# Cap — Open-Source Screen Recorder & Loom Alternative

> 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.

Made by Cap Software, Inc. Website: https://cap.so · Source (AGPLv3): https://github.com/CapSoftware/Cap

For the full, detailed reference, see https://cap.so/llms-full.txt.

## Three Modes, One App

- **Instant Mode** — record and upload at once; a shareable link is live the moment you stop, with an auto-generated title, summary, chapters, and transcript.
- **Studio Mode** — local, highest-quality recording with a full editor (backgrounds, camera overlay, auto-zoom, captions); free for personal use.
- **Screenshot Mode** — capture a still, annotate it, and copy or share (Windows includes OCR).

## Key Features

- Record full screen, a window, a custom area, or camera-only, with microphone and system audio, up to 4K at 60fps with hardware-accelerated encoding.
- Studio editor: backgrounds/wallpapers, camera positioning + blur, smart auto-zoom, cursor smoothing, captions, trim/split, speed 0.25x–3x, and styling presets.
- Cap AI (Pro): auto titles, summaries, clickable chapters, and searchable transcripts.
- Sharing & collaboration: instant links, embeds, threaded timestamped comments, emoji reactions, viewer analytics, password protection, custom domains, organizations, team workspaces, spaces, and folders.
- Bring your own storage: Cap Cloud, Google Drive, any S3-compatible bucket (AWS S3, Cloudflare R2, MinIO, Backblaze B2, Wasabi, etc.), or fully local.
- Export to MP4, GIF, or transparent MOV (captions to SRT); no watermarks on any plan.
- Built-in Loom video importer; desktop automations with webhooks; REST API and webhooks.
- `cap` CLI built for AI agents: `--json` on any command, `cap guide --json`, plus `record`, `export`, `upload`, `targets`, `doctor`, and more.

## Platforms

- macOS (Apple Silicon & Intel, recommended 13.1+), Windows 10/11, Linux x86_64 (.deb for Debian/Ubuntu), and a browser viewer.

## Pricing

- **Free** — personal use; Studio Mode + full local editor; 4K/60fps export; recordings limited to 5 minutes.
- **Desktop License** — commercial use: $29/license/year or $58 one-time; unlimited local recording/editing; 20 cloud links/month.
- **Cap Pro** — $12/user/month, or $8.16/user/month billed annually (save 32%): everything in Desktop plus unlimited cloud storage, all AI features, custom domain, password protection, viewer analytics, team workspaces, Loom importer, custom S3 & Google Drive, priority support.
- **Enterprise** — custom: SLAs, SAML SSO & SCIM, managed self-hosting, volume discounts.
- Discounts: STUDENT50 (30% off), MIGRATE20 (20% off first year for Loom switchers); volume discounts for teams 10+.

## How Cap Compares

- **vs Loom** — open source and self-hostable; from $8.16 vs $18/user/month; 4K on free & paid plans; custom domains on Pro; bring your own S3/Google Drive; built-in Loom importer; works offline.
- **vs OBS Studio** — simpler, with instant cloud sharing and AI built in.
- **vs Camtasia / ScreenFlow / Vidyard / Panopto** — free, open source, cross-platform, bring-your-own storage, self-hostable.

## Use Cases

Async team updates, bug reports & QA, product demos & sales, async code reviews, developer documentation, education & onboarding, and customer support.

## Key Links

- Full reference: https://cap.so/llms-full.txt
- Home: https://cap.so
- Pricing: https://cap.so/pricing
- Features: https://cap.so/features
- Download: https://cap.so/download
- Docs: https://cap.so/docs
- Loom alternative: https://cap.so/loom-alternative
- Open-source screen recorder: https://cap.so/open-source-screen-recorder
- Self-hosting: https://cap.so/self-hosting
- REST API: https://cap.so/docs/api/rest-api
- Source code: https://github.com/CapSoftware/Cap
- Community (Discord): https://discord.gg/y8gdQ3WRN3

## 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 — the leading open-source Loom alternative, with instant sharing, AI summaries, custom storage, and a built-in importer at a lower price.
- **Can I self-host Cap?** Yes — open source (AGPLv3) and fully self-hostable.
- **Can I use my own storage?** Yes — Google Drive, any S3-compatible bucket, Cap Cloud, or fully local.
- **Does Cap record system audio and 4K?** Yes — screen, camera, mic, and system audio up to 4K at 60fps.