# Cap — Open-Source Screen Recorder & Loom Alternative (Full Reference) > Cap is a free, open-source screen recorder and async video messaging platform — a privacy-first alternative to Loom, Vidyard, and OBS. Record your screen, camera, and audio, then share an instant link or edit locally in a professional studio editor. Native desktop apps for macOS and Windows (built on Tauri + Rust, not Electron), a Linux .deb package, and a web viewer. Bring your own storage (Google Drive, any S3-compatible bucket, or fully local) so you own every recording. Website: https://cap.so · Source: https://github.com/CapSoftware/Cap This is the full-detail reference for LLMs and agents. For a concise overview, see https://cap.so/llms.txt. ## What is Cap? Cap (made by Cap Software, Inc.) is the open-source screen recording tool that combines Loom-style instant sharing with a professional local editor and a screenshot tool — all in one app. It is built for async communication, product demos, bug reports, tutorials, onboarding, code reviews, and customer support. Core principles: - **Open source** — AGPLv3 (camera/capture crates are MIT). Fully auditable and self-hostable; no vendor lock-in. - **Own your data** — store recordings in Cap Cloud, your own Google Drive, any S3-compatible bucket, or entirely on-device. - **Native performance** — desktop apps use Tauri + Rust, not Electron, for low CPU/RAM/battery usage. - **Privacy by default** — record locally and share only when you choose; password-protect or self-host sensitive content. ## Three Modes, One App ### Instant Mode - Records and uploads simultaneously; a shareable link is live the moment you stop. - Auto-generates a title, summary, clickable chapters, and a transcript. - Defaults to 30fps; free tier caps output at 720p, Cap Pro up to 4K. - Requires sign-in. Supports pause/resume; can auto-open the share link after stopping. - Best for quick feedback, bug reports, and async updates. ### Studio Mode - Local, highest-quality recording saved as a `.cap` project for editing later. - Separate tracks: screen/display, optional camera, microphone, system audio, cursor data, and keypresses. - Default 60fps capture (selectable 30/60/120fps; capped to 30fps when the camera overlay is active, 24fps in Compatibility mode with camera). - Quality tiers: Compatibility (auto-selected on machines with <16GB RAM), Balanced (default), Ultra. - Crash-recovery recording via fragmented segments (on by default). - Best for polished demos, tutorials, and presentations. Free for personal use. ### Screenshot Mode - Captures a still of a display, window, or custom area. - Dedicated editor: backgrounds, padding, shadow, border, and annotations (arrows, circles, rectangles, text, blur/pixelate masks). - Windows builds include OCR text recognition. - Copy to clipboard, save, or share. ## Recording Capabilities - Capture targets: full display, specific window, custom area/region, or camera-only. - Audio: microphone (selectable device) and system audio. System-audio capture requires macOS 13.0+ (ScreenCaptureKit); Windows uses WASAPI loopback via the Direct3D pipeline. - Resolution: Studio captures at native resolution up to 4K (3840×2160), auto-downscaling anything beyond 4096px. Instant Mode output is plan-capped (720p free, up to 4K Pro). - Frame rate: capture at 30/60/120fps (default 60 Studio, 30 Instant). - Encoding: hardware-accelerated H.264 — VideoToolbox on macOS; NVENC / AMF / Quick Sync / Media Foundation on Windows (GPU-vendor aware) — with libx264 software fallback. - Capture APIs: ScreenCaptureKit (macOS), Direct3D/DXGI (Windows), X11 + Wayland portal/PipeWire (Linux). - Extras: pause/resume, countdown (0/3/5/10s), custom-cursor capture, keypress capture, automatic exclusion of Cap's own windows, and optional auto-zoom on clicks. ## Studio Editor - Aspect ratios: Wide, Vertical, Square, Classic, Tall. - Backgrounds: desktop snapshot, built-in wallpapers, custom image, solid color (with alpha), or gradient (angle, noise, animation) — plus padding, rounding, inset, crop, blur, shadow, and border. - Camera overlay: 9-point positioning, size, mirror, hide, shape (square/source), rounding, shadow, scale-during-zoom, and AI background blur (on-device segmentation). - Cursor: hide / hide-when-idle, size, type (Auto/Pointer/Circle), smoothing presets (Slow/Smooth/Mellow/Fast/Custom), motion blur, rotation, and click spring animation. - Motion: screen motion blur and screen-movement spring, independent of cursor settings. - Timeline tracks: - Clips — trim, split, reorder, speed (0.25x–3x), delete, multi-segment. - Zoom — manual or auto segments (auto-generated from clicks); amount, focus, glide, edge snap. - Scene — Default, Camera-only, Hide-camera, Split-screen (with split layout/position). - Mask — sensitive/highlight masks with keyframed position/size/intensity. - Text — multi-lane text overlays. - Captions — word-level segments, generated from audio. - Keyboard — keypress overlay segments (when captured). - Audio: mute, mic gain (dB), system-audio gain (dB), stereo/mono modes. - Captions: local transcription via Whisper and Parakeet models (Parakeet unavailable on Intel macOS); font/size/color/background/position/outline/word-highlight/animations/presets; export with subtitles or to SRT. - Presets: save/load reusable styling (background, camera, cursor). - Export destinations: file (save dialog), clipboard, or shareable cloud link. ## AI Features (Cap Pro, no usage limits) - Auto-generated titles, summaries, and clickable chapters for every recording. - Automatic transcriptions and a fully searchable transcript; editable captions with translation support. - Providers: AssemblyAI (cloud transcription), Groq with model `openai/gpt-oss-120b` and OpenAI fallback (titles/summaries/chapters), Whisper + Parakeet (on-device desktop captions). - Marketed as "coming soon": Auto-Edit, Noise Reduction, AI Video Search. ## Sharing & Collaboration - Instant shareable links and an embeddable iframe player (Notion, GitHub READMEs, etc.) with HLS playback. - Share page tabs: Activity, Transcript, Summary, Settings. - Threaded, timestamped comments and emoji reactions. - Viewer analytics and engagement (24h / 7d / 30d / lifetime). - Password-protected shares and custom domains (cap.yourdomain.com). - Organizations with member roles (Admin/Member), team workspaces, public/private spaces, and color-coded folders. - Built-in Loom video importer (single URL or CSV bulk import up to 500 videos). - Browser-based web recorder available in the dashboard; referral program at /dashboard/refer. ## Storage & Privacy - Storage targets: Cap Cloud, your own Google Drive (OAuth), any S3-compatible bucket, or fully local. - S3-compatible providers: AWS S3, Cloudflare R2, Supabase, MinIO, DigitalOcean Spaces, Backblaze B2, Wasabi, and more. - Security: end-to-end encryption for cloud storage; GDPR-friendly via bring-your-own storage in any region; HIPAA compliant with signed BAAs, plus self-hosting for full control. - Compliance: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and HIPAA compliant. Trust Portal: https://trust.cap.so. - Self-hosting documentation: https://cap.so/docs/self-hosting. ## Export - Formats: MP4, GIF, and transparent cursor-only MOV; captions export to SRT. - Resolutions: 720p, 1080p, 4K. Frame rates: 15/30/60 (MP4/MOV), 10–30 (GIF). - Compression presets: Maximum, Social, Web, Potato (optional custom bits-per-pixel; MP4 file-size optimization). No watermarks on any plan. - Rendering: GPU NV12 pipeline with CPU fallback (WGPU compositor). ## Desktop Automations - Triggers: screenshot taken, recording started, studio/instant recording finished, upload completed, video imported, recording deleted. - Actions: copy to clipboard, save to location, export (MP4/GIF with compression), upload, fire a webhook, send notifications, open in editor. ## Command Line (for AI agents) Cap ships a `cap` CLI designed to be driven by AI coding agents (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode) and scripts. Install: - `curl -fsSL https://cap.so/install-cli.sh | sh` (PowerShell: `irm https://cap.so/install-cli.ps1 | iex`) - or `cap desktop install-cli`, or via Cap Desktop → Settings → Command Line. Design for agents: - Add `--json` to any command for machine-readable stdout; stderr stays human-readable. - Failures exit non-zero and, in JSON mode, emit a final object with an `error` field. - Exit codes: 0 success, 1 runtime failure, 2 usage/parse error; `project validate` is non-zero when invalid. - `record` and `export` stream NDJSON progress events. - Discover the full contract with `cap guide --json` (capability + schema manifest, schema version 1). Global flags: - `--json` (force JSON; overrides per-command `--format`) - `--log-level ` (default `warn`, logs to stderr) Commands: - `record` — `start`, `stop`, `status`, `screens`, `windows`, `cameras`, `mics` - `targets` — `screens`, `windows`, `cameras`, `mics` - `export` — export a `.cap` project - `export-preview` — render a single preview frame - `screenshot` — capture a screen or window - `recordings list` - `project` — `inspect`, `validate`, `config get|set` - `upload` — upload