIC},
+    ),
+    FakeEvent(
+        id="IMB",
+        sender=BOB,
+        type=EventTypes.Member,
+        state_key=BOB,
+        content=MEMBERSHIP_CONTENT_JOIN,
+    ),
+    FakeEvent(
+        id="IMC",
+        sender=CHARLIE,
+        type=EventTypes.Member,
+        state_key=CHARLIE,
+        content=MEMBERSHIP_CONTENT_JOIN,
+    ),
+    FakeEvent(
+        id="IMZ",
+        sender=ZARA,
+        type=EventTypes.Member,
+        state_key=ZARA,
+        content=MEMBERSHIP_CONTENT_JOIN,
+    ),
+    FakeEvent(
+        id="START",
+        sender=ZARA,
+        type=EventTypes.Message,
+        state_key=None,
+        content={},
+    ),
+    FakeEvent(
+        id="END",
+        sender=ZARA,
+        type=EventTypes.Message,
+        state_key=None,
+        content={},
+    ),
+]
+
+INITIAL_EDGES = [
+    "START", "IMZ", "IMC", "IMB", "IJR", "IPOWER", "IMA", "CREATE",
+]
+
+
+class StateTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_ban_vs_pl(self):
+        events = [
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="PA",
+                sender=ALICE,
+                type=EventTypes.PowerLevels,
+                state_key="",
+                content={
+                    "users": {
+                        ALICE: 100,
+                        BOB: 50,
+                    }
+                },
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="MA",
+                sender=ALICE,
+                type=EventTypes.Member,
+                state_key=ALICE,
+                content={"membership": Membership.JOIN},
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="MB",
+                sender=ALICE,
+                type=EventTypes.Member,
+                state_key=BOB,
+                content={"membership": Membership.BAN},
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="PB",
+                sender=BOB,
+                type=EventTypes.PowerLevels,
+                state_key='',
+                content={
+                    "users": {
+                        ALICE: 100,
+                        BOB: 50,
+                    },
+                },
+            ),
+        ]
+
+        edges = [
+            ["END", "MB", "MA", "PA", "START"],
+            ["END", "PB", "PA"],
+        ]
+
+        expected_state_ids = ["PA", "MA", "MB"]
+
+        self.do_check(events, edges, expected_state_ids)
+
+    def test_join_rule_evasion(self):
+        events = [
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="JR",
+                sender=ALICE,
+                type=EventTypes.JoinRules,
+                state_key="",
+                content={"join_rules": JoinRules.PRIVATE},
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="ME",
+                sender=EVELYN,
+                type=EventTypes.Member,
+                state_key=EVELYN,
+                content={"membership": Membership.JOIN},
+            ),
+        ]
+
+        edges = [
+            ["END", "JR", "START"],
+            ["END", "ME", "START"],
+        ]
+
+        expected_state_ids = ["JR"]
+
+        self.do_check(events, edges, expected_state_ids)
+
+    def test_offtopic_pl(self):
+        events = [
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="PA",
+                sender=ALICE,
+                type=EventTypes.PowerLevels,
+                state_key="",
+                content={
+                    "users": {
+                        ALICE: 100,
+                        BOB: 50,
+                    }
+                },
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="PB",
+                sender=BOB,
+                type=EventTypes.PowerLevels,
+                state_key='',
+                content={
+                    "users": {
+                        ALICE: 100,
+                        BOB: 50,
+                        CHARLIE: 50,
+                    },
+                },
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="PC",
+                sender=CHARLIE,
+                type=EventTypes.PowerLevels,
+                state_key='',
+                content={
+                    "users": {
+                        ALICE: 100,
+                        BOB: 50,
+                        CHARLIE: 0,
+                    },
+                },
+            ),
+        ]
+
+        edges = [
+            ["END", "PC", "PB", "PA", "START"],
+            ["END", "PA"],
+        ]
+
+        expected_state_ids = ["PC"]
+
+        self.do_check(events, edges, expected_state_ids)
+
+    def test_topic_basic(self):
+        events = [
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="T1",
+                sender=ALICE,
+                type=EventTypes.Topic,
+                state_key="",
+                content={},
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="PA1",
+                sender=ALICE,
+                type=EventTypes.PowerLevels,
+                state_key='',
+                content={
+                    "users": {
+                        ALICE: 100,
+                        BOB: 50,
+                    },
+                },
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="T2",
+                sender=ALICE,
+                type=EventTypes.Topic,
+                state_key="",
+                content={},
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="PA2",
+                sender=ALICE,
