---
name: Pull Request
about: Submit changes to the project for review and inclusion
---
## Description
<!--- Describe the changes introduced by this pull request. -->
<!--- Explain what problem it solves or what feature/fix it adds. -->
## Related Issue
<!--- If this pull request is related to a specific issue, reference it
here using #issue_number. -->
<!--- For example, "Fixes #123" or "Addresses #456". -->
## Changes Made
<!--- Provide a summary of the changes made in this pull request. -->
<!--- Include any relevant technical details or architecture changes.
-->
- Change 1
- Change 2
- ...
## Testing Performed
<!--- Describe the testing that you have performed to validate these
changes. -->
<!--- Include information about test cases, testing environments, and
results. -->
- Tested feature X in scenario Y.
- Ran unit tests for component Z.
- Tested on browsers A, B, and C.
- ...
## Checklist
<!--- Please check the boxes that apply to this pull request. -->
<!--- You can add or remove items as needed. -->
- [ ] I have tested these changes locally and they work as expected.
- [ ] I have added/updated tests that prove the effectiveness of these
changes.
- [ ] I have updated the documentation to reflect these changes, if
applicable.
- [ ] I have followed the project's coding style guidelines.
- [ ] I have addressed the code review feedback from the previous
submission, if applicable.
## Additional Notes
<!--- Provide any additional context or notes for the reviewers. -->
<!--- This might include details about design decisions, potential
concerns, or anything else relevant. -->
This PR adds the public-facing API.

The public API will allow users to interact with Documenso
programmatically. At the moment, there are 5 available endpoints:
1. `GET /documents`
- get all documents of the user making the API call
- it accepts 2 URL query parameters - `page` and `perPage`, but they are
not mandatory
2. `GET /documents/:id`
- get a specific document of the user making the API call
- it requires 1 URL parameter, which represents the ID of the document
that needs to be retrieved
3. `DELETE /documents/:id`
- delete a specific document of the user making the API call
- it requires 1 URL parameter, which represents the ID of the document
that needs to be deleted
4. `POST /documents`
- making a POST request to this endpoint will return an S3 pre-signed
URL where you can upload the document
- it requires you to pass the file name and the file content type
5. `PATCH /documents/:id/send-for-signing`
- send a document for signing
- it allows you to pass the following:
- signer email *(required)*
- signer name *(optional)*
- field type (signature, email, name, etc.) *(required)*
- page number where to insert the field *(required)*
- page X *(required)*
- page Y *(required)*
- page width *(required)*
- page height *(required)*
- email subject *(optional)*
- email body *(optional)*
The users are authenticated through API tokens. The users can create one
or more tokens in their account settings, and each token will be
available for 1 year _(duration open to suggestions/changes)_.
Each time the user makes a request, the app checks if the token exists
and if it's valid. The app will return `401` *(unauthorized)* and the
appropriate error message if either is false. If both are true AND the
user uses the correct HTTP verb and passes the required URL parameters
and body, the API call will be successful.
Code overview:
- `@documenso/packages/lib/trpc/api-contract` - this folder contains the
`contract` and `schema` files. The `contract.ts` file describes the
structure of the API, the format of the requests and responses, and how
to authenticate your API calls, among others. The `schema.ts` file
contains the Zod schemas used in the API contract.
- `@documenso/packages/trpc/server/api-token-router` - this folder
contains the `router.rs` and `schema.ts` files. Here are the tRPC
procedures used on the frontend. That is, the user's settings page,
where the user can list/create/delete API tokens.
- `@documenso/packages/trpc/tsconfig.json` - I added `"strict": true`
because that's what's suggested in the `ts-rest` documentation.
*([source](https://ts-rest.com/docs/quickstart#create-a-contract))*
- `[...ts-rest].tsx` - This file contains the implementation of the API.
You can see the logic behind each route.
- the rest of the code represents the code for the API tokens page in
the user's settings.
<!-- This is an auto-generated comment: release notes by coderabbit.ai
-->
## Summary by CodeRabbit
- **New Features**
- Added two-factor authentication form handling in profile settings.
- Introduced account deletion functionality, including Stripe customer
data removal.
- Updated UI components and styles for improved user interaction, such
as enhanced visual feedback for destructive actions.
- **Refactor**
- Improved code quality by updating import statements for type-only
imports.
- **Chores**
- Restructured the `forwardPorts` array in dev container configuration
for clarity.
- Removed a trailing comma in the `vscode` extensions list to adhere to
JSON format rules.
- **Documentation**
- Added comments to clarify the handling of undefined values in
two-factor authentication verification.
- **Database**
- Implemented a SQL migration script for creating a default deleted user
in the system.
<!-- end of auto-generated comment: release notes by coderabbit.ai -->
## Description
This feature allows us to have a dedicated page to view details for a
document.
The current `/documents/[id]` page has been moved to
`/documents/[id]/edit`.
The new `/documents/[id]` page will now display general information on
the document itself.
This will allow us to provide more details relating to a document in the
future, such as version history.
## Examples
These may be outdated as deployment failed
Login via example@documenso.com
Draft document no recipients:
https://stg-7hpkvyc5i-documenso.vercel.app/documents/446
Draft document with recipients:
https://stg-7hpkvyc5i-documenso.vercel.app/documents/440
Pending document:
https://stg-7hpkvyc5i-documenso.vercel.app/documents/447
Completed document:
https://stg-7hpkvyc5i-documenso.vercel.app/documents/448
Pending teams document:
https://stg-7hpkvyc5i-documenso.vercel.app/t/hello/documents/449/
## Checklist
<!--- Please check the boxes that apply to this pull request. -->
<!--- You can add or remove items as needed. -->
- [ ] I have tested these changes locally and they work as expected.
- [ ] I have added/updated tests that prove the effectiveness of these
changes.
- [X] I have followed the project's coding style guidelines.
## Additional Notes
When a user "sends" a document (DRAFT -> PENDING), should we redirect
them to the document/id page, or keep it how it currently is and have it
redirect to `/documents` page?
Disables the generation of the blog and content pages using
generateStaticPaths to deal with a regression with routing
introduced with next-runtime-env.
## Description
Add support for enterprise billing plans.
Enterprise billing plans by default get access to everything early
adopters do:
- Unlimited teams
- Unlimited documents
They will also get additional features in the future.
## Notes
Pending webhook updates to support enterprise onboarding.
Rolled back env changes `NEXT_PUBLIC_PROJECT` since it doesn't seem to
work.
improved document-dropzone ui for small vertical screens (screens less
than 800px vertically)
Although it can still become congested on really small vertical screens,
but possibility is really low.
fixes: #840
Adding a security.txt file enables security researchers to quickly and
easily see where they can submit security issues and know that they are
being taken serious. From the proposal website:
> "When security risks in web services are discovered by independent
security researchers who understand the severity of the risk, they often
lack the channels to disclose them properly. As a result, security
issues may be left unreported. security.txt defines a standard to help
organizations define the process for security researchers to disclose
security vulnerabilities securely.”
See also https://securitytxt.org
## Description
Currently we're not restricting team transfer and email verification
tokens from flowing into the frontend.
This changes restricts it to only return the required information
instead of the whole data object.
## Description
Currently the document redirect URL feature is preventing documents from
being created unless a redirect URL is provided.
During the document edit flow, the redirect URL is hidden in an advanced
tab with the value of an empty string, which will always fail the
current Zod validation since `optional` requires undefined to pass.
There are multiple ways to fix this, but I think this is the easiest
method where we can assume an empty string is valid.
## Description
Fixed issue where setting a recipient role as CC will prevent any
further changes as it is considered as "sent" and "signed".
## Other changes
- Prevent editing document after completed
- Removed CC and Viewers from the field recipient list since they will
never be filled
- Minor UI issues
## Checklist
- [X] I have tested these changes locally and they work as expected.
- [X] I have added/updated tests that prove the effectiveness of these
changes.
- [X] I have followed the project's coding style guidelines.
## Description
Add the ability to feature flag the teams feature via UI.
Also added minor UI changes
## Checklist
- [X] I have tested these changes locally and they work as expected.
- [X] I have added/updated tests that prove the effectiveness of these
changes.
- [X] I have followed the project's coding style guidelines.
## Description
Fixed issue where you are prevented from removing fields for a recipient
that has multiple fields.
Example:
Recipient has 3 fields, you remove 1 and proceed to next step. In the
next step the field reappears as it was not deleted.
## Checklist
- [X] I have tested these changes locally and they work as expected.
- [X] I have added/updated tests that prove the effectiveness of these
changes.
- [X] I have followed the project's coding style guidelines.
## Description
Add support for teams which will allow users to collaborate on
documents.
Teams features allows users to:
- Create, manage and transfer teams
- Manage team members
- Manage team emails
- Manage a shared team inbox and documents
These changes do NOT include the following, which are planned for a
future release:
- Team templates
- Team API
- Search menu integration
## Testing Performed
- Added E2E tests for general team management
- Added E2E tests to validate document counts
## Checklist
- [X] I have tested these changes locally and they work as expected.
- [X] I have added/updated tests that prove the effectiveness of these
changes.
- [ ] I have updated the documentation to reflect these changes, if
applicable.
- [X] I have followed the project's coding style guidelines.
## Description
**Fixed document limitation bypassing issues through templates.**
Previously, users could bypass document restrictions by utilizing
templates even after reaching their limitations. This fix ensures that
templates will no longer function as a workaround when users reach their
document limits.
## Changes
1. imported `useLimits` hook on `data-table-templates.tsx`
2. Disabled the 'Use Template' button when the user reaches their limit.
3. Added an Alert Component on top of the templates page to notify users
that they can't use templates anymore because they have reached their
limit.
4. Used `getServerLimits` hook on `template-router` to a condition on
the server.
## Example

## Issue
Closes#883
## Description
Adds the ability to see the events relating to the account.
Event data includes:
- Device
- IP Address
- Time
- Action
Actions are:
- Profile update
- Account linked to SSO (Example user signs in with Google after
creating a email/password account)
- Enable 2FA
- Disable 2FA
- Reset password
- Update password
- Sign out
- Sign in
- Sign in fail
- Sign in 2FA fail
## Changes
- Added audit logs
- Updated 2FA dialogs to have consistent footers
- Update `/settings/security/page` layout
## Testing Performed
Tested events:

More tested events:

## Checklist
- [X] I have tested these changes locally and they work as expected.
- [X] I have followed the project's coding style guidelines.
## Additional Notes
- Not sure if we really want to record the sign out event or not
- Might want to design breadcrumbs for nested setting pages
## Description
Currently the count for the documents table tabs do not display the
correct values when the period filter is applied.
## Changes Made
- Updated `getStats` to support filtering on period
## Testing Performed
- Tested to see if the documents tab count were being filtered based on
the period
## Checklist
- [X] I have tested these changes locally and they work as expected.
- [X] I have followed the project's coding style guidelines.
## Description
This pull request solves the problem where the avatar component within
the document list has the same z-index value as the header component,
causing the avatar to be above the header. When two elements have the
same z-index value, the last one takes priority!
## Related Issue
Fixes#870
## Changes Made
1. Increases the value of the header's `z-index` by `10` (the current
value is `50`
## Description
Currently we are required to ensure PII data is not passed around in
search parameters and in the open for GDPR reasons.
Allowing us to encrypt and decrypt values with expiry dates will allow
us to ensure this doesn't happen.
## Changes Made
- Added TPRC router for encryption method
## Testing Performed
- Tested encrypting and decrypting data with and without `expiredAt`
- Tested via directly accessing API and also via trpc in react
components
- Tested parsing en email search param in a page and decrypting it
successfully
## Checklist
- [X] I have tested these changes locally and they work as expected.
- [X] I have followed the project's coding style guidelines.
When you're in the `/documents` page in the dashboard, if you hover over
a draft and a completed document, you'll see different URLs.
At the moment, the shortcut tries to go to the following URL for a
completed document `/documents/{doc-id}`.
However, that's the wrong URL, since the URL for a completed doc is
`/sign/{token}` when the user is the recipient, not the one that sent
the document for signing.
If it's the document owner & the document is completed, the URL is fine
as `/documents/{doc-id}`.
---------
Co-authored-by: Lucas Smith <me@lucasjamessmith.me>
Fixed the deleting signature block issue on touchscreens, for some
reason the `onClick` event isn't working on the touchscreens that's why
I've added `onTouchEnd` event to delete the signature block when the
user clicks on it.
Extracts the API implementation to a package so we can
potentially reuse it across different applications in the
event that we move off using a Next.js API route.
Additionally tidies up the tokens page and form to be more simplified.
## Description
Currently there are various z-index values that are causing:
- Toasts to be placed behind dialog blur background
- Menu being cropped off by header
## Changes Made
- Revert `z-[1000]` back to `z-50` for the header (not exactly sure why
it was bumped)
- Refactor z-indexes over 9000 to start from 1000
- Ensure z-index of toast is higher than dialog
This PR makes a small but useful tweak to the `DeleteDocumentDialog`.
Now, the input field gets cleared whenever the dialog is opened. Here’s
what’s changed:
1. **Clear Field After Deleting**: After you delete something and open
the dialog again, it won’t show the old, deleted text anymore. It’s
clean and ready for the next delete.
2. **Type Again to Confirm**: If you type something but close the dialog
without deleting, you’ll have to type it again next time. This way, it
makes sure the user really mean to delete something and didn't do it by
mistake.
Demo Link:
See the old vs. new in action here:
https://www.loom.com/share/80eca0d3b1994f7cbcab6f222db2dbfe?sid=ebc6135c-345e-4640-b395-daff190a96e7
It’s a small change, but it makes the delete process safer and smoother.
## Description
Previously we assumed that there can only be 1 subscription per user.
However, that will soon no longer the case with the introduction of the
Teams subscription.
This PR will apply the required migrations to support multiple
subscriptions.
## Changes Made
- Updated the Prisma schema to allow for multiple `Subscriptions` per
`User`
- Added a Stripe `customerId` field to the `User` model
- Updated relevant billing sections to support multiple subscriptions
## Testing Performed
- Tested running the Prisma migration on a demo database created on the
main branch
Will require a lot of additional testing.
## Checklist
- [ ] I have tested these changes locally and they work as expected.
- [ ] I have added/updated tests that prove the effectiveness of these
changes.
- [X] I have followed the project's coding style guidelines.
## Additional Notes
Added the following custom SQL statement to the migration:
> DELETE FROM "Subscription" WHERE "planId" IS NULL OR "priceId" IS
NULL;
Prior to deployment this will require changes to Stripe products:
- Adding `type` meta attribute
---------
Co-authored-by: Lucas Smith <me@lucasjamessmith.me>
Currently customers with inactive/expired plans will be shown the
BillingPlans component but upon hitting the subscribe button they will
be redirected to their portal where they are unable to complete a
checkout.
