diff --git a/src/component-index.js b/src/component-index.js
index 67c09e61a6..e15f0e917f 100644
--- a/src/component-index.js
+++ b/src/component-index.js
@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ module.exports.components['views.rooms.MemberInfo'] = require('./components/view
 module.exports.components['views.rooms.MemberList'] = require('./components/views/rooms/MemberList');
 module.exports.components['views.rooms.MemberTile'] = require('./components/views/rooms/MemberTile');
 module.exports.components['views.rooms.MessageComposer'] = require('./components/views/rooms/MessageComposer');
+module.exports.components['views.rooms.MessageComposerInput'] = require('./components/views/rooms/MessageComposerInput');
 module.exports.components['views.rooms.PresenceLabel'] = require('./components/views/rooms/PresenceLabel');
 module.exports.components['views.rooms.RoomHeader'] = require('./components/views/rooms/RoomHeader');
 module.exports.components['views.rooms.RoomList'] = require('./components/views/rooms/RoomList');
diff --git a/src/components/views/rooms/MessageComposer.js b/src/components/views/rooms/MessageComposer.js
index c3e02975e0..bd84fd85be 100644
--- a/src/components/views/rooms/MessageComposer.js
+++ b/src/components/views/rooms/MessageComposer.js
@@ -13,431 +13,32 @@ 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.
 */
-var React = require("react");
+var React = require('react');
 
-var marked = require("marked");
-marked.setOptions({
-    renderer: new marked.Renderer(),
-    gfm: true,
-    tables: true,
-    breaks: true,
-    pedantic: false,
-    sanitize: true,
-    smartLists: true,
-    smartypants: false
-});
-
-var MatrixClientPeg = require("../../../MatrixClientPeg");
-var SlashCommands = require("../../../SlashCommands");
-var Modal = require("../../../Modal");
 var CallHandler = require('../../../CallHandler');
-var MemberEntry = require("../../../TabCompleteEntries").MemberEntry;
+var MatrixClientPeg = require('../../../MatrixClientPeg');
 var sdk = require('../../../index');
+var dis = require('../../../dispatcher');
 
-var dis = require("../../../dispatcher");
-var KeyCode = {
-    ENTER: 13,
-    BACKSPACE: 8,
-    DELETE: 46,
-    TAB: 9,
-    SHIFT: 16,
-    UP: 38,
-    DOWN: 40
-};
-
-var TYPING_USER_TIMEOUT = 10000;
-var TYPING_SERVER_TIMEOUT = 30000;
-var MARKDOWN_ENABLED = true;
-
-function mdownToHtml(mdown) {
-    var html = marked(mdown) || "";
-    html = html.trim();
-    // strip start and end <p> tags else you get 'orrible spacing
-    if (html.indexOf("<p>") === 0) {
-        html = html.substring("<p>".length);
-    }
-    if (html.lastIndexOf("</p>") === (html.length - "</p>".length)) {
-        html = html.substring(0, html.length - "</p>".length);
-    }
-    return html;
-}
 
 module.exports = React.createClass({
     displayName: 'MessageComposer',
 
-    statics: {
-        // the height we limit the composer to
-        MAX_HEIGHT: 100,
-    },
-
     propTypes: {
         tabComplete: React.PropTypes.any,
 
         // a callback which is called when the height of the composer is
         // changed due to a change in content.
         onResize: React.PropTypes.func,
-    },
 
-    componentWillMount: function() {
-        this.oldScrollHeight = 0;
-        this.markdownEnabled = MARKDOWN_ENABLED;
-        var self = this;
-        this.sentHistory = {
-            // The list of typed messages. Index 0 is more recent
-            data: [],
-            // The position in data currently displayed
-            position: -1,
-            // The room the history is for.
-            roomId: null,
-            // The original text before they hit UP
-            originalText: null,
-            // The textarea element to set text to.
