DocuSign
Electronic signatures and agreement workflows
Documenso
Self‑hosted, trusted digital signing platform for any organization
Documenso provides a self‑hosted alternative to commercial e‑signature services, offering PDF signing, email notifications, and Stripe payments, all built with modern TypeScript stack.
Overview
Overview
Documenso is a self‑hosted digital signing solution aimed at developers, enterprises, and regulated industries that require full control over their signing data. It replaces proprietary e‑signature services with an auditable, extensible platform you can run on your own infrastructure.
Capabilities
The platform supports PDF viewing and manipulation, email‑based signing invitations, and integrated Stripe payment flows. Built with TypeScript, ReactRouter, Prisma, Tailwind, and tRPC, it offers a modern UI and a programmable API for custom workflows. Upcoming features include a dedicated PDF‑sign library for native signature embedding.
Deployment
Documenso can be deployed via Docker (DockerHub and GHCR images), Docker‑Compose, or manual Node.js setup. A full dev environment is provided through DevContainers, Gitpod, or local scripts, requiring Node v22+, PostgreSQL, and optional Docker. Environment variables configure database, mail server, and public URLs, enabling flexible hosting behind reverse proxies.
Highlights
Self‑hosted deployment via Docker, Docker‑Compose, or manual setup
PDF signing and manipulation with PDF‑Lib and upcoming @documenso/pdf-sign
Built‑in email templates and Stripe integration for payment workflows
Modern UI using Tailwind and shadcn/ui components
Pros
- Full control over data and compliance requirements
- No vendor lock‑in; source code is fully customizable
- Supports modern dev workflows like DevContainers and Gitpod
- Integrated payment handling through Stripe
Considerations
- Requires technical expertise to install and maintain
- Feature set may be less mature than established commercial alternatives
- PDF signing library is still launching, limiting immediate capabilities
- Community and official support are still growing
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Fit guide
Great for
- Companies needing on‑premise e‑signature compliance
- Developers who want to embed signing into custom applications
- Organizations with strict data residency or privacy requirements
- Teams looking for a cost‑effective, extensible signing solution
Not ideal when
- Non‑technical users preferring a turnkey SaaS product
- Small businesses without resources for self‑hosting infrastructure
- Scenarios requiring advanced legal certifications out‑of‑the‑box
- Environments that need immediate production‑ready PDF signing without additional setup
How teams use it
Internal contract approval workflow
Employees upload contracts, sign digitally, and store them securely on the company’s own servers.
Customer subscription agreements
Integrate Stripe payments with Documenso to capture signatures at checkout, automating onboarding.
Legal document archiving for regulated industries
Maintain full audit trails and control data residency by self‑hosting the signing platform.
Custom SaaS product with embedded e‑signature
Leverage the tRPC API and React components to add signing capabilities directly into the application.
Tech snapshot
TypeScript100%
JavaScript1%
Shell1%
CSS1%
PLpgSQL1%
Dockerfile1%
Frequently asked questions
What languages and frameworks does Documenso use?
Documenso is built with TypeScript, ReactRouter, Prisma, Tailwind, shadcn/ui, tRPC, and uses PDF‑Lib, React‑PDF, and Stripe for payments.
How can I run Documenso locally?
Install Node.js v22+, PostgreSQL, optionally Docker, clone the repo, copy .env.example to .env, run `npm i`, then `npm run dev` or use the provided Docker image.
Is there a Docker image available?
Yes, Docker images are published on DockerHub and GitHub Container Registry and can be run with your own environment variables.
Can I self‑host Documenso in production?
Absolutely. You can deploy via Docker, Docker‑Compose, or manual Node.js setup, configuring database, mail server, and reverse‑proxy settings as needed.
Does Documenso support PDF signing out of the box?
PDF manipulation is available now via PDF‑Lib; native PDF signing is provided by the upcoming @documenso/pdf-sign library.
Project at a glance
Active- Stars
- 12,198
- Watchers
- 12,198
- Forks
- 2,265
LicenseAGPL-3.0
Repo age2 years old
Last commit3 hours ago
Self-hostingSupported
Primary languageTypeScript
Last synced 3 hours ago