To resolve this we check for expiration of their subscription and use a
normal stripe checkout instead.
* feat: add link to homepage on the complete sign page for logged in users
* feat: added ChevronLeft icon to the link
* feat: remove icon from the link
Change "Open" links to "Open Startup" to reduce confusion about how to open the web app.
Additionally add the OSS Friends link to the footer since it was dropped during some changes.
Implementation of a universal upload allowing for multiple storage backends
starting with `database` and `s3`.
Allows clients to put and retrieve files from either client or server using
a blend of client and server actions.
* feat: update document table layout
- Removed dashboard page
- Removed redundant ID column
- Moved date to first column
- Added estimated locales for SSR dates
- Fixed z-index when dragging pre-existing fields
- Refactored document flow
- Added button spinner
- Added animation for document flow slider
- Updated drag and drop fields
- Updated document flow so it adjusts to the height of the PDF
- Updated claim plan dialog
This change actually makes the authoring flow work for
the most part by tying in emailing and more.
We have also done a number of quality of life updates to
simplify the codebase overall making it easier to continue
work on the refresh.
Package managers such as NPM behave strangely when adding
packages such as swc and turborepo which contain platform
variants.
During a first time install they will include only the current
devices platform while a clean node_modules and package-lock
will result in all platforms being included.
This change adds those missed platforms by performing the above step and porting it back to our existing package-lock.
Improve the stripe webhook endpoint by checking for
subscriptions prior to performing an update to handle
cases where accounts have no created subscription.
This can happen in sitations such as when a checkout_session has been created but the payment fails.
# Option 1: You can use the provided remote test database, courtesy of the documenso team: postgres://documenso_test_user:GnmLG14u12sd9zHsd4vVWwP40WneFJMo@dpg-cf2hljh4reb5o45oqpq0-a.oregon-postgres.render.com/documenso_test_e2i3
# Option 2: Set up a local Postgres SQL instance (RECOMMENDED)
# Option 3: Use the provided dx setup (RECOMMENDED)
description:Create a bug report to help us improve
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console.log(`Issue Count For ${username}: ${issueCount}`);
if (issueCount > 3) {
let issueCountMessage = `### 🚨 Documenso Police 🚨`;
issueCountMessage += `\n@${username} has ${issueCount} open issues assigned already. Consider whether this issue should be assigned to them or left open for another contributor.`;
Hey There! and thank you for opening this pull request! 📝👋🏼
We require pull request titles to follow the [Conventional Commits Spec](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/en/v1.0.0/) and it looks like your proposed title needs to be adjusted.
This Contributors License Agreement ("CLA") is entered into between the Contributor, and Documenso Inc. ("Documenso"), collectively referred to as the "Parties."
## Background:
Documenso is an open-source project aimed at providing an open-source document signing platform for all parties. This CLA governs the rights and contributions made by the Contributor to the Documenso project.
## Agreement:
**Contributor Grant of License:**
By submitting code, documentation, or any other materials (collectively, "Contributions") to the Documenso project, the Contributor grants Documenso a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable license to use, modify, distribute, and otherwise exploit the Contributions, including any intellectual property rights therein, for the purposes of the Documenso project.
**Representation of Ownership and Right to Contribute:**
The Contributor represents that they have the legal right to grant the license stated in Section 1, and that the Contributions do not infringe upon the intellectual property rights of any third party. The Contributor also represents that they have the authority to submit the Contributions on their own behalf or, if applicable, on behalf of their employer or any other entity.
**Patent Grant:**
If the Contributions include any method, process, or apparatus that is covered by a patent, the Contributor agrees to grant Documenso a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license under any patent claims necessary to use, modify, distribute, and otherwise exploit the Contributions for the purposes of the Documenso project.
**No Implied Warranties or Support:**
The Contributor acknowledges that the Contributions are provided "as is," without any warranties or support of any kind. Documenso shall have no obligation to provide maintenance, updates, bug fixes, or support for the Contributions.
**Retention of Contributor Rights:**
The Contributor retains all right, title, and interest in and to their Contributions. This CLA does not restrict the Contributor from using their own Contributions for any other purpose.
**Governing Law:**
This CLA shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of California (CA), without regard to its conflict of laws principles.
**Entire Agreement:**
This CLA constitutes the entire agreement between the Parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations, and warranties.
**Acceptance:**
By submitting Contributions to the Documenso project, the Contributor acknowledges and agrees to the terms and conditions of this CLA. If the Contributor is agreeing to this CLA on behalf of an entity, they represent that they have the necessary authority to bind that entity to these terms.
**Effective Date:**
This CLA is effective as of the date of the first Contribution made by the Contributor to the Documenso project.
@ -5,22 +5,39 @@ If you plan to contribute to Documenso, please take a moment to feel awesome ✨
## Before getting started
- Before jumping into a PR be sure to search [existing PRs](https://github.com/documenso/documenso/pulls) or [issues](https://github.com/documenso/documenso/issues) for an open or closed item that relates to your submission.
- Select and issue from [here](https://github.com/documenso/documenso/issues) or create a new one
- Consider the results from the discussion in the issue
- Select an issue from [here](https://github.com/documenso/documenso/issues) or create a new one
- Consider the results from the discussion on the issue
- Accept the [Contributor License Agreement](https://documen.so/cla) to ensure we can accept your contributions.
## Taking issues
Before taking an issue, ensure that:
- The issue has been assigned the public label
- The issue is clearly defined and understood
- No one has been assigned to the issue
- No one has expressed intention to work on it
You can then:
1. Comment on the issue with your intention to work on it
2. Begin work on the issue
Always feel free to ask questions or seek clarification on the issue.
## Developing
The development branch is <code>main</code>. All pull request should be made against this branch. If you need help getting started, [join us on Slack](https://join.slack.com/t/documenso/shared_invite/zt-1qwxxsvli-nDyojjt~wakhgBGl9JRl2w).
The development branch is <code>main</code>. All pull requests should be made against this branch. If you need help getting started, [join us on Discord](https://documen.so/discord).
1. [Fork](https://help.github.com/articles/fork-a-repo/) this repository to your
own GitHub account and then
[clone](https://help.github.com/articles/cloning-a-repository/) it to your local device.
2. Create a new branch:
- Create a new branch (include the issue id and somthing readable):
- Create a new branch (include the issue id and something readable):
Signing documents is a fundamental building block of private, economic, and government interactions. Access to easy and secure signing to participate in society should therefore be a fundamental right for everyone. The technology to enable this should be accessible and widespread.
We know that open source is the key to solving this need once and for all to benefit all humankind. Using open source kickstarts innovation by putting the open sharing of ideas and solutions first. With Documenso, we will create an open and globally accessible signing platform to empower users, customers, and developers to fulfill their needs. Documenso is built by and for the global community, listening and implementing what is needed. Being transparent with the code and the processes that use it brings trust and security to the platform.
We build Documenso for longevity and scale by embracing the capital efficiency and inclusiveness of the Commercial Open Source (COSS) movement. We are building a global commodity for the world.
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> This project is currently under community review and will publish it's first production release soon™.
## About this project
Signing documents digitally is fast, easy and should be best practice for every document signed worldwide. This is technically quite easy today, but it also introduces a new party to every signature: The signing tool providers. While this is not a problem in itself, it should make us think about how we want these providers of trust to work. Documenso aims to be the world's most trusted document signing tool. This trust is built by empowering you to self-host Documenso and review how it works under the hood. Join us in creating the next generation of open trust infrastructure.
Signing documents digitally should be fast and easy and should be the best practice for every document signed worldwide.
This is technically quite easy today, but it also introduces a new party to every signature: The signing tool providers. While this is not a problem in itself, it should make us think about how we want these providers of trust to work.
Documenso aims to be the world's most trusted document-signing tool. This trust is built by empowering you to self-host Documenso and review how it works under the hood.
Join us in creating the next generation of open trust infrastructure.
The current project goal is to <b>[release a production ready version](https://github.com/documenso/documenso/milestone/1)</b> for self-hosting as soon as possible. If you want to help making that happen you can:
We're currently working on a redesign of the application, including a revamp of the codebase, so Documenso can be more intuitive to use and robust to develop upon.
- Check out the first source code release in this repository and test it
- Tell us what you think in the current [Discussions](https://github.com/documenso/documenso/discussions)
- Join the [Slack Channel](https://join.slack.com/t/documenso/shared_invite/zt-1qwxxsvli-nDyojjt~wakhgBGl9JRl2w) for any questions and getting to know to other community members
- ⭐ the repository to help us raise awareness
- Spread the word on Twitter, that Documenso is working towards a more open signing tool
- Fix or create [issues](https://github.com/documenso/documenso/issues), that are needed for the first production release
- Check out the first source code release in this repository and test it.
- Tell us what you think in the [Discussions](https://github.com/documenso/documenso/discussions).
- Join the [Discord server](https://documen.so/discord) for any questions and getting to know to other community members.
- ⭐ the repository to help us raise awareness.
- Spread the word on Twitter that Documenso is working towards a more open signing tool.
- Fix or create [issues](https://github.com/documenso/documenso/issues), that are needed for the first production release.
## Contributing
- To contribute please see our [contribution guide](https://github.com/documenso/documenso/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md).
- To contribute, please see our [contribution guide](https://github.com/documenso/documenso/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md).
## Tools
## Contact us
# Tech
Contact us if you are interested in our Enterprise plan for large organizations that need extra flexibility and control.
Documenso is built using awesome open source tech including:
<ahref="https://cal.com/timurercan/enterprise-customers?utm_source=banner&utm_campaign=oss"><imgalt="Book us with Cal.com"src="https://cal.com/book-with-cal-dark.svg"/></a>
- [PostgreSQL (local or remote)](https://www.postgresql.org/download/)
### Requirements
## Developer Quickstart
To run Documenso locally, you will need
- Node.js
- Postgres SQL Database
- Docker (optional)
### Developer Quickstart
> **Note**: This is a quickstart for developers. It assumes that you have both [docker](https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/) and [docker-compose](https://docs.docker.com/compose/) installed on your machine.
Want to get up and running quickly? Follow these steps:
- [Clone the repository](https://help.github.com/articles/cloning-a-repository/) it to your local device.
1. [Fork this repository](https://docs.github.com/en/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/working-with-forks/about-forks) to your GitHub account.
```sh
git clone https://github.com/documenso/documenso
```
After forking the repository, clone it to your local device by using the following command:
- Set up your .env file using the recommendations in the .env.example file.
- Run `npm run dx` in the root directory
- This will spin up a postgres database and inbucket mail server in docker containers.
That's it! You should now be able to access the app at http://localhost:3000
2. Set up your `.env` file using the recommendations in the `.env.example` file. Alternatively, just run `cp .env.example .env` to get started with our handpicked defaults.
Incoming mail will be available at http://localhost:9000
3. Run `npm run dx` in the root directory
Your database will also be available on port `5432`. You can connect to it using your favorite database client.
- This will spin up a postgres database and inbucket mailserver in a docker container.
4. Run `npm run dev` in the root directory
5. Want it even faster? Just use
```sh
npm run d
```
#### Access Points for Your Application
1.**App** - http://localhost:3000
2.**Incoming Mail Access** - http://localhost:9000
3.**Database Connection Details**
- **Port**: 54320
- **Connection**: Use your favorite database client to connect using the provided port.
Follow these steps to setup documenso on you local machine:
### Manual Setup
- [Clone the repository](https://help.github.com/articles/cloning-a-repository/) it to your local device.
```sh
git clone https://github.com/documenso/documenso
```
- Run <code>npm i</code> in root directory
- Rename <code>.env.example</code> to <code>.env</code>
- Set DATABASE_URL value in .env file
- You can use the provided test database url (may be wiped at any point)
- Or setup a local postgres sql instance (recommended)
- Create the database scheme by running <code>db-migrate:dev</code>
- Setup your mail provider
- Set <code>SENDGRID_API_KEY</code> value in .env file
- You need a SendGrid account, which you can create [here](https://signup.sendgrid.com/).
- Documenso uses [Nodemailer](https://nodemailer.com/about/) so you can easily use your own SMTP server by setting the <code>SMTP\_\* variables</code> in your .env
- Run <code>npm run dev</code> root directory to start
- Register a new user at http://localhost:3000/signup
Follow these steps to setup Documenso on your local machine:
1. [Fork this repository](https://docs.github.com/en/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/working-with-forks/about-forks) to your GitHub account.
After forking the repository, clone it to your local device by using the following command:
3. Create your `.env` from the `.env.example`. You can use `cp .env.example .env` to get started with our handpicked defaults.
4. Set the following environment variables:
- NEXTAUTH_URL
- NEXTAUTH_SECRET
- NEXT_PUBLIC_WEBAPP_URL
- NEXT_PUBLIC_MARKETING_URL
- NEXT_PRIVATE_DATABASE_URL
- NEXT_PRIVATE_DIRECT_DATABASE_URL
- NEXT_PRIVATE_SMTP_FROM_NAME
- NEXT_PRIVATE_SMTP_FROM_ADDRESS
5. Create the database schema by running `npm run prisma:migrate-dev`
6. Run `npm run dev` in the root directory to start
7. Register a new user at http://localhost:3000/signup
---
- Optional: Seed the database using <code>npm run db-seed</code> to create a test user and document
- Optional: Upload and sign <code>apps\web\ressources\example.pdf</code> manually to test your setup
- Optional: Seed the database using `npm run prisma:seed -w @documenso/prisma` to create a test user and document.
- Optional: Create your own signing certificate.
- To generate your own using these steps and a Linux Terminal or Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), see **[Create your own signing certificate](./SIGNING.md)**.
- Optional: Create your own signing certificate
- A demo certificate is provided in /app/web/ressources/certificate.p12
- To generate your own using these steps and a linux Terminal or Windows Linux Subsystem see **Create your own signing certificate**.
### Run in Gitpod
## Updating
- Click below to launch a ready-to-use Gitpod workspace in your browser.
- If you pull the newest version from main, using <code>git pull</code>, it may be necessary to regenerate your database client
- You can do this by running the generate command in /packages/prisma:
```sh
npx prisma generate
```
- This is not necessary on first clone
[](https://gitpod.io/#https://github.com/documenso/documenso)
# Creating your own signing certificate
### Run in DevContainer
For the digital signature of your documents you need a signing certificate in .p12 formate (public and private key). You can buy one (not recommended for dev) or use the steps to create a self-signed one:
We support DevContainers for VSCode. [Click here to get started.](https://vscode.dev/redirect?url=vscode://ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers/cloneInVolume?url=https://github.com/documenso/documenso)
1. Generate a private key using the OpenSSL command. You can run the following command to generate a 2048-bit RSA key:\
<code>openssl genrsa -out private.key 2048</code>
### Video walkthrough
2. Generate a self-signed certificate using the private key. You can run the following command to generate a self-signed certificate:\
This will prompt you to enter some information, such as the Common Name (CN) for the certificate. Make sure you enter the correct information. The -days parameter sets the number of days for which the certificate is valid.