-            element: null,
+        // js-sdk Room object
+        room: React.PropTypes.object.isRequired,
 
-            init: function(element, roomId) {
-                this.roomId = roomId;
-                this.element = element;
-                this.position = -1;
-                var storedData = window.sessionStorage.getItem(
-                    "history_" + roomId
-                );
-                if (storedData) {
-                    this.data = JSON.parse(storedData);
-                }
-                if (this.roomId) {
-                    this.setLastTextEntry();
-                }
-            },
+        // string representing the current voip call state
+        callState: React.PropTypes.string,
 
-            push: function(text) {
-                // store a message in the sent history
-                this.data.unshift(text);
-                window.sessionStorage.setItem(
-                    "history_" + this.roomId,
-                    JSON.stringify(this.data)
-                );
-                // reset history position
-                this.position = -1;
-                this.originalText = null;
-            },
-
-            // move in the history. Returns true if we managed to move.
-            next: function(offset) {
-                if (this.position === -1) {
-                    // user is going into the history, save the current line.
-                    this.originalText = this.element.value;
-                }
-                else {
-                    // user may have modified this line in the history; remember it.
-                    this.data[this.position] = this.element.value;
-                }
-
-                if (offset > 0 && this.position === (this.data.length - 1)) {
-                    // we've run out of history
-                    return false;
-                }
-
-                // retrieve the next item (bounded).
-                var newPosition = this.position + offset;
-                newPosition = Math.max(-1, newPosition);
-                newPosition = Math.min(newPosition, this.data.length - 1);
-                this.position = newPosition;
-
-                if (this.position !== -1) {
-                    // show the message
-                    this.element.value = this.data[this.position];
-                }
-                else if (this.originalText !== undefined) {
-                    // restore the original text the user was typing.
-                    this.element.value = this.originalText;
-                }
-
-                self.resizeInput();
-                return true;
-            },
-
-            saveLastTextEntry: function() {
-                // save the currently entered text in order to restore it later.
-                // NB: This isn't 'originalText' because we want to restore
-                // sent history items too!
-                var text = this.element.value;
-                window.sessionStorage.setItem("input_" + this.roomId, text);
-            },
-
-            setLastTextEntry: function() {
-                var text = window.sessionStorage.getItem("input_" + this.roomId);
-                if (text) {
-                    this.element.value = text;
-                    self.resizeInput();
-                }
-            }
-        };
-    },
-
-    componentDidMount: function() {
-        this.dispatcherRef = dis.register(this.onAction);
-        this.sentHistory.init(
-            this.refs.textarea,
-            this.props.room.roomId
-        );
-        this.resizeInput();
-        if (this.props.tabComplete) {
-            this.props.tabComplete.setTextArea(this.refs.textarea);
-        }
-    },
-
-    componentWillUnmount: function() {
-        dis.unregister(this.dispatcherRef);
-        this.sentHistory.saveLastTextEntry();
-    },
-
-    onAction: function(payload) {
-        var textarea = this.refs.textarea;
-        switch (payload.action) {
-            case 'focus_composer':
-                textarea.focus();
-                break;
-            case 'insert_displayname':
-                if (textarea.value.length) {
-                    var left = textarea.value.substring(0, textarea.selectionStart);
-                    var right = textarea.value.substring(textarea.selectionEnd);
-                    if (right.length) {
-                        left += payload.displayname;
-                    }
-                    else {
-                        left = left.replace(/( ?)$/, " " + payload.displayname);
-                    }
-                    textarea.value = left + right;
-                    textarea.focus();
-                    textarea.setSelectionRange(left.length, left.length);
-                }
-                else {
-                    textarea.value = payload.displayname + ": ";
-                    textarea.focus();
-                }
-                break;
-        }
-    },
-
-    onKeyDown: function (ev) {
-        if (ev.keyCode === KeyCode.ENTER && !ev.shiftKey) {
-            var input = this.refs.textarea.value;
-            if (input.length === 0) {
-                ev.preventDefault();
-                return;
-            }
-            this.sentHistory.push(input);
-            this.onEnter(ev);
-        }
-        else if (ev.keyCode === KeyCode.UP || ev.keyCode === KeyCode.DOWN) {
-            var oldSelectionStart = this.refs.textarea.selectionStart;
-            // Remember the keyCode because React will recycle the synthetic event
-            var keyCode = ev.keyCode;
-            // set a callback so we can see if the cursor position changes as
-            // a result of this event. If it doesn't, we cycle history.
