Agent Commercial Contract

The Legal Layer for Agent-to-Agent Commerce

A comprehensive smart contract framework for AI agents to autonomously negotiate, sign, execute, and enforce commercial agreements with legal enforceability and automated escrow.

Overview

As AI agents become increasingly autonomous, they need a robust legal and financial infrastructure to conduct commerce with each other. Agent Commercial Contract provides:

• Smart Contract Management - Create, sign, and execute legally-binding contracts
• Digital Identity - Cryptographic agent authentication and signatures
• Escrow Services - Automated payment holding and milestone-based release
• Dispute Resolution - Built-in arbitration and evidence management
• Audit Trail - Complete contract lifecycle event logging

Key Features

Contract Lifecycle Management

• Create contracts from templates or custom terms
• Multi-party digital signatures with verification
• Automated contract activation and execution
• Milestone-based payment structures
• Contract termination and completion workflows

Secure Identity System

• Cryptographic key pair generation for each agent
• Public/private key infrastructure for signatures
• API key-based authentication
• Capability-based access control

Escrow & Payment

• Automated fund holding in escrow accounts
• Milestone-based payment release
• Refund and dispute handling
• Multi-currency support
• Transaction audit trails

Dispute Resolution

• Structured dispute raising and evidence submission
• Arbitrator assignment and management
• Automated or manual resolution workflows
• Compensation calculation and enforcement

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/ZhenRobotics/agent-commercial-contract.git
cd agent-commercial-contract

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

# Run the CLI
npm start

Or install globally:

npm install -g agent-commercial-contract

# Use the CLI
agent-contract --help
acc --help  # Short alias

Quick Start

1. Register Agents

# Register provider agent
agent-contract agent register \
  --name "DataProcessor AI" \
  --capabilities "data-processing,machine-learning" \
  --endpoint "https://api.dataprocessor.ai"

# Register consumer agent
agent-contract agent register \
  --name "Analytics Bot" \
  --capabilities "analytics,visualization"

2. Create a Contract

agent-contract contract create \
  --provider agent_abc123 \
  --consumer agent_def456 \
  --title "Data Processing Service Agreement" \
  --service "data-processing" \
  --spec "Process 1M records per day with 99.9% accuracy" \
  --amount 5000 \
  --currency USD \
  --with-escrow

3. Sign the Contract

# Provider signs
agent-contract contract sign \
  --id contract_xyz789 \
  --agent agent_abc123 \
  --signature <digital_signature>

# Consumer signs
agent-contract contract sign \
  --id contract_xyz789 \
  --agent agent_def456 \
  --signature <digital_signature>

4. Activate and Execute

# Activate the contract
agent-contract contract activate --id contract_xyz789

# Deposit funds to escrow
agent-contract escrow deposit \
  --id escrow_abc123 \
  --amount 5000 \
  --from agent_def456

# Upon milestone completion, release payment
agent-contract escrow release \
  --id escrow_abc123 \
  --amount 5000 \
  --reason "Service completed successfully"

Usage Examples

As a Library (SDK)

import AgentCommercialContract, { ContractTerms } from 'agent-commercial-contract';

const sdk = new AgentCommercialContract();

// Register agents
const provider = await sdk.identity.registerAgent(
  'DataProcessor AI',
  ['data-processing', 'machine-learning']
);

const consumer = await sdk.identity.registerAgent(
  'Analytics Bot',
  ['analytics']
);

// Create contract with escrow
const terms: ContractTerms = {
  title: 'Data Processing Service',
  description: 'Process customer data with ML models',
  service: {
    type: 'data-processing',
    specification: 'Process 1M records/day, 99.9% accuracy',
    deliverables: ['Processed data', 'Quality report'],
  },
  payment: {
    amount: 5000,
    currency: 'USD',
    structure: 'milestone',
    milestones: [
      {
        id: 'milestone_1',
        name: 'Phase 1: Data ingestion',
        amount: 2000,
        deliverables: ['Data pipeline setup'],
        status: 'pending',
      },
      {
        id: 'milestone_2',
        name: 'Phase 2: Processing',
        amount: 3000,
        deliverables: ['Processed data delivery'],
        status: 'pending',
      },
    ],
  },
  timeline: {
    duration: 30, // days
  },
};

const result = await sdk.createContractWithEscrow(
  provider.data.identity,
  consumer.data.identity,
  terms
);

console.log('Contract created:', result.data.contract.id);
console.log('Escrow created:', result.data.escrow.id);

// Sign and activate
await sdk.signAndActivateContract(
  result.data.contract.id,
  'provider_signature',
  'consumer_signature'
);

// Complete milestone and release payment
await sdk.completeMilestoneAndPay(
  result.data.contract.id,
  'milestone_1',
  provider.data.identity.id
);

Dispute Management

// Raise a dispute
const dispute = await sdk.disputes.raiseDispute(
  'contract_xyz789',
  'agent_consumer',
  'agent_provider',
  'quality_issue',
  'Processed data accuracy below 99.9% threshold'
);

// Submit evidence
await sdk.disputes.submitEvidence(
  dispute.data.id,
  'agent_consumer',
  'document',
  'Quality Report',
  'Accuracy measurements showing 97.2%',
  { accuracy: 0.972, expected: 0.999 }
);

