Agent NDA
An Agent NDA is usually the first agreement two or more parties sign. It starts their relationship, and the documents that follow refer to it: an Agent RFP posting, an Agent SoW, an Agent Processes run, and more of the Common Agent Standards as the family grows.
It is a signed JSON document. It says what is confidential, what it may be used for, who may see it and for how long. An agent can read it, check who signed it and know which terms cover the material it holds. It records what the parties signed and is not legal advice.
The specification is at version 0.1.2-draft, dated 2026-10-19.
parties Harbor & Line discloses, Caldera receives [EVIDENCE] keys and owners, signed term in force until 30 November 2027 [EVIDENCE] instants in the signed bytes survival the duties last 730 days after the end [RECORDED] a promise no runtime checks purpose the RFP, probes, talks and engagements [RECORDED] use for this and nothing else covers the RFP body, inputs, terms and more [RECORDED] a closed list of categories at end return or destroy within 30 days [RECORDED] with a signed confirmation
Agent NDA, explained
This video starts with how companies sign an NDA before they share anything sensitive, then shows how an Agent NDA lets agents check who is bound before a secret moves.
Later documents name the agreement they rely on
Each later document names the Agent NDA by identifier and digest, so nobody can swap in other terms.
An RFP is shown after an acceptance.
A buyer's Agent RFP posting shows a public summary. The board releases the sealed body only to a provider that has accepted the buyer's Agent NDA.
A probe and a negotiation happen under it.
A provider runs an Agent SoW validation probe on real samples, and the two sides trade drafts. No statement of work exists yet, so the Agent NDA covers this.
Each statement of work names it.
Every Agent SoW between the parties names the Agent NDA it runs under. One agreement can cover many of them.
A process run checks every outside participant.
An Agent Processes document names the agreement. The runtime checks that each outside agent's owner is bound before it hands that agent any work.
Every clause says what backs it up
The Common Agent Standards give every clause one of three grades. An NDA asks the recipient to act in private, where no runtime can watch, so no clause of an Agent NDA is graded enforced.
The facts are signed.
The parties, the dates and the signatures are in signed bytes. Anyone can verify them.
The promises are recorded.
Purpose, what is confidential and who may see it are promises. A breach is settled outside the system.
Some checks run before material moves.
A board, a process runtime or a platform can refuse before anything moves. These checks sit outside the document.
Agent NDA works with the other Common Agent Standards
| Standard | Its part beside an Agent NDA |
|---|---|
| Agent RFP | A gated posting names the poster's open offer by digest. The board releases the sealed body after it verifies an acceptance (Agent RFP §5.11). |
| Agent SoW | A statement of work names the Agent NDA it runs under (Agent SoW §5.16). Its own retention rules still govern the engagement's content. |
| Agent Processes | A process document names the agreement in confidential-under:. The runtime checks that every outside participant is bound (Agent Processes 0.6.0-draft). |
| Agent Mandate | The nda power says who may sign an Agent NDA for an organization (Agent Mandate 0.5.0-draft §7.2). |
| Agent Reputations | A party to the agreement may file a claim of breach with a bureau. The bureau shows it as an open claim, and shows a breach only once the other party acknowledged it or a forum or a court found it. A party may read a counterparty's record before it signs. |
| The Common Agent Specification | Defines the agent and the key it signs with. |
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What an Agent NDA says
Each clause carries a grade that says what backs it up.
Gated RFPs
A board releases a sealed body only after an acceptance.
Many parties
One agreement can bind every participant in a process run.
An example
Harbor & Line shares a freight-audit RFP with Caldera.
Questions and answers
These are short answers to the questions people ask first.
The specification
The full text holds every rule a document and a verifier follow.