Web Platform Setup Cap’s web platform lets you access, manage, and share your recordings from any browser. You can use the hosted version at cap.so or deploy your own self-hosted instance.
Using Cap Web (Hosted) Creating an Account
Visit Cap.so
Go to cap.so in your web browser.
Sign Up
Click Sign Up and create an account:
Email and password
Or sign in with OAuth providers (if configured)
Verify Email
Check your email for a verification link and click it to activate your account. Email verification is required before you can upload recordings.
Complete Profile
Set up your profile:
Username
Display name
Profile picture (optional)
Custom branding (Pro feature)
Connecting Desktop App To upload recordings from the desktop app:
Open Desktop App Settings
Launch Cap desktop and click the settings icon.
Sign In
Click Sign In and enter your Cap.so credentials.
Verify Connection
Once signed in, your desktop app is connected to your Cap.so account. Recordings can now be uploaded directly from the desktop app.
Self-Hosting Cap Deploy Cap on your own infrastructure for complete control over your data.
Quick Start (Docker Compose) Get Cap running in one command:
git clone https://github.com/CapSoftware/Cap.git && cd Cap && docker compose up -d
Cap will be running at http://localhost:3000. That’s it!
Since email isn’t configured by default, login links will appear in the logs. View them with: docker compose logs cap-web
What’s Included The Docker Compose setup includes:
cap-web : Next.js web application (port 3000)media-server : Video processing service (port 3456)mysql : MySQL 8.0 databaseminio : S3-compatible object storage (ports 9000, 9001)minio-setup : Automatic bucket configuration
Deployment Options
Docker Compose Best for : VPS, home servers, any Docker hostFull control over deployment
Railway Best for : One-click managed hostingDeploy in minutes
Coolify Best for : Self-hosted PaaSUse docker-compose.coolify.yml
Production Configuration
Clone the Repository
git clone https://github.com/CapSoftware/Cap.git cd Cap
Create Environment File
Create a .env file with your production configuration: # App URLs CAP_URL = https://cap.yourdomain.com S3_PUBLIC_URL = https://s3.yourdomain.com # Database DATABASE_URL = mysql://cap:YOUR_DB_PASSWORD@mysql:3306/cap MYSQL_PASSWORD = YOUR_DB_PASSWORD MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD = YOUR_ROOT_PASSWORD # Security Keys (generate secure random strings) DATABASE_ENCRYPTION_KEY = your_64_character_hex_string_here NEXTAUTH_SECRET = your_32_character_secret_here MEDIA_SERVER_WEBHOOK_SECRET = your_64_character_secret_here # S3 Storage (MinIO) MINIO_ROOT_USER = cap-admin MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD = YOUR_MINIO_PASSWORD CAP_AWS_ACCESS_KEY = cap-admin CAP_AWS_SECRET_KEY = YOUR_MINIO_PASSWORD CAP_AWS_BUCKET = cap CAP_AWS_REGION = us-east-1 # Email (optional but recommended) RESEND_API_KEY = your_resend_api_key RESEND_FROM_DOMAIN = [email protected] # Ports CAP_PORT = 3000 MINIO_PORT = 9000 MINIO_CONSOLE_PORT = 9001
Generate secure random values for all secrets and passwords. Never use the example values in production.Generate secure keys: # For 64-character hex string openssl rand -hex 32 # For 32-character secret openssl rand -hex 16
Verify Installation
Check that all services are running: You should see:
cap-web (healthy)
cap-media-server (healthy)
cap-mysql (healthy)
cap-minio (healthy)
cap-minio-setup (exited 0)
Service Configuration Email Setup (Resend) For production, configure email to enable:
User registration and login
Password resets
Share notifications
Get Resend API Key
Sign up at resend.com
Verify your domain
Generate an API key
Restart Services
docker compose restart cap-web
AI Features (Optional) Enable AI-powered transcription and summaries:
# Deepgram for transcription DEEPGRAM_API_KEY = your_deepgram_api_key # Groq for AI summaries GROQ_API_KEY = your_groq_api_key
AI features are optional. Cap works perfectly without them, but they enhance the user experience with automatic transcriptions and summaries.
Analytics (Tinybird) For viewer analytics and insights:
TINYBIRD_ADMIN_TOKEN = your_tinybird_token TINYBIRD_HOST = https://api.tinybird.co
Set up analytics:
The analytics:setup command is destructive and will synchronize your Tinybird workspace to match Cap’s schema. Run pnpm analytics:check first to verify.