// Assign arbitrator
await sdk.disputes.assignArbitrator(
  dispute.data.id,
  'arbitrator_agent_001'
);

// Resolve dispute
await sdk.disputes.resolveDispute(
  dispute.data.id,
  'plaintiff_favor',
  'Quality below agreed threshold, partial refund required',
  'arbitrator_agent_001',
  {
    amount: 2000,
    from: 'agent_provider',
    to: 'agent_consumer',
    reason: 'Partial refund for quality issues',
  }
);

CLI Commands

Agent Management

# Register new agent
agent-contract agent register -n "My Agent" -c "capability1,capability2"

# List all agents
agent-contract agent list

Contract Management

# Create contract
agent-contract contract create -p <provider_id> -c <consumer_id> -t "Title" ...

# Sign contract
agent-contract contract sign -i <contract_id> -a <agent_id> -s <signature>

# Activate contract
agent-contract contract activate -i <contract_id>

# List contracts
agent-contract contract list

# Get contract details
agent-contract contract info -i <contract_id>

Escrow Management

# Deposit funds
agent-contract escrow deposit -i <escrow_id> -a <amount> -f <from_agent>

# Release funds
agent-contract escrow release -i <escrow_id> -a <amount> -r "reason"

# Refund funds
agent-contract escrow refund -i <escrow_id> -a <amount> -r "reason"

Dispute Management

# Raise dispute
agent-contract dispute raise -c <contract_id> -p <plaintiff> -d <defendant> -t <type> --description "..."

# List disputes
agent-contract dispute list -s <status>

Dashboard

# View agent dashboard
agent-contract dashboard -a <agent_id>

Architecture

agent-commercial-contract/
├── src/
│   ├── core/
│   │   ├── types.ts              # Type definitions
│   │   ├── contract-manager.ts   # Contract lifecycle
│   │   ├── escrow-manager.ts     # Payment escrow
│   │   ├── identity-manager.ts   # Agent identity & auth
│   │   └── dispute-manager.ts    # Dispute resolution
│   ├── cli/
│   │   └── index.ts              # CLI interface
│   └── index.ts                  # Main SDK export
├── bin/
│   └── cli.sh                    # CLI entry point
├── tests/
│   ├── test-contract.ts
│   ├── test-escrow.ts
│   └── test-identity.ts
└── templates/
    └── contract-templates.json   # Contract templates

Core Modules

Contract Manager - Handles contract creation, signing, activation, and lifecycle events

Escrow Manager - Manages payment holding, milestone-based releases, and refunds

Identity Manager - Cryptographic identity, key management, and authentication

Dispute Manager - Dispute raising, evidence collection, and resolution

Use Cases

1. AI Agent Marketplace

• Agents offer services (data processing, API access, computation)
• Automated contract negotiation and signing
• Escrow ensures payment security
• Disputes handled transparently

2. Multi-Agent Collaboration

• Multiple agents working on a shared project
• Milestone-based payment releases
• Clear deliverable expectations
• Automated performance verification

3. API-as-a-Service between Agents

• Provider agents sell API access
• Consumer agents purchase with smart contracts
• Usage-based or subscription billing
• SLA enforcement via disputes

4. Data Exchange Networks

• Agents buy and sell datasets
• Quality guarantees in contracts
• Escrow protects both parties
• Provenance tracking

Security & Legal

Cryptographic Security

• RSA 2048-bit key pairs for signatures
• SHA-256 hashing for evidence integrity
• API key authentication
• Signature verification on all actions

Legal Enforceability

• Contracts include jurisdiction clauses
• Digital signatures legally binding in most jurisdictions
• Audit trails for compliance
• Dispute resolution mechanisms

Best Practices

• Store private keys securely (HSM, secure enclaves)
• Use strong API keys
• Regular key rotation
• Verify all signatures
• Maintain comprehensive audit logs

Roadmap

v1.1 (Q2 2026)

• [ ] Blockchain integration for immutable contracts
• [ ] Multi-currency crypto support (USDC, ETH)
• [ ] Webhooks for contract events
• [ ] GraphQL API

v1.2 (Q3 2026)

• [ ] Machine learning-based contract recommendations
• [ ] Automated arbitration using AI judges
• [ ] Smart contract templates marketplace
• [ ] Integration with major payment gateways

v2.0 (Q4 2026)

• [ ] Decentralized identity (DID)
• [ ] Zero-knowledge proofs for privacy
• [ ] Cross-chain contract execution
• [ ] DAO governance for arbitration

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

# Fork the repository
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/agent-commercial-contract.git

# Create a feature branch
git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature

# Make your changes and commit
git commit -m "Add amazing feature"

# Push and create a Pull Request
git push origin feature/amazing-feature

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details

Links

• GitHub: https://github.com/ZhenRobotics/agent-commercial-contract
• Documentation: https://docs.agent-commercial-contract.ai
• Discord Community: https://discord.gg/agent-contract
• Twitter: @AgentContract

Citation

If you use this project in your research or application, please cite:

@software{agent_commercial_contract,
  title = {Agent Commercial Contract: The Legal Layer for Agent-to-Agent Commerce},
  author = {ZhenRobotics},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://github.com/ZhenRobotics/agent-commercial-contract}
}

Built with AI, for AI. Empowering autonomous commerce. 🤖⚖️