> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.libratech.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Auto Mode

> Skip the Positions and Rules and ask a research-backed question instead. Libra reads the contract and answers using the research sources you select.

<video autoPlay muted loop playsInline src="https://mintcdn.com/libra-4206ec93/azhR9hqtFjs66ITC/assets/videos/features/review-auto-mode.webm?fit=max&auto=format&n=azhR9hqtFjs66ITC&q=85&s=d0489b1941c126bcb7caf77724dd0434" className="rounded-xl border w-full" data-path="assets/videos/features/review-auto-mode.webm" />

**Auto Mode** turns a Playbook Topic into a research-backed question instead of a Rules check. You write one question, pick the research sources Libra should consult, and Libra answers — citing both the contract and the research it found.

<div className="libra-buddy-callout">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/libra-4206ec93/wgVZXcGnHS4aJk9T/assets/images/libra-buddy/thinking.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=wgVZXcGnHS4aJk9T&q=85&s=6fe60c07c6a0e65c084ac6880c337f84" alt="Libra mascot thinking" width="872" height="693" data-path="assets/images/libra-buddy/thinking.png" />

  <div className="libra-buddy-callout-content">
    Auto Mode is set per Topic, so one Auto Mode Topic (*is this enforceable?*) can sit alongside seven Rules-based ones in the same Playbook. The Review comes back as one result with the same risk badges throughout.
  </div>
</div>

## When Auto Mode wins over Rules

| Use Auto Mode when…                                                              | Use Rules when…                                                            |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| The answer depends on case law that may have shifted recently.                   | The answer is a binary check against your firm's standard.                 |
| You don't have a clearly defined Starting, Fallback and Not acceptable position. | You have a clear position list and the contract either matches or doesn't. |
| The question is *is this enforceable?*                                           | The question is *does this match what we sign?*                            |
| You want a researched explanation, not a yes or no.                              | You want the same answer every time, regardless of case law.               |

## Turning Auto Mode on for a Topic

You need edit access to the Playbook. On a Playbook a colleague shared with you as view-only, expanding a Topic still shows you whether it runs in Auto Mode, but the control is inert — you cannot switch a Topic in or out of it.

<Warning>
  Switching a Topic that already has content into Auto Mode is destructive. Libra shows a **Switch to Auto Mode** confirmation — *Switching modes will replace the current positions and rules. Are you sure you want to continue?* — and confirming discards every Position and Rule on that Topic. Switching back out is equally destructive: the Topic is reset to an empty **Starting position** and **Not acceptable position** pair. Copy anything you want to keep before you switch.
</Warning>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Playbook">
    Click **Templates** in the global part of the sidebar and switch to the **Reviews** tab, then open the Playbook you want to change. The breadcrumb reads **Templates › Reviews** followed by the Playbook's name.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Expand the Topic">
    Click the chevron at the right of the Topic row. The Topic expands in place — there is no separate editor window — and the per-Topic controls appear.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Turn Auto Mode on">
    At the right of the expanded row, next to the delete and collapse controls, sits an icon-only button with no visible label. Hover it and the tooltip reads *Auto mode – ask Libra to conduct legal research to evaluate this topic.*; its screen-reader label is **Enable auto mode**. Click it. Once on, the button stays highlighted, and clicking it again (**Disable auto mode**) returns the Topic to Positions and Rules.

    If the Topic already has any Position or Rule content, the **Switch to Auto Mode** confirmation appears first. Choose **Continue** to accept the loss, or **Cancel** to leave the Topic as it is.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick the Research Sources">
    The Topic body is replaced by two fields. The first, **Research Sources**, is where you choose the databases Libra should consult — Wolters Kluwer Online, Verlag Dr. Otto Schmidt, Web Search and so on. The list is filtered by your team's jurisdictions and by what your firm has licensed, so it differs between accounts.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Write the Question">
    Below it, **Question** takes a single question, written the way you would write a chat prompt: *Does the claims-waiver clause hold up under current German case law?* or *Is the non-compete duration enforceable in this jurisdiction?*
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Click **Save**. On an existing Playbook, **Start Review** is the primary button and **Save** sits beside it; **Start Review** stays disabled until you save, so save first. The next Review you run uses Auto Mode for that Topic.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What Libra works from

Libra sends the model your **Question** together with the Topic's name, description and scope, plus the passages it matched in the contract. What happens next depends on the sources:

* **With research sources selected**, Libra runs the research tools for those sources, then writes its answer from the contract and the research together.
* **With none selected**, Auto Mode does no research at all. It reads the contract and answers your question from the document alone — still useful, but not research-backed.