+                type=EventTypes.PowerLevels,
+                state_key='',
+                content={
+                    "users": {
+                        ALICE: 100,
+                        BOB: 0,
+                    },
+                },
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="PB",
+                sender=BOB,
+                type=EventTypes.PowerLevels,
+                state_key='',
+                content={
+                    "users": {
+                        ALICE: 100,
+                        BOB: 50,
+                    },
+                },
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="T3",
+                sender=BOB,
+                type=EventTypes.Topic,
+                state_key="",
+                content={},
+            ),
+        ]
+
+        edges = [
+            ["END", "PA2", "T2", "PA1", "T1", "START"],
+            ["END", "T3", "PB", "PA1"],
+        ]
+
+        expected_state_ids = ["PA2", "T2"]
+
+        self.do_check(events, edges, expected_state_ids)
+
+    def test_topic_reset(self):
+        events = [
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="T1",
+                sender=ALICE,
+                type=EventTypes.Topic,
+                state_key="",
+                content={},
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="PA",
+                sender=ALICE,
+                type=EventTypes.PowerLevels,
+                state_key='',
+                content={
+                    "users": {
+                        ALICE: 100,
+                        BOB: 50,
+                    },
+                },
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="T2",
+                sender=BOB,
+                type=EventTypes.Topic,
+                state_key="",
+                content={},
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="MB",
+                sender=ALICE,
+                type=EventTypes.Member,
+                state_key=BOB,
+                content={"membership": Membership.BAN},
+            ),
+        ]
+
+        edges = [
+            ["END", "MB", "T2", "PA", "T1", "START"],
+            ["END", "T1"],
+        ]
+
+        expected_state_ids = ["T1", "MB", "PA"]
+
+        self.do_check(events, edges, expected_state_ids)
+
+    def test_topic(self):
+        events = [
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="T1",
+                sender=ALICE,
+                type=EventTypes.Topic,
+                state_key="",
+                content={},
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="PA1",
+                sender=ALICE,
+                type=EventTypes.PowerLevels,
+                state_key='',
+                content={
+                    "users": {
+                        ALICE: 100,
+                        BOB: 50,
+                    },
+                },
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="T2",
+                sender=ALICE,
+                type=EventTypes.Topic,
+                state_key="",
+                content={},
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="PA2",
+                sender=ALICE,
+                type=EventTypes.PowerLevels,
+                state_key='',
+                content={
+                    "users": {
+                        ALICE: 100,
+                        BOB: 0,
+                    },
+                },
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="PB",
+                sender=BOB,
+                type=EventTypes.PowerLevels,
+                state_key='',
+                content={
+                    "users": {
+                        ALICE: 100,
+                        BOB: 50,
+                    },
+                },
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="T3",
+                sender=BOB,
+                type=EventTypes.Topic,
+                state_key="",
+                content={},
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="MZ1",
+                sender=ZARA,
+                type=EventTypes.Message,
+                state_key=None,
+                content={},
+            ),
+            FakeEvent(
+                id="T4",
+                sender=ALICE,
+                type=EventTypes.Topic,
+                state_key="",
+                content={},
+            ),
+        ]
+
+        edges = [
+            ["END", "T4", "MZ1", "PA2", "T2", "PA1", "T1", "START"],
+            ["END", "MZ1", "T3", "PB", "PA1"],
+        ]
+
+        expected_state_ids = ["T4", "PA2"]
+
+        self.do_check(events, edges, expected_state_ids)
+
+    def do_check(self, events, edges, expected_state_ids):
+        """Take a list of events and edges and calculate the state of the
+        graph at END, and asserts it matches `expected_state_ids`
+
+        Args:
+            events (list[FakeEvent])
+            edges (list[list[str]]): A list of chains of event edges, e.g.
+                `[[A, B, C]]` are edges A->B and B->C.
+            expected_state_ids (list[str]): The expected state at END, (excluding
+                the keys that haven't changed since START).
+        """
+        # We want to sort the events into topological order for processing.
+        graph = {}
+
+        # node_id -> FakeEvent
+        fake_event_map = {}
+
+        for ev in itertools.chain(INITIAL_EVENTS, events):
+            graph[ev.node_id] = set()