3. Combine the private key and the self-signed certificate to create the p12 certificate. You can run the following command to do this: \
4. You will be prompted to enter a password for the p12 file. Choose a strong password and remember it, as you will need it to use the certificate (**can be empty for dev certificates**)
5. Place the certificate <code>/apps/web/ressource/certificate.p12</code>
If you're a visual learner and prefer to watch a video walkthrough of setting up Documenso locally, check out this video:
# Docker
[](https://youtu.be/Y0ppIQrEnZs)
> We are still working on the publishing of docker images, in the meantime you can follow the steps below to create a production ready docker image.
## Docker
Want to create a production ready docker image? Follow these steps:
🚧 Docker containers and images are current in progress. We are actively working on bringing a simple Docker build and publish pipeline for Documenso.
- Run `./docker/build.sh` in the root directory.
- Publish the image to your docker registry of choice.
## Self Hosting
# Deploying - Coming Soon™
We support a variety of deployment methods, and are actively working on adding more. Stay tuned for updates!
- Docker support
- One-Click-Deploy on Render.com Deploy
> Please note that the below deployment methods are for v0.9, we will update these to v1.0 once it has been released.
Then, inside the `documenso` folder, copy the example env file:
```
cp .env.example .env
```
The following environment variables must be set:
*`NEXTAUTH_URL`
*`NEXTAUTH_SECRET`
*`NEXT_PUBLIC_WEBAPP_URL`
*`NEXT_PUBLIC_MARKETING_URL`
*`NEXT_PRIVATE_DATABASE_URL`
*`NEXT_PRIVATE_DIRECT_DATABASE_URL`
*`NEXT_PRIVATE_SMTP_FROM_NAME`
*`NEXT_PRIVATE_SMTP_FROM_ADDRESS`
> If you are using a reverse proxy in front of Documenso, don't forget to provide the public URL for both `NEXTAUTH_URL` and `NEXT_PUBLIC_WEBAPP_URL` variables!
Now you can install the dependencies and build it:
```
npm i
npm run build:web
npm run prisma:migrate-deploy
```
Finally, you can start it with:
```
npm run start
```
This will start the server on `localhost:3000`. For now, any reverse proxy can then do the frontend and SSL termination.
> If you want to run with another port than 3000, you can start the application with `next -p <ANY PORT>` from the `apps/web` folder.
### Run as a service
You can use a systemd service file to run the app. Here is a simple example of the service running on port 3500 (using 3000 by default):
```bash
[Unit]
Description=documenso
After=network.target
[Service]
Environment=PATH=/path/to/your/node/binaries
Type=simple
User=www-data
WorkingDirectory=/var/www/documenso/apps/web
ExecStart=/usr/bin/next start -p 3500
TimeoutSec=15
Restart=always
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
```
### Railway
[](https://railway.app/template/bG6D4p)
### Render
[](https://render.com/deploy?repo=https://github.com/documenso/documenso)
### Koyeb
[](https://app.koyeb.com/deploy?type=git&repository=github.com/documenso/documenso&branch=main&name=documenso-app&builder=dockerfile&dockerfile=/docker/Dockerfile)
## Troubleshooting
### I'm not receiving any emails when using the developer quickstart.
When using the developer quickstart, an [Inbucket](https://inbucket.org/) server will be spun up in a docker container that will store all outgoing emails locally for you to view.
The Web UI can be found at http://localhost:9000, while the SMTP port will be on localhost:2500.
### Support IPv6
If you are deploying to a cluster that uses only IPv6, You can use a custom command to pass a parameter to the Next.js start command
For local docker run
```bash
docker run -it documenso:latest npm run start -- -H ::
```
For k8s or docker-compose
```yaml
containers:
- name:documenso
image:documenso:latest
imagePullPolicy:IfNotPresent
command:
- npm
args:
- run
- start
- --
- -H
- '::'
```
### I can't see environment variables in my package scripts.
Wrap your package script with the `with:env` script like such:
```
npm run with:env -- npm run myscript
```
The same can be done when using `npx` for one of the bin scripts:
```
npm run with:env -- npx myscript
```
This will load environment variables from your `.env` and `.env.local` files.
For the digital signature of your documents you need a signing certificate in .p12 format (public and private key). You can buy one (not recommended for dev) or use the steps to create a self-signed one:
1. Generate a private key using the OpenSSL command. You can run the following command to generate a 2048-bit RSA key:
`openssl genrsa -out private.key 2048`
2. Generate a self-signed certificate using the private key. You can run the following command to generate a self-signed certificate:
This will prompt you to enter some information, such as the Common Name (CN) for the certificate. Make sure you enter the correct information. The -days parameter sets the number of days for which the certificate is valid.
3. Combine the private key and the self-signed certificate to create the p12 certificate. You can run the following command to do this:
4. You will be prompted to enter a password for the p12 file. Choose a strong password and remember it, as you will need it to use the certificate (**can be empty for dev certificates**)
5. Place the certificate `/apps/web/resources/certificate.p12`
## Docker
> We are still working on the publishing of docker images, in the meantime you can follow the steps below to create a production ready docker image.
Want to create a production ready docker image? Follow these steps:
- cd into `docker` directory
- Make `build.sh` executable by running `chmod +x build.sh`
- Run `./build.sh` to start building the docker image.
- Publish the image to your docker registry of choice (or) If you prefer running the image from local, run the below command
-`-p` - Passes down which ports to use. First half is the host port, Second half is the app port. You can change the first half anything you want and reverse proxy to that port.
-`-v` - Volume let's you persist the data
-`--name` - Name of the container
-`documenso:latest` - Image you have built
## Deployment
We support a variety of deployment methods, and are actively working on adding more. Stay tuned for updates!
## Railway
[](https://railway.app/template/DjrRRX)
## Render
[](https://render.com/deploy?repo=https://github.com/documenso/documenso)
description: Launching an open-source document signing tool because trusted-based products should be built on openness. The first release will be in 2023. Sign up at documenso.com to be on board.
authorName: 'Timur Ercan'
authorImage: '/blog/blog-author-timur.jpeg'
authorRole: 'Co-Founder'
date: 2022-12-29
tags:
- Announcement
---
<figure>
<MdxNextImage
src="/blog/blog-banner-announcing-documenso.webp"
width="1400"
height="884"
alt="Documenso announcement blog banner"
/>
<figcaption className="text-center">Documenso — The Open Source DocuSign Alternative.</figcaption>
</figure>
## TL; DR;
I'm launching an open source document signing tool because trust-based products should be built on openness. The first release will be in 2023. Sign up at <a href="https://documenso.com" target="_blank">documenso.com</a> and get on board.
## Let’s build the world’s most trusted document-signing tool.
Today I'm excited to announce my new project Documenso. Documenso is an open source document signing tool you can host yourself and freely build upon because it's, you know, open source. Before I get more into the details of what and when will be launched I want to take a moment and talk about why.
## Digital signing is great
Signing Documents digitally has countless benefits: Less struggle with printing, less wasting paper, faster request delivery, easier changes, easier coordination of people far away, verifiable document integrity, and verifiable signer identity (this is a vast topic, will write more on soon), easier storage and search of signed documents, the list goes on. Digital Signatures take something very old and very trusted like personally signing documents into the digital space, adding the benefits listed above. It also introduces a new party to every signing transaction, the signing tool providers. What was peer to peer transaction before, now goes through an intermediary. While this isn't a problem in itself, it should make us think about how we want these providers of trust to work.
## How do we build trusted systems?
While doing research for Documenso I came upon a quote that expresses the current state of document signing pretty well:
> Document signing is NOT a technical problem. [Editor’s Note: Because it was solved technically a long time ago] It’s a legal acceptance problem — and everyone KNOWS DocuSign and friends and understands how they’re admissible. Anything else would have to compete with that and people would be suspicious of it for a long time.
While this may sound like a hurdle at first, it immediately gave me a sense of validation for a more open approach to signing. People will and should be suspicious of their tools and demand a high bar when it comes to trust. And the way to earn this trust is by being open. Trusted tools should be the result of thoughtful discussion and reviews. They should be the result of the needs and will of its community. They should be transparent, adaptable, and empowering while using. Open Source embodies these values very well for software, which makes it a perfect fit for this space and creating a high-trust tool.
## Next Steps
So, what can you expect from here on out? I've started to build Documenso 0.1 which is scheduled to release in “early” 2023. If you're interested in helping make this happen, let me know via [hi@documenso.com](mailto:hi@documenso.com). Getting working code into the hands of the perspective Documenso community is currently the #1 goal. Other than that I'll be releasing several articles about document signing and what something like Documenso should look like, in my humble opinion. So stay tuned!
If you think Documenso is worthy of support, please share <a href="https://documenso.com" target="_blank">documenso.com</a> with anyone interested, and sign up to be among the first to try out version 0.1 as soon as it launches.
title: 'Building Documenso — Part 1: Certificates'
description: In today's fast-paced world, productivity and efficiency are crucial for success, both in personal and professional endeavors. We all strive to make the most of our time and energy to achieve our goals effectively. However, it's not always easy to stay on track and maintain peak performance. In this blog post, we'll explore 10 valuable tips to help you boost productivity and efficiency in your daily life.
authorName: 'Timur Ercan'
authorImage: '/blog/blog-author-timur.jpeg'
authorRole: 'Co-Founder'
date: 2023-06-23
tags:
- Open Source
- Document Signature
- Certificates
- Signing
---
<figure>
<MdxNextImage
src="/blog/blog-banner-building-documenso.webp"
width="1200"
height="675"
alt="Building Documenso blog banner"
/>
<figcaption className="text-center">
What actually is a signature?
</figcaption>
</figure>
> Disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer and this isn’t legal advice. We plan to publish a much more specific framework on the topic of signature validity.
This is the first installment of the new Building Documenso series, where I describe the challenges and design choices that we make while building the world’s most open signing platform.
As you may have heard, we launched the community-reviewed <a href="https://github.com/documenso/documenso" target="_blank">version 0.9 of Documenso on GitHub</a> recently and it’s now available through the early adopter’s plan. One of the most fundamental choices we had to make on this first release, was the choice of certificate. While it’s interesting to know what we opted for, this shall also serve as a guide for everyone facing the same choice for self-hosting Documenso.
> Question: Why do I need a document signing certificate to self-host?
>
> Short Answer: Inserting the images of a signature into the document is only part of the signing process.
To have an actual digitally signed document you need a document signing certificate that is used to create the digital signature that is inserted into the document, alongside the visible one¹.
When hosting a signature service yourself, as we do, there are four main choices for handling the certificate: Not using a certificate, creating your own, buying a trusted certificate, and becoming and trusted service provider to issue your own trusted certificate.
## 1\. No Certificate
A lot of signing services actually don’t employ actual digital signatures besides the inserted image. The only insert and image of the signatures into the document you sign. This can be done and is legally acceptable in many cases. This option isn’t directly supported by Documenso without changing the code.
## 2\. Create your own
Since the cryptography behind certificates is freely available as open source you could generate your own using OpenSSL for example. Since it’s hardly more work than option 1 (using Documenso at least), this would be my minimum effort recommendation. Having a self-created (“self-signed”) certificate doesn’t add much in terms of regulation but it guarantees the document’s integrity, meaning no changes have been made after signing². What this doesn’t give you, is the famous green checkmark in Adobe Acrobat. Why? Because you aren’t on the list of providers Adobe “trusts”.³
## 3\. Buy a “trusted” certificate.
There are Certificate Authorities (CAs) that can sell you a certificate⁴. The service they provide is, that they validate your name (personal certificates) or your organization’s name (corporate certificate) before creating your certificate for you, just like you did in option 2. The difference is, that they are listed on the previously mentioned trust lists (e.g. Adobe’s) and thus the resulting signatures get a nice, green checkmark in Adobe Reader⁵
## 4\. Becoming a Trusted Certificate Authority (CA) yourself and create your own certificate
This option is an incredibly complex endeavour, requiring a lot of effort and skill. It can be done, as there are multiple CAs around the world. Is it worth the effort? That depends a lot on what you’re trying to accomplish.
<center>. . .</center>
## What we did
Having briefly introduced the options, here is what we did: Since we aim to raise the bar on digital signature proliferation and trust, we opted to buy an “Advanced Personal Certificates for Companies/Organisations” from WiseKey. Thus, documents signed with Documenso’s hosted version look like this:
<figure>
<MdxNextImage
src="/blog/blog-fig-building-documenso.webp"
width="1262"
height="481"
alt="Figure 1"
/>
<figcaption className="text-center">The famous green checkmark: Signed by hosted Documenso</figcaption>
</figure>
There weren’t any deeper reasons we choose WiseKey, other than they offered what we needed and there wasn’t any reason to look much further. While I didn’t map the entire certificate market offering (yet), I’m pretty sure something similar could be found elsewhere. While we opted for option 3, choosing option 2 might be perfectly reasonable considering your use case.⁶
> While this is our setup, for now, we have a bigger plan for this topic. While globally trusted SSL Certificates have been available for free, courtesy of Let’s Encrypt, for a while now, there is no such thing as document signing. And there should be. Not having free and trusted infrastructure for signing is blocking a completely new generation of signing products from being created. This is why we’ll start working on option 4 when the time is right.