## What the Auto Mode result looks like

On the Review result, an Auto Mode Topic sits in the same numbered list as every other Topic and carries:

| Element             | What it shows                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Risk badge**      | Libra's overall assessment — **No risk**, **Medium risk** or **High risk** — from the research and the contract together. A Topic Libra could not locate in the contract comes back **Not found**; one whose evaluation errored carries a **Failed** pill in place of the risk badge. |
| **Auto mode** badge | Marks the Topic as an Auto Mode Topic. If it consulted research sources, their icons sit next to the badge — up to three, then a **+N** chip for the rest.                                                                                                                            |
| **Reasoning**       | The written answer: one narrative explaining the verdict, with inline citation chips to the contract passages and to the research results it relied on. Click a chip to open the source.                                                                                              |

An Auto Mode Topic has no **Positions** section — there are no Positions to meet — but it does get the same **Verify** control as any other Topic, so it fits the same sign-off routine.

<Note>
  The **Auto mode** badge and its source icons live on the **Review result**, not in the Playbook editor. In the editor, the only marker that a Topic runs in Auto Mode is the highlighted icon button on its row, and that appears only once the row is expanded — a collapsed list of Topics gives nothing away. The result badge does not depend on edit permission: anyone who can open the Review sees which Topics ran in Auto Mode and on which sources. Sources you have since lost access to drop off the badge silently.
</Note>

## A worked example

The shape below is illustrative — Libra writes one continuous answer rather than filling in fixed headings.

> **Topic 01: Contractual penalty clause** — **High risk**, **Auto mode**
>
> **Question:** *Does the contractual penalty clause hold up against current case law?*
>
> **Research Sources:** Wolters Kluwer Online
>
> **Reasoning:** Contractual penalty clauses are enforceable where the daily rate is proportionate to the breach and an aggregate cap limits cumulative exposure. The daily rate here, €500, sits within the accepted range, but the clause sets no aggregate cap on cumulative penalties, and decisions in the cited commentary treat that omission as unreasonable regardless of the daily rate. Adding a cap — for example 5% of the contract value — would bring the clause back into line.

You get a research-grounded written answer with the nuance only research provides, placed in the same structured Review format as the Rules-based Topics around it.

## Mixing Auto Mode and Rules in one Playbook

A common pattern: most Topics use Rules, because your firm has clear positions on most things, and one or two use Auto Mode for the research-heavy questions where fixed positions don't apply.

<Tip>
  When you mix the two, name the Auto Mode Topics clearly. *Enforceability of claims waiver* signals research; *Working hours* signals rules. Reviewers downstream then see at a glance which Topics need their domain expertise.
</Tip>

## Tips for good Auto Mode questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Ask one thing per Topic">
    *Is this enforceable AND does the duration comply with statutory limits?* is two questions. Split them into two Topics if you need both answered.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Be specific about the legal context">
    *Under German employment law* gives you a tighter, more usable answer than the same question without a jurisdiction.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Select a research source unless you mean not to">
    A Topic with no sources selected is answered from the contract alone, with no research step. If you want case law behind the answer, pick at least one source.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Verify the citations">
    Every citation chip opens its source. Click through and confirm the cited passage says what Libra summarised, the same way you would check a junior's research note.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Don't use Auto Mode for things you do every day">
    If your firm has run the same Review fifty times, Rules give you faster, cheaper, more consistent results. Save Auto Mode for the questions that genuinely need research.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Next steps

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Build a Playbook" icon="https://mintcdn.com/libra-4206ec93/vIwxn8dmEk0jsP5x/assets/images/icons/review.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=vIwxn8dmEk0jsP5x&q=85&s=034a75366c56b497bbe99cbb19f2f796" href="/en/features/review/templates" width="16" height="16" data-path="assets/images/icons/review.svg">
    Build the Rules-based parts of your Playbook.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Understanding results" icon="chart-bar" href="/en/features/review/results">
    Read both Auto Mode and Rules Topics in a single Review.
  </Card>
</Columns>