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Implement at scale with the Docusign CLI

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The Docusign CLI simplifies the implementation of Docusign Agreement Manager, a searchable, intelligent repository for your agreements. The Docusign CLI enables system integrators and enterprise developers to configure, test, and deploy Agreement Manager programmatically, accelerating time-to-value for enterprise customers.

Benefits and business impact

Enterprise Agreement Manager implementations require extensive configuration, AI training, and data ingestion. Without a programmatic approach, these tasks are performed manually through the Agreement Manager UI across multiple environments, which can take several weeks. The Docusign CLI replaces this UI-driven model with a repeatable, automated workflow.

Key advantages of adopting the Docusign CLI include:

  • Faster deployments. The CLI reduces Agreement Manager implementation time by over 40 percent, allowing enterprise customers to realize value sooner.

  • Higher extraction accuracy. By enabling you to define AI training datasets as code and validate them programmatically, the CLI improves Agreement Manager AI extraction results.

  • Multi-account portability. You can deploy validated configurations from developer to production environments, or replicate them across multiple accounts, without repeating the configuration and testing process from scratch.

  • Scalable system-integrator-led implementations. System integrators (SIs) can build repeatable implementation patterns by standardizing Agreement Manager configurations and reusing them across multiple customer deployments. This allows the SI ecosystem to scale Agreement Manager adoption across industries.

Docusign CLI features

The Docusign CLI provides five core capabilities for implementing Agreement Manager at scale.

Agreement Manager customization

The CLI allows you to define Agreement Manager configurations as code in a JSON format. This configuration file - called the Agreement Manager package - serves as the single source of truth for an implementation and includes custom agreement types, custom fields, AI training datasets, and field-to-type mappings.

Using the CLI, you can programmatically:

  • Create custom fields and custom agreement types in bulk
  • Map additional standard and custom fields to both standard and custom agreement types
  • Provide AI training datasets for custom extractions
  • Export an existing Agreement Manager configuration into a package for further modification or deploy it into another account.

Testing

The CLI provides automated testing capabilities that enable you to validate AI extraction accuracy against a set of up to 400 real agreements before deploying a configuration to production. This reduces the risk of deploying a configuration that does not meet accuracy requirements.

The testing process compares AI-extracted agreement values to the expected (ground truth) values that you supply. After reviewing field-level and agreement-type-level results, you can iterate on the configuration, refine AI training descriptions and examples, and re-test until the desired accuracy threshold is met.

You can test AI extraction for both standard and custom agreement types, but you can only refine AI extraction for custom agreement types. Refining standard agreement type extractions is not currently supported.

Deployment to production and multiple accounts

Once you have validated a configuration in the developer environment, you can deploy it to production with a single command. You can also replicate the same validated configuration across multiple Docusign accounts, for example, if you are a system integrator delivering the same Agreement Manager setup to multiple enterprise customers.

This capability eliminates the need to manually recreate configurations in each environment or account through the Agreement Manager UI. The CLI handles the full deployment, including creating custom fields and agreement types, applying field mappings, and enabling AI extraction.

Bulk agreement ingestion

The CLI includes a bulk ingestion feature that allows you to upload large volumes of agreements (with additional metadata if needed) directly into Agreement Manager for processing. You can target individual files or entire directories, and the CLI automatically detects and skips duplicate files to prevent re-ingesting agreements that have already been uploaded.

Supported file formats include PDF, Word (DOC, DOCX, RTF), Excel (XLS, XLSX, XLSB), PowerPoint (PPT, PPTX, PPSX), HTML, and common image formats (JPG, PNG, TIF, TIFF).

After each ingestion, the CLI displays an upload summary showing the total files scanned, duplicates skipped, new files uploaded, and the final job status.

Reprocessing to apply configuration changes to ingested agreements

The CLI enables you to reprocess ingested agreements after you make configuration changes that affect how Docusign classifies or extracts data from agreements. Common triggers for a reprocess include:

  • Adding a new custom agreement type
  • Refining an AI definition or training documents for an existing type
  • Adding new fields to agreement types
  • Updating the definition of existing fields

As you refine your configuration over time, reprocessing ensures that previously ingested agreements benefit from those improvements. This iterative approach enables you to progressively enhance the quality of your extracted data as you learn which definitions produce the best results.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the Docusign CLI designed for?

The CLI is designed for SIs and enterprise developers who need to implement Docusign Agreement Manager at scale. It is particularly useful for delivering Agreement Manager solutions to enterprise customers with complex, high-volume configuration requirements.

How does the Docusign CLI reduce implementation time?

The CLI replaces a manual, UI-driven implementation process with a programmatic workflow. Instead of configuring Agreement Manager through the UI across multiple environments, you define your configuration as code, validate it with automated testing, and deploy it with a single command, eliminating the repetitive manual steps that previously took several weeks.

Can the same configuration be deployed to multiple accounts?

Yes. Once you have validated a configuration, you can deploy it to any number of Docusign accounts. This is useful for system integrators who need to replicate a proven Agreement Manager setup across multiple enterprise customers without repeating the configuration and testing process.

What happens if a custom field or agreement type already exists in the target account?

If a custom field or agreement type defined in the Agreement Manager IAM package already exists in the target account, the CLI updates the existing item with the values in the manifest rather than creating a duplicate. Existing configurations are preserved and extended, not replaced.

How many test agreements can be used to validate extraction accuracy?

Up to 400 agreements can be used per test run. According to Docusign Applied Science guidance, a diverse set of 400 agreements provides accuracy measurements that are statistically equivalent to testing across hundreds of millions of agreements.

Next steps