Install
openclaw skills install @harrylabsj/contract-clause-extractorContract Clause Extractor
Extract & classify key clauses from contract PDFs into a structured risk summary — with bilingual (CN/EN) support.
Contract Clause Extractor (合同条款提取器)
Turn dense contract PDFs into structured, scannable clause summaries with risk ratings. Extract key clauses across 12 standard categories, flag hidden risks, compare multiple contracts side-by-side, and generate bilingual clause translations — all without replacing legal counsel.
Core Capabilities
- Multi-format contract ingestion: Parse PDF, DOCX, plain text, or scanned images (OCR) in Chinese and English
- 12-category clause classification: Auto-classify every clause into standard legal categories with hierarchical numbering awareness
- Traffic-light risk annotation: 🔴 High risk | 🟡 Medium risk | 🟢 Low risk per clause with explanatory reasoning
- Hidden risk detection: Flag overly broad indemnities, unilateral termination rights, unreasonable jurisdiction clauses, and missing standard protections
- Multi-contract comparison: Align and diff clauses across 2+ contracts for quick discrepancy spotting
- Bilingual extraction: Extract key clauses in CN→EN or EN→CN with terminology preservation
- Modification suggestion engine: Generate plain-language modification proposals for risky clauses
Workflow (9 Steps)
Step 1: Contract Ingestion
Input: User uploads contract PDF/DOCX, provides URL, or pastes text. Supports single or multiple files for comparison mode. Action: Identify document structure — page layout, clause numbering pattern (1.1 / Article 1 / 第一条), table presence, signature blocks. Output: Parsed document with structural metadata. If scanned/image PDF, trigger OCR pipeline. Logic: Auto-detect language (Chinese, English, or mixed). Handle password-protected PDFs by requesting password.
Step 2: Clause Segmentation
Input: Parsed document. Action: Segment by clause boundaries using numbering patterns, heading styles, and semantic breaks. Preserve parent-child hierarchy for nested clauses. Output: Indexed clause list with numbering + raw text + parent reference. Logic: Handle non-standard numbering (Chinese legal: 一、/（一）/ 1. / (1)). Handle cross-page clause splits.
Step 3: Clause Classification
Input: Segmented clauses. Action: Classify each clause into one of 12 standard categories using LLM semantic matching:
- Payment Terms (付款条款) — amounts, schedules, milestones, late fees
- Delivery/Performance (交付/履约条款) — scope, timeline, acceptance criteria
- Breach & Penalties (违约责任) — liquidated damages, remedies, cure periods
- Confidentiality (保密条款) — scope, duration, exclusions, return/destruction
- Intellectual Property (知识产权) — ownership, licensing, work-for-hire, background IP
- Non-Compete / Non-Solicit (竞业限制) — scope, duration, geographic limits
- Jurisdiction & Dispute Resolution (管辖权/争议解决) — governing law, venue, arbitration
- Termination (终止条款) — termination for cause, convenience, effects of termination
- Force Majeure (不可抗力) — definition, notice, consequences
- Liability & Indemnity Caps (赔偿上限) — total liability, damages exclusions, indemnification scope
- Acceptance Criteria (验收标准) — testing, UAT, defect remediation
- Renewal & Term (续约/期限) — initial term, auto-renewal, notice periods
Output: Clauses grouped by category with confidence scores.
Step 4: Risk Annotation
Input: Classified clauses. Action: Score each clause on risk level:
- 🔴 High Risk: Unlimited liability, one-sided termination, unreasonable jurisdiction, missing standard protections, IP grab, excessive penalty ratios
- 🟡 Medium Risk: Ambiguous language, unbalanced but market-standard terms, narrow cure periods, broad force majeure
- 🟢 Low Risk: Balanced terms, boilerplate with no unusual provisions, standard commercial terms
Output: Each clause tagged with risk level + brief explanation of why.
Step 5: Hidden Risk Detection
Input: Entire contract + risk-annotated clauses. Action: Pattern-based scanning for structural risks:
- Overly broad indemnification (e.g., "indemnify for any and all claims")
- One-way termination rights (only one party can terminate for convenience)
- Unreasonable governing law (e.g., foreign jurisdiction for domestic contract)
- Missing reciprocal provisions (e.g., one party has confidentiality obligations but not the other)
- Liquidated damages exceeding legal limits (e.g., >30% of contract value under PRC law)
- Automatic renewal without notice
Output: "Hidden Risk Alerts" section with specific clause references and severity rating.