Do you have questions or thoughts about this? As always, let me know in the comments, on <a href="http://twitter.com/eltimuro" target="_blank">twitter.com/eltimuro</a>
or directly: <a href="https://documen.so/timur" target="_blank">documen.so/timur</a>
Join the self-hoster community here: <a href="https://documen.so/discord" target="_blank">https://documen.so/discord</a>
Best from Hamburg
Timur
\[1\] There are different approaches to signing a document. For the sake of simplicity, here we talk about a document with X inserted signature images, that is afterward signed once the by signing service, i.e. Documenso. If each visual signature should have its own digital one (e.g. QES — eIDAS Level 3), the case is a bit more complex.
\[2\] Of course, the signing service provider technically can change and resign the document, especially in the case mentioned in \[1\]. This can be countered by requiring actual digital signatures from each signer, that are bound to their identity/ account. Creating a completely trustless system in the context however is extremely hard to do and not the most pressing business need for the industry at this point, in my opinion. Though, this would be nice.
\[3\] Adobe, like the EU, has a list of organizations they trust. The Adobe green checkmark is powered by the Adobe trust list, if you want to be trusted by EU standards here: <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/DSS/webapp-demo/validation" target="_blank">https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/DSS/webapp-demo/validation</a>, you need to be on the EU trust list. Getting on each list is possible, though the latter is much more work.
\[4\] Technically, they sign your certificate creation request (created by you), containing your info with their certificate (which is trusted), making your certificate trusted. This way, everything you sign with your certificate is seen as trusted. They created their certificate just like you, the difference is they are on the lists, mentioned in \[3\]
\[5\] Why does Adobe get to say, what is trusted? They simply happen to have the most used pdf viewer. And since everyone checks there, whom they consider trusted carries weight. If it should be like this, is a different matter.
\[6\] Self-Signed signatures, even purely visual signatures, are fully legally binding. Why you use changes mainly your confidence in the signature and the burden of proof. Also, some industries require a certain level of signatures e.g. retail loans (QES/ eIDAS Level 3 in the EU).
description: We are creating signing as a public good and are commoditizing it to make it cheaper and better.
authorName: 'Timur Ercan'
authorImage: '/blog/blog-author-timur.jpeg'
authorRole: 'Co-Founder'
date: 2024-01-25
tags:
- Vision
- Mission
- Open Source
---
<figure>
<MdxNextImage
src="/blog/lighthouse.jpeg"
width="650"
height="650"
alt="A lighthouse on a tiny island."
/>
<figcaption className="text-center">
Lighthouses are often used as an example of a public good; As they benefit all maritime users, but no one can be excluded from using them as a navigational aid. Use by one person neither prevents access by other people, nor does it reduce availability to others.
</figcaption>
</figure>
# Commodifying Signing
> TLDR; We are creating signing as a public good and are commoditizing it to make it cheaper and better.
While we are in full-on building mode with Documenso, I think a lot about the big picture of what we are attempting to do. One phrase that keeps popping up is, "We are commodifying signing." Let's dig deeper into what that means.
Let's start with why we are doing this. Documenso's mission is to solve the domain of signing once and for all for everyone. In so many calls, I hear stories about how organizations build their own solution because the existing ones are too expensive or need to be more flexible. That means not hundreds but probably thousands of companies worldwide have done the same. This is simply wasting humanity's time. Since digital signing systems are understood well enough that seemingly "everyone" can build them, given enough pain, It's time to do it once correctly.
## Is signing already a commodity?
> In economics, a **commodity** is an economic good, usually a resource, that has explicitly full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them.
That sounds like the signing market today. There is no shortage of signing providers, and you can get similar signing services from many places. So why is this different from what we want, and why does this not satisfy the market?
- Signing is expensive and painful when you are locked into your vendor, and they charge by signing volume.
- Signing is also expensive and painful when you have to build it yourself since no vendor fits your requirements or you are not allowed to
To understand why, we need to look at the landscape as it is today:
- **Public Goods**: Web Tech, Digital Signature Algorithms and Standards
What the current players have done is to commodify the listed public goods into commercial products:
> […]the action and process of transforming goods, services, ideas, nature, personal information, people, or animals into commodities.
> (Let's ignore the end of that list for now and what it says about humanity, yikes)
While this paradigm brought digital signing to many businesses worldwide, we aim for a different future. To solve signing once and for all, we need to achieve two core points:
- Making it cheaper so it's profitable for everyone to use
- Making it more accessible so everyone can use it (e.g. regulated industries) and flexible enough (extendable, open).
To achieve this, we must transform the landscape to look like this:
- **Public Goods**: (no longer private): OS (Open Source) Signing Code Base, OS Regulatory Know-How
- **Public Goods**: OS Web Tech, Digital Signature Algorithms and Standards
## Raising the Bar
Before creating a commodity, we are raising the bar of what the underlying public good is. Having an open source singing framework you can extend, self-host, and understand makes the resulting solution much more accessible and extendable for everyone. Now for the final feat of making signing cheaper:
As we have seen, signing has already been commodified. But since it was done by a closed source and, frankly, a very opaque industry, no downward price spiral has ensued. By building Documenso open source with an open culture, we can pierce the veil and trigger what the space has been missing for a long time: Commoditization. If you had to read that again, so did I:
> In business literature, **commoditization** is defined as the process by which goods that have economic value and are distinguishable in terms of attributes (uniqueness or brand) become simple commodities in the eyes of the market or consumers.
By only selling what creates value for the customer (hosting a highly available service, keeping it compliant, supporting with technical issues and challenges, preparing industry-specific components), we are commoditizing signing since everyone can do it now: The resources enabling it are public goods, aka. open source. A leveled playing field, as described above, is the perfect environment for a community-first, technology-first, and value-first company like Documenso to flourish.
## Changing the Game
In this new world, a company needing signing (literally every company) can decide if the ROI (Return on Investment) of building signing themselves is greater than simply paying for the value-added activities they will need anyway. Pricing our offering not on volume but fixed is a nice additional wedge into the market we intend to use here.
The market dynamic now changes to who can offer the greatest value added to the public goods, driving the price down as this can be done much more efficiently than locking customers into closed source SaaS. Documenso, being a lean company, which we intend to stay with for a long time, will help kickstart this effect. Open Source capital efficiency is real. Our planned enterprise components, hosting support, and partner ecosystem will all leverage this effect.
We will grow our community around the public good, the open-source repo, and create an ecosystem around the commodities built on top of it (components, hosting, compliance, support). We will solve signing once and for all, and the world will be better for it. Onwards.
As always, feel free to connect on [Twitter / X](https://twitter.com/eltimuro) (DM open) or [Discord](https://documen.so/discord) if you have any questions or comments.
title: 'Deploying Documenso with Vercel, Supabase and Resend'
description: This is the first part of the new Building Documenso series, where I describe the challenges and design choices that we make while building the world’s most open signing platform.
authorName: 'Ephraim Atta-Duncan'
authorImage: '/blog/blog-author-duncan.jpeg'
authorRole: 'Software Engineer Intern'
date: 2023-09-08
tags:
- Open Source
- Self Hosting
- Tutorial
---
In this article, we'll walk you through how to deploy and self-host Documenso using Vercel, Supabase, and Resend.
You'll learn:
- How to set up a Postgres database using Supabase,
- How to install SMTP with Resend,
- How to deploy your project with Vercel.
If you don't know what [Documenso](https://documenso.com/) is, it's an open-source alternative to DocuSign, with the mission to create an open signing infrastructure while embracing openness, cooperation, and transparency.
## Prerequisites
Before we start, make sure you have a [GitHub](https://github.com/signup) account. You also need [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/en) and [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/) installed on your local machine (note: you also have the option to host it on a cloud environment using Gitpod for example; that would be another post). If you need accounts on Vercel, Supabase, and Resend, create them by visiting the [Vercel](https://vercel.com/), [Supabase](https://supabase.com/), and [Resend](https://resend.com/) websites.
Checklist:
- [ ] Have a GitHub account
- [ ] Install Node.js
- [ ] Install npm
- [ ] Have a Vercel account
- [ ] Have a Supabase account
- [ ] Have a Resend account
## Step-by-Step guide to deploying Documenso with Vercel, Supabase, and Resend
To deploy Documenso, we'll take the following steps:
1. Fork the Documenso repository
2. Clone the forked repository and install dependencies
3. Create a new project on Supabase
4. Copy the Supabase Postgres database connection URL
5. Create a `.env` file
6. Run the migration on the Supabase Postgres Database
7. Get your SMTP Keys on Resend
8. Create a new project on Vercel
9. Add Environment Variables to your Vercel project
So, you're ready? Let’s dive in!
### Step 1: Fork the Documenso repository
Start by creating a fork of Documenso on GitHub. You can do this by visiting the [Documenso repository](https://github.com/documenso/documenso) and clicking on the 'Fork' button. (Also, star the repo!)
You can now navigate into the directory and install the project’s dependencies:
```bash
cd documenso
npm install
```
### Step 3: Create a new project on Supabase
Now, let's set up the database.
If you haven't already, create a new project on Supabase. This will automatically create a new Postgres database for you.
On your Supabase dashboard, click the '**New project**' button and choose your organization.
On the '**Create a new project**' page, set a database name of **documenso** and a secure password for your database. Choose a region closer to you, a pricing plan, and click on '**Create new project**' to create your project.

### Step 4: Copy the Supabase Postgres database connection URL
In your project, click the '**Settings**' icon at the bottom left.
Under the '**Project Settings**' section, click '**Database**' and scroll down to the '**Connection string**' section. Copy the '**URI**' and update it with the password you chose in the previous step.

### Step 5: Create a `.env` file
Create a `.env` file in the root of your project by copying the contents of the `.env.example` file.
Add the connection string you copied from your Supabase dashboard to the `DATABASE_URL` variable in the `.env` file.
### Step 6: Run the migration on the Supabase Postgres Database
Run the migration on the Supabase Postgres Database using the following command:
```bash
npx prisma migrate deploy
```
### Step 7: Get your SMTP Keys on Resend
So, you've just cloned Documenso, installed dependencies on your local machine, and set your database using Supabase. Now, SMTP is missing. Emails won't go out! Let's fix it with Resend.
In the **[Resend](https://resend.com/)** dashboard, click 'Add API Key' to create a key for Resend SMTP.

Next, add and verify your domain in the '**Domains**' section on the sidebar. This will allow you to send emails from any address associated with your domain.

You can update your `.env` file with the following:
```jsx
SMTP_MAIL_HOST = 'smtp.resend.com';
SMTP_MAIL_PORT = '25';
SMTP_MAIL_USER = 'resend';
SMTP_MAIL_PASSWORD = 'YOUR_RESEND_API_KEY';
MAIL_FROM = 'noreply@[YOUR_DOMAIN]';
```
### Step 8: Create a new project on Vercel
You set the database with Supabase and are SMTP-ready with Resend. Almost there! The next step is to deploy the project — we'll use Vercel for that.
On your Vercel dashboard, create a new project using the forked project from your GitHub repositories. Select the project among the options and click '**Import**' to start running Documenso.

### Step 9: Add Environment Variables to your Vercel project
In the '**Configure Project**' page, adding the required Environmental Variables is essential to ensure the application deploys without any errors.
Specifically, for the `NEXT_PUBLIC_WEBAPP_URL` and `NEXTAUTH_URL` variables, you must add `.vercel.app` to your Project Name. This will form the deployment URL, which will be in the format: `https://[project_name].vercel.app`.
For example, in my case, the deployment URL is `https://documenso-supabase-web.vercel.app`.

This is a sample `.env` to deploy. Copy and paste it to auto-populate the fields and click ‘**Deploy.’** Now, you only need to wait for your project to deploy. You’re going live — enjoy!
Congratulations! 🎉 You've successfully deployed Documenso using Vercel, Supabase, and Resend. You're now ready to create and sign your own documents with your self-hosted Documenso!
In this step-by-step guide, you learned how to:
- set up a Postgres database using Supabase,
- install SMTP with Resend,
- deploy your project with Vercel.
Over to you! How was the tutorial? If you enjoyed it, [please do share](https://twitter.com/documenso/status/1700141802693480482)! And if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me on [Twitter / X](https://twitter.com/EphraimDuncan_) (DM open) or [Discord](https://documen.so/discord).
We're building an open-source alternative to DocuSign and welcome every contribution. Head over to the GitHub repository and [leave us a Star](https://github.com/documenso/documenso)!
description: It's day 1 of our first launch week. We are kicking it off by open sourcing Documenso's design system! Let's go..
authorName: 'Timur Ercan'
authorImage: '/blog/blog-author-timur.jpeg'
authorRole: 'Co-Founder'
date: 2023-09-25
tags:
- Design
- Open Source
- Community
---
<figure>
<MdxNextImage
src="/blog/designsystem.png"
width="1260"
height="630"
alt="Documenso's Design System"
/>
<figcaption className="text-center">
Documenso's Design System ✨
</figcaption>
</figure>
> TLDR; Our design system is OSS under MIT at [design.documenso.com](https://design.documenso.com)
Today, we are open sourcing our design system, lovingly crafted by [Thilo](https://twitter.com/thilokonzok). The system is public on Figma and will be available at [design.documenso.com](https://design.documenso.com) from here on out.
We are publishing it under the MIT License so everyone can share, remix, and use it as it helps them most.
We chose to start our first launch week with a design topic to emphasize the role design will play in Documenso's company and community culture. As it is historically difficult to bring together open-source software with great design, this is our first step towards encouraging a more design-driven COSS (Commercial Open Source) movement.
## Designers Welcome
We added a designer role in our Discord to create a space for designers to explore and discuss design-related topics of Documenso and signing in general. In the future, we want to foster more coding contributions and start a design culture around the product. As it is much more difficult to incorporate design contributions, we have yet to find a clear plan of what that will look like. I would like to see contributions around stuff we are NOT working on. Designs in that area can inspire and start discussions without the complexities of implementing them immediately — a free-thinking space around everything Documenso. Having a free mandate to design without restriction can create many exciting ideas. Some Ideas worth exploring:
## Areas for design contributions
- Explorations of exciting aspects of signing and document handling:
- What does signing look like when we no longer have skeuomorphic signatures?
- What is signing if we move beyond paper-inspired documents?
- What would the government process look like using Documenso?
- Solutions Concepts for features further down the roadmap, e.g., Widgets in websites
These are fascinating ideas for explorative design. They won't be built 1:1 but shape how we think about signing and where it can go, which is even more critical. If you are interested in product design, you are invited to join our [Discord](https://documen.so/discord) and discuss the future of signing design or the future of Documenso's design system. Also let me know what you think on [X (formerly Twitter)](https://x.com/eltimuro).
description: Launch Week Day 4 and we are still early! Early enough for you to get a sweet deal for supporting Documenso's Mission. Join the movement and get a shiny early adopter account in the process.
authorName: 'Timur Ercan'
authorImage: '/blog/blog-author-timur.jpeg'
authorRole: 'Co-Founder'
date: 2023-09-28
tags:
- Paid Plan
- Metrics
- Open Startup
---
<figure>
<MdxNextImage
src="/blog/early.png"
width="1260"
height="630"
alt="XKCD: Bug"
/>
<figcaption className="text-center">
"Being early is, uh, good." -Unknown
</figcaption>
</figure>
> 🔔 UPDATE: We launched <a href="https://documen.so/day1" target="_blank">teams</a> and the early adopters plan will be replaced by the new teams pricing as soon as all availible early adopters seats are filled.
## Community-Driven Development
As we ramp up hiring and development speed for Documenso, I want to discuss how we plan to build its core version.
As we want to be a highly community-driven product, we want to capture the thoughts and ideas of said community in two ways:
1. Everything we plan (i.e. documen.so/roadmap) and build (i.e. documen.so/repo) is public and open to comments and suggestions from everyone by design. We plan to have discussions, streams, and articles showcasing what we're up to, encouraging feedback and iterations on our plans.