+            fake_event_map[ev.node_id] = ev
+
+        for a, b in pairwise(INITIAL_EDGES):
+            graph[a].add(b)
+
+        for edge_list in edges:
+            for a, b in pairwise(edge_list):
+                graph[a].add(b)
+
+        # event_id -> FrozenEvent
+        event_map = {}
+        # node_id -> state
+        state_at_event = {}
+
+        # We copy the map as the sort consumes the graph
+        graph_copy = {k: set(v) for k, v in graph.items()}
+
+        for node_id in lexicographical_topological_sort(graph_copy, key=lambda e: e):
+            fake_event = fake_event_map[node_id]
+            event_id = fake_event.event_id
+
+            prev_events = list(graph[node_id])
+
+            if len(prev_events) == 0:
+                state_before = {}
+            elif len(prev_events) == 1:
+                state_before = dict(state_at_event[prev_events[0]])
+            else:
+                state_d = resolve_events_with_store(
+                    [state_at_event[n] for n in prev_events],
+                    event_map=event_map,
+                    state_res_store=TestStateResolutionStore(event_map),
+                )
+
+                self.assertTrue(state_d.called)
+                state_before = state_d.result
+
+            state_after = dict(state_before)
+            if fake_event.state_key is not None:
+                state_after[(fake_event.type, fake_event.state_key)] = event_id
+
+            auth_types = set(auth_types_for_event(fake_event))
+
+            auth_events = []
+            for key in auth_types:
+                if key in state_before:
+                    auth_events.append(state_before[key])
+
+            event = fake_event.to_event(auth_events, prev_events)
+
+            state_at_event[node_id] = state_after
+            event_map[event_id] = event
+
+        expected_state = {}
+        for node_id in expected_state_ids:
+            # expected_state_ids are node IDs rather than event IDs,
+            # so we have to convert
+            event_id = EventID(node_id, "example.com").to_string()
+            event = event_map[event_id]
+
+            key = (event.type, event.state_key)
+
+            expected_state[key] = event_id
+
+        start_state = state_at_event["START"]
+        end_state = {
+            key: value
+            for key, value in state_at_event["END"].items()
+            if key in expected_state or start_state.get(key) != value
+        }
+
+        self.assertEqual(expected_state, end_state)
+
+
+class LexicographicalTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_simple(self):
+        graph = {
+            "l": {"o"},
+            "m": {"n", "o"},
+            "n": {"o"},
+            "o": set(),
+            "p": {"o"},
+        }
+
+        res = list(lexicographical_topological_sort(graph, key=lambda x: x))
+
+        self.assertEqual(["o", "l", "n", "m", "p"], res)
+
+
+def pairwise(iterable):
+    "s -> (s0,s1), (s1,s2), (s2, s3), ..."
+    a, b = itertools.tee(iterable)
+    next(b, None)
+    return zip(a, b)
+
+
+@attr.s
+class TestStateResolutionStore(object):
+    event_map = attr.ib()
+
+    def get_events(self, event_ids, allow_rejected=False):
+        """Get events from the database
+
+        Args:
+            event_ids (list): The event_ids of the events to fetch
+            allow_rejected (bool): If True return rejected events.
+
+        Returns:
+            Deferred[dict[str, FrozenEvent]]: Dict from event_id to event.
+        """
+
+        return {
+            eid: self.event_map[eid]
+            for eid in event_ids
+            if eid in self.event_map
+        }
+
+    def get_auth_chain(self, event_ids):
+        """Gets the full auth chain for a set of events (including rejected
+        events).
+
+        Includes the given event IDs in the result.
+
+        Note that:
+            1. All events must be state events.
+            2. For v1 rooms this may not have the full auth chain in the
+               presence of rejected events
+
+        Args:
+            event_ids (list): The event IDs of the events to fetch the auth
+                chain for. Must be state events.
+
+        Returns:
+            Deferred[list[str]]: List of event IDs of the auth chain.
+        """
+
+        # Simple DFS for auth chain
+        result = set()
+        stack = list(event_ids)
+        while stack:
+            event_id = stack.pop()
+            if event_id in result:
+                continue
+
+            result.add(event_id)
+
+            event = self.event_map[event_id]
+            for aid, _ in event.auth_events:
+                stack.append(aid)
+
+        return list(result)
diff --git a/tests/storage/test_monthly_active_users.py b/tests/storage/test_monthly_active_users.py
index 686f12a0dc..832e379a83 100644
--- a/tests/storage/test_monthly_active_users.py
+++ b/tests/storage/test_monthly_active_users.py
@@ -52,7 +52,10 @@ class MonthlyActiveUsersTestCase(HomeserverTestCase):
         now = int(self.hs.get_clock().time_msec())
         self.store.user_add_threepid(user1, "email", user1_email, now, now)
         self.store.user_add_threepid(user2, "email", user2_email, now, now)
-        self.store.initialise_reserved_users(threepids)
+
+        self.store.runInteraction(
+            "initialise", self.store._initialise_reserved_users, threepids
+        )
         self.pump()
 