-            setTimeout(() => {
-                if (this.refs.textarea.selectionStart == oldSelectionStart) {
-                    this.sentHistory.next(keyCode === KeyCode.UP ? 1 : -1);
-                    this.resizeInput();
-                }
-            }, 0);
-        }
-
-        if (this.props.tabComplete) {
-            this.props.tabComplete.onKeyDown(ev);
-        }
-
-        var self = this;
-        setTimeout(function() {
-            if (self.refs.textarea && self.refs.textarea.value != '') {
-                self.onTypingActivity();
-            } else {
-                self.onFinishedTyping();
-            }
-        }, 10); // XXX: what is this 10ms setTimeout doing?  Looks hacky :(
-    },
-
-    resizeInput: function() {
-        // scrollHeight is at least equal to clientHeight, so we have to
-        // temporarily crimp clientHeight to 0 to get an accurate scrollHeight value
-        this.refs.textarea.style.height = "20px"; // 20 hardcoded from CSS
-        var newHeight = Math.min(this.refs.textarea.scrollHeight,
-                                 this.constructor.MAX_HEIGHT);
-        this.refs.textarea.style.height = Math.ceil(newHeight) + "px";
-        this.oldScrollHeight = this.refs.textarea.scrollHeight;
-
-        if (this.props.onResize) {
-            // kick gemini-scrollbar to re-layout
-            this.props.onResize();
-        }
-    },
-
-    onKeyUp: function(ev) {
-        if (this.refs.textarea.scrollHeight !== this.oldScrollHeight ||
-            ev.keyCode === KeyCode.DELETE ||
-            ev.keyCode === KeyCode.BACKSPACE)
-        {
-            this.resizeInput();
-        }
-    },
-
-    onEnter: function(ev) {
-        var contentText = this.refs.textarea.value;
-
-        // bodge for now to set markdown state on/off. We probably want a separate
-        // area for "local" commands which don't hit out to the server.
-        if (contentText.indexOf("/markdown") === 0) {
-            ev.preventDefault();
-            this.refs.textarea.value = '';
-            if (contentText.indexOf("/markdown on") === 0) {
-                this.markdownEnabled = true;
-            }
-            else if (contentText.indexOf("/markdown off") === 0) {
-                this.markdownEnabled = false;
-            }
-            else {
-                var ErrorDialog = sdk.getComponent("dialogs.ErrorDialog");
-                Modal.createDialog(ErrorDialog, {
-                    title: "Unknown command",
-                    description: "Usage: /markdown on|off"
-                });
-            }
-            return;
-        }
-
-        var cmd = SlashCommands.processInput(this.props.room.roomId, contentText);
-        if (cmd) {
-            ev.preventDefault();
-            if (!cmd.error) {
-                this.refs.textarea.value = '';
-            }
-            if (cmd.promise) {
-                cmd.promise.done(function() {
-                    console.log("Command success.");
-                }, function(err) {
-                    console.error("Command failure: %s", err);
-                    var ErrorDialog = sdk.getComponent("dialogs.ErrorDialog");
-                    Modal.createDialog(ErrorDialog, {
-                        title: "Server error",
-                        description: err.message
-                    });
-                });
-            }
-            else if (cmd.error) {
-                console.error(cmd.error);
-                var ErrorDialog = sdk.getComponent("dialogs.ErrorDialog");
-                Modal.createDialog(ErrorDialog, {
-                    title: "Command error",
-                    description: cmd.error
-                });
-            }
-            return;
-        }
-
-        var isEmote = /^\/me( |$)/i.test(contentText);
-        var sendMessagePromise;
-
-        if (isEmote) {
-            contentText = contentText.substring(4);
-        }
-        else if (contentText[0] === '/') {
-            contentText = contentText.substring(1);   
-        }
-
-        var htmlText;
-        if (this.markdownEnabled && (htmlText = mdownToHtml(contentText)) !== contentText) {
-            sendMessagePromise = isEmote ? 