2. We're looking for 100 die-hard early adopters to get more deep hands-on feedback. If you want to be among the first to use and help shape Documenso, we have a special offer for you:
## The Early Adopter Plan
- All first 100 signups are entitled to the early adopter plan.
- The plan includes everything we build in the next 12 months and unlimited<sup>1</sup> signatures
- This plan is priced at $30/mo.
- No matter what we add, the price is guaranteed for life as a thank you for supporting Documenso's mission<sup>2</sup>. And we plan to add a lot.
- This also includes unlimited users<sup>3</sup> as part of the upcoming support for teams.
- If you already claimed an early adopter account in the past and canceled, we are happy to reactivate your account with the early adopter pricing. Reach out to support@documenso.com
## Being an Early Adopter
Being eligible for the early adopter plan has no formal requirements like giving feedback or being active in the community. In good faith, we assume you sign the Documenso Supporter Pledge to be part of this. And if you want to use the newest version quietly, that's fine, too. Everything the die-hard community brings up will be carefully considered and prioritized <sup>4</sup>. Also, there will obviously be limited edition merch available for the first 100.
Documenso currently runs the community reviewed 0.9.1 version. Getting from here to the globally loved and adopted signing tool we all deserve will take a lot of work, and we want you on board to help us create it. Join us in shaping the future of open signing and having fun doing it. [Malfunction Mania](https://documenso.com/blog/malfunction-mania) and releasing 1.0 will go a long way.
## Extending our open metrics
As part of our ongoing effort to be open and transparent in our doing, we are adding "Early Adopters" to our [/open page](https://documenso.com/open) page. After we exceed the early adopter slots, this metric will transition to "Customers". When no more early adopter seats can be claimed, the early adopter plan will transition to a standard paid plan. It will still be priced at $30/mo., but will no longer include upcoming features or unlimited seats.
If you have any questions or comments, please reach out on [Twitter / X](https://twitter.com/eltimuro) (DM open) or [Discord](https://documen.so/discord).
Best from Hamburg\
Timur
\
[1] Excluding signatures, we have to pay for i.e. third-party QES
[2] The Documenso Manifest
[3] Within reason. If you are unsure what that means, feel free to contact hi@documenso.com. But it should be fine if you don't plan to onboard a huge enterprise.
[4] We won't be able to build everything everyone asks for. But we firmly plan to listen and build in a way everyone's requirements are met as well as possible.
description: On January 10th, 2022, we were notified by our email provider that they had experienced a security incident.
authorName: 'Lucas Smith'
authorImage: '/blog/blog-author-lucas.png'
authorRole: 'Co-Founder'
date: 2024-01-17
tags:
- Security
---
On January 10th, 2024 we were notified by our email provider that a security incident had occurred. This security incident which had started on January 7th led to a bad actor obtaining access to their database which contains ours and other customer’s data.
We understand that during this security incident the following has been accessed:
- Email addresses.
- Metadata on emails sent excluding the email body.
While the incident is unfortunate we are pleased with the remediation and the processes that our email provider has put in place to help avoid this kind of situation in the future. Since the incident, our provider has rectified the issue and has engaged a security company to conduct an exhaustive investigation and to help improve their security posture moving forward.
We remain steadfast in our commitment to our current email provider, and will not be taking any further action with relation to changing providers.
We are now working with our legal counsel to ensure that we provide the appropriate notice to all our customers in each jurisdiction. If you have any further questions on this incident please feel free to contact our support team at [support@documenso.com](mailto:support@documenso.com).
We appreciate your ongoing support in this matter.
You can read more on the incident on our providers blog post below:
> TLDR; Docucmenso now supports teams that share documents, templates and a team mail address. Early Adopter get UNLIMITED<sup>1</sup> Users.
## Kicking off Launch Week II - "Connected"
The day has come! Roughly 5 months after kicked off our first launch week with open sourcing our design and Malfunction Mania, Launch Week #2 is here 🎉 This Launch Week's theme is "connected", since this is all about connecting humans, machines and documents.
Working with documents and getting that signature is a team sport. This is why we are kicking it off today with a very long-awaited feature: Documenso now supports teams!
## Introducing Teams for Documenso
You can now create teams next to your personal account: Simply invite your colleagues, and you can include everyone you like in working with your documents. With teams, you can:
- Send unlimited signature requests with unlimited recipients
- Create, view, edit and sign documents owned by the team
- Define a dedicated team email, to receive signing requests into a team inbox for the owner to sign
- Manage team roles: Member (Create+Edit), Managers (+Manage Team Members), Owner (+Transfer Team +Delete Team + Sign Documents sent to team email)
## Pricing
Together with Teams, we are announcing the new teams pricing:
- $10 per seat per month
- 5 seats minimum
- You can add seats dynamically as needed
This pricing will take effect, as soon as the early adopter seats run out. Want to check out teams: [https://documen.so/teams](https://documen.so/teams).
## Early Adopter Perks
There is one more point on pricing I have been looking forward to for a long time:
All early adopter plans now include **UNLIMITED teams and users**<sup>1</sup> . We appreciate your support so far very much, and I'm happy to announce this first of more early adopter perks to come. We have roughly 48 early adopter plans left, so if you plan to onboard your team, now is a great time to [grab your early adopter seat.](https://documen.so/claim-early-adopters-plan)
We are eager to hear from all teams users how you like this addition and what we can add to make it even better. Connect with us on [Twitter / X](https://twitter.com/eltimuro) (DM open) or [Discord](https://documen.so/discord) if you have any questions or comments! We're always here, and we would love to hear from you :)
> 🚨 We need you help to help us to make this the biggest launch week yet: <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=It's @Documenso Launch Week Day 1! Teams just dropped. Check it out https://documen.so/day1 🚀"> Support us on Twitter </a> or anywhere to spread awareness for open signing! The best posts will receive merch codes 👀
Best from Hamburg\
Timur
\
[1] Within reason. If you are unsure what that means, feel free to contact hi@documenso.com and ask for clarification if it's more than 100.
> TLDR; You can now reuse documents via templates. More field types coming soon as well.
## Introducing Templates
It's day 2 of Launch Week, everybody 🙌 After introducing [Teams](https://documenso.com/blog/launch-week-2-day-1) yesterday, today we are looking at making Documenso faster for daily use:
We are launching templates for Documenso! Templates are an easy way to reuse documents you send out often with just a few clicks. With templates, you can:
<figure>
<MdxNextImage
src="/blog/quickfill.png"
width="1260"
height="630"
alt="Template recipients quick fill view"
/>
<figcaption className="text-center">
Quickly fill out recipients, when creating from a template
</figcaption>
</figure>
- Save often-uploaded documents for reuse
- Pre-define fields, so you just have to send the document
- Quickly fill out recipients and roles for new documents
- Share templates with your team to make working together even easier
<figure>
<MdxNextImage
src="/blog/template.png"
width="1260"
height="630"
alt="Create from template view"
/>
<figcaption className="text-center">
POV: You are a diligent german and create custom receipts with Documenso.
</figcaption>
</figure>
## Pricing
Templates are **included in all Documenso Plans!** That includes our free tier: The limit of 5 documents per month still applies, but you are free to reach it with less friction using templates. Sharing templates with other users is only possible with the teams plan. If you want to share templates with people not in your team, we might have something coming up later this week 👀
## What's Next for Templates
We have a lot of great stuff coming up for templates as well:
- More Field Types are in the pipeline
- Sharing Templates Externally 👀
Check out templates [here](https://documen.so/templates) and let us know what you think and what we can improve. Which field types are you missing? Connect with us on [Twitter / X](https://twitter.com/eltimuro) (DM open) or [Discord](https://documen.so/discord) if you have any questions or comments! We're always here and would love to hear from you :)
> 🚨 We need you help to help us to make this the biggest launch week yet: <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=It's @Documenso Launch Week Day 2! They just launched templates, and I'm pumped 🎉🚀🚀🚀. Check it out https://documen.so/day2"> Support us on Twitter </a> or anywhere to spread awareness for open signing! The best posts will receive merch codes 👀
title: Moving from Linear to GitHub & LIVE Roadmap 2.0
description: We are leaving linear and are going all in on GitHub. Here is how we do it.
authorName: 'Timur Ercan'
authorImage: '/blog/blog-author-timur.jpeg'
authorRole: 'Co-Founder'
date: 2024-01-10
tags:
- GitHub
- Backlog
- Roadmap
---
# From Linear to GitHub
> TLDR; We are leaving Linear and are using only GitHub going forward. We no longer communicate feature timelines, only what we are working on and what's next.
If you follow us, you know we have been in full-on build mode. We are building, the community is building, it's great. Building is our daily business, so we think a lot about improving our approach to doing it.
Our most recent approach is to reduce the number of tools and platforms we use. Every tool we use
- Reduces the average time you spend on the tool
- Reduces your focus
- Increases mental load to keep all points of interest in mind
We thought about where we spend the most time, and hardly surprising: it's GitHub. Not only do we spend a lot of time there, but we also WANT to spend a lot of time there because:
- It's where the community contributes, and we are all about community
- It's where we show the world what we are working on
# The old structure
So far, we have been using Linear for our Backlog/ Task Management and synced issues we want to showcase or work on with the community via synclinear.com. Not only did we have our development issues there, but since
we have our own resident founding designer, we created a proper design backlog to structure our design workflows.
# The new structure
We moved everything to GitHub once we realized our focus was already there. This has a few key benefits:
- Reducing dilution of attention and time: You can hang out on GitHub without risk of missing much
- Putting different aspects of Documenso close to each other: Development, Design, Community
- Keep long-term, niche, and very abstract issues out of the main repo so we don't get desensitized by large issue numbers
To achieve this, we created a few GitHub repositories to host issues, with the main repository remaining the central point of interest, especially for the community.
## 1. Main Repository - Day to day Issues and the shorter-term roadmap (LIVE Roadmap 2.0)
Apart from the source code of the Documenso app and website, the main repo houses issues raised by the community and issues where we invite the community to participate.
With the overhauling of our issue management, we are also updating our progress communication. While the software and product development process is highly complex,
we try to give as much insight into what we do as possible. To that end, we went through 3 phases, three being what we do now.
1. **One extensive roadmap**: Initially we had one roadmap and were (very) slowly checking off boxes there (via a "Roadmap" milestone). While this is easy, it's also pretty imprecise and not practical as the project grows
2. **Estimated releases per quarter**: To give better guidance, we tried communicating our goals for the quarter; a pretty big window we thought we could roughly "hit". While the idea of not being too detailed was good, it is tough to estimate when some significant things are done if you do a lot of minor/ other things in parallel,
like working with the community and tuning things you go. Hitting time targets is tricky because there may be better things to do than sticking to that time target. This is always much easier to grasp for the people closely involved. The fallacy is to assume the thing you plan for exists in a vacuum.
3. Since we do not want to limit ourselves in choosing the most effective course but still give some insight into what's going on and what's coming up, we updated the live roadmap [https://documen.so/live](https://documen.so/live). It now shows what we are currently working on and what we plan on doing next. We do not provide
a specific timeline anymore since we couldn't even if we wanted to. Of course, we set our short-term goals based on what's best for the community. We give updates on the issues being worked on as well as possible.
The public backlog houses everything we want to build eventually. We do not provide a specific timeline of when that might happen. If we decide against something, it will be removed from the public backlog, as we consider this our long-term vision for Documenso. If you are interested in something on the roadmap, comment on the issue or post on Discord. This helps us gauge interest in specific features.
**Issues in the public backlog are not** available to be worked on. For issues to work on, please check the main repository issues. The issues found here are scoped broader since they are not meant for immediate execution but rather give a sense of where Documenso is going and what we consider part of our domain.
## 3. Internal Backlog
> github.com/documenso/backlog-internal
<figure>
<MdxNextImage
src="/blog/gh1.png"
width="1260"
height="630"
alt="GitHub: Development Board"
/>
<figcaption className="text-center">
Our internal Kanban for development
</figcaption>
</figure>
This serves as the direct replacement for our Linear backlog. Here, we manage issues that are either too small or short-term for inclusion in the long-term roadmap, yet too specialized or fundamental to be integrated into the main repository. Our development Kanban board is implemented using a GitHub project.
## 4. Internal Design Backlog
> github.com/documenso/design-internal
<figure>
<MdxNextImage
src="/blog/gh2.png"
width="1260"
height="630"
alt="GitHub: Design Board"
/>
<figcaption className="text-center">
Our internal Kanban for design
</figcaption>
</figure>
This is the design equivalent of the internal backlog. The internal design backlog houses our design projects that include the exploration of new features, detailed UI designs, and improving the platform overall.
It's similar to the Kanban board for the development backlog.
While the internal design backlog also existed in Linear, the public design repository is new. Since designing in the open is tricky, we opted to publish the detailed design artifacts with the corresponding feature instead.
We already have design.documenso.com housing our general design system. Here, we will publish the specifics of how we applied this to each feature. We will publish the first artifacts here soon, what may be in the cards can be found on the [LIVE Roadmap](https://documen.so/live).
Feel free to connect with us on [Twitter / X](https://twitter.com/eltimuro) (DM open) or [Discord](https://documen.so/discord) if you have any questions or comments! We're always here to help and would love to hear from you :)
description: It's the Launch Week Day finale, Day 5! We are going out with a bang and introducing the 🔴 LIVE roadmap, featuring our next Product Hunt Launch - Free Singleplayer Documenso - Sign without creating an account!
authorName: 'Timur Ercan'
authorImage: '/blog/blog-author-timur.jpeg'
authorRole: 'Co-Founder'
date: 2023-09-29
tags:
- Free Plan
- Launch
- Roadmap
---
<figure>
<MdxNextImage
src="/blog/roadmap.png"
width="1260"
height="630"
alt="XKCD: Bug"
/>
<figcaption className="text-center">
"Being early is, uh, good." -Unknown
</figcaption>
</figure>
> TLDR; We are launching a [🔴 LIVE roadmap](https://documen.so/launches), that gets updated regularly.\
> First upcoming launch: A free single signer experience.
## The Road Ahead
It's been quite a week, launching our [design system](https://documenso.com/blog/design-system), [kicking of a Malfunction Mania](https://documenso.com/blog/malfunction-mania), a [shiny new contributor perk](https://documenso.com/blog/shop) and our [early adopter deal](https://documenso.com/blog/early-adopters). After discussing Version 1.0 a lot, we want to close the week by looking ahead. As an open company, we want transparency about what we are working on and what to expect next. Especially for our Early Adopters, we want to paint a clear picture of what to expect in the near term.
Communicating software development progress and goals is historically tricky because of it's complex nature. Exact release dates are notoriously unreliable; if they are not, they force a particular style of development, forcing the team to make tradeoffs on scope and quality.
