- 3 minutes to read

Add or manage Contract

Document each end of a communication chain exactly as it runs. A Nodinite Contract ties one System and one Service to the Message Types and Endpoints that pass through them, so everyone sees what is exchanged, where, and with which monitoring state. This guide helps you:

  • ✅ Add a Contract and connect it to its System and its one Service
  • ✅ Complete the Transport Contract with Message Types and Endpoints
  • ✅ Link Integrations, Resources, Custom Fields, Custom Metadata, and Articles from one page

The Contracts feature is available when the System Parameter UseContracts is set to true. Read What is a Contract? for how a Contract differs from a Service.

Instructions

Open Repository > Contracts and click Add Contract, or open an existing Contract from the list. Everything about the Contract is on one page: the fields on the left, and a card per relation on the right.
Add Contract page with Name, Description, Web Site, System, the Service picker with its filters, C4 Properties, and Custom Metadata on the left, and the Integrations, Transport Contract, Custom Fields, Resources, and Articles cards on the right (7.12)
The Add Contract page; the Transport Contract stays Incomplete until it has Message Types and Endpoints.

Mandatory Fields

Enter a Name to create the Contract.

Optional Fields

  • Description: A user-friendly description of the Contract.
  • Web Site: A quick link for users, such as a WIKI or SharePoint page with more documentation.
  • C4 Properties: Expand to set how the Contract is drawn in C4 Diagrams; see Repository Properties for C4 Diagramming.

System

Pick the System the Contract belongs to in System. A Contract is always a member of exactly one System.

Service

Pick the Service in Service. A Contract is connected to exactly one Service. In a large Repository, narrow the list first with Filter by System and Filter by Direction in the dark bar above the field.

Transport Contract

The Transport Contract card shows which Message Types are exchanged over which Endpoints. A new Contract shows an Incomplete Transport Contract with the warnings No Message Types found and No Endpoints found.

  1. Click Edit on the card.
  2. Replace the placeholder name with one that describes the exchange.
  3. Add the expected Message Types and Endpoints.

The dialog works the same as for a Service; see Manage Transport Contracts. Mapify and Mermaid on the card open the Transport Contract as a diagram (see Mapify).

The other cards on the right each have an Edit button:

Card What you manage there
Integrations The Integrations that use the Contract
Custom Fields Custom Fields values
Resources The monitored Resources whose state the Contract shows in the Integration Landscape (see Resources on a Contract)
Articles New 7.12 The Articles that document the Contract (see The Articles Card on Repository Entities)

Custom Metadata

Add Custom Metadata, such as an owner or a partner agreement reference, in the Custom Metadata section at the bottom of the page. Click Add Custom Metadata to add a field, and switch to Preview to see how it reads. See Add or manage Custom Metadata.

Next Steps