open-agreements

Fill standard legal agreement templates and produce signable DOCX files.

Activation

Use this skill when the user wants to:

• Draft an NDA, confidentiality agreement, or cloud service agreement
• Generate a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) for a startup investment
• Fill a legal template with their company details
• Generate a signable DOCX from a standard form

Execution

Step 1: Detect runtime

Determine which execution path to use:

if command -v open-agreements >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  echo "GLOBAL"
elif command -v node >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  echo "NPX"
else
  echo "PREVIEW_ONLY"
fi

• GLOBAL: The CLI is installed. Use open-agreements directly.
• NPX: Node.js is available. Use npx -y open-agreements@latest as the command prefix.
• PREVIEW_ONLY: No Node.js. Skip to Step 5 (preview fallback).

Step 2: Discover templates

Run the list command with --json to get available templates and their fields:

If GLOBAL:

open-agreements list --json

If NPX:

npx -y open-agreements@latest list --json

The output is a JSON envelope. Parse the response and verify schema_version is 1. Use the items array for template discovery.

{
  "schema_version": 1,
  "cli_version": "0.1.0",
  "items": [...]
}

Each item in the items array has:

• name: template identifier (use this in the fill command)
• description: what the template is for
• license: SPDX license identifier (e.g. CC-BY-4.0, CC-BY-ND-4.0)
• source_url: URL to the original template source
• source: human-friendly source name (e.g. “Common Paper”, “Y Combinator”)
• attribution_text: required attribution text
• fields: array of field definitions with name, type, required, section, description, default

The license field tells you what you can do with the filled output:

• CC-BY-4.0: derivatives allowed, can redistribute with attribution
• CC-BY-ND-4.0: fill for your own use, do not redistribute modified versions

Step 3: Help user choose a template

Present the available templates to the user. If they asked for a specific type (e.g., “NDA” or “SAFE”), filter to matching items. Ask the user to confirm which template to use.

If the selected template has a CC-BY-ND license, note that the CLI will print a license notice when filling. No extra steps are needed — all templates work the same from the user’s perspective.

Step 4: Interview user for field values

Group fields by section. Ask the user for values in rounds of up to 4 questions each. For each field, show:

• The field description
• Whether it’s required
• The default value (if any)

Write the collected values to a temporary JSON file:

cat > /tmp/oa-values.json << 'FIELDS'
{
  "party_1_name": "Acme Corp",
  "party_1_email": "legal@acme.com",
  "party_2_name": "Beta Inc",
  "party_2_email": "legal@beta.com",
  "effective_date": "February 1, 2026",
  "purpose": "Evaluating a potential business partnership",
  "mnda_term": "2 years",
  "confidentiality_term": "2 years",
  "governing_law": "Delaware",
  "jurisdiction": "courts located in New Castle County, Delaware"
}
FIELDS

Step 5: Render DOCX

If GLOBAL:

open-agreements fill <template-name> -d /tmp/oa-values.json -o <output-name>.docx

If NPX:

npx -y open-agreements@latest fill <template-name> -d /tmp/oa-values.json -o <output-name>.docx

If PREVIEW_ONLY (no Node.js):

Generate a markdown preview using the collected values. Label clearly:

# PREVIEW ONLY -- install Node.js >=20 for signable DOCX output

## Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement

Between **Acme Corp** and **Beta Inc**

Effective Date: February 1, 2026

...

Tell the user: “I’ve generated a preview. To produce a signable DOCX file, install Node.js 20+ and run this skill again.”

Step 6: Confirm output

Report the output file path to the user. Remind them to review the document before signing.

Clean up the temporary values file:

rm /tmp/oa-values.json

Templates Available

Templates are discovered dynamically — always run list --json for the current inventory. Do NOT rely on a hardcoded list. The output of list --json is the single source of truth.

Notes

• All templates produce Word DOCX files that preserve original formatting
• Templates are licensed by their respective authors (CC BY 4.0, CC0, or CC BY-ND 4.0)
• External templates (CC BY-ND 4.0, e.g. YC SAFEs) can be filled for your own use but must not be redistributed in modified form
• This tool does not provide legal advice — consult an attorney