To give an appropriate insight into our work, we are launching our new [🔴 LIVE roadmap](https://documen.so/launches) today:
- A List of quarterly development and feature goals
- That gets updated regularly (bi-weekly)
- Has up-to-date insights from the team on where we stand
**While there are some great features planned, one stands out: Single Player Mode!**
🚨 We are going back to Product Hunt! Are you ready, player one?
</figcaption>
</figure>
</a>
Single Player Mode will be a free, loginless signing experience for single signers. If you hate creating an account to sign a single, once-in-a-while-document yourself as much as we do, we've got you. Our new free tier will accompany Singleplayer. While you don't HAVE to create an account to sign sth. quickly, you can. A free tier Documenso Account will give you the following:
- A place to store all your sent and received Documenso-signed documents
- Free forever
- Unlimited recipients
- 5 free signatures per month (for now, excluding third party types like QES)
- The use of templates, as soon as we [release](https://documen.so/launches) them
Singleplayer will launch in the first half of October, shortly after the release of 1.0, **[ON PRODUCT HUNT!](https://www.producthunt.com/products/documenso)** That's right, we are going back to Product Hunt to kick of this new phase of Documenso and you are invited to join us once again :)
**[Subscribe on PH](https://www.producthunt.com/products/documenso)** to be notified when we launch.
If you have any questions or comments, please reach out on [Twitter / X](https://twitter.com/eltimuro) (DM open) or [Discord](https://documen.so/discord).
description: Launch Week Day 2 Y'all! We're getting ready to release Documenso 1.0! Join in on the fun of making sure the open-source alternative to DocuSign is on point. We're calling a 'MALFUNCTION MANIA.'
authorName: 'Timur Ercan'
authorImage: '/blog/blog-author-timur.jpeg'
authorRole: 'Co-Founder'
date: 2023-09-26
tags:
- Testing
- Rewrite
- Bounties
---
<figure>
<MdxNextImage
src="/blog/mm.png"
width="1260"
height="630"
alt="Malfunctioning Documenso Logo in broken colors"
/>
<figcaption className="text-center">
We're calling a MALFUNCTION MANIA! 🚨
</figcaption>
</figure>
> TLDR; Documenso 1.0 is in the [staging environment](https://documen.so/staging). Go check it out.
It's been a minute since Lucas proclaimed, ["We're doing a rewrite"](https://documenso.com/blog/why-were-doing-a-rewrite), and many of you have been asking when the new version will be available. I'm happy to say that the wait has come to an end. The work on Documenso 1.0 has reached a level we feel comfortable going into the next phase with. We had a lot of community feedback, contributions, and moral support to get us this far, which is why we're excited to announce the most extensive community project yet:
As Documenso 1.0 just hit the staging environment, we're calling a MALFUNCTION MANIA. An enormous, public testing phase, where we invite everyone to try out the new version, hunt down, report, and fix any malfunctions (aka bugs), and give feedback before release. Malfunction Mania will happen alongside our internal testing, and by combining the two, we want to ensure the best possible release we can have for Version 1.0. We know many of you have been eager to contribute; this is your chance (the first of many to come).
## As part of Malfunction Mania, we're offering special bug bounties
- We award $25 - $100 per report/ issue/ fix, depending on the severity and if the problem is already known
- Bounties will be awarded for fixing reported or other critical issues via accepted Pull Requests (PR)
- Just reporting issues in a reproducible way can also be awarded
- Smaller but notable contributions like minor issues and documentation will be awarded with exclusive merch as we see fit.
## What you can do
- Head over to the [staging environment](https://documen.so/staging), check out the new version and give it a spin;
- Check out the [source code](https://github.com/documenso/documenso) on GitHub and look it over;
- Spin up the new version locally and try it out.
## How to get the bounties
- Report bugs by creating an issue here: [documen.so/issues](https://documen.so/issues);
- Fix bugs by creating a Pull Request (PR);
- Look over and add missing documentation/ Quickstarts and other useful resources.
Best from Hamburg
Timur
We don't have a specific end date for Malfunction Mania. We plan to move the staging version into the production environment by the end of the month once we're happy with the results. Bug reports and fixes are, of course, always welcome going forward.
**[Follow Documenso on Twitter / X](https://documen.so/tw) and [join the Discord server](https://documen.so/discord) to get the latest about Malfunction Mania.**
description: Signing documents is a fundamental building block of private, economic, and government interactions. Access to easy and secure signing to participate in society should therefore be a fundamental right for everyone. The technology to enable this should be accessible and widespread.
authorName: 'Timur Ercan'
authorImage: '/blog/blog-author-timur.jpeg'
authorRole: 'Co-Founder'
date: 2023-07-13
tags:
- Manifesto
- Open Source
- Vision
---
<figure>
<MdxNextImage
src="/blog/blog-banner-manifest.jpeg"
width="1260"
height="630"
alt="The Documenso Manifest blog banner"
/>
<figcaption className="text-center">
Documenso — The Open Source DocuSign Alternative.
</figcaption>
</figure>
Signing documents is a fundamental building block of private, economic, and government interactions. Access to easy and secure signing to participate in society should therefore be a fundamental right for everyone. The technology to enable this should be accessible and widespread.
We know that open source is the key to solving this need once and for all to benefit all humankind. Using open source kickstarts innovation by putting the open sharing of ideas and solutions first. With Documenso, we will create an open and globally accessible signing platform to empower users, customers, and developers to fulfill their needs. Documenso is built by and for the global community, listening and implementing what is needed. Being transparent with the code and the processes that use it brings trust and security to the platform.
We build Documenso for longevity and scale by embracing the capital efficiency and inclusiveness of the Commercial Open Source (COSS) movement. We are building a global commodity for the world.
description: We're redesigning Documenso by making it more elegant and appropriately playful. Here's a sneak peek.
authorName: 'Timur Ercan'
authorImage: '/blog/blog-author-timur.jpeg'
authorRole: 'Co-Founder'
date: 2023-08-21
tags:
- Design
- Preview
---
Since we launched [Documenso 0.9 on Product Hunt](https://producthunt.com/products/documenso#documenso) last May, the team's been hard at work behind the scenes to ramp up development and design to deliver an excellent next version.
Last week, Lucas shared the reasoning how [why we're doing a rewrite](https://documenso.com/blog/why-were-doing-a-rewrite).
Today, I'm pleased to share with you a preview of the next Documenso.
## Preview the next Documenso
We redesigned the whole signing flow to make it more appealing and more convenient.
We improved the overall look and feel by making it more elegant and appropriately playful. Focused on the task at hand, but explicitly enjoying doing it.
**We call it happy minimalism.**
We paid particular attention to the moment of signing, which should be celebrated.
The image below is the final bloom of the completion celebration we added:
<figure>
<MdxNextImage
src="/blog/blog-fig-preview-documenso.webp"
width="2000"
height="1268"
alt="Figure 1"
/>
<figcaption className="text-center">"You've signed a new document."</figcaption>
</figure>
## Kicking off a new phase of collaboration
This preview also is the kickoff for a new phase of how we collaborate with the community.
We recently [switched to Discord](https://documenso.com/blog/switching-from-slack-to-discord) to set up a more developer-friendly, community-driven environment, and we just released the [public roadmap](https://documen.so/launches).
As always, if you have any questions or feedback, please reach out. We love to hear from you.
Best from Hamburg,
Timur
Make sure to [star the GitHub repository](https://documen.so/github), [follow us on X](http://documen.so/twitter) and [join the Discord server](https://documen.so/discord) to keep up to date with all things Documenso.
We're building a beautiful, open-source alternative to DocuSign.
description: We are excited to report the closing of our Pre-Seed round. You can find the juicy details on our new /open page. Yes, it was signed using Documenso.
authorName: 'Timur Ercan'
authorImage: '/blog/blog-author-timur.jpeg'
authorRole: 'Co-Founder'
date: 2023-08-17
tags:
- Funding
- Metrics
- Open Startup
---
Today I'm happy to announce that we closed a \$1.25M Pre-Seed round for Documenso, bringing our total funding to \$1.54M. The round actually closed last month, we just were sneaky about it.
## Two more for the road (to open signing)
We're ecstatic to welcome [OSS Capital](https://twitter.com/osscapital) and especially [Joseph Jacks](https://twitter.com/JosephJacks_) to the inner circle of the open signing revolution. We're also fortunate to be joined by Orrick's very own [John Harrison](https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-harrison-a1213b9/) and his legal experience. For those who are wondering, yes, the round was, of course, signed using Documenso.
## Open Source, Open Metrics
If you follow us, you know we're firmly committed to the open source values of openness and transparency. For us, this includes not only the code side of things but also the business. As we aim to build trust among our investors, customers, and partners, we want to be open about what's going on. We also want to allow everyone to learn from our data and choices, just as we did from so many other COSS (Commercial Open Source) startups. The term "Open Startup" isn't precisely defined (and probably will never be, just like startup). There is however a [great write-up](https://cal.com/blog/open-startup) about the basics by the founder of our favorite open source scheduling tool Cal.com.
The two main takeaways are:
- "Any Startup that shares its metrics as open as technically and operationally possible is an Open Startup."
- "Why should I care? Frankly speaking, Open Startups have a tough time screwing you over."
The more open the culture, the less shady stuff is going on. While this may sound trivial, the implications are profound. A new generation of organizations, operating more ethically and responsibly simply because everything is out in the open.
For us, there are two sides to being an Open Startup:
- The company side: Sharing Financial KPIs like growth, funding, team structure, salary, internal processes, and tools.
- The product side: Sharing insights and data like usage, reach, and GitHub activity.
Both sides aim to contribute to the global knowledge base of how startups work, specifically COSS startups. As we see more and more COSS, best practices and business insights should be broadly available to let the space mature. As we contribute code to the global community, we also contribute our business knowledge to help bring about even more COSS.
Starting today, we're releasing a lot of our data as part of the Open Startup movement. You can find the juicy details on our funding and more here: [documen.so/open](https://documen.so/open)
description: Happy Launch Week Day 3. The limited edition "Malfunction Mania" shirt is here. Grab it, while you can.
authorName: 'Timur Ercan'
authorImage: '/blog/blog-author-timur.jpeg'
authorRole: 'Co-Founder'
date: 2023-09-27
tags:
- Merch
- Rewrite
- Bounties
---
<figure>
<MdxNextImage
src="/blog/mania-shirt.png"
width="1260"
height="630"
alt="Malfunctioning Mania Themed Documenso Shirt"
/>
<figcaption className="text-center">
The Limited Edition "Malfunction Mania" Shirt - Only during Malfunction Mania
</figcaption>
</figure>
> TLDR; We have a fancy limited edition shirt. Contribute to [Malfunction Mania](https://documenso.com/blog/malfunction-mania) to get one.
We kicked off [Malfunction Mania](https://documenso.com/blog/malfunction-mania) yesterday, and the first [issues](https://github.com/documenso/documenso/issues) are coming in. As mentioned, there will be dollar bounties, but we also wanted to celebrate entering the final stage of version 1.0 with something special. This is why we created this limited edition shirt. It will only be available during the runtime of Malfunction Mania. We have yet to set an exact end date, the next event in October, however, is looming, ready to end MM.
## Documenso Merch Shop
The shirt will be available in our [merch shop](https://documen.so/shop) via a unique discount code. While the shirt will be gone after Malfunction Mania, the shop is here to stay and provide a well-deserved reward for great community members and contributors. All items can be earned by contributing to Documenso.
<figure>
<MdxNextImage
src="/blog/shop.png"
width="1260"
height="630"
alt="Malfunctioning Mania Themed Documenso Shirt"
/>
<figcaption className="text-center">
Merch at Documenso is always given to those who deserve it.
</figcaption>
</figure>
## How earn the shirt
If you have been following us, you know we are not big on formalities but highly value rewarding merit. That being said, any worthwhile contribution has a chance to get one. To inspire, here are a few ideas on how to contribute to securing one:
- Report a bug with detailed reproduction details
- Fix a bug (you or somebody else reported)
- Analyze and describe a usability or user experience shortcoming
- Test the product in a systematic and least somewhat documented way
- Engage in discussion about the current version and its choices
- Raise awareness for Malfunction Mania and try out the [version currently in staging](https://documen.so/staging)
- Review the version with a video, stream, or screenshots and post about it
- Review existing or create missing documentation
Best from Hamburg
Timur
**[Follow Documenso on Twitter / X](https://documen.so/tw) and [join the Discord server](https://documen.so/discord) to get the latest updates about Malfunction Mania.**
description: The Documenso community is growing and we feel the need to have a more community and developer-friendly environment. We're switching to Discord.
authorName: 'Flo Merian'
authorImage: '/blog/blog-author-flo.jpeg'
authorRole: 'Go-to-market'
date: 2023-08-02
tags:
- Announcement
- Community
---
We’re switching to Discord.
Documenso is an open-source DocuSign alternative, built with community and transparency in mind.
So, when we started working on the project, we quickly set up a Slack workspace to start engaging with community members.
As the community grows (reached 2K stars on GitHub and 100 community members on Slack), we felt the need to set up a more community-friendly environment.
The Documenso team is growing, too. [Lucas joined Timur](https://twitter.com/ElTimuro/status/1648608988391514112), then [Ephraim](https://twitter.com/documenso/status/1662418374243041280) and [David](https://github.com/dguyen) recently joined the journey. We want to stay in touch with the community as much as possible and avoid context-switching to focus on work, support, and fun.
We’re an open-source project and focus on building a great developer experience. So, when we thought of a Slack replacement, community and developer-friendly, Discord was an obvious choice — not to mention that it would help us keep up with [OSS friends](https://documen.so/oss), too.
So, we’re switching all conversations, team and community-wide, to Discord.
In this post, we won’t debate _why_ we’re switching — Slack vs. Discord is a long-lasting debate with pros and cons, and fans on both sides. There are great [stories](https://blog.meilisearch.com/from-slack-to-discord-our-migration/) and [threads](https://twitter.com/McPizza0/status/1655519558600470528) on the topic. We just don’t want to write yet another story here.
Instead, we’ll focus on _how_ we plan to make the switch.
## Who is this story for?
First, we wrote this post for the team so we’re ready for the switch. Then we post it online because we value transparency and thought it might help the community.
For community members, this story would help you understand how we plan to make the switch and give you the guidance to fully embrace the new experience.
For founders and makers who would like to switch too, in one way or another, this story would help you handle the transition with a detailed guide.
## Switching to Discord
We’re switching to Discord, step by step. First, we’re moving team conversations, then we’re moving the community with a 15-day buffering.
The detailed plan goes like this:
- 2023-07-25 `t=0`: Timur starts setting up the Discord server and sends invites to the team.
