# Zap blueprint: Summarize a contract PDF with Claude

**This is a blueprint, not an import file.** Zapier has no public format for importing Zaps, so you rebuild these steps by hand in the Zap editor. It takes about 10–20 minutes (our estimate).
Create a new Zap: https://zapier.com/app/editor
Full recipe: https://recipeagents.usestarbase.com/recipes/contract-pdf-summary-claude

## Steps
1. **Trigger:** Google Drive: New File in Folder
   - Recipe input: Contract PDF saved to a Google Drive folder
2. **Filter by Zapier** (optional): only continue if the input is the kind you want (see the recipe's failure modes).
3. **Action:** Anthropic (Claude): Send Message, model Claude Sonnet 5.5. Check that the step accepts your PDF file from the Drive trigger; if it only takes text, add a PDF-to-text step first (scanned pages then lose their content)
   - Paste this prompt and map the trigger fields into the {{...}} placeholders:

```
You are helping someone who isn't a lawyer read a contract before signing. Read the attached PDF and write a plain-English summary under these headings:
Parties and what is being bought
Price and payment terms
Term, renewal and notice period
How either side can end it
Liability, indemnity and caps
Unusual or one-sided clauses
Questions to ask before signing
Under each heading, quote the key words and give the clause number, like (cl. 11.2). If the contract doesn't cover something, write 'Not stated'. Don't give legal advice and don't say whether to sign. Plain text, no tables.
```
4. **Action:** Formatter by Zapier → Utilities → Import JSON / or Code by Zapier, to split the JSON fields (if the prompt returns JSON).
5. **Action:** Gmail: Send Email (to yourself)
6. **Test each step** with a real example, then turn the Zap on. Keep a human approval on anything customer-facing.

## Recipe steps (from the page)
- Create an Anthropic API key in the Claude Console: Settings → API Keys → + Create Key. In n8n, add it as an Anthropic credential.
- Trigger: Google Drive Trigger on a folder such as contracts-to-read, event File Created.
- Google Drive → Download File, with the file ID from the trigger, so the PDF arrives as binary data.
- Anthropic node → Text → Message a Model, model claude-sonnet-5-5. Turn on Add Attachments, choose Binary File(s), field name data. Paste the prompt below. Under Options, turn on Include Merged Response and set Maximum Number of Tokens to 4000.
- Gmail → Send a message to yourself, with merged_response as the body and the file name in the subject.
- For the first few contracts, read the summary next to the PDF and check every quoted clause. It's a reading aid, not legal advice.

## Where it breaks
- Summary stops mid-sentence: n8n's Anthropic node sends a 1,024-token output cap unless you set Maximum Number of Tokens (n8n source, read 2026-10-24). A full summary can need more, and the answer just stops. Set 4,000 or more, and check that each email ends with the Questions section.
- PDF too big or locked: Anthropic's limits are 32 MB per request and 600 pages (100 pages for models with a context window under 1M tokens). Password-protected or encrypted PDFs aren't supported. For long contracts, send the main agreement without the schedules.
- Scanned contracts: Claude reads each page as an image as well as text, so a scanned PDF can still work. Handwritten changes and stamps are where misreads are most likely, so check every date and amount against the page.
- Costs higher than older tutorials suggest: Anthropic says the tokenizer used by its newest models produces about 30% more tokens for the same text, so per-page token figures in older posts run low. Look at the token usage on the first few runs before you estimate a monthly bill.
- Haiku's lower rate has a ceiling: Haiku 5.5's $0.10 input rate applies only to prompts up to 100k tokens. A 40-page contract at Anthropic's per-page estimate can pass that before the page images are even counted, and then the rate is $0.50.
- It reads, it doesn't advise: The prompt asks for clause numbers and quotes so you can check every point. Use the summary to read faster and to prepare questions, not to decide whether to sign.
- Confidential documents: Contracts often limit who you can share them with. Check the contract's confidentiality clause and Anthropic's commercial terms before sending client documents to any AI API.

App and step names follow Zapier's current app directory as of 2026-10-24. Names change, so search the app in the editor if a step looks different.