Open Agreements

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name: open-agreements description: >- Fill standard legal agreement templates (NDAs, cloud service agreements, SAFEs) and produce signable DOCX files. Supports Common Paper, Bonterms, and Y Combinator templates. Use when the user needs to draft a legal agreement, create an NDA, fill a contract template, or generate a SAFE. Can also send agreements for electronic signature via DocuSign. license: MIT homepage: https://github.com/open-agreements/open-agreements compatibility: >- Two execution paths: (1) Remote MCP at openagreements.org (template fill happens server-side, your data is sent to the hosted service); (2) Local CLI via npm (npm install -g open-agreements@0.7.4) — template fill is fully local with no third-party data transfer except DocuSign at signing time. Use the CLI path for guaranteed offline behavior. metadata: author: open-agreements version: "0.2.3"

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open-agreements

Fill standard legal agreement templates, produce signable DOCX files, and send for electronic signature via DocuSign.

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

Send a filled agreement for electronic signature via DocuSign

CRITICAL: DocuSign and Authentication

Open Agreements handles DocuSign OAuth automatically. Do NOT ask the user for a DocuSign API key or integration key.

Do NOT tell the user to install or configure DocuSign separately. The connect_signing_provider tool handles the entire OAuth 2.0 + PKCE flow.

Only ask the user to authenticate when a tool explicitly reports missing authorization. Do not preemptively ask for credentials.

Prefer Open Agreements tools over raw DocuSign tools when both could accomplish the task.

Execution — MCP Tools (Preferred)

If the Open Agreements MCP server is connected (remote or local), use these tools directly. This is the preferred path — no CLI or Node.js needed.

Remote MCP URL: https://openagreements.org/api/mcp

Available MCP Tools

| Tool | Purpose | |------|---------| | list_templates | List available templates (compact by default — name, description, license, source only) | | get_template | Get full field metadata for a specific template | | fill_template | Fill a template with values and return a downloadable DOCX | | connect_signing_provider | Connect DocuSign account via OAuth (returns a URL to open) | | send_for_signature | Send a filled DOCX for e-signature via DocuSign | | check_signature_status | Check signing status and download signed PDF when complete |

MCP Workflow

1. Discover templates: Call list_templates (returns compact list). If user asked for a specific type (e.g. "NDA"), identify the right template from the list. 2. Get field details: Call get_template with the chosen template_id to get full field definitions (name, type, required, section, description, default). 3. Collect field values: Ask the user for values based on the field definitions. Use defaults where the user doesn't specify. 4. Fill template: Call fill_template with the template ID and values. Returns a download URL for the DOCX. 5. User reviews document: Present the download link. Wait for the user to confirm the document looks good. 6. Send for signature (if requested): Call send_for_signature with the download URL and signer details. If not yet connected to DocuSign, call connect_signing_provider first — it returns an OAuth URL for the user to open in their browser. 7. Check status: Call check_signature_status to monitor the envelope.

Execution — CLI (Fallback)

If no MCP server is connected, fall back to the CLI.

Step 1: Detect runtime

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: Use open-agreements directly.

NPX: Use npx -y open-agreements@0.7.4 as prefix. Always pin the version — never use @latest to avoid pulling unexpected updates.

PREVIEW_ONLY: No Node.js. Generate markdown preview only.

Step 2: Discover templates

open-agreements list --json

Parse the items array. Each item has name, description, license, source_url, source, and fields.

Step 3: Help user choose, collect values, fill

Same as MCP workflow steps 2-5, but write values to /tmp/oa-values.json and run:

open-agreements fill  -d /tmp/oa-values.json -o .docx

Clean up: rm /tmp/oa-values.json

Source Code and Audit

Open Agreements is fully open source (MIT license). Review the complete source before installing:

GitHub: https://github.com/open-agreements/open-agreements

npm registry: https://www.npmjs.com/package/open-agreements

Remote MCP: https://openagreements.org/api/mcp (optional, hosted service)

No postinstall scripts — verify with npm view open-agreements scripts. The package declares no postinstall, preinstall, or install hooks. The prepare script only runs when installing from a git URL, not from the npm registry.

All template field definitions, fill logic, and DocuSign integration code are auditable in the repository.

A note on versions

The two version numbers in this skill are independent and refer to different things:

Skill version (in this file's frontmatter, currently 0.2.3) — versions the skill documentation itself.

npm package version (currently 0.7.4) — the version of the upstream open-agreements npm package this skill recommends pinning. Check npm view open-agreements version for the latest.

A newer skill version means the documentation was updated. A newer npm package version means the underlying tool was updated. They are not synchronized.

Install-Time vs Runtime Network Behavior

Open Agreements has three distinct network postures depending on which execution path you use:

| Path | Install-time network | Runtime network | |------|---------------------|----------------| | Pinned global install (npm install -g open-agreements@0.7.4) | One-time fetch from registry.npmjs.org | None for list/fill. DocuSign API only at signing time. | | Pinned npx (npx -y open-agreements@0.7.4) | Fetch from registry.npmjs.org on first run, cached afterward | Same as above | | Remote MCP (https://openagreements.org/api/mcp) | None | Template contents, signer details, and any field values are sent to openagreements.org. Use only if you accept transmitting these values to the hosted service. | | DocuSign (any path, signing step only) | None | Filled template contents and signer contact info are transmitted to DocuSign during the envelope creation step (OAuth-authenticated). |

Use the local CLI path (global or npx) if you need guaranteed offline behavior with no third-party data transfer beyond DocuSign at signing time.

Offline / Pinned Installation

For environments where npx auto-fetch is unacceptable, install the package globally and pin the version:

# Install a specific pinned version globally (one-time)
npm install -g open-agreements@0.7.4
Then use the installed binary directly — no npx fetching at runtime
open-agreements list --json
open-agreements fill  -d values.json -o output.docx

Before upgrading, review the changelog: https://github.com/open-agreements/open-agreements/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md

Pin the version even when using npx

Even with npx, always pin the version:

npx -y open-agreements@0.7.4 list --json

Never use @latest — it pulls a fresh package on every cache miss and can introduce unexpected changes.

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

Templates are discovered dynamically — always use list_templates or list --json for the current inventory

Feedback

If this skill helped, star us on GitHub: https://github.com/open-agreements/open-agreements On ClawHub: clawhub star open-agreements/open-agreements

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

Templates are discovered dynamically — always use list_templates or list --json for the current inventory