How to use the SaaS Subscription Agreement Review agent skill

What is an agent skill, and what does this one make the agent do?

An agent skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file with instructions that an AI agent loads when a task matches the skill's description. This skill is loaded inside the Claude for Legal commercial-legal workflow rather than working as a standalone tool. It is a reference, not something you run directly.

Once installed, the agent checks a SaaS agreement with extra attention to auto-renewal mechanics, price escalation, data portability and exit, uptime and SLA terms, and subprocessor rights. It compares what it finds against your team's written positions in a playbook file, and it records the exact renewal date and notice window so they can be tracked.

• Auto-renewal: renewal term length, notice-to-cancel window, notice method and price on renewal.
• Price escalation: annual escalator, usage overage pricing and what counts as "fees".
• Data portability: export format, availability, post-termination access, cost and deletion certification.
• Uptime and SLA terms, where the business depends on the service.
• Subprocessor and vendor retention rights, including anonymized or aggregated derivatives.

Install the skill (ZIP download or Claude apps)

You can install the skill in one of two ways. The first is to download the ZIP from the item page and unzip it into your personal skills folder, ~/.claude/skills/, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder.

The second is to upload the ZIP in the Claude apps. Go to Settings, then Capabilities, then Skills, and upload it there.

• Personal install: unzip into ~/.claude/skills/
• Project install: unzip into the project's .claude/skills/ folder
• Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload the ZIP

Set up the playbook before you run a review

The skill does not ship with default thresholds. The right numbers for notice windows, escalators, export rights and SLA levels vary by deal size, vendor leverage and your team's risk tolerance, so your team must record them first.

Record your positions in ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/commercial-legal/CLAUDE.md under the Playbook section, in the SaaS positions subsection of the matching side (sales-side or purchasing-side). If the matching side is not configured, the skill stops and tells you to run /commercial-legal:cold-start-interview --side <side>. If a SaaS term comes up that the playbook does not cover, the agent will ask you for your position and add it to that file.

• Confirm the governing law recorded in CLAUDE.md, since the analysis assumes it.
• Confirm which side you are on: purchasing (the vendor is selling to you) or sales (you are the vendor).

How to trigger the skill with natural requests

The skill is loaded by /commercial-legal:review when a SaaS or subscription agreement is detected. You can also ask in plain language, and the agent will apply the skill when the request matches the contract type.

Name the contract and say what you need. Mention renewal dates or notice windows if those are your concern, because the skill extracts them every time.

• "Review this SaaS subscription agreement and tell me the auto-renewal notice deadline."
• "Check the price escalator and data export terms in this vendor contract against our playbook."
• "Is this software subscription safe to renew? Look at subprocessor rights and what happens to our data on exit."

What the output looks like and what to check

The review lists what it found in each category and compares it to your playbook positions. It records the renewal date and notice window regardless of whether anything is flagged, so you can feed them into renewal tracking.

Citations are tagged by source, such as [Westlaw], [statute / regulator site], [web search — verify] or [model knowledge — verify]. Treat tags marked verify as the first items to check. If the legal research search returns thin results for a relevant statute, the skill reports this and asks you how to proceed rather than filling the gap silently.

• Renewal date and notice window are always extracted.
• Items that differ from your playbook are flagged.
• A lawyer should decide on lower-confidence sources.

Safety notes: scripts and network use

This skill does not run scripts. It does use the network, because it can query an optional legal research connector such as Westlaw for statutory citations. If no such connector is configured, you rely on what the agent can verify and what you provide.

Review the playbook file before running the skill, because the agent applies its contents to the contract. Check that your jurisdictional assumptions match the agreement, and that any citations are verified against a primary source before you rely on them.

• Scripts: none.
• Network: yes, optional legal research connector for statutory citations.
• Requires a configured CLAUDE.md playbook with SaaS positions.

Tips for better results

Keep the playbook specific. Numbers such as a maximum notice window or an acceptable CPI-capped escalator give the review something concrete to compare against. Vague positions produce vague flags.

Flag jurisdictions early. The skill warns that California, New York and EU rules differ, and that some state auto-renewal statutes override contract terms. For EU-based users or consumer-facing deals, the analysis may not transfer as written.

Skip SLA review for nice-to-have tools. The skill itself says not to spend negotiating effort on uptime terms for a non-critical service.