Documenso Core Workflow B: Templates & Direct Signing

Overview

Create reusable templates, generate documents from templates with prefilled fields, and implement direct signing links for public/anonymous signers. Templates define the PDF, fields, and recipient roles once — then stamp out documents on demand.

Prerequisites

• Completed documenso-core-workflow-a
• At least one PDF uploaded to Documenso as a template
• Understanding of recipient roles and field types

Instructions

Step 1: Create a Template via Dashboard

Templates are created in the Documenso UI:

1. Navigate to Templates in the sidebar.
2. Click Create Template and upload a PDF.
3. Add placeholder recipients (e.g., "Signer 1", "Approver") — these become roles that get filled when creating documents from the template.
4. Place fields on the PDF and assign them to placeholder recipients.
5. Save the template and note the template ID from the URL.

Step 2: Create Document from Template (v1 REST API)

// The v1 API has a dedicated template endpoint
const templateId = 42; // From the dashboard URL

const res = await fetch(
  `https://app.documenso.com/api/v1/templates/${templateId}/create-document`,
  {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.DOCUMENSO_API_KEY}`,
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      title: "Service Agreement — Acme Corp",
      recipients: [
        {
          email: "ceo@acme.com",
          name: "Alice CEO",
          role: "SIGNER",
        },
      ],
      // Optionally prefill fields by their IDs
      prefillFields: [
        { id: "field_abc123", value: "2026-03-22" },
        { id: "field_def456", value: "Acme Corporation" },
      ],
    }),
  }
);

const document = await res.json();
console.log(`Created document ${document.documentId} from template ${templateId}`);

Step 3: Template Workflow Patterns

// Pattern: Batch document generation from template
async function generateContracts(
  templateId: number,
  clients: Array<{ email: string; name: string; company: string }>
) {
  const results = [];

  for (const client of clients) {
    const res = await fetch(
      `https://app.documenso.com/api/v1/templates/${templateId}/create-document`,
      {
        method: "POST",
        headers: {
          Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.DOCUMENSO_API_KEY}`,
          "Content-Type": "application/json",
        },
        body: JSON.stringify({
          title: `Service Agreement — ${client.company}`,
          recipients: [
            { email: client.email, name: client.name, role: "SIGNER" },
          ],
        }),
      }
    );

    const doc = await res.json();

    // Send immediately after creation
    await fetch(
      `https://app.documenso.com/api/v1/documents/${doc.documentId}/send`,
      {
        method: "POST",
        headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.DOCUMENSO_API_KEY}` },
      }
    );

    results.push({ documentId: doc.documentId, client: client.email });
  }

  return results;
}

Step 4: Direct Signing Links

Direct links let anyone sign without receiving an email — perfect for public forms, walk-in signers, or embedded flows.

Setup in Dashboard:

1. Open a template.
2. Click Direct Link in template settings.
3. Choose which recipient role the direct link signer fills.
4. Copy the generated URL.

Direct Link URL format:

https://app.documenso.com/sign/direct/{token}

Embedding a Direct Link in an iframe:

<iframe
  src="https://app.documenso.com/sign/direct/abc123token"
  width="100%"
  height="800"
  frameborder="0"
  allow="clipboard-write"
></iframe>

Step 5: Embedded Signing with React

npm install @documenso/embed-react

// DirectSigningPage.tsx
import { EmbedDirectTemplate } from "@documenso/embed-react";

export function DirectSigningPage() {
  return (
    <EmbedDirectTemplate
      token="your-direct-link-token"
      host="https://app.documenso.com"
      // Pre-fill recipient data
      name="Jane Doe"
      email="jane@example.com"
      // Lock pre-filled fields so signer can't change them
      lockName={true}
      lockEmail={true}
      // Callbacks
      onDocumentReady={() => console.log("Document loaded")}
      onDocumentCompleted={() => console.log("Signing complete!")}
      onDocumentError={(err) => console.error("Error:", err)}
    />
  );
}

Step 6: Embedded Authoring (Document Editor)

Let users create and edit documents directly in your app:

import { EmbedCreateDocument } from "@documenso/embed-react";

export function CreateDocumentPage() {
  return (
    <EmbedCreateDocument
      presignToken="presign-token-from-api"
      host="https://app.documenso.com"
      onDocumentCreated={(doc) => {
        console.log(`Document ${doc.documentId} created`);
      }}
    />
  );
}

Presign tokens are obtained from the API and expire after 1 hour by default.

Step 7: v2 Envelope API (Multi-Document)

The v2 API uses "envelopes" that can contain multiple documents:

// Create envelope with multipart/form-data
const form = new FormData();
form.append("payload.title", "Multi-Doc Envelope");
form.append("payload.type", "DOCUMENT"); // or "TEMPLATE"
form.append("files", pdfBlob1, "contract.pdf");
form.append("files", pdfBlob2, "appendix.pdf");

const envelope = await fetch("https://app.documenso.com/api/v2/envelope/create", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.DOCUMENSO_API_KEY}` },
  body: form,
});

const { envelopeId } = await envelope.json();

// Distribute (send) the envelope
await fetch("https://app.documenso.com/api/v2/envelope/distribute", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.DOCUMENSO_API_KEY}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({ envelopeId }),
});

Template vs Direct Document Comparison

Feature	Document (ad-hoc)	Template	Direct Link
PDF upload	Every time	Once	Once (via template)
Field placement	Every time	Once	Once (via template)
Recipient known upfront	Yes	Yes	No
Public/anonymous signing	No	No	Yes
Batch generation	Manual	API call per client	N/A
Embedding	SignDocument	DirectTemplate	iframe/embed

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
Template not found (404)	Invalid template ID or deleted	Verify ID in dashboard URL
Recipient mismatch	Wrong number vs template roles	Match template's placeholder roles
Field not found for prefill	Invalid prefillFields[].id	GET template first, inspect field IDs
Direct link disabled	Feature not enabled on template	Enable in template settings
Presign token expired	Token older than 1 hour	Request a new presign token

Resources

• Templates User Guide
• Direct Link Signing
• Embedding Documentation
• React Embed SDK
• v2 Envelope API

Next Steps

For error handling patterns, see documenso-common-errors.