         active_count = self.store.get_monthly_active_count()
@@ -199,7 +202,10 @@ class MonthlyActiveUsersTestCase(HomeserverTestCase):
             {'medium': 'email', 'address': user2_email},
         ]
         self.hs.config.mau_limits_reserved_threepids = threepids
-        self.store.initialise_reserved_users(threepids)
+        self.store.runInteraction(
+            "initialise", self.store._initialise_reserved_users, threepids
+        )
+
         self.pump()
         count = self.store.get_registered_reserved_users_count()
         self.assertEquals(self.get_success(count), 0)
diff --git a/tests/storage/test_state.py b/tests/storage/test_state.py
index b9c5b39d59..086a39d834 100644
--- a/tests/storage/test_state.py
+++ b/tests/storage/test_state.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import logging
 from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes, Membership
+from synapse.storage.state import StateFilter
 from synapse.types import RoomID, UserID
 
 import tests.unittest
@@ -148,7 +149,7 @@ class StateStoreTestCase(tests.unittest.TestCase):
 
         # check we get the full state as of the final event
         state = yield self.store.get_state_for_event(
-            e5.event_id, None, filtered_types=None
+            e5.event_id,
         )
 
         self.assertIsNotNone(e4)
@@ -166,33 +167,35 @@ class StateStoreTestCase(tests.unittest.TestCase):
 
         # check we can filter to the m.room.name event (with a '' state key)
         state = yield self.store.get_state_for_event(
-            e5.event_id, [(EventTypes.Name, '')], filtered_types=None
+            e5.event_id, StateFilter.from_types([(EventTypes.Name, '')])
         )
 
         self.assertStateMapEqual({(e2.type, e2.state_key): e2}, state)
 
         # check we can filter to the m.room.name event (with a wildcard None state key)
         state = yield self.store.get_state_for_event(
-            e5.event_id, [(EventTypes.Name, None)], filtered_types=None
+            e5.event_id, StateFilter.from_types([(EventTypes.Name, None)])
         )
 
         self.assertStateMapEqual({(e2.type, e2.state_key): e2}, state)
 
         # check we can grab the m.room.member events (with a wildcard None state key)
         state = yield self.store.get_state_for_event(
-            e5.event_id, [(EventTypes.Member, None)], filtered_types=None
+            e5.event_id, StateFilter.from_types([(EventTypes.Member, None)])
         )
 
         self.assertStateMapEqual(
             {(e3.type, e3.state_key): e3, (e5.type, e5.state_key): e5}, state
         )
 