-                MatrixClientPeg.get().sendHtmlEmote(this.props.room.roomId, contentText, htmlText) :
-                MatrixClientPeg.get().sendHtmlMessage(this.props.room.roomId, contentText, htmlText);
-        }
-        else {
-            sendMessagePromise = isEmote ? 
-                MatrixClientPeg.get().sendEmoteMessage(this.props.room.roomId, contentText) :
-                MatrixClientPeg.get().sendTextMessage(this.props.room.roomId, contentText);
-        }
-
-        sendMessagePromise.done(function() {
-            dis.dispatch({
-                action: 'message_sent'
-            });
-        }, function() {
-            dis.dispatch({
-                action: 'message_send_failed'
-            });
-        });
-        this.refs.textarea.value = '';
-        this.resizeInput();
-        ev.preventDefault();
-    },
-
-    onTypingActivity: function() {
-        this.isTyping = true;
-        if (!this.userTypingTimer) {
-            this.sendTyping(true);
-        }
-        this.startUserTypingTimer();
-        this.startServerTypingTimer();
-    },
-
-    onFinishedTyping: function() {
-        this.isTyping = false;
-        this.sendTyping(false);
-        this.stopUserTypingTimer();
-        this.stopServerTypingTimer();
-    },
-
-    startUserTypingTimer: function() {
-        this.stopUserTypingTimer();
-        var self = this;
-        this.userTypingTimer = setTimeout(function() {
-            self.isTyping = false;
-            self.sendTyping(self.isTyping);
-            self.userTypingTimer = null;
-        }, TYPING_USER_TIMEOUT);
-    },
-
-    stopUserTypingTimer: function() {
-        if (this.userTypingTimer) {
-            clearTimeout(this.userTypingTimer);
-            this.userTypingTimer = null;
-        }
-    },
-
-    startServerTypingTimer: function() {
-        if (!this.serverTypingTimer) {
-            var self = this;
-            this.serverTypingTimer = setTimeout(function() {
-                if (self.isTyping) {
-                    self.sendTyping(self.isTyping);
-                    self.startServerTypingTimer();
-                }
-            }, TYPING_SERVER_TIMEOUT / 2);
-        }
-    },
-
-    stopServerTypingTimer: function() {
-        if (this.serverTypingTimer) {
-            clearTimeout(this.servrTypingTimer);
-            this.serverTypingTimer = null;
-        }
-    },
-
-    sendTyping: function(isTyping) {
-        MatrixClientPeg.get().sendTyping(
-            this.props.room.roomId,
-            this.isTyping, TYPING_SERVER_TIMEOUT
-        ).done();
-    },
-
-    refreshTyping: function() {
-        if (this.typingTimeout) {
-            clearTimeout(this.typingTimeout);
-            this.typingTimeout = null;
-        }
-    },
-
-    onInputClick: function(ev) {
-        this.refs.textarea.focus();
+        // callback when a file to upload is chosen
+        uploadFile: React.PropTypes.func.isRequired,
     },
 
     onUploadClick: function(ev) {
@@ -446,7 +47,7 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
 
     onUploadFileSelected: function(ev) {
         var files = ev.target.files;
-        // MessageComposer shouldn't have to rely on it's parent passing in a callback to upload a file
+        // MessageComposer shouldn't have to rely on its parent passing in a callback to upload a file
         if (files && files.length > 0) {
             this.props.uploadFile(files[0]);
         }
@@ -488,10 +89,9 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
         var uploadInputStyle = {display: 'none'};
         var MemberAvatar = sdk.getComponent('avatars.MemberAvatar');
         var TintableSvg = sdk.getComponent("elements.TintableSvg");
+        var MessageComposerInput = sdk.getComponent("rooms.MessageComposerInput");
 
         var callButton, videoCallButton, hangupButton;
-        var call = CallHandler.getCallForRoom(this.props.room.roomId);
