Reading agent state - Copilotkit

<Frame> <ImageZoom src="https://cdn.copilotkit.ai/docs/copilotkit/images/coagents/read-agent-state.png" alt="read agent state" width={1000} height={1000} className="my-0" /> </Frame> <Callout type="info"> Pictured above is the [coagent starter](https://github.com/copilotkit/copilotkit/tree/main/examples/coagents-starter-crewai-flows) with the [implementation](#implementation) section applied! </Callout>

What is this?

You can easily use the realtime agent state not only in the chat UI, but also in the native application UX.

When should I use this?

You can use this when you want to provide the user with feedback about your agent's state. As your agent's state updates, you can reflect these updates natively in your application.

Implementation

<Steps> <Step> ### Run and Connect Your Agent to CopilotKit

You'll need to run your agent and connect it to CopilotKit before proceeding. If you haven't done so already,
you can follow the instructions in the [Getting Started](/crewai-flows/quickstart) guide.

If you don't already have an agent, you can use the [coagent starter](https://github.com/copilotkit/copilotkit/tree/main/examples/coagents-starter-crewai-flows) as a starting point
as this guide uses it as a starting point.

</Step> <Step> ### Define the Agent State CrewAI Flows are stateful. As you transition through the flow, that state is updated and available to the next function. For this example, let's assume that our agent state looks something like this.

<Tabs groupId="language_crewai-flows_agent" items={["Python"]} persist>
  <Tab value="Python">
    ```python title="agent.py"
    from copilotkit.crewai import CopilotKitState
    from typing import Literal

    class AgentState(CopilotKitState):
        language: Literal["english", "spanish"] = "english"
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

</Step> <Step> ### Use the `useAgent` Hook With your agent connected and running all that is left is to call the `useAgent` hook, pass the agent's name, and optionally provide an initial state.

```tsx title="ui/app/page.tsx"

// Define the agent state type, should match the actual state of your agent
type AgentState = {
  language: "english" | "spanish";
}

function YourMainContent() {
  // [!code highlight:4]
  const { agent } = useAgent({
    agentId: "sample_agent",
    initialState: { language: "english" }  // optionally provide an initial state
  });

  // ...

  return (
    // style excluded for brevity
    <div>
      <h1>Your main content</h1>
      <p>Language: {agent.state?.language}</p>
    </div>
  );
}
```
<Callout type="info">
  The `agent.state` in `useAgent` is reactive and will automatically update