Why we started Cap

Screen recording should be one of the simplest things you do on a computer. Hit record, capture your screen, share it. That's the whole workflow.

But the tools most people use are closed-source, loaded with tracking, and designed to lock your content into proprietary systems. Your recordings live on someone else's servers, under someone else's terms. You can't self-host, you can't inspect the code, and you can't export your data without jumping through hoops.

Most recording tools are built by large companies optimizing for revenue, not for users. They're slow to improve, ignore community feedback, and add complexity where there should be clarity. The result is software that feels heavy, invasive, and out of your control.

We didn't set out to build another screen recorder. We wanted to build the one that should have always existed. One that respects your privacy, works beautifully, and gives you full ownership of everything you create.

Cap is built around a simple principle: your recordings are yours. You should be able to record, edit, and share without sacrificing privacy or flexibility. Whether you're explaining a bug, walking through a design, or recording a demo, the tool should get out of your way.

We built Cap as a native desktop app with a powerful web companion. Record in Instant Mode for quick shares, or use Studio Mode for high-fidelity captures with separate screen and camera tracks. Add automatic captions, smooth zoom effects, and custom backgrounds, then share with a single link or export however you want.

Cap is fully open source under the AGPL license. Every line of code, from the Rust-powered recording engine to the web sharing platform, is public and auditable. This isn't a marketing decision. It's a core belief about how software should be built.

Open source means you can verify exactly what Cap does with your data. The community can contribute improvements, report issues, and shape the product's direction. And Cap will never disappear behind a paywall or pivot away from what makes it useful.

We've seen what happens when closed-source tools change their pricing, shut down, or get acquired. Workflows break. Data gets trapped. With Cap, that won't happen. You can self-host the entire platform, fork the code, or simply trust that thousands of developers are watching the codebase.

Privacy isn't a checkbox on our features page. It's the foundation of everything we build. Cap doesn't track you, doesn't sell your data, and doesn't require you to use our servers.

You can connect your own S3-compatible storage and keep every recording on infrastructure you control. No vendor lock-in, no data hostage situations, no surprises. Your recordings stay yours, stored where you decide, accessible on your terms.

We're building Cap because we think the tools people use every day should be open, honest, and designed to last. Not built to extract value, but to create it.

If that resonates with you, we'd love for you to try Cap, contribute to the project, or follow along as we build in public.