-        //var call = CallHandler.getAnyActiveCall();
         if (this.props.callState && this.props.callState !== 'ended') {
             hangupButton =
                 <div className="mx_MessageComposer_hangup" onClick={this.onHangupClick}>
@@ -516,9 +116,8 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
                     <div className="mx_MessageComposer_avatar">
                         <MemberAvatar member={me} width={24} height={24} />
                     </div>
-                    <div className="mx_MessageComposer_input" onClick={ this.onInputClick }>
-                        <textarea autoFocus ref="textarea" rows="1" onKeyDown={this.onKeyDown} onKeyUp={this.onKeyUp} placeholder="Type a message..." />
-                    </div>
+                    <MessageComposerInput tabComplete={this.props.tabComplete} onResize={this.props.onResize}
+                        room={this.props.room} />
                     <div className="mx_MessageComposer_upload" onClick={this.onUploadClick} title="Upload file">
                         <TintableSvg src="img/upload.svg" width="19" height="24"/>
                         <input type="file" style={uploadInputStyle} ref="uploadInput" onChange={this.onUploadFileSelected} />
diff --git a/src/components/views/rooms/MessageComposerInput.js b/src/components/views/rooms/MessageComposerInput.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1aa2beb41c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/views/rooms/MessageComposerInput.js
@@ -0,0 +1,456 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2015, 2016 OpenMarket 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.
+*/
+var React = require("react");
+
+var marked = require("marked");
+marked.setOptions({
+    renderer: new marked.Renderer(),
+    gfm: true,
+    tables: true,
+    breaks: true,
+    pedantic: false,
+    sanitize: true,
+    smartLists: true,
+    smartypants: false
+});
+
+var MatrixClientPeg = require("../../../MatrixClientPeg");
+var SlashCommands = require("../../../SlashCommands");
+var Modal = require("../../../Modal");
+var MemberEntry = require("../../../TabCompleteEntries").MemberEntry;
+var sdk = require('../../../index');
+
+var dis = require("../../../dispatcher");
+var KeyCode = {
+    ENTER: 13,
+    BACKSPACE: 8,
+    DELETE: 46,
+    TAB: 9,
+    SHIFT: 16,
+    UP: 38,
+    DOWN: 40
+};
+
+var TYPING_USER_TIMEOUT = 10000;
+var TYPING_SERVER_TIMEOUT = 30000;
+var MARKDOWN_ENABLED = true;
+
+function mdownToHtml(mdown) {
+    var html = marked(mdown) || "";
+    html = html.trim();
+    // strip start and end <p> tags else you get 'orrible spacing
+    if (html.indexOf("<p>") === 0) {
+        html = html.substring("<p>".length);
+    }
+    if (html.lastIndexOf("</p>") === (html.length - "</p>".length)) {
+        html = html.substring(0, html.length - "</p>".length);
+    }
+    return html;
+}
+
+/*
+ * The textInput part of the MessageComposer
+ */
+module.exports = React.createClass({
+    displayName: 'MessageComposerInput',
+
+    statics: {
+        // the height we limit the composer to
+        MAX_HEIGHT: 100,
+    },
+
+    propTypes: {
+        tabComplete: React.PropTypes.any,
+
+        // a callback which is called when the height of the composer is
+        // changed due to a change in content.
+        onResize: React.PropTypes.func,
+
+        // js-sdk Room object
+        room: React.PropTypes.object.isRequired,
+    },
+
+    componentWillMount: function() {
+        this.oldScrollHeight = 0;
+        this.markdownEnabled = MARKDOWN_ENABLED;
+        var self = this;
+        this.sentHistory = {
+            // The list of typed messages. Index 0 is more recent
+            data: [],
+            // The position in data currently displayed
+            position: -1,
+            // The room the history is for.
