What it does

LegalDown documents never hardcode section numbers, reference text, or formatted values. The source says {{ref: late-payment}}, and the renderer turns it into "4.2(b)" with a link. This package is that renderer:

🔢 Numbers sections, list items, and paragraphs under a configurable scheme (§13.1, §13.2). References to items resolve to designations such as "2.1(b)".

🔗 Resolves cross-references, defined terms, parties, sides, and attachment references into display text with links (§13.3–§13.5).

🌍 Formats dates, money, and durations for a locale chosen at render time. A Czech locale gives "1. června 2026", "10 000,00 Kč", and "12 měsíců", and amounts are never rounded (§10).

🎨 Applies a style template, so the same source renders as a US-style contract or a continental one without editing the text (§13.7).

📝 Shows templates as templates, or fills them in. Without answers, conditional clauses are marked, every {{choose:}} phrase is shown, drafting notes are styled, and placeholders render as blanks. With an answers set, the template is assembled and the finished document rendered (§15.8).

🚩 Never hides a problem. Anything unresolved renders as a visible marker, such as [BROKEN REF: id], and is reported with the specification's stable rule id. Nothing is dropped silently (§17.5).

Parsing and Core validation come from legaldown-validator, the reference parser. This package never reimplements the LegalDown grammar.

Install

pip install legaldown-render

Python 3.11 or newer. The dependencies are all pure Python: legaldown-validator, markdown-it-py, babel, and pyyaml.

Command line

legaldown-render contract.lgd -o contract.html                  # HTML page
legaldown-render contract.lgd -o contract.txt                   # plain text (format from extension)
legaldown-render contract.lgd --style continental --locale cs-CZ -o smlouva.html
legaldown-render contract.lgd --set numbering.scheme=legal-outline --set enumeration.enabled=false
legaldown-render contract.lgd --set contents.enabled=true --set contents.depth=3   # table of contents
legaldown-render contract.lgd --strict                          # refuse if the document has errors
legaldown-render contract.lgd --final --strict                  # refuse if blanks or template constructs remain
legaldown-render template.lgd --answers answers.yaml -o nda.html # fill in a template, then render it
legaldown-render --print-style --style continental              # every setting, as YAML

Diagnostics go to stderr, one per line with its rule id. The exit code is 0 when the document rendered, even if it has errors (they show as markers), 1 when rendering was refused (strict mode, or a template that cannot be assembled with its answers) or a file cannot be read, and 2 for an invalid style or setting.

Python

from legaldown_render import render

result = render(open("contract.lgd").read(), format="html", style="continental", locale="cs-CZ")
for diagnostic in result.diagnostics:
    print(diagnostic.level, diagnostic.rule, diagnostic.message)
open("contract.html", "w").write(result.output)

render() also accepts a RenderOptions. Pass answers={...} to render a template filled in. Problems in the document never raise. Only an invalid style (StyleError), an unreadable document (DocumentError), strict mode, or a template that cannot be assembled with its answers (RenderRefused) do.

Styles and preferences

A style template says how documents look: numbering, list enumeration, locale, labels, typography. It is a YAML file you can share across a team:

version: 1
extends: continental
locale: cs-CZ
numbering:
  levels:
    - { counter: decimal, label: "Článek {n}", ref: "{n}" }
definitions: { style: small-caps }
typography: { font_family: "Georgia, serif", justify: true }

Render options say what one job does: the output format, strict mode, the final check, the answers to a template, a full page or an HTML fragment. Values layer in this order: built-in defaults, then the extends chain, then your style, then per-job --set overrides. Every value is validated before rendering starts. See Styles and preferences.

Built-in styles are default (1. / 1.1, with (a) / (i) list items), continental (numbered articles, 2.1-style items, numbered paragraphs), and outline (I. / A. / 1. / a.).

Documentation

Development

pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest                       # unit, golden, and CLI tests
pytest --update-golden       # regenerate tests/golden/ after an intended output change
LEGALDOWN_SPEC_DIR=../LegalDown pytest -m conformance   # the specification's examples and fixtures
ruff check .

Releases go to PyPI from a GitHub Release; see PUBLISHING.md.

License

MIT