Step 6: Clause Summarization
Input: Risk-annotated clauses. Action: Generate a structured extraction table:
| # | Clause Category | Original Text (excerpt) | Summary | Risk | Modification Suggestion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Payment | "乙方应在收到发票后90日内付款" | 90-day payment term | 🟡 | Negotiate to 30 days standard |
| 2 | Liability | "赔偿上限为合同金额的1倍" | Liability cap = 1× contract value | 🟢 | Standard protection |
Output: Complete extraction table. Option to export as CSV/XLSX.
Step 7: Multi-Contract Comparison (if applicable)
Input: 2+ contracts with their extraction tables. Action: Align clauses by category, then:
- Identify clauses present in Contract A but missing in Contract B
- Detect wording differences in matching clauses
- Flag clauses where risk levels differ between contracts
Output: Side-by-side comparison table with diff highlights.
Step 8: Bilingual Extraction (optional)
Input: Extraction table + target language selection. Action: Translate clause summaries and key terms while preserving legal terminology consistency. Build an ad-hoc bilingual term glossary for the document. Output: Bilingual extraction table (Original → Summary in Target Language). Key terms glossary.
Step 9: Report Generation
Input: All analysis results. Action: Compile into a comprehensive extraction report:
- Executive Summary: Contract type, parties, date, overall risk score
- Risk Summary: Count of 🔴/🟡/🟢 clauses, top 5 risks
- Clause Extraction Table: Full categorized table
- Hidden Risk Alerts: Specific warnings
- Modification Playbook: Prioritized negotiation recommendations
- Export: Markdown (editable), PDF (shareable), JSON (API consumption)
Output: Complete extraction report.
Sample Prompts
Prompt 1: Single Contract Quick Scan
User: "帮我快速提取这份合同的关键条款，标出风险点 [upload: supply-agreement.pdf]" Expected Output:
Executive Summary: Supply Agreement | Parties: Company A vs Company B | Term: 1 year | Overall Risk: 🟡 Medium
Clause Extraction (18 clauses, 12 categories):
🔴 High Risk (2):
- Indemnity: "甲方承担一切赔偿责任" — Unlimited indemnity, one-sided
- Termination: "乙方可随时终止合同" — Unilateral termination without cause
🟡 Medium Risk (5):
- Payment: Net-90 terms, market standard is Net-30
- Force Majeure: Overly broad definition includes "market conditions"
🟢 Low Risk (11): Standard commercial terms
⚠️ Hidden Risk Alert: No confidentiality clause for Party A (imbalanced)
Top 3 Modification Priorities: 1. Cap indemnity 2. Add mutual termination 3. Shorten payment to Net-30
Prompt 2: Multi-Contract Comparison
User: "对比这两份合同的关键差异 [upload: contract-v1.pdf, contract-v2.pdf]" Expected Output: Side-by-side comparison table with 7 categories showing differences, highlighting where v2 is more/less favorable than v1, with a "verdict" column indicating which version is preferred per category.
Prompt 3: Hidden Risk Deep-Dive
User: "这份30页的服务合同我不敢签，帮我找找有没有坑 [upload: service-agreement.docx]" Expected Output: Hidden risk report focused on 6 structural risk patterns, each with: the offending clause text, why it's problematic, and suggested alternative wording.
Prompt 4: Bilingual Extraction
User: "提取这份中文合同的核心条款，翻译成英文给海外法务看 [upload: nda-zh.pdf]" Expected Output: Bilingual table with Chinese original + English summary for key clauses. Glossary: 保密信息→Confidential Information, 接收方→Receiving Party, etc. Flag terms where translation may create ambiguity.
Prompt 5: Missing Clause Audit
User: "检查这份合同是否缺少了标准商业合同应该有的条款 [upload: vendor-contract.pdf]" Expected Output: Checklist of 12 standard clause categories with ✓/✗ status. For missing categories, explain the risk of omission and suggest a model clause.
Prompt 6: Negotiation Prep
User: "明天要和供应商谈合同，帮我准备谈判要点 [upload: draft-contract.docx]" Expected Output: Prioritized negotiation playbook: Tier 1 (non-negotiable risks → must fix), Tier 2 (market-standard adjustments → push for), Tier 3 (nice-to-have → concede gracefully), with talking points for each.
Real Task Examples
Example 1: Startup Vendor Contract
Scenario: Early-stage startup receives a 15-page SaaS vendor agreement. No in-house legal. Input: Upload PDF of vendor contract. Concern: "作为小公司，会不会被大厂合同坑？" Steps:
- Parse → 15 pages, 42 clauses, CN/EN bilingual.
- Classify → 12 categories covered, missing Acceptance Criteria.
- Risk → 3 🔴: Unlimited liability clause, vendor can change pricing with 7 days notice, data ownership ambiguous.
- Hidden risks → Auto-renewal without opt-out notice, vendor indemnity is one-sided.