+            roomId: null,
+            // The original text before they hit UP
+            originalText: null,
+            // The textarea element to set text to.
+            element: null,
+
+            init: function(element, roomId) {
+                this.roomId = roomId;
+                this.element = element;
+                this.position = -1;
+                var storedData = window.sessionStorage.getItem(
+                    "history_" + roomId
+                );
+                if (storedData) {
+                    this.data = JSON.parse(storedData);
+                }
+                if (this.roomId) {
+                    this.setLastTextEntry();
+                }
+            },
+
+            push: function(text) {
+                // store a message in the sent history
+                this.data.unshift(text);
+                window.sessionStorage.setItem(
+                    "history_" + this.roomId,
+                    JSON.stringify(this.data)
+                );
+                // reset history position
+                this.position = -1;
+                this.originalText = null;
+            },
+
+            // move in the history. Returns true if we managed to move.
+            next: function(offset) {
+                if (this.position === -1) {
+                    // user is going into the history, save the current line.
+                    this.originalText = this.element.value;
+                }
+                else {
+                    // user may have modified this line in the history; remember it.
+                    this.data[this.position] = this.element.value;
+                }
+
+                if (offset > 0 && this.position === (this.data.length - 1)) {
+                    // we've run out of history
+                    return false;
+                }
+
+                // retrieve the next item (bounded).
+                var newPosition = this.position + offset;
+                newPosition = Math.max(-1, newPosition);
+                newPosition = Math.min(newPosition, this.data.length - 1);
+                this.position = newPosition;
+
+                if (this.position !== -1) {
+                    // show the message
+                    this.element.value = this.data[this.position];
+                }
+                else if (this.originalText !== undefined) {
+                    // restore the original text the user was typing.
+                    this.element.value = this.originalText;
+                }
+
+                self.resizeInput();
+                return true;
+            },
+
+            saveLastTextEntry: function() {
+                // save the currently entered text in order to restore it later.
+                // NB: This isn't 'originalText' because we want to restore
+                // sent history items too!
+                var text = this.element.value;
+                window.sessionStorage.setItem("input_" + this.roomId, text);
+            },
+
+            setLastTextEntry: function() {
+                var text = window.sessionStorage.getItem("input_" + this.roomId);
+                if (text) {
+                    this.element.value = text;
+                    self.resizeInput();
+                }
+            }
+        };
+    },
+
+    componentDidMount: function() {
+        this.dispatcherRef = dis.register(this.onAction);
+        this.sentHistory.init(
+            this.refs.textarea,
+            this.props.room.roomId
+        );
+        this.resizeInput();
+        if (this.props.tabComplete) {
+            this.props.tabComplete.setTextArea(this.refs.textarea);
+        }
+    },
+
+    componentWillUnmount: function() {
+        dis.unregister(this.dispatcherRef);
+        this.sentHistory.saveLastTextEntry();
+    },
+
+    onAction: function(payload) {
+        var textarea = this.refs.textarea;
+        switch (payload.action) {
+            case 'focus_composer':
+                textarea.focus();
+                break;
+            case 'insert_displayname':
+                if (textarea.value.length) {
+                    var left = textarea.value.substring(0, textarea.selectionStart);
+                    var right = textarea.value.substring(textarea.selectionEnd);
+                    if (right.length) {
+                        left += payload.displayname;
+                    }
+                    else {
+                        left = left.replace(/( ?)$/, " " + payload.displayname);
+                    }
+                    textarea.value = left + right;
+                    textarea.focus();
+                    textarea.setSelectionRange(left.length, left.length);
+                }
+                else {
+                    textarea.value = payload.displayname + ": ";
+                    textarea.focus();
+                }
+                break;
+        }
+    },
+
+    onKeyDown: function (ev) {
+        if (ev.keyCode === KeyCode.ENTER && !ev.shiftKey) {
+            var input = this.refs.textarea.value;
+            if (input.length === 0) {
+                ev.preventDefault();
+                return;
+            }
+            this.sentHistory.push(input);
+            this.onEnter(ev);
+        }
+        else if (ev.keyCode === KeyCode.UP || ev.keyCode === KeyCode.DOWN) {
+            var oldSelectionStart = this.refs.textarea.selectionStart;
+            // Remember the keyCode because React will recycle the synthetic event
+            var keyCode = ev.keyCode;
+            // set a callback so we can see if the cursor position changes as
+            // a result of this event. If it doesn't, we cycle history.
