Template Schema

Templates are defined as JSON or YAML objects conforming to the following schema. This page documents every field with examples.

Full Schema

template-schema.json

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "type": "object",
  "required": ["name", "version", "industry", "steps", "inputSchema"],
  "properties": {
    "name": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Human-readable template name",
      "maxLength": 100
    },
    "description": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Detailed description of what the template does",
      "maxLength": 500
    },
    "version": {
      "type": "string",
      "pattern": "^\\d+\\.\\d+\\.\\d+$",
      "description": "Semantic version (e.g., 1.0.0)"
    },
    "industry": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": ["legal", "finance", "devops", "marketing", "healthcare", "custom"],
      "description": "Industry category"
    },
    "tags": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": { "type": "string" },
      "description": "Searchable tags"
    },
    "visibility": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": ["private", "organization", "public"],
      "default": "private"
    },
    "inputSchema": {
      "type": "object",
      "description": "JSON Schema defining required inputs",
      "$ref": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"
    },
    "outputSchema": {
      "type": "object",
      "description": "JSON Schema defining expected output format",
      "$ref": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"
    },
    "steps": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": { "$ref": "#/$defs/step" },
      "minItems": 1,
      "description": "Ordered list of workflow steps"
    },
    "defaults": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "model": { "type": "string" },
        "queue": { "type": "string" },
        "timeoutMs": { "type": "number" },
        "maxTokens": { "type": "number" },
        "temperature": { "type": "number" }
      },
      "description": "Default settings applied to all steps"
    },
    "hitl": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "requiredFor": {
          "type": "array",
          "items": { "type": "string" },
          "description": "Step IDs that require HITL approval"
        },
        "confidenceThreshold": {
          "type": "number",
          "minimum": 0,
          "maximum": 1,
          "default": 0.85
        },
        "timeoutMs": {
          "type": "number",
          "default": 3600000
        }
      }
    },
    "metadata": {
      "type": "object",
      "additionalProperties": true,
      "description": "Arbitrary metadata"
    }
  },
  "$defs": {
    "step": {
      "type": "object",
      "required": ["id", "prompt"],
      "properties": {
        "id": {
          "type": "string",
          "pattern": "^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$",
          "description": "Unique step identifier (lowercase, hyphens)"
        },
        "prompt": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "Prompt template with {{variable}} placeholders"
        },
        "model": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "Model override for this step"
        },
        "queue": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "Queue override for this step"
        },
        "dependsOn": {
          "type": "array",
          "items": { "type": "string" },
          "description": "Step IDs that must complete before this step"
        },
        "requiresApproval": {
          "type": "boolean",
          "default": false,
          "description": "Whether this step requires HITL approval"
        },
        "condition": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "Conditional expression to skip this step"
        },
        "timeoutMs": {
          "type": "number",
          "description": "Step-level timeout"
        },
        "retry": {
          "type": "object",
          "properties": {
            "maxAttempts": { "type": "number", "default": 3 },
            "backoffMs": { "type": "number", "default": 1000 }
          }
        },
        "maxTokens": { "type": "number" },
        "temperature": { "type": "number", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 1 },
        "systemPrompt": { "type": "string" }
      }
    }
  }
}

YAML Example

contract-review-v1.yaml

name: Contract Review
description: >
  Multi-step contract analysis pipeline that extracts clauses,
  analyzes risks, checks compliance, and generates an executive report.
version: "1.0.0"
industry: legal
tags:
  - contract
  - risk-analysis
  - compliance
visibility: public
 
inputSchema:
  type: object
  required:
    - contract
  properties:
    contract:
      type: string
      description: Full text of the contract to review
    jurisdiction:
      type: string
      description: Legal jurisdiction (e.g., "New York", "Delaware")
      default: "United States"
    reviewDepth:
      type: string
      enum: [quick, standard, comprehensive]
      default: standard
 
defaults:
  model: sonnet
  queue: default
  timeoutMs: 120000
  temperature: 0.3
 
steps:
  - id: extract
    prompt: |
      Extract all key clauses from the following contract.
      Return a structured JSON array with fields:
      clause_id, title, text, category, page_reference.
 
      Contract:
      {{input.contract}}
    maxTokens: 4096
 
  - id: analyze-risk
    prompt: |
      Analyze the following contract clauses for risk factors.
      Consider the jurisdiction: {{input.jurisdiction}}.
      Review depth: {{input.reviewDepth}}.
 
      For each risk, provide:
      - risk_id, clause_reference, severity (LOW/MEDIUM/HIGH/CRITICAL)
      - description, potential_impact, mitigation_recommendation
 
      Clauses:
      {{extract.output}}
    model: opus
    dependsOn: [extract]
    requiresApproval: true
    maxTokens: 8192
 
  - id: check-compliance
    prompt: |
      Review these contract clauses for regulatory compliance:
      - GDPR data handling requirements
      - Standard commercial contract terms
      - {{input.jurisdiction}} specific regulations
 
      Flag non-compliant clauses with severity and remediation steps.
 
      Clauses:
      {{extract.output}}
    dependsOn: [extract]
    maxTokens: 4096
 
  - id: generate-report
    prompt: |
      Generate an executive summary report combining:
 
      Risk Analysis:
      {{analyze-risk.output}}
 
      Compliance Check:
      {{check-compliance.output}}
 
      Include:
      1. Overall risk score (1-10) with justification
      2. Top 3 risks with mitigation recommendations
      3. Compliance status (compliant / partially compliant / non-compliant)
      4. Recommended negotiation points
      5. Next steps for legal team
    dependsOn: [analyze-risk, check-compliance]
    maxTokens: 4096
 
hitl:
  requiredFor: [analyze-risk]
  confidenceThreshold: 0.85
  timeoutMs: 3600000
 
metadata:
  author: Matwal Legal Team
  lastReviewed: "2026-02-15"
  complianceStandards: [GDPR, UCC, SOX]

Template Variables

Templates support {{variable}} placeholders that are resolved at execution time.

Pattern	Source	Example
`{{input.fieldName}}`	Deployment input	`{{input.contract}}`
`{{stepId.output}}`	Output of a completed step	`{{extract.output}}`
`{{env.VARIABLE}}`	Environment variable	`{{env.API_KEY}}`
`{{meta.templateName}}`	Template metadata	`{{meta.templateName}}`
`{{meta.executionId}}`	Current execution ID	`{{meta.executionId}}`

⚠️

Variables referencing step outputs ({{stepId.output}}) can only be used in steps that declare dependsOn that step. The orchestrator validates the dependency graph at creation time.

Validation

The CLI validates templates before creation:

devteam templates validate --file my-template.yaml

Common validation errors:

Error	Cause
`CIRCULAR_DEPENDENCY`	Step A depends on B which depends on A
`MISSING_DEPENDENCY`	`dependsOn` references a non-existent step ID
`INVALID_INPUT_REF`	`{{input.x}}` references a field not in `inputSchema`
`UNREACHABLE_STEP`	A step cannot be reached from the root of the DAG
`DUPLICATE_STEP_ID`	Two steps share the same `id`

Next Steps

Legal Templates -- Browse legal industry templates
Creating Templates -- Author custom templates

Overview Legal Templates