- 2023-07-26 `t+1`: The team switches to Discord. The objective is to get used to the product and to customize it to feel at home and, when we’re ready to welcome the community, to make new members feel at home, too.
- 2023-08-02 `t+8`: We announce to the community the upcoming changes in the different channels — GitHub, Twitter, and Slack.
- **GitHub**
- Create new Pull Request
- Add story to the blog
- Update link to the community
```
https://documen.so/discord
```
- Start a new Discussion
```markdown
Happy Wednesday!
TL,DR: We’re switching to Discord. [Join the fun!](https://documen.so/discord)
We want to build a beautiful, open-source DocuSign alternative. As we're growing (reached 2.3K Stars), we feel the need to have a more community- and developer-friendly environment to share ideas, support, and memes.
Make sure to join the server to keep up to date on all things Documenso.
Oh and, spoiler alert, there may be some swag there 👀
See you there!
Flo
```
- **Twitter**
- [Tweet the announcement](https://twitter.com/documenso/status/1686719482096766977)
- Pin Tweet
- Update link in bio
```
The Open Source DocuSign Alternative.
http://documen.so/github
http://documen.so/discord
http://documen.so/manifest
ㅤ
```
- **Slack**
- Post message in `#general`
```markdown
Happy Wednesday!
TL,DR: We’re switching to Discord. [Join the fun!](https://documen.so/discord)
We want to build a beautiful, open-source DocuSign alternative. As we're growing (reached 2.3K Stars), we feel the need to have a more community- and developer-friendly environment to share ideas, support, and memes.
Make sure to [join the server](https://documen.so/discord) to keep up to date on all things Documenso.
Oh and, spoiler alert, there may be some swag there 👀
See you there!
Flo
```
- Pin post
- Set topic and description
```
We're switching to Discord. Join the fun: https://documen.so/discord
- 2023-08-09 `t+15`: 7 days later, we send a reminder on Slack.
- **Slack**
- Schedule reminder in `#general`
```
Friendly reminder: we're switching to Discord and will soon disconnect this Slack workspace.
Join the fun! https://documen.so/discord
```
- 2023-08-16 `t+22`: 15 days later, we’re making the final edits to the Slack workspace.
- **Slack**
- [Edit posting permissions](https://app.slack.com/slackhelp/en-US/360004635551) in `#general`
- Disconnect Slack
## Final thoughts
- We’re at the very, early stage on our journey to building a beautiful, open-source DocuSign alternative. We want to build a great developer experience with the open-source community and, switching to Discord, we want to set up the foundations of an open, safe place for community members to get in touch, brainstorm ideas, and have fun.
- It doesn’t mean we won’t ever switch back to Slack. The tools of today aren’t the ones of tomorrow. We don’t delete the Slack workspace, we archive it, and keep the `documenso` handle. May it be just an _au revoir?_
- For now, we’re pushing forward and are eager to welcome you on Discord. Make sure to [join the server](https://documen.so/discord) in order to keep up to date on all things Documenso. See you there!
description: I started Documenso because I wanted to build a modern tech company in a growing space with a mission bigger than money, I overpaid for a SSL cert 13 years ago, like encryption and want to help make the internet/ world more open.
authorName: 'Timur Ercan'
authorImage: '/blog/blog-author-timur.jpeg'
authorRole: 'Co-Founder'
date: 2024-02-06
tags:
- Founders
- Mission
- Open Source
---
<figure>
<MdxNextImage
src="/blog/burgers.jpeg"
width="650"
height="100"
alt="Burgers, drinks on a table between friends."
/>
<figcaption className="text-center">
Not the burger from the story. But it could be as well, the place is pretty generic.
</figcaption>
</figure>
> TLDR; I started Documenso because I wanted to build a modern tech company in a growing space with a mission bigger than money, I overpaid for a SSL cert 13 years ago, like encryption, and wanted to help make the world/ Internet more open.
It's hard to pinpoint when I decided to start Documenso. I first uttered the word "Documenso" while sitting in a restaurant with [Felix](https://twitter.com/flxmgdnz), eating a burger and discussing what's next in late 2022. Shortly after, I sat down with a can of caffeine and started building [Documenso 0.9](https://github.com/documenso/documenso/releases/tag/0.9-developer-preview). Starting Documenso is the most deliberate business decision I ever made. It was deliberate from the personal side and deliberate from the business side.
Looking at the personal side, I've had some time off and was actively looking for my next move. Looking back, I stumbled into my first company. Less so with the second one, but I joined my co-founders and did not develop the core concept myself. While coming up with Documenso, I was deliberately looking for a few things, based on my previous experiences:
- An entrepreneurial space that was a big enough opportunity
- A huge macro trend, lifting everything in it's space
- A mode of working that fits my flow (which, luckily for me, is pretty close to the modern startup/ tech scene)
- A more significant impact to be made than just earning lots of money (though there is nothing wrong with that)
Quick shoutout to everyone feeling even a pinch of imposter syndrome while calling themselves a founder. It was after ten years, slightly after starting Documenso, that I started doing it in my head without cringing. So cut yourself some slack. Considering how long I've been doing this, I would have earned the internal title sooner, and so do you. After grappling with my identity for a second, as is customary for founders, my decision to start this journey came quickly.
Aside from the personal dimension, I had a clear mindset of what I wanted. The criteria I describe below clicked into place one after another, in no particular order. Having experienced no market demand and a very gritty, grindy market, I was looking for something more fundamental. Something basic, infrastructure-like, with a huge demand. A growing market deeply rooted in the ever-increasing digitalization of the world.
And to be honest, I just always liked digital signature tools. It's a product that is easy enough to comprehend and build but complex and impactful enough to satisfy a hard need. It's a product you can build very product-driven since the market and domain are well understood. So when asked about what's next for me, I literally said, "Digital, um, let's say… signatures". As it turns out, my first gut feeling was spot on, but how spot on I only realized when I started researching the space. An open source document signing company happens to be the perfect intersection of all the criteria and personal preferences I described above; it's pretty amazing, actually:
- The global signing market is enormous and rapidly growing
- To put it bluntly, the signing space is vast and dominated by one outdated player. Outdated in terms of tech, pricing, and ecosystem
- The signing space is also ridiculously opaque for a space based on open web tech, open encryption tech, and open signing standards. Even by closed-source standards
- We are currently seeing a renaissance for commercial open source startups, combining venture founder financials with open source mechanics
- Rebuilding a fundamental infrastructure as open source with a meaningful scale has a profoundly transformative effect on any space
- Working in open source requires being open, cooperative, and inclusive. It also requires quite a bit of context jumping, "going with the flow," and empathy
- Apart from fixing the signing space, making Documenso successful would be another domino tile toward open source eating the world, which is great for everyone
Building a company is so complex it can't be planned out. Basing it on great fundamentals and the expected dynamics is the best founders can do, in my humble opinion. After these fundamental decisions, you are (almost) just along for the ride and need to focus on solving the "conventional" problems of starting a company the best you can. With digital signatures hitting so many points of my personal and professional checklist, this already was a great fit. What got me excited at first, though, apart from the perspective of drinking caffeine and coding, was this:
Roughly 13 years ago, I was launching my first product. We obviously wanted SSL encryption on the product site, so I had to buy an SSL certificate. ~$200ish, two years validity, from VeriSign, I think. Apart from it being ridiculously complicated to get, it bothered me that we had basically paid $200 for what is essentially a long number someone generated. SSL wasn't even that widespread back then because it was mainly considered important for e-commerce, no wonder considering it cost so much. "Why would I encrypt a blog?". Fast forward to today, and everyone can get a free SSL cert courtesy of [Let's Encrypt](https://letsencrypt.org/) and browsers are basically blocking unencrypted sites. Mostly, it is even built into hosting platforms, so you barely even notice as a developer.
I had forgotten all about that story until I realized this is where signing is today. A global need fulfilled only by a closed ecosystem, not really state-of-the-art companies, leading to, let's call it, steep prices. I had considered Let's Encrypt a pillar of the open internet for so long that I forgot that they weren't always there. One day, someone said, let's make the internet better. Signing is another domain that should have had an open ecosystem for a long time. Another parallel to that story is the fact that the cryptographic certificates you need for document signing are also stuck in the "pre-Let's Encrypt world." Free document signing certificates via "Let's Sign" are now another to-do on the [long-term roadmap](https://documen.so/roadmap) list for the open signing ecosystem. Effecting this change in any way is a huge driver for me.
Apart from my personal gripes with the corporate certificate industry, I have always found encryption fascinating. It's such a fundamental force in society when you think about it: Secure Communication, Secure Commerce, and even [internet native, open source money (Bitcoin)](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin) were created using a bit of smart math. All these examples are expressions of very fundamental human behaviors that should be enabled and protected by open infrastructures.
I never told rthis to anyone before, but since starting Documenso, I realized that I underestimated the impact and importance of open source for quite some time. When I was in University, I distantly remember my mindset of "yeah, open source is nice, but the great, commercially successful products used in the real world are built by closed companies (aka Microsoft)" _shudder_ It was never really a conscious thought, but enough that I started learning MS Silverlight before plain Javascript. It was slowly, over time, that I realized that open web standards are superior to closed ones, and even later, I understood the same holds true for all software. Open source fixes something in the economy I find hard to articulate. I did my best in [Commodifying Signing](https://documenso.com/blog/commodifying-signing).
To wrap this up, Documenso happens to be the perfect storm of market opportunity, my interests, and my passions. Creating a company in which people want to work for the long term while tackling these issues is a critical side quest of Documenso. This is not only about building the next generation of signing tech; it's also about doing our part to normalize open, healthy, efficient working cultures and tackling relevant problems.
As always, feel free to connect on [Twitter / X](https://twitter.com/eltimuro) (DM open) or [Discord](https://documen.so/discord) if you have any questions, comments, thoughts or feelings.
description: As we move beyond MVP and onto creating the open signing infrastructure we all deserve we need to take a quick pit-stop.
authorName: 'Lucas Smith'
authorImage: '/blog/blog-author-lucas.png'
authorRole: 'Co-Founder'
date: 2023-08-05
tags:
- Community
- Development
---
<figure>
<MdxNextImage
src="/blog/blog-banner-rewrite.png"
width="1260"
height="630"
alt="Next generation documenso"
/>
<figcaption className="text-center">
The next generation of Documenso and signing infrastructure.
</figcaption>
</figure>
> TLDR; We're rewriting Documenso to move on from our MVP foundations and create an even better base for the project. This rewrite will provide us the opportunity to fix a few things within the project while enabling a faster development process moving forward.
# Introduction
At Documenso, we're building the next generation of signing infrastructure with a focus on making it inclusive and accessible for all. To do this we need to ensure that the software we write is also inclusive and accessible and for this reason we’ve decided to take a step back and perform a _quick_ rewrite.
Although we've achieved validated MVP status and gained paying customers, we're still quite far from our goal of creating a trusted, open signing experience. To move closer to that future, we need to step back and focus on the project's foundations to ensure we can solve all the items we set out to on our current homepage.
Fortunately, this wasn't a case of someone joining the team and proposing a rewrite due to a lack of understanding of the codebase and context surrounding it. Prior to joining Documenso as a co-founder, I had spent an extensive amount of time within the Documenso codebase and had a fairly intimate understanding of what was happening for the most part. This knowledge allowed me to make the fair and simultaneously hard call to take a quick pause so we can rebuild our current foundations to enable accessibility and a faster delivery time in the future.
# The Reasoning: TypeScript
Our primary reason for the rewrite is to better leverage the tools and technologies we've already chosen, namely TypeScript. While Documenso currently uses TypeScript, it's not fully taking advantage of its safety features, such as generics and type guards.
The codebase currently has several instances of `any` types, which is expected when working in an unknown domain where object models aren't fully understood before exploration and experimentation. These `any`s initially sped up development, but have since become a hindrance due to the lack of type information, combined with prop drilling. As a result, it's necessary to go through a lot of context to understand the root of any given issue.
The rewrite is using TypeScript to its full potential, ensuring that every interaction is strongly typed, both through general TypeScript tooling and the introduction of [Zod](https://github.com/colinhacks/zod), a validation library with excellent TypeScript support. With these choices, we can ensure that the codebase is robust to various inputs and states, as most issues will be caught during compile time and flagged within a developer's IDE.
# The Reasoning: Stronger API contracts
In line with our pattern of creating strongly typed contracts, we've decided to use [tRPC](https://github.com/trpc/trpc) for our internal API. This enables us to share types between our frontend and backend and establish a solid contract for interactions between the two. This is in contrast to the currently untyped API endpoints in Documenso, which are accessed using the `fetch` API that is itself untyped.
Using tRPC drastically reduces the chance of failures resulting from mundane things like argument or response shape changes during updates and upgrades. We made this decision easily because tRPC is a mature technology with no signs of losing momentum any time soon.
Additionally, many of our open-source friends have made the same choice for similar reasons.
# The Reasoning: Choosing exciting technologies
Although we already work with what I consider to be a fun stack that includes Next.js, Prisma, Tailwind, and more, it's no secret that contributors enjoy working with new technologies that benefit them in their own careers and projects.
To take advantage of this, we have decided to use Next.js 13 and React's new server component and actions architecture. Server components are currently popular among developers, with many loving and hating them at the same time.
I have personally worked with server components and actions since they were first released in October 2022 and have dealt with most of the hiccups and limitations along the way. Now, in July 2023, I believe they are in a much more stable place and are ready to be adopted, with their benefits being recognised by many.
By choosing to use server components and actions, we hope to encourage the community to participate more than they otherwise might. However, we are only choosing this because it has become more mature and stable. We will not choose things that are less likely to become the de-facto solution in the future, as we do not wish to inherit a pile of tech debt later on.
# The Reasoning: Allowing concurrent work
Another compelling reason for the rewrite was to effectively modularise code so we can work on features concurrently and without issue. This means extracting as much as possible out of components, API handlers and more and into a set of methods and functions that attempt to focus on just one thing.
In performing this work we should be able to easily make refactors and other changes to various parts of the code without stepping on each others feet, this also grants us the ability to upgrade or deprecate items as required by sticking to the contract of the previous method.
Additionally, this makes testing a much easier task as we can focus more on units of work rather than extensive end to end testing although we aim to have both, just not straight away.
# The Reasoning: Licensing of work
Another major reasoning for the rewrite is to ensure that all work performed on the project by both our internal team and external contributors is licensed in a way that benefits the project long-term. Prior to the rewrite contributors would create pull requests that would be merged in without any further process outside of the common code-review and testing cycles.