+            setTimeout(() => {
+                if (this.refs.textarea.selectionStart == oldSelectionStart) {
+                    this.sentHistory.next(keyCode === KeyCode.UP ? 1 : -1);
+                    this.resizeInput();
+                }
+            }, 0);
+        }
+
+        if (this.props.tabComplete) {
+            this.props.tabComplete.onKeyDown(ev);
+        }
+
+        var self = this;
+        setTimeout(function() {
+            if (self.refs.textarea && self.refs.textarea.value != '') {
+                self.onTypingActivity();
+            } else {
+                self.onFinishedTyping();
+            }
+        }, 10); // XXX: what is this 10ms setTimeout doing?  Looks hacky :(
+    },
+
+    resizeInput: function() {
+        // scrollHeight is at least equal to clientHeight, so we have to
+        // temporarily crimp clientHeight to 0 to get an accurate scrollHeight value
+        this.refs.textarea.style.height = "20px"; // 20 hardcoded from CSS
+        var newHeight = Math.min(this.refs.textarea.scrollHeight,
+                                 this.constructor.MAX_HEIGHT);
+        this.refs.textarea.style.height = Math.ceil(newHeight) + "px";
+        this.oldScrollHeight = this.refs.textarea.scrollHeight;
+
+        if (this.props.onResize) {
+            // kick gemini-scrollbar to re-layout
+            this.props.onResize();
+        }
+    },
+
+    onKeyUp: function(ev) {
+        if (this.refs.textarea.scrollHeight !== this.oldScrollHeight ||
+            ev.keyCode === KeyCode.DELETE ||
+            ev.keyCode === KeyCode.BACKSPACE)
+        {
+            this.resizeInput();
+        }
+    },
+
+    onEnter: function(ev) {
+        var contentText = this.refs.textarea.value;
+
+        // bodge for now to set markdown state on/off. We probably want a separate
+        // area for "local" commands which don't hit out to the server.
+        if (contentText.indexOf("/markdown") === 0) {
+            ev.preventDefault();
+            this.refs.textarea.value = '';
+            if (contentText.indexOf("/markdown on") === 0) {
+                this.markdownEnabled = true;
+            }
+            else if (contentText.indexOf("/markdown off") === 0) {
+                this.markdownEnabled = false;
+            }
+            else {
+                var ErrorDialog = sdk.getComponent("dialogs.ErrorDialog");
+                Modal.createDialog(ErrorDialog, {
+                    title: "Unknown command",
+                    description: "Usage: /markdown on|off"
+                });
+            }
+            return;
+        }
+
+        var cmd = SlashCommands.processInput(this.props.room.roomId, contentText);
+        if (cmd) {
+            ev.preventDefault();
+            if (!cmd.error) {
+                this.refs.textarea.value = '';
+            }
+            if (cmd.promise) {
+                cmd.promise.done(function() {
+                    console.log("Command success.");
+                }, function(err) {
+                    console.error("Command failure: %s", err);
+                    var ErrorDialog = sdk.getComponent("dialogs.ErrorDialog");
+                    Modal.createDialog(ErrorDialog, {
+                        title: "Server error",
+                        description: err.message
+                    });
+                });
+            }
+            else if (cmd.error) {
+                console.error(cmd.error);
+                var ErrorDialog = sdk.getComponent("dialogs.ErrorDialog");
+                Modal.createDialog(ErrorDialog, {
+                    title: "Command error",
+                    description: cmd.error
+                });
+            }
+            return;
+        }
+
+        var isEmote = /^\/me( |$)/i.test(contentText);
+        var sendMessagePromise;
+
+        if (isEmote) {
+            contentText = contentText.substring(4);
+        }
+        else if (contentText[0] === '/') {
+            contentText = contentText.substring(1);   
+        }
+
+        var htmlText;
+        if (this.markdownEnabled && (htmlText = mdownToHtml(contentText)) !== contentText) {
+            sendMessagePromise = isEmote ? 
