Documenso is an open-source alternative to DocuSign designed for organizations and individuals who want full control over their digital signature workflows. Built with TypeScript, Next.js, and Prisma, it enables users to self-host a fully functional e-signature platform without relying on third-party cloud services. By supporting the PAdES standard and integrating with PDF-Lib and react-pdf, Documenso ensures legally compliant digital signatures while maintaining transparency in how documents are processed. The platform is ideal for privacy-conscious teams, compliance-driven enterprises, and developers seeking to embed e-signature functionality into their own applications.
With built-in support for self-hosted PostgreSQL, SMTP servers, and S3-compatible storage, Documenso eliminates vendor lock-in and allows full auditability of every signature event. Its modular architecture and Docker/DevContainer support make it deployable across cloud providers, on-premises servers, or local development environments. The project emphasizes trust through open code, community-driven development, and adherence to industry standards like PAdES for digital signatures.
What You Get
- Self-hosted e-signature platform - Deploy Documenso on your own infrastructure with full control over data, signatures, and user access—no third-party cloud dependencies.
- PDF digital signatures with PAdES compliance - Sign PDF documents using cryptographic standards (PAdES) via the @documenso/pdf-sign package, ensuring legal validity and tamper-evident signatures.
- Built-in document viewing & manipulation - View, annotate, and sign PDFs using React-PDF and PDF-Lib with no external plugins required.
- Email workflows & SMTP integration - Automated email notifications for signing requests using configurable SMTP settings (NEXT_PRIVATE_SMTP_* environment variables).
- Multi-environment deployment support - Deploy via Docker, DevContainer, Gitpod, Railway, or manual server setup with full environment configuration flexibility.
- Prisma-powered PostgreSQL backend - Structured, type-safe data modeling for users, documents, signatures, and audit logs with migration support via npm run prisma:migrate-dev.
- NextAuth integration for authentication - Secure user sign-up, login, and session management using NextAuth with customizable OAuth providers.
- S3-compatible storage for document uploads - Store signed documents and attachments using S3 or any compatible object storage service.
Common Use Cases
- Building a compliant internal contract signing system - Legal teams at mid-sized companies use Documenso to replace DocuSign for internal NDAs and HR documents, ensuring data never leaves their private network.
- Creating a white-labeled e-signature solution for clients - SaaS providers embed Documenso into their platforms to offer branded, self-hosted signing capabilities without licensing fees.
- Problem: Vendor lock-in with commercial e-signature tools → Solution: Self-hosted Documenso - Organizations frustrated by recurring fees and data privacy concerns in DocuSign migrate to Documenso to retain full ownership of documents and signing metadata.
- Team: DevOps teams managing compliance-sensitive workflows - Teams in finance or healthcare deploy Documenso on private Kubernetes clusters to meet GDPR, HIPAA, or SOC2 requirements with auditable signature trails.
Under The Hood
Documenso is a developer-first document signing and workflow automation platform designed for seamless embedding into applications. It emphasizes extensibility, comprehensive API design, and a modular architecture that supports both frontend and backend integration. The system is built with a monorepo structure, enabling organized development across multiple packages and apps.
Architecture
The architecture follows a layered approach with clear separation of concerns across core, UI, API, and utility modules. It implements design patterns such as client-side error handling and job processing to support robust functionality.
- Modular monorepo structure with well-defined packages for distinct responsibilities
- Layered architecture that separates business logic from presentation and data access
- Use of design patterns to manage error states and asynchronous operations
Tech Stack
The tech stack is centered around TypeScript, leveraging modern web frameworks and tools for a full-stack development experience. It integrates a wide array of libraries and tools to support UI, API, and developer tooling.
- Built primarily with TypeScript, React-based frameworks like Next.js and React Router, and Hono for backend routing
- Extensive use of libraries such as @lingui, @tanstack/react-query, framer-motion, and @prisma
- Development and build tools include Vite, Rollup, React Router Dev, TypeScript, and ESLint
- Comprehensive testing ecosystem with Playwright and component-level validation tools
Code Quality
The codebase demonstrates a mature testing strategy with broad end-to-end coverage and consistent error handling practices. It follows established conventions for component reusability and maintainability, though some technical debt remains in core modules.
- Strong emphasis on testing with extensive end-to-end and component-level test suites
- Consistent error handling through structured try/catch blocks and custom error types
- Code follows established conventions with clear separation of concerns and reusable components
- Type safety and linting are well-configured to support code quality standards
What Makes It Unique
Documenso stands out by offering a developer-centric approach to embedding document workflows into applications. Its modular design and API-first philosophy make it highly extensible and adaptable to various use cases.
- Developer-first embedding capabilities with a focus on minimal friction for integration
- Modular architecture that allows seamless extension and customization of document workflows
- Comprehensive API design that supports a wide range of use cases from simple signing to complex automation