from first idea to first raise
For founders with an idea, a company or a first cheque. Split equity, issue your first SAFE and get it signed. Free, on your computer, no account.
Capfolder is in beta. We don't have Apple or Microsoft certificates yet, so your computer warns you the first time you open it. That warning is expected.
macOS: open the app, then System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway. Windows: More info → Run anyway.
Step-by-step install help. Found a bug? Tell us (please don't attach a real cap table).
Works with your AI
CodexChatGPT ComingBring your cap table from
Pulley
Carta
CakeFrom the first promise between cofounders to a signed SAFE. Capfolder keeps track of each one and tells you what's missing.
Founder promisesbefore you incorporate
Common sharesfounders and team
Vestingcliff and monthly
83(b) election30-day deadline flagged
Option grantsand the pool
Board consentswhat's missing, listed
SAFEsYC post-money template
E-signaturesfrom a link, no accountToday your equity split is a handshake, your cap table is a spreadsheet, and the signed PDFs are lost in email.
We raised our seed on SAFEs from 28 investors. Some signed in one tool, some sent their own paperwork, some signed by email.
When we needed the documents, they were gone. So we built the tool we wanted: one folder, every paper in it.
Start the day you agree to build it together. Capfolder keeps up as the company becomes real.
01IdeaWrite down who's in and what each cofounder was promised. No company needed yet.
02SplitSet each founder's shares and vesting. Four years with a one-year cliff, with the math shown.
03IncorporateYour promises become real Common shares, after a preview and your yes. The 83(b) deadline is flagged.
04RaiseFill the YC SAFE from a short form. Investors sign from a link. Every paper lands in your folder.
Founders, vesting, options and SAFEs, fully diluted as of any date. No limits.
Runs on a free model on your computer, so there's no bill and nothing leaves your laptop. Or use your own key. Set it up
Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Codex, Gemini CLI. ChatGPT Coming. Nothing is saved until you say yes. How it works
From Excel, CSV, Pulley, Carta or Cake. Every total is checked against the old tool. How import works
Every SAFE, grant and signed PDF in one folder, with what an investor's lawyer will ask for flagged first.
Investors and employees sign from a link, with no account. Soon they'll see their own stake too.
The free Carta alternative for founders who are just starting. Carta does almost everything. You need SAFEs, grants, vesting and signatures.
| Feature | Capfolder | Carta |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | ~$1,200 / year* |
| Setup | Download, open | Account + onboarding |
| Your data | Your computer | Their servers |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| SAFEs, grants, vesting, e-signatures | Yes | Yes |
* Reported by Carta customers (Vendr, Spendflo), not published by Carta. Prices vary by plan and company size.
No trial, no card, no limit on your cap table. How is it free? The app runs on your computer, so it costs us almost nothing. Pro pays for the servers that sync.
Everything a founder needs before the first priced round.
Download, it's freeRun the signing relay yourself, so nothing touches ours.
Relay setupFor when the cap table lives on more than one laptop.
On the list: 25% off the first year. $37.50 a month, or $375 for the year upfront.
From Y Combinator, Endeavor and more. Free guides for founders who are new to all of this.
Yes. Record the split you agreed with your cofounders now. When you incorporate, it becomes real shares. When you raise, the SAFE is one form away.
No setup needed. Capfolder is a normal app: download it, open it, pick a folder. No server, no database, no account, no terminal. Signing goes through our hosted relay, so that needs no setup either. Running your own relay is optional.
Yes, the whole app, with 5 signature requests a month. Pro, when it ships, adds sync and backup.
Your cap table and documents stay on your computer. A document you send for signature sits on the relay until it's signed (self-host the relay if that matters). The app sends an anonymous install count; turn it off in Settings.
No. Use a free model on your computer (Ollama or LM Studio). Your own Claude, OpenAI or Gemini key works too.
Delaware C-corps first. More jurisdictions after.
No. Capfolder records what you and your lawyer decided. It fills in YC's standard SAFE word for word and drafts nothing else. Have a lawyer review it.
| Project | What we use it for | License |
|---|---|---|
| Tauri | The desktop app | MIT / Apache-2.0 |
| Open Cap Format | The data model and export | OCF Schema and Documentation License |
| Documenso | The signing relay | AGPL-3.0 |
| PDF.js | Reading PDFs and checking signed copies | Apache-2.0 |
| pdf-lib | Signature pages and PDF exports | MIT |
| tesseract.js | Reading scans, offline | Apache-2.0 |
| Ollama | Running local AI models (optional) | MIT |
| React | The app's screens | MIT |
| Papa Parse | Reading CSV exports | MIT |
| fflate | Excel files and zips | MIT |
| Ajv | Checking every record against OCF | MIT |
| Hono | The relay's API | MIT |
| noble-ed25519 | Checking the signed rules pack | MIT |
Every package with its license: THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES.md.
This page. Fonts and images come from this site. Visits, where they came from, and clicks on buttons are counted with Umami: no cookies, no personal data, your IP isn't stored. The star count and download links are read from GitHub's public API when the page loads, so GitHub sees that request.
The forms. The download, Pro list and Book-a-call forms are ours. What you type is stored on Cloudflare (D1) and copied to a Google Sheet we read; your IP is hashed, not stored. A Cloudflare Turnstile check runs when you open a form, to keep bots out. After the download form we send you one email with the links and install steps, through Resend. The download form asks for your email and your computer, only to send you new versions. Email [email protected] to be removed, or reply to any email.
The Pro list. "Tell me when it's ready" asks for your email, and optionally your company and what you'd want from Pro. We use it only to tell you when Pro is ready and give you the 25% discount.
Questions about your data. Write to [email protected].
The app. Your cap table and documents stay in your folder. Documents you send for signature pass through the signing relay until everyone has signed, then the relay deletes them (within 7 days, or 30 if never signed). The app sends an anonymous install ping (a random install id, the app version, your operating system, and yes/no for "imported", "has documents", "sent for signature") once on first run and then weekly, only after you accept the terms. The relay keeps the day, not the time or your IP address. Turn it off in Settings → Privacy. The code that sends and stores it is public in the repo.
Questions about your split, your first SAFE or moving off a spreadsheet? Tell us where you are and we'll help.