+                MatrixClientPeg.get().sendHtmlEmote(this.props.room.roomId, contentText, htmlText) :
+                MatrixClientPeg.get().sendHtmlMessage(this.props.room.roomId, contentText, htmlText);
+        }
+        else {
+            sendMessagePromise = isEmote ? 
+                MatrixClientPeg.get().sendEmoteMessage(this.props.room.roomId, contentText) :
+                MatrixClientPeg.get().sendTextMessage(this.props.room.roomId, contentText);
+        }
+
+        sendMessagePromise.done(function() {
+            dis.dispatch({
+                action: 'message_sent'
+            });
+        }, function() {
+            dis.dispatch({
+                action: 'message_send_failed'
+            });
+        });
+        this.refs.textarea.value = '';
+        this.resizeInput();
+        ev.preventDefault();
+    },
+
+    onTypingActivity: function() {
+        this.isTyping = true;
+        if (!this.userTypingTimer) {
+            this.sendTyping(true);
+        }
+        this.startUserTypingTimer();
+        this.startServerTypingTimer();
+    },
+
+    onFinishedTyping: function() {
+        this.isTyping = false;
+        this.sendTyping(false);
+        this.stopUserTypingTimer();
+        this.stopServerTypingTimer();
+    },
+
+    startUserTypingTimer: function() {
+        this.stopUserTypingTimer();
+        var self = this;
+        this.userTypingTimer = setTimeout(function() {
+            self.isTyping = false;
+            self.sendTyping(self.isTyping);
+            self.userTypingTimer = null;
+        }, TYPING_USER_TIMEOUT);
+    },
+
+    stopUserTypingTimer: function() {
+        if (this.userTypingTimer) {
+            clearTimeout(this.userTypingTimer);
+            this.userTypingTimer = null;
+        }
+    },
+
+    startServerTypingTimer: function() {
+        if (!this.serverTypingTimer) {
+            var self = this;
+            this.serverTypingTimer = setTimeout(function() {
+                if (self.isTyping) {
+                    self.sendTyping(self.isTyping);
+                    self.startServerTypingTimer();
+                }
+            }, TYPING_SERVER_TIMEOUT / 2);
+        }
+    },
+
+    stopServerTypingTimer: function() {
+        if (this.serverTypingTimer) {
+            clearTimeout(this.servrTypingTimer);
+            this.serverTypingTimer = null;
+        }
+    },
+
+    sendTyping: function(isTyping) {
+        MatrixClientPeg.get().sendTyping(
+            this.props.room.roomId,
+            this.isTyping, TYPING_SERVER_TIMEOUT
+        ).done();
+    },
+
+    refreshTyping: function() {
+        if (this.typingTimeout) {
+            clearTimeout(this.typingTimeout);
+            this.typingTimeout = null;
+        }
+    },
+
+    onInputClick: function(ev) {
+        this.refs.textarea.focus();
+    },
+
+    render: function() {
+        return (
+            <div className="mx_MessageComposer_input" onClick={ this.onInputClick }>
+                <textarea autoFocus ref="textarea" rows="1" onKeyDown={this.onKeyDown} onKeyUp={this.onKeyUp} placeholder="Type a message..." />
+            </div>
+        );
+    }
+});
+