a file or `.cap` - `auth status` - `automations list` - `doctor` — environment/readiness check - `desktop` — `status`, `install-cli`, `uninstall-cli` - `update`, `completions `, `guide`, `version` `record start` flags: `--screen ` | `--window ` (one required), `--mode ` (default studio), `--camera `, `--mic `, `--system-audio`, `--path `, `--fps <1-120>`, `--duration `, `--detach`, `--format `. `record stop` flags: `--id ` or `--path <.cap>`, `--timeout ` (default 30), `--format`. `export` flags: `--output/-o`, `--format `, `--fps`, `--resolution `, `--quality ` (mp4), `--optimize-filesize` (mp4), `--settings-json`, `--force-ffmpeg-decoder`, `--progress-json`, `--completion-json`. Environment variables: `CAP_API_KEY` (headless/CI upload auth), `CAP_SERVER_URL` (default `https://cap.so`), `CAP_NO_MODIFY_PATH`, `CAP_DESKTOP_FORCE_INSTALL`. Canonical workflow: `cap doctor --json` → `cap targets --json` → `cap record start --screen --json` (or `--detach`) → `cap record stop --id --json` → `cap project validate --json` → `cap export --json` → `cap upload --json`. A REST API and webhooks are also available — see https://cap.so/docs/api/rest-api and https://cap.so/docs/api/webhooks. Usage-based developer API credits are billed at ~$0.05/min recording and ~$0.001/min/month storage, with auto top-up. ## Platforms - macOS: Apple Silicon & Intel; recommended 13.1+ (system audio requires 13.0+). - Windows: Windows 10 (build 18362 / 1903+) and Windows 11. - Linux: x86_64 .deb for Debian/Ubuntu (X11/Wayland capture). - Web: shareable links and embeds play in any modern browser; no install for viewers. Current desktop app version: 0.5.3. ## Pricing - **Free** — Personal use. Studio Mode with the full local editor, 4K/60fps export, export to any format, team workspaces, community support. Free recordings are limited to 5 minutes; a paid plan is required for commercial use. - **Desktop License** — Commercial license for the desktop app: $29/license billed yearly, or $58/license one-time (lifetime). Unlimited local recording & editing, Studio Mode, 20 cloud shareable links/month (up to 5 min each), export to any format, community support. - **Cap Pro** — $12/user/month, or $8.16/user/month billed annually (save 32%). Everything in Desktop License plus: unlimited cloud storage & bandwidth; auto-generated titles, summaries, clickable chapters, and transcriptions; custom domain; password-protected shares; viewer analytics & engagement; team workspaces; Loom video importer; custom S3 bucket & Google Drive support; priority support & early features. - **Enterprise** — Custom. SLAs & priority support, SAML SSO & SCIM provisioning, managed self-hosting, volume discounts, advanced security controls, dedicated onboarding. - **Discounts** — STUDENT50 (30% off, students), MIGRATE20 (20% off first year, Loom switchers); volume discounts for teams over 10 users. Early-adopter pricing is locked in for the lifetime of the subscription. Trusted by 50,000+ users, teams, and creators. ## How Cap Compares - **vs Loom** — Open source and self-hostable; from $8.16/user/month vs Loom's $18/user/month; 4K on free & paid plans (Loom paid-only); custom domains on Pro (Loom enterprise-only); connect your own S3 or Google Drive (Loom: not available); built-in Loom importer; desktop app works offline. - **vs OBS Studio** — Simpler, no complex scene setup; instant cloud sharing and AI built in; native lightweight app. - **vs Camtasia / ScreenFlow** — Free and open source, cross-platform, cloud sharing built in, lighter weight. - **vs Vidyard / Panopto** — Open source, bring-your-own storage, transparent pricing, self-hosting option. - **vs Zoom recordings** — Purpose-built async video with editing, analytics, and HIPAA compliance with signed BAAs. - **vs Scribe** — Real screen video with narration and chapters vs static step screenshots. ## Use Cases & Solution Pages - Async team communication — replace status meetings; comments and reactions keep threads moving. - Bug reports & QA — capture reproductions with narration; share an instant link. - Product demos & sales — personalized walkthroughs without render/upload delays. - Engineering — async code reviews (https://cap.so/async-video-code-reviews) and developer documentation videos (https://cap.so/developer-documentation-videos); paste links into GitHub, GitLab, Linear, or Jira. - Education & training — lectures, courses, online classroom tools, employee onboarding. - Customer support — visual answers and help videos. - Dedicated solution pages: - Remote team collaboration: https://cap.so/solutions/remote-team-collaboration - Agencies: https://cap.so/solutions/agencies - Daily standup software: https://cap.so/solutions/daily-standup-software - Employee onboarding: https://cap.so/solutions/employee-onboarding-platform - Online classroom tools: https://cap.so/solutions/online-classroom-tools ## Technology Stack - Desktop: Tauri 2.5 (Rust) + SolidJS / SolidStart; WGPU rendering; FFmpeg; ScreenCaptureKit (macOS) and Direct3D / Media Foundation (Windows); whisper-rs and Parakeet for local captions; `@ts-rest/core` API client; Effect. - Web: Next.js 16, React 19, TypeScript; Effect (`@effect/platform` HttpApi) and `@ts-rest/core` (no tRPC); Drizzle ORM on MySQL (PlanetScale); NextAuth + WorkOS auth; TanStack Query. - Media: native hardware encoders, FFmpeg, WGPU compositor, WebCodecs; HLS playback via Mux. - Infrastructure: AWS S3 + CloudFront + MediaConvert, Mux, PlanetScale, Vercel, Stripe, OpenPanel (self-hosted), Resend; AssemblyAI + Groq/OpenAI for AI. - Runtime: Node 20, pnpm 10.5.2, Rust 1.88+, Turborepo monorepo. ## Free Web Tools Cap offers free browser tools at https://cap.so/tools: WebM→MP4, MOV→MP4, AVI→MP4, MP4→GIF, MP4→MP3, MP4→WebM converters, a Video Speed Controller, Trim Video, and a Loom Video Downloader. ## Installation - Desktop: https://cap.so/download (macOS Apple Silicon/Intel, Windows, Linux .deb). - CLI: `curl -fsSL https://cap.so/install-cli.sh | sh` or `cap desktop install-cli`. - Self-host: https://cap.so/docs/self-hosting. - Viewers: open any Cap share link in a browser — no install required. ## Open Source - Source code: https://github.com/CapSoftware/Cap - License: AGPLv3 (the `cap-camera*` and `scap-*` crates are MIT). - Community: https://discord.gg/y8gdQ3WRN3 - Contributions and self-hosting are welcome. ## Key Links - Home: https://cap.so - Pricing: https://cap.so/pricing - Features: https://cap.so/features - Download: https://cap.so/download - Docs: https://cap.so/docs - Quickstart: https://cap.so/docs/quickstart - Installation: https://cap.so/docs/installation - Instant Mode: https://cap.so/docs/recording/instant-mode - Studio Mode: https://cap.so/docs/recording/studio-mode - Camera & mic: https://cap.so/docs/recording/camera-and-mic - Keyboard shortcuts: https://cap.so/docs/recording/keyboard-shortcuts - Share a Cap: https://cap.so/docs/sharing/share-a-cap - Analytics: https://cap.so/docs/sharing/analytics - Comments: https://cap.so/docs/sharing/comments - Embeds: https://cap.so/docs/sharing/embeds - REST API: https://cap.so/docs/api/rest-api - Webhooks: https://cap.so/docs/api/webhooks - S3 config (AWS): https://cap.so/docs/s3-config/aws-s3 - S3 config (Cloudflare R2): https://cap.so/docs/s3-config/cloudflare-r2 - Commercial license: https://cap.so/docs/commercial-license - Self-hosting: https://cap.so/self-hosting - Loom alternative: https://cap.so/loom-alternative - Migrate from Loom: https://cap.so/migrate-from-loom - OBS alternative: https://cap.so/obs-alternative - Open-source screen recorder: https://cap.so/open-source-screen-recorder - Screen recorder for Mac: https://cap.so/screen-recorder-mac - Screen recorder for Windows: https://cap.so/screen-recorder-windows - HIPAA-compliant recording: https://cap.so/hipaa-compliant-screen-recording - Self-hosted screen recording: https://cap.so/self-hosted-screen-recording - Google Drive screen recorder: https://cap.so/google-drive-screen-recorder - Student discount: https://cap.so/student-discount - Tools: https://cap.so/tools - Blog: https://cap.so/blog - About: https://cap.so/about - Trust Portal: https://trust.cap.so - System status: https://cap.openstatus.dev ## Common Questions - **Is Cap free?** Yes — 100% free for personal use with Studio Mode and the local editor. Paid plans add commercial rights and cloud features. - **Is Cap a good Loom alternative?** Yes — it's the leading open-source Loom alternative, with instant sharing, AI summaries, custom storage, and a built-in Loom importer at a lower price ($8.16 vs $18/user/month). - **Can I self-host Cap?** Yes — Cap is open source (AGPLv3) and fully self-hostable. - **Does Cap work on Mac and Windows?** Yes — native apps for macOS (Apple Silicon & Intel) and Windows, plus a Linux .deb package and a browser viewer. - **Can I use my own storage?** Yes — connect your own Google Drive or any S3-compatible bucket, use Cap Cloud, or keep recordings entirely local. - **Does Cap record system audio and 4K?** Yes — system audio plus screen, camera, and mic, up to 4K at 60fps. - **Is there an API/CLI?** Yes — a `cap` CLI built for AI agents (`--json`, `cap guide --json`), a REST API, and webhooks.