External S3 Storage Instead of MinIO, use AWS S3 or compatible services:
# AWS S3 CAP_AWS_ACCESS_KEY = your_aws_access_key CAP_AWS_SECRET_KEY = your_aws_secret_key CAP_AWS_BUCKET = your-cap-bucket CAP_AWS_REGION = us-east-1 S3_PUBLIC_ENDPOINT = https://s3.amazonaws.com S3_INTERNAL_ENDPOINT = https://s3.amazonaws.com S3_PATH_STYLE = false # Or use Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, etc.
SSL/HTTPS Setup For production, use a reverse proxy like Nginx or Caddy:
server { listen 443 ssl http2; server_name cap.yourdomain.com; ssl_certificate /path/to/cert.pem; ssl_certificate_key /path/to/key.pem; location / { proxy_pass http://localhost:3000; proxy_http_version 1.1 ; proxy_set_header Upgrade $ http_upgrade ; proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade' ; proxy_set_header Host $ host ; proxy_cache_bypass $ http_upgrade ; proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $ remote_addr ; proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $ proxy_add_x_forwarded_for ; proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $ scheme ; } } server { listen 443 ssl http2; server_name s3.yourdomain.com; ssl_certificate /path/to/cert.pem; ssl_certificate_key /path/to/key.pem; location / { proxy_pass http://localhost:9000; proxy_set_header Host $ host ; proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $ remote_addr ; proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $ proxy_add_x_forwarded_for ; proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $ scheme ; # Allow large uploads client_max_body_size 5G ; } }
Connecting Desktop App to Self-Hosted Instance To use your self-hosted Cap with the desktop app:
Open Desktop Settings
Launch Cap desktop app and open Settings.
Enter Server URL
In Cap Server URL , enter: https://cap.yourdomain.com
Sign In
Sign in with your self-hosted account credentials.
Verify Connection
Upload a test recording to verify the connection works.
Maintenance Viewing Logs # All services docker compose logs -f # Specific service docker compose logs -f cap-web docker compose logs -f mysql docker compose logs -f minio
Backing Up Data
Database Backup
docker exec cap-mysql mysqldump -u cap -p cap > backup.sql
Storage Backup
# Backup MinIO data docker run --rm \ -v cap_cap-minio-data:/data \ -v $( pwd ) :/backup \ alpine tar czf /backup/minio-backup.tar.gz /data
Store Backups Safely
Copy backups to remote storage
Test restore procedures regularly
Automate backups with cron
Updating Cap
Pull Latest Changes
cd Cap git pull origin main
Rebuild Images
docker compose build --no-cache
Restart Services
docker compose down docker compose up -d
Verify Update
docker compose ps docker compose logs -f cap-web
Troubleshooting
Check Docker resources: docker system df docker system prune
Verify ports aren’t in use: # Linux/macOS lsof -i :3000 lsof -i :9000 # Windows netstat -ano | findstr :3000
Database connection errors
Check MySQL is healthy: docker compose ps
Verify DATABASE_URL in .env is correct
Check MySQL logs: docker compose logs mysql
Try restarting MySQL: docker compose restart mysql
Check MinIO is running: docker compose ps minio
Verify bucket exists: Access MinIO console at http://localhost:9001
Check S3 credentials in .env match MinIO settings
Look for errors in cap-web logs
Can't access MinIO console
Default credentials:
Username: Value of MINIO_ROOT_USER in .env
Password: Value of MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD in .env
Access at: http://localhost:9001
Check Docker volumes: Clean up: # Remove unused images docker image prune -a # Remove unused volumes (WARNING: data loss) docker volume prune
System Requirements Minimum Requirements
CPU : 2 coresRAM : 4GBStorage : 20GB + space for recordingsOS : Linux, macOS, or Windows with Docker
Recommended for Production
CPU : 4+ coresRAM : 8GB+Storage : 100GB+ SSDNetwork : 100 Mbps+ bandwidth
Storage needs grow with usage. Plan for ~100MB per minute of recording, plus database overhead.
Getting Help
Self-Hosting Docs Full self-hosting documentation
Discord Community Get help from the community
GitHub Issues Report bugs or request features
Contributing Contribute to Cap development