-        # check we can use filtered_types to grab a specific room member
-        # without filtering out the other event types
+        # check we can grab a specific room member without filtering out the
+        # other event types
         state = yield self.store.get_state_for_event(
             e5.event_id,
-            [(EventTypes.Member, self.u_alice.to_string())],
-            filtered_types=[EventTypes.Member],
+            state_filter=StateFilter(
+                types={EventTypes.Member: {self.u_alice.to_string()}},
+                include_others=True,
+            )
         )
 
         self.assertStateMapEqual(
@@ -204,10 +207,12 @@ class StateStoreTestCase(tests.unittest.TestCase):
             state,
         )
 
-        # check that types=[], filtered_types=[EventTypes.Member]
-        # doesn't return all members
+        # check that we can grab everything except members
         state = yield self.store.get_state_for_event(
-            e5.event_id, [], filtered_types=[EventTypes.Member]
+            e5.event_id, state_filter=StateFilter(
+                types={EventTypes.Member: set()},
+                include_others=True,
+            ),
         )
 
         self.assertStateMapEqual(
@@ -215,16 +220,21 @@ class StateStoreTestCase(tests.unittest.TestCase):
         )
 
         #######################################################
-        # _get_some_state_from_cache tests against a full cache
+        # _get_state_for_group_using_cache tests against a full cache
         #######################################################
 
         room_id = self.room.to_string()
         group_ids = yield self.store.get_state_groups_ids(room_id, [e5.event_id])
         group = list(group_ids.keys())[0]
 
-        # test _get_some_state_from_cache correctly filters out members with types=[]
-        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_some_state_from_cache(
-            self.store._state_group_cache, group, [], filtered_types=[EventTypes.Member]
+        # test _get_state_for_group_using_cache correctly filters out members
+        # with types=[]
+        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_state_for_group_using_cache(
+            self.store._state_group_cache, group,
+            state_filter=StateFilter(
+                types={EventTypes.Member: set()},
+                include_others=True,
+            ),
         )
 
         self.assertEqual(is_all, True)
@@ -236,22 +246,27 @@ class StateStoreTestCase(tests.unittest.TestCase):
             state_dict,
         )
 
-        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_some_state_from_cache(
+        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_state_for_group_using_cache(
             self.store._state_group_members_cache,
             group,
-            [],
-            filtered_types=[EventTypes.Member],
+            state_filter=StateFilter(
+                types={EventTypes.Member: set()},
+                include_others=True,
+            ),
         )
 
         self.assertEqual(is_all, True)
         self.assertDictEqual({}, state_dict)
 
-        # test _get_some_state_from_cache correctly filters in members with wildcard types
-        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_some_state_from_cache(
+        # test _get_state_for_group_using_cache correctly filters in members
+        # with wildcard types
+        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_state_for_group_using_cache(
             self.store._state_group_cache,
             group,
-            [(EventTypes.Member, None)],
-            filtered_types=[EventTypes.Member],
+            state_filter=StateFilter(
+                types={EventTypes.Member: None},
+                include_others=True,
+            ),
         )
 
         self.assertEqual(is_all, True)
@@ -263,11 +278,13 @@ class StateStoreTestCase(tests.unittest.TestCase):
             state_dict,
         )
 
-        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_some_state_from_cache(
+        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_state_for_group_using_cache(
             self.store._state_group_members_cache,
             group,
-            [(EventTypes.Member, None)],
-            filtered_types=[EventTypes.Member],
+            state_filter=StateFilter(
+                types={EventTypes.Member: None},
+                include_others=True,
+            ),
         )
 
         self.assertEqual(is_all, True)
@@ -280,12 +297,15 @@ class StateStoreTestCase(tests.unittest.TestCase):
             state_dict,
         )
 