This was fine for the most part since we were simply working on the MVP but now as we move towards an infrastructure focus we intend on taking on enterprise clients who will have a need for a non-GPLv3 license since interpretations of it can be quite harmful to private hosting, to facilitate this we will require contributors to sign a contributor license agreement (CLA) prior to their changes being merged which will assign a perpetual license for us to use their code and relicense it as required such as for the use-case above.
While some might cringe at the idea of signing a CLA, we want to offer a compelling enterprise offering through means of dual-licensing. Great enterprise adoption is one of the cornerstones of our strategy and will be key to funding community and product development long-term.
_Do note that the above does not mean that we will ever go closed-source, it’s a point in our investor agreements that [https://github.com/documenso/documenso](https://github.com/documenso/documenso) will always remain available and open-source._
# Goals and Non-Goals
Rewriting an application is a monumental task that I have taken on and rejected many times in my career. As I get older, I become more hesitant to perform these rewrites because I understand that systems carry a lot of context and history. This makes them better suited for piecemeal refactoring instead, which avoids learning the lessons of the past all over again during the launch of the rewrite.
To ensure that we aren't just jumping off the deep end, I have set out a list of goals and non-goals to keep this rewrite lean and affordable.
### Goals
- Provide a clean design and interface for the newly rewritten application that creates a sense of trust and security at first glance.
- Create a stable foundation and architecture that will allow for growth into our future roadmap items (teams, automation, workflows, etc.).
- Create a robust system that requires minimal context through strong contracts and typing.
### Non-Goals
- Change the database schema (we don't want to make migration harder than it needs to be, thus all changes must be additive).
- Add too many features that weren't in the system prior to the rewrite.
- Remove any features that were in the older version of Documenso, such as free signatures (signatures that have no corresponding field).
# Rollout Plan
Thanks to the constraints listed above our rollout will hopefully be fairly painless, still to be safe we plan on doing the following.
1. In the current [testing environment](https://test.documenso.com), create and sign a number of documents leaving many in varying states of completion.
2. Deploy the rewrite to the testing environment and verify that all existing documents and information is retrievable and modifiable without any issue.
3. Create another set of documents using the new rewrite and verify that all interactions between authoring and signing work as expected.
4. Repeat this until we reach a general confidence level (expectation of two weeks).
Once we’ve reached the desired confidence level with our testing environment we will look to deploy the rewrite to the production environment ensuring that we’ve performed all the required backups in the event of a catastrophic failure.
# Want to help out?
We’re currently working on the **[feat/refresh](https://github.com/documenso/documenso/tree/feat/refresh)** branch on GitHub, we aim to have a CLA available to sign in the coming days so we can start accepting external contributions asap. While we’re nearing the end-stage of the rewrite we will be throwing up a couple of bounties shortly for things like [Husky](https://github.com/typicode/husky) and [Changesets](https://github.com/changesets/changesets).
Keep an eye on our [GitHub issues](https://github.com/documenso/documenso/issues) to stay up to date!
So you love Documenso and all the things that we do and now you want to work with us to unlock the future of open signing?
---
## Open Positions
Unfortunately we have no open positions available at the moment. Our team has grown and so we must grow with it, please check back from time to time as now is not forever and we may be hiring again in the future.
At Documenso, we aim to be a design-driven company.
We believe that design isn't just about how things look, but also how they work. We want to make sure that the product is easy to use and intuitive. We also want to ensure that the website, desktop and mobile apps are consistent and look and feel like they belong together.
To achieve this, we've created Documenso's design system containing tokens, primitives, and components, screens, and brand assets.
We're open-sourcing this design system so you can see how we build the product and think about design as a whole.
Documenso Inc. (“us”, “we”, or “our”) operates [https://documenso.com](https://documenso.com) (hereinafter referred to as “ **Service**”).
Our Privacy Policy governs your visit to [https://documenso.com](https://documenso.com), and explains how we collect, safeguard and disclose information that results from your use of our Service.
We use your data to provide and improve Service. By using Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. Unless otherwise defined in this Privacy Policy, the terms used in this Privacy Policy have the same meanings as in our Terms and Conditions.
Our Terms and Conditions (“**Terms**”) govern all use of our Service and together with the Privacy Policy constitutes your agreement with us (“ **agreement**”).
### 2\. Definitions
**SERVICE** means the https://documenso.com website operated by Documenso Inc.
**PERSONAL DATA** means data about a living individual who can be identified from those data (or from those and other information either in our possession or likely to come into our possession).
**USAGE DATA** is data collected automatically either generated by the use of Service or from Service infrastructure itself (for example, the duration of a page visit).
**COOKIES** are small files stored on your device (computer or mobile device).
**DATA CONTROLLER** means a natural or legal person who (either alone or jointly or in common with other persons) determines the purposes for which and the manner in which any personal data are, or are to be, processed. For the purpose of this Privacy Policy, we are a Data Controller of your data.
**DATA PROCESSORS (OR SERVICE PROVIDERS)** means any natural or legal person who processes the data on behalf of the Data Controller. We may use the services of various Service Providers in order to process your data more effectively.
**DATA SUBJECT** is any living individual who is the subject of Personal Data.
**THE USER** is the individual using our Service. The User corresponds to the Data Subject, who is the subject of Personal Data.
### 3\. Information Collection and Use
We collect several different types of information for various purposes to provide and improve our Service to you.
### 4\. Types of Data Collected
**Personal Data**
While using our Service, we may ask you to provide us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify you (“**Personal Data**”). Personally identifiable information may include, but is not limited to:
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2. First name and last name
3. Cookies and Usage Data
We may use your Personal Data to contact you with newsletters, marketing or promotional materials and other information that may be of interest to you. You may opt out of receiving any, or all, of these communications from us by following the unsubscribe link.
**Usage Data**
We may also collect information that your browser sends whenever you visit our Service or when you access Service by or through a mobile device (“**Usage Data**”).
This Usage Data may include information such as your computer's Internet Protocol address (e.g. IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our Service that you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.
When you access Service with a mobile device, this Usage Data may include information such as the type of mobile device you use, your mobile device unique ID, the IP address of your mobile device, your mobile operating system, the type of mobile Internet browser you use, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.
**Tracking Cookies Data**
We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on our Service and we hold certain information.
Cookies are files with a small amount of data which may include an anonymous unique identifier. Cookies are sent to your browser from a website and stored on your device. Other tracking technologies are also used such as beacons, tags and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyze our Service.
You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our Service.
Examples of Cookies we use:
1. **Session Cookies:** We use Session Cookies to operate our Service.
2. **Preference Cookies:** We use Preference Cookies to remember your preferences and various settings.
3. **Security Cookies:** We use Security Cookies for security purposes.
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### 5\. Use of Data
Documenso Inc. uses the collected data for various purposes:
1. to provide and maintain our Service;
2. to notify you about changes to our Service;
3. to allow you to participate in interactive features of our Service when you choose to do so;
4. to provide customer support;
5. to gather analysis or valuable information so that we can improve our Service;
6. to monitor the usage of our Service;
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8. to fulfill any other purpose for which you provide it;
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10. to provide you with notices about your account and/or subscription, including expiration and renewal notices, email-instructions, etc.;
11. to provide you with news, special offers and general information about other goods, services and events which we offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or enquired about unless you have opted not to receive such information;
12. in any other way we may describe when you provide the information;
13. for any other purpose with your consent.
### 6\. Retention of Data
We will retain your Personal Data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We will retain and use your Personal Data to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.
We will also retain Usage Data for internal analysis purposes. Usage Data is generally retained for a shorter period, except when this data is used to strengthen the security or to improve the functionality of our Service, or we are legally obligated to retain this data for longer time periods.
### 7\. Transfer of Data
Your information, including Personal Data, may be transferred to – and maintained on – computers located outside of your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ from those of your jurisdiction.
If you are located outside United States and choose to provide information to us, please note that we transfer the data, including Personal Data, to United States and process it there.
Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to that transfer.
Documenso Inc. will take all the steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and no transfer of your Personal Data will take place to an organisation or a country unless there are adequate controls in place including the security of your data and other personal information.
### 8\. Disclosure of Data
We may disclose personal information that we collect, or you provide:
1. **Disclosure for Law Enforcement.**
2. Under certain circumstances, we may be required to disclose your Personal Data if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities.
3. **Business Transaction.**
4. If we or our subsidiaries are involved in a merger, acquisition or asset sale, your Personal Data may be transferred.
5. **Other cases. We may disclose your information also:**
1. to our subsidiaries and affiliates;
2. to contractors, service providers, and other third parties we use to support our business;
3. to fulfill the purpose for which you provide it;
### 9\. Security of Data
The security of your data is important to us but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.
### 10\. Your Data Protection Rights Under General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
If you are a resident of the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA), you have certain data protection rights, covered by GDPR. – See more at [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj)
We aim to take reasonable steps to allow you to correct, amend, delete, or limit the use of your Personal Data.
If you wish to be informed what Personal Data we hold about you and if you want it to be removed from our systems, please email us at hi@documenso.com.
In certain circumstances, you have the following data protection rights:
1. the right to access, update or to delete the information we have on you;
2. the right of rectification. You have the right to have your information rectified if that information is inaccurate or incomplete;
3. the right to object. You have the right to object to our processing of your Personal Data;
4. the right of restriction. You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information;
5. the right to data portability. You have the right to be provided with a copy of your Personal Data in a structured, machine-readable and commonly used format;
6. the right to withdraw consent. You also have the right to withdraw your consent at any time where we rely on your consent to process your personal information;
Please note that we may ask you to verify your identity before responding to such requests. Please note, we may not able to provide Service without some necessary data.
You have the right to complain to a Data Protection Authority about our collection and use of your Personal Data. For more information, please contact your local data protection authority in the European Economic Area (EEA).
### 11\. Your Data Protection Rights under the California Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA)
CalOPPA is the first state law in the nation to require commercial websites and online services to post a privacy policy. The law’s reach stretches well beyond California to require a person or company in the United States (and conceivable the world) that operates websites collecting personally identifiable information from California consumers to post a conspicuous privacy policy on its website stating exactly the information being collected and those individuals with whom it is being shared, and to comply with this policy. – See more at: [https://consumercal.org/about-cfc/cfc-education-foundation/california-online-privacy-protection-act-caloppa-3/](https://consumercal.org/about-cfc/cfc-education-foundation/california-online-privacy-protection-act-caloppa-3/)
According to CalOPPA we agree to the following:
1. users can visit our site anonymously;
2. our Privacy Policy link includes the word “Privacy”, and can easily be found on the page specified above on the home page of our website;
3. users will be notified of any privacy policy changes on our Privacy Policy Page;
4. users are able to change their personal information by emailing us at hi@documenso.com.
Our Policy on “Do Not Track” Signals:
We honor Do Not Track signals and do not track, plant cookies, or use advertising when a Do Not Track browser mechanism is in place. Do Not Track is a preference you can set in your web browser to inform websites that you do not want to be tracked.
You can enable or disable Do Not Track by visiting the Preferences or Settings page of your web browser.
### 12\. Your Data Protection Rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
If you are a California resident, you are entitled to learn what data we collect about you, ask to delete your data and not to sell (share) it. To exercise your data protection rights, you can make certain requests and ask us:
1. **What personal information we have about you**. If you make this request, we will return to you:
1. The categories of personal information we have collected about you.
2. The categories of sources from which we collect your personal information.
3. The business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling your personal information.
4. The categories of third parties with whom we share personal information.
5. The specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.
6. A list of categories of personal information that we have sold, along with the category of any other company we sold it to. If we have not sold your personal information, we will inform you of that fact.
7. A list of categories of personal information that we have disclosed for a business purpose, along with the category of any other company we shared it with.
Please note, you are entitled to ask us to provide you with this information up to two times in a rolling twelve-month period. When you make this request, the information provided may be limited to the personal information we collected about you in the previous 12 months.
2. **To delete your personal information**. If you make this request, we will delete the personal information we hold about you as of the date of your request from our records and direct any service providers to do the same. In some cases, deletion may be accomplished through de-identification of the information. If you choose to delete your personal information, you may not be able to use certain functions that require your personal information to operate.
3. **To stop selling your personal information**. We don't sell or rent your personal information to any third parties for any purpose. You are the only owner of your Personal Data and can request disclosure or deletion at any time.
Please note, if you ask us to delete or stop selling your data, it may impact your experience with us, and you may not be able to participate in certain programs or membership services which require the usage of your personal information to function. But in no circumstances, we will discriminate against you for exercising your rights.
To exercise your California data protection rights described above, please send your request(s) by one of the following means:
By email: hi@documenso.com
Your data protection rights, described above, are covered by the CCPA, short for the California Consumer Privacy Act. To find out more, visit the official [California Legislative Information website](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB375). The CCPA took effect on 01/01/2020.
### 13\. Service Providers
We may employ third party companies and individuals to facilitate our Service (“ **Service Providers**”), provide Service on our behalf, perform Service-related services or assist us in analysing how our Service is used.
These third parties have access to your Personal Data only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.
### 14\. Analytics
We may use third-party Service Providers to monitor and analyze the use of our Service.
**Plausible Analytics**
Plausible Analytics is an analytics service provided by Conva Ventures Inc. You can find their Privacy Policy here: [https://plausible.io/privacy](https://plausible.io/privacy)
### 15\. CI/CD tools
We may use third-party Service Providers to automate the development process of our Service.
**GitHub**
GitHub is provided by GitHub, Inc.
GitHub is a development platform to host and review code, manage projects, and build software.
For more information on what data GitHub collects for what purpose and how the protection of the data is ensured, please visit GitHub Privacy Policy page: [https://help.github.com/en/articles/github-privacy-statement](https://help.github.com/en/articles/github-privacy-statement) .
### 16\. Payments
We may provide paid products and/or services within Service. In that case, we use third-party services for payment processing (e.g. payment processors).
We will not store or collect your payment card details. That information is provided directly to our third-party payment processors whose use of your personal information is governed by their Privacy Policy. These payment processors adhere to the standards set by PCI-DSS as managed by the PCI Security Standards Council, which is a joint effort of brands like Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. PCI-DSS requirements help ensure the secure handling of payment information.
The payment processors we work with are:
**Stripe:**
Their Privacy Policy can be viewed at: [https://stripe.com/us/privacy](https://stripe.com/us/privacy)
### 17\. Links to Other Sites
Our Service may contain links to other sites that are not operated by us. If you click a third party link, you will be directed to that third party's site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit.
We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party sites or services.
### 18\. Children's Privacy
Our Services are not intended for use by children under the age of 18 (“ **Child**” or “**Children**”).
We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from Children under 18. If you become aware that a Child has provided us with Personal Data, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Data from Children without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from our servers.
### 19\. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page.
We will let you know via email and/or a prominent notice on our Service, prior to the change becoming effective and update “effective date” at the top of this Privacy Policy.
You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.
### 20\. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us:
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