- Generate report with modification suggestions and negotiation talking points. Output: "⚠️ 重点风险: 数据归属条款模糊 —— 你的用户数据可能被供应商使用。建议修改为: 'All Customer Data remains Customer's exclusive property.'" Time: ~30 seconds.
Example 2: Employment Contract Check (Individual)
Scenario: Job seeker receives offer + employment contract. Wants to understand restrictions. Input: "帮我看看这份劳动合同，重点看竞业限制和知识产权条款 [upload: employment-contract.pdf]" Steps:
- Focus: Non-compete, IP assignment, termination notice period.
- Non-compete: 2 years, all competitors in industry (overly broad under PRC law).
- IP: All IP assigned to company, including pre-existing (background IP — 🔴 risk).
- Termination: Company may terminate with 30 days notice, employee with 90 days (imbalanced). Output: "竞业限制: 范围过宽，建议限定为直接竞争公司。知识产权: 要求排除入职前已有知识产权。解除通知期: 不对等，建议双方均为30日。"
Example 3: Lease Agreement Quick Check
Scenario: User about to sign a 24-month commercial lease. Input: "租办公室的合同，帮我提取关键信息 [upload: lease-agreement.pdf]" Steps:
- Classify: Payment (rent + deposit), Termination (early exit penalty), Renewal, Maintenance obligations.
- Risk: Early termination penalty = 6 months rent (🔴), rent escalation 8%/year (🟡), tenant responsible for all repairs including structural (🔴 — unusual, typically landlord responsibility).
- Missing: Force majeure clause (risk during pandemic scenarios). Output: Summary with monthly cost projection over 2 years including escalation, highlighted risks with suggested counter-offers.
🚀 First-Success Path (3 Steps)
- Step 1: Run
contract-clause-extractor.sh classify contract.pdf— parses and extracts all clauses into 12 categories - Step 2: Run
contract-clause-extractor.sh risk contract.pdf— annotates each clause with 🔴/🟡/🟢 risk levels - Step 3: Run
contract-clause-extractor.sh summarize contract.pdf— see the structured extraction table with modification suggestions
Boundary Conditions
| Condition | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Contract >100 pages | Process in chunks; summarize by chapter, flag time estimate |
| Scanned/image PDF (no text layer) | Trigger OCR; warn of possible extraction errors |
| Password-protected PDF | Request password; never attempt to crack |
| Non-contract document uploaded | Detect and warn: "This does not appear to be a legal contract" |
| Contract in unsupported language | Attempt processing; flag lower confidence for non-CN/EN languages |
| Handwritten annotations in PDF | Flag as "may contain markings" — OCR may miss handwritten text |
| Corrupted/unreadable PDF | Error with suggested fixes (re-export, convert format) |
| Multiple unrelated contracts in one PDF | Auto-detect and offer to process separately |
| User asks for legal advice | Redirect: "This is clause extraction + risk flagging, not legal advice. Consult a qualified lawyer." |
Error Handling
| Error Code | Scenario | Handling |
|---|---|---|
| E-PARSE-FAIL | PDF structure cannot be parsed | Offer manual text input; suggest re-exporting PDF from source |
| E-OCR-FAIL | OCR on scanned document fails | Return images with note; suggest higher-quality scan |
| E-PASSWORD | Password-protected PDF without password | Prompt for password; never attempt brute-force |
| E-NO-CLAUSES | Document has no detectable clause structure | Process as paragraph-level; flag as "unstructured document" |
| E-UNSUPPORTED-FORMAT | Uploaded file is not PDF/DOCX/TXT | List supported formats; suggest conversion |
| E-AMBIGUOUS-CLASSIFICATION | Clause spans multiple categories | Tag with multiple categories; flag for human review |
| E-BILINGUAL-CONFIDENCE | Low confidence on legal term translation | Mark with ⚠️ "Translation may need legal review" |
Security Requirements
- Document confidentiality: Contract contents processed locally; never sent to external services for storage. Session-only processing.
- No legal advice claim: This tool extracts and flags; it does NOT provide legal advice, opinions, or recommendations that substitute for qualified counsel. Always include disclaimer.
- Explicit disclaimer: Every output must include: "⚠️ This is automated clause extraction for reference only. It is NOT legal advice. Consult a qualified lawyer before making contractual decisions."
- No PII storage: Redact personal identifiers (ID numbers, bank accounts, signatures) from extracted summaries unless explicitly requested.
- Chinese regulation compliance: Do not extract or store content from contracts involving state secrets, military, or other sensitive sectors.
- Third-party API warning: If LLM API is called for clause classification, warn user that contract text will be sent to the LLM provider. Offer local-only mode for sensitive contracts.