At a Glance:
Cap is an open-source screen recording tool that provides Instant and Studio recording modes, S3-compatible storage options, full self-hosting with Docker Compose, and team workspaces with comments, transcripts, and viewer analytics.
Overview:
Cap is an open-source screen recording platform designed as a self-hostable alternative to Loom. It supports fast screen, camera, and microphone capture with two primary recording workflows: Instant Mode uploads while recording and provides a shareable link immediately after stopping, while Studio Mode records locally for later editing with backgrounds, zooms, trimming, and captions. Cap runs as a desktop application on macOS and Windows, with a web dashboard for viewing, sharing, and managing recordings. Teams can own their data by using Cap Cloud, connecting S3-compatible storage, or deploying the full platform with Docker Compose.
Key Decision Points:
Self-hosting is a first-class deployment path: Cap can be self-hosted with Docker Compose, Railway, or Coolify, and the desktop app can point to a self-hosted instance from its settings.
Data storage is configurable: Users can choose Cap Cloud, connect their own S3-compatible bucket from providers like AWS S3, Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, MinIO, or Wasabi, keep recordings local, or self-host the complete platform.
Two recording modes serve different needs: Instant Mode prioritizes speed with upload-during-recording, while Studio Mode supports local recording with editing controls before sharing or exporting.
The desktop app runs on macOS and Windows only: Cap Desktop is available for these two platforms, with additional access through the web dashboard and embedded SDKs.
Loom import is supported: Cap can import existing Loom videos to consolidate a recording library.
Core Features:
Instant and Studio recording modes: Instant Mode uploads during recording and provides a share link when recording stops; Studio Mode records locally and opens an editor with trimming, backgrounds, zooms, and captions.
Shareable links with privacy controls: Recordings can be shared publicly or privately, protected with passwords, and served from custom domains.
S3-compatible storage: Users can connect external storage providers including AWS S3, Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, MinIO, and Wasabi.
Team workspaces and async collaboration: Comments, reactions, transcripts, and viewer analytics are attached to video recordings within team workspaces.
Cap AI: Automatically generates titles, summaries, clickable chapters, captions, and transcripts for recordings.
Docker Compose self-hosting: The Cap Web app can be deployed with Docker Compose, making it available on VPS, home servers, and Docker-capable hosts.
Use Cases:
Developers recording bug reports and engineering walkthroughs that benefit from instant share links and async team feedback through comments and reactions.
Product teams creating product demos, tutorials, and onboarding videos with local editing for polished output before sharing.
Self-hosters and teams with data residency requirements who need to keep recordings on their own S3-compatible storage or fully self-hosted infrastructure.
Open-Source Alternative Value:
Cap provides an open-source screen recording platform that users can self-host with Docker Compose, connect to their own S3-compatible storage, or keep recordings entirely local. As an alternative to Loom, it offers import support for existing Loom videos and includes team collaboration features such as comments, reactions, transcripts, and viewer analytics. The desktop application can be pointed at a self-hosted server instance, and the full platform code is available for inspection and modification under a monorepo structure with Rust, TypeScript, and Tauri.