-        # test _get_some_state_from_cache correctly filters in members with specific types
-        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_some_state_from_cache(
+        # test _get_state_for_group_using_cache correctly filters in members
+        # with specific types
+        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_state_for_group_using_cache(
             self.store._state_group_cache,
             group,
-            [(EventTypes.Member, e5.state_key)],
-            filtered_types=[EventTypes.Member],
+            state_filter=StateFilter(
+                types={EventTypes.Member: {e5.state_key}},
+                include_others=True,
+            ),
         )
 
         self.assertEqual(is_all, True)
@@ -297,23 +317,27 @@ class StateStoreTestCase(tests.unittest.TestCase):
             state_dict,
         )
 
-        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_some_state_from_cache(
+        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_state_for_group_using_cache(
             self.store._state_group_members_cache,
             group,
-            [(EventTypes.Member, e5.state_key)],
-            filtered_types=[EventTypes.Member],
+            state_filter=StateFilter(
+                types={EventTypes.Member: {e5.state_key}},
+                include_others=True,
+            ),
         )
 
         self.assertEqual(is_all, True)
         self.assertDictEqual({(e5.type, e5.state_key): e5.event_id}, state_dict)
 
-        # test _get_some_state_from_cache correctly filters in members with specific types
-        # and no filtered_types
-        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_some_state_from_cache(
+        # test _get_state_for_group_using_cache correctly filters in members
+        # with specific types
+        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_state_for_group_using_cache(
             self.store._state_group_members_cache,
             group,
-            [(EventTypes.Member, e5.state_key)],
-            filtered_types=None,
+            state_filter=StateFilter(
+                types={EventTypes.Member: {e5.state_key}},
+                include_others=False,
+            ),
         )
 
         self.assertEqual(is_all, True)
@@ -357,42 +381,54 @@ class StateStoreTestCase(tests.unittest.TestCase):
         ############################################
         # test that things work with a partial cache
 
-        # test _get_some_state_from_cache correctly filters out members with types=[]
+        # test _get_state_for_group_using_cache correctly filters out members
+        # with types=[]
         room_id = self.room.to_string()
-        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_some_state_from_cache(
-            self.store._state_group_cache, group, [], filtered_types=[EventTypes.Member]
+        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_state_for_group_using_cache(
+            self.store._state_group_cache, group,
+            state_filter=StateFilter(
+                types={EventTypes.Member: set()},
+                include_others=True,
+            ),
         )
 
         self.assertEqual(is_all, False)
         self.assertDictEqual({(e1.type, e1.state_key): e1.event_id}, state_dict)
 
         room_id = self.room.to_string()
-        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_some_state_from_cache(
+        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_state_for_group_using_cache(
             self.store._state_group_members_cache,
             group,
-            [],
-            filtered_types=[EventTypes.Member],
+            state_filter=StateFilter(
+                types={EventTypes.Member: set()},
+                include_others=True,
+            ),
         )
 
         self.assertEqual(is_all, True)
         self.assertDictEqual({}, state_dict)
 
-        # test _get_some_state_from_cache correctly filters in members wildcard types
-        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_some_state_from_cache(
+        # test _get_state_for_group_using_cache correctly filters in members
+        # wildcard types
+        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_state_for_group_using_cache(
             self.store._state_group_cache,
             group,
-            [(EventTypes.Member, None)],
-            filtered_types=[EventTypes.Member],
+            state_filter=StateFilter(
+                types={EventTypes.Member: None},
+                include_others=True,
+            ),
         )
 
         self.assertEqual(is_all, False)
         self.assertDictEqual({(e1.type, e1.state_key): e1.event_id}, state_dict)
 
-        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_some_state_from_cache(
+        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_state_for_group_using_cache(
             self.store._state_group_members_cache,
             group,
-            [(EventTypes.Member, None)],
-            filtered_types=[EventTypes.Member],
+            state_filter=StateFilter(
+                types={EventTypes.Member: None},
+                include_others=True,
+            ),
         )
 
         self.assertEqual(is_all, True)
@@ -404,44 +440,53 @@ class StateStoreTestCase(tests.unittest.TestCase):
             state_dict,
         )
 
