DraftLint

DraftLint · v0.1 · Phase 1 Foundation

Section 4.2 is a node, not a sentence.

A contract editor where the document’s structure is the model, not the styling. Numbering is computed from the tree. Defined terms carry canonical identity. Cross-references bind to stable IDs, not to the characters of their labels.

Open the editorRead the guide

Specimen — a fragment

Mutual Nondisclosure · Exhibit A · DraftschemaVersion 1
Section 4.2Confidentiality

Each Party shall protect the Confidential Information of the other Party using reasonable efforts, and in no event less than the care it uses to protect its own proprietary information of like importance. Disclosures permitted under §4.2(b) shall not waive the confidentiality of the underlying Confidential Information.

The bet

The document is the model.

The competitive landscape is Microsoft Word + bolted-on add-ins — scanners, linters, sidebars running over a document that has no idea what it is. DraftLint inverts the bargain. There is no “run the cross-ref check” command, because the cross-refs were never plaintext. There is no “find unused definitions” pass, because the rail shows them live. There is no Track Changes for numbering, because numbering recomputes from the tree.

01 — Structural

The hierarchy is typed.

Five levels — article, section, subsection, clause, subclause — enforced by the schema. Demote with Tab, reorder with Alt+↑/↓. Labels recompute live; the prose stays put.

02 — Identified

Identity over text.

Cross-references store targetId, never the characters of the label. Defined terms carry a canonical termattribute. Refactor a section's label, and every reference follows in the same transaction.

03 — Informed

A vocabulary on board.

A bundled dictionary of M&A and Master Services Agreement terms of art — ~100 entries, each tagged by rigidity tier and carrying inline watch language for the boilerplate that bites.

Proof

Switch schemes;
the prose stays put.

Same nodes. Different labels. One transaction. Cross-references re-bind in the same dispatch — no refresh, no second pass.

ArabicDefault
4Confidentiality
4.1Scope of Obligations
4.2Restrictions on Use
4.2(a)Disclosure to Affiliates
4.2(b)Permitted Disclosures
M&AArticle-prefixed
Article IVConfidentiality
Section 4.01Scope of Obligations
Section 4.02Restrictions on Use
Section 4.02(a)Disclosure to Affiliates
Section 4.02(b)Permitted Disclosures

The vocabulary

A dictionary that reads ahead of you.

Each recognized term wears one of four inks — a chord that tells you, at a glance, how negotiable the phrase you just typed actually is.

  1. 01StatutoryMaterial Adverse Effect · Knowledge · Best EffortsFixed by case law. The boilerplate carries weight.
  2. 02Semi-rigidReasonable Efforts · Ordinary Course of BusinessEstablished meaning; narrow drafting latitude.
  3. 03NegotiatedIndemnification Cap · Survival Period · BasketDeal-specific. The thing you're really arguing about.
  4. 04ConventionEffective Date · Closing · ScheduleConvention only. Renames freely without consequence.

A sample MSA loads
by default.

The editor lives at /dev/editor. The guide lives at /dev/editor/guide. Open one; the other is a click away.

Open the editorOr start with the guide