# NDA automation

An NDA is the right first document to automate. It is short, standard and repeated, and a mistake is cheap to fix. Start here and learn the flow before you move to anything bigger.

## Why start with NDAs

Most teams sign the same two pages over and over. The value lies in speed: a call is booked for tomorrow and the NDA has to be done first. Nobody should spend time on that. It is also a low-risk place for your first agent flow, because the terms don't vary.

## A simple setup

1. Save your standard NDA as a template in the web app, with one signer role for the other party and one for you.
2. A booking form or an agent calls `create_from_template` with the other party's name and email.
3. It calls `send_document`.
4. Both people sign. Store the result.

For a mutual NDA, set `ordered` to false, so both can sign at once. For a one-way NDA, you may only need the other party to sign.

## Should an NDA need approval?

We would say no for a fixed template going to a known kind of person, and yes for anything an agent assembled. A fixed template sent by your own server can use a "Sends directly" key. An agent can't, and over MCP it will wait for a person whatever you set. That is a fair trade: a human glance at each draft is cheap, and an NDA sent to the wrong person can embarrass you.

## Finding them later

Put the company name in `title` and your record ID in `metadata`. `list_documents` filters by status, so you can pull everything still waiting and remind people in one small script.

## Common questions

### Do both sides of a mutual NDA have to sign?

That depends on your NDA, and your lawyer can say. docuinked will collect whatever signers you list, in any order you choose.

### Can I add a date that fills itself in?

Yes. Add a `date` field for the signer, and the page fills in the signing date.

### How do I know an NDA hasn't changed after signing?

The finished PDF is sealed, so any change breaks the seal. You can also hash a file and check it with the [free tool](/tools/verify-pdf).