Whereas

Whereas is an open-source, self-hostable CLM MVP focused on request-to-repository workflow execution.

This repository is currently pre-v0.1 and intended for evaluation, contribution, and guided demos rather than production deployment.

What Whereas is

Whereas helps legal and ops teams run a coherent contract lifecycle workflow across intake, request review, repository management, approvals, document history, and signature handoff.

The product is intentionally opinionated around an evaluator-friendly flow:

• Start from a dashboard command center.
• Route intake work through Inbox and Requests.
• Convert approved requests into Repository records.
• Review text preview, metadata, clauses, approvals, and document history.
• Send signature-ready records through DocuSeal when configured.

What works today

The following surfaces are implemented and routable in the app today:

• Dashboard command center (/demo/dashboard) with workflow-oriented shortcuts and summary context.
• Guided intake (/demo/intake) and Inbox routing (/demo/inbox) for triage and request/repository direction.
• Requests workspace (/demo/requests) with guided supporting-question capture and Request Detail stage/next-action guidance.
• Request-to-Repository conversion UX from request detail flows where supported.
• Agreement Templates catalog and template-detail flow (/demo/requests/templates and alias routes).
• Repository record list + workspace (/demo/repository) including text preview/document context, metadata/clause panels, lifecycle presentation, and document history tooling.
• Approval surfaces (/demo/approvals + tasks/workflows/templates/policies routes) with existing approval semantics preserved.
• Clause Manager (/demo/clause-manager) and Playbooks (/demo/playbooks) as review-standards surfaces.
• Integrations roadmap page (/demo/integrations) for planned connectors.
• Known limitations page (/demo/known-limitations) for evaluator-facing boundaries.

In user-facing docs and UI copy, use Repository record terminology (not "Contract") unless discussing backend internals.

Demo workflow (recommended evaluator path)

1. Open /demo/dashboard.
2. Start from /demo/intake (or dashboard quick actions) and review /demo/inbox routing.
3. Create/open a request at /demo/requests.
4. In request detail (/demo/requests/:id), review supporting questions, stage, and next action.
5. Convert the request to a Repository record where the flow supports conversion.
6. Open /demo/repository and enter a record workspace (/demo/repository/:id).
7. Review text preview/document panels, metadata, clauses, lifecycle context, and document history.
8. Review approval work at /demo/approvals and /demo/approvals/tasks.
9. Explore /demo/clause-manager and /demo/playbooks.
10. Finish at /demo/integrations and /demo/known-limitations for roadmap and MVP boundaries.

Core surfaces

• Work: Dashboard, Intake, Inbox, Approvals
• Library: Repository, Requests, Templates
• Knowledge: Playbooks, Clause Manager
• Admin: Settings, Integrations

What is demo/session-only

• Demo seed data is fictional and intended for walkthroughs, not legal operations.
• Some UI state/editing behavior is demo- or session-scoped and may rely on local/browser state.
• Supporting-question answers are currently summarized into existing free-text request fields; no fully structured backend answer model is shipped yet.
• Integrations marked as planned on the Integrations page are visible roadmap items, not active connectors.
• Deterministic checklist/review guidance is workflow assistance only and is not legal advice.

What is not implemented yet

The following are intentionally out of scope for the current MVP state:

• Full Microsoft Word add-in / Outlook or Gmail plugin workflows.
• Slack / Teams / CRM connector execution (roadmap visibility exists, wiring does not).
• Calendar/reminder sync and notification automation.
• LLM-powered legal judgment/reasoning features beyond existing extraction/workflow aids.
• Small-model AI roadmap details live in docs/AI_SMALL_MODEL_STACK.md and in-app Known limitations (/demo/known-limitations#small-model-ai-roadmap).
• Full backend Clause ↔ Playbook relational linkage and authoring loop.
• Enterprise-grade RBAC/SSO deployment story.
• Advanced reporting/export beyond current shipped workspace and activity surfaces.
• Nango / Clerk / PowerSync integration layers.

Security and privacy boundaries

• The PWA/service worker is expected to keep /api/* outside cache handling.
• Sensitive storage internals and secret-bearing fields should never be surfaced in UI/docs.
• Demo data is fictional and should not be treated as confidential client data.
• Machine-generated metadata/extractions require human review before operational use.
• Whereas is software workflow support and does not provide legal advice.

See also: docs/security-notes.md.

Running locally

Quickstart:

git clone https://github.com/foolish-bandit/whereas.git
cd whereas
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\scripts\start-local-stack.ps1

Default local endpoints:

• Frontend: http://127.0.0.1:5173
• App onboarding: http://127.0.0.1:5173/demo/welcome
• API: http://localhost:8000
• Local Postgres: 127.0.0.1:5433
• Local S3 mock: http://127.0.0.1:9000

Stop everything with:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\scripts\stop-local-stack.ps1

Installable PWA preview against the live local backend:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\scripts\start-pwa-preview.ps1

PWA preview URL:

• Browser preview root: http://127.0.0.1:4173
• Direct in-app onboarding: http://127.0.0.1:4173/demo/welcome

Notes:

• In a normal browser tab, / stays on the marketing/demo site.
• The installable PWA uses the web manifest start_url and opens into the app onboarding flow at /demo/welcome.

First-run developer setup and optional dependencies:

• docs/local-developer-quickstart.md
• docs/optional-dependencies.md

Testing

Common commands:

cd backend && pytest
cd frontend && npx vitest run
cd frontend && npx tsc -b
cd frontend && npm run build

Evaluator smoke paths:

• docs/mvp-smoke-checklist.md
• docs/deployment-smoke-test.md

Roadmap

For a maintained snapshot of done/next/later scope, see:

• docs/project-status.md
• /demo/integrations (planned connector visibility)
• docs/AI_SMALL_MODEL_STACK.md (canonical small-model AI architecture)

Known limitations

• In-app: /demo/known-limitations
• Docs: docs/project-status.md and docs/security-notes.md

License

Whereas is licensed under AGPL-3.0-or-later. See LICENSE.