-        # test _get_some_state_from_cache correctly filters in members with specific types
-        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_some_state_from_cache(
+        # test _get_state_for_group_using_cache correctly filters in members
+        # with specific types
+        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_state_for_group_using_cache(
             self.store._state_group_cache,
             group,
-            [(EventTypes.Member, e5.state_key)],
-            filtered_types=[EventTypes.Member],
+            state_filter=StateFilter(
+                types={EventTypes.Member: {e5.state_key}},
+                include_others=True,
+            ),
         )
 
         self.assertEqual(is_all, False)
         self.assertDictEqual({(e1.type, e1.state_key): e1.event_id}, state_dict)
 
-        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_some_state_from_cache(
+        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_state_for_group_using_cache(
             self.store._state_group_members_cache,
             group,
-            [(EventTypes.Member, e5.state_key)],
-            filtered_types=[EventTypes.Member],
+            state_filter=StateFilter(
+                types={EventTypes.Member: {e5.state_key}},
+                include_others=True,
+            ),
         )
 
         self.assertEqual(is_all, True)
         self.assertDictEqual({(e5.type, e5.state_key): e5.event_id}, state_dict)
 
-        # test _get_some_state_from_cache correctly filters in members with specific types
-        # and no filtered_types
-        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_some_state_from_cache(
+        # test _get_state_for_group_using_cache correctly filters in members
+        # with specific types
+        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_state_for_group_using_cache(
             self.store._state_group_cache,
             group,
-            [(EventTypes.Member, e5.state_key)],
-            filtered_types=None,
+            state_filter=StateFilter(
+                types={EventTypes.Member: {e5.state_key}},
+                include_others=False,
+            ),
         )
 
         self.assertEqual(is_all, False)
         self.assertDictEqual({}, state_dict)
 
-        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_some_state_from_cache(
+        (state_dict, is_all) = yield self.store._get_state_for_group_using_cache(
             self.store._state_group_members_cache,
             group,
-            [(EventTypes.Member, e5.state_key)],
-            filtered_types=None,
+            state_filter=StateFilter(
+                types={EventTypes.Member: {e5.state_key}},
+                include_others=False,
+            ),
         )
 
         self.assertEqual(is_all, True)
diff --git a/tests/utils.py b/tests/utils.py
index dd347a0c59..565bb60d08 100644
--- a/tests/utils.py
+++ b/tests/utils.py
@@ -124,6 +124,7 @@ def default_config(name):
     config.user_consent_server_notice_content = None
     config.block_events_without_consent_error = None
     config.media_storage_providers = []
+    config.autocreate_auto_join_rooms = True
     config.auto_join_rooms = []
     config.limit_usage_by_mau = False
     config.hs_disabled = False
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index 87b5e4782d..9de5a5704a 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ envlist = packaging, py27, py36, pep8, check_isort
 
 [base]
 deps =
-    coverage
     Twisted>=17.1
     mock
     python-subunit
@@ -26,9 +25,7 @@ passenv = *
 
 commands =
     /usr/bin/find "{toxinidir}" -name '*.pyc' -delete
-    coverage run {env:COVERAGE_OPTS:} --source="{toxinidir}/synapse" \
-        "{envbindir}/trial" {env:TRIAL_FLAGS:} {posargs:tests} {env:TOXSUFFIX:}
-    {env:DUMP_COVERAGE_COMMAND:coverage report -m}
+    "{envbindir}/trial" {env:TRIAL_FLAGS:} {posargs:tests} {env:TOXSUFFIX:}
 
 [testenv:py27]
 
@@ -108,10 +105,10 @@ commands =
 
 [testenv:pep8]
 skip_install = True
-basepython = python2.7
+basepython = python3.6
 deps =
     flake8
-commands = /bin/sh -c "flake8 synapse tests {env:PEP8SUFFIX:}"
+commands = /bin/sh -c "flake8 synapse tests scripts scripts-dev scripts/register_new_matrix_user scripts/synapse_port_db synctl {env:PEP8SUFFIX:}"
 
 [testenv:check_isort]
 skip_install = True