Papermark — Open Source Document Sharing Analytics

What it is

Papermark is an open-source alternative to DocSend for sharing pitch decks, proposals, and documents with detailed analytics. It provides page-by-page viewing data, custom branding, email capture, password protection, and data rooms for due diligence.

Papermark targets startup founders sharing pitch decks with investors, sales teams sharing proposals, and anyone who needs to track how recipients engage with shared documents.

How it saves time or tokens

Papermark replaces the guesswork of email attachments. Instead of sending a PDF and wondering if the recipient read it, Papermark shows exactly which pages were viewed, how long each page was viewed, and when the document was accessed. This data helps founders prioritize investor follow-ups and sales teams identify engaged prospects. Self-hosting gives you full control over document data without paying DocSend's per-seat pricing.

How to use

1. Clone and run locally:

git clone https://github.com/mfts/papermark.git
cd papermark
cp .env.example .env
pnpm install
pnpm dev

1. Open http://localhost:3000, upload a document, and generate a trackable sharing link.

1. Share the link and monitor viewing analytics in the dashboard: page views, time per page, viewer email, and access timestamps.

Example

Papermark API for programmatic document management:

// Upload and share a document via API
const response = await fetch('https://your-papermark.com/api/documents', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer your-api-key',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    name: 'Series A Pitch Deck',
    url: 'https://storage.example.com/pitch-deck.pdf',
    settings: {
      emailProtected: true,
      allowDownload: false,
      expiresAt: '2026-05-01T00:00:00Z'
    }
  })
});

const doc = await response.json();
console.log(`Share link: ${doc.links[0].url}`);
// Recipients must enter email to view
// You see page-by-page analytics in dashboard

Related on TokRepo

• Self-hosted tools — More self-hostable productivity tools on TokRepo.
• Content tools — Browse content management and sharing tools.

Common pitfalls

• Not enabling email capture means you see view counts but not who viewed the document. Enable email protection for investor and sales documents.
• Sharing large PDFs without optimizing file size causes slow loading for viewers. Compress documents before uploading.
• Running Papermark in production without proper authentication exposes your documents. Configure authentication and environment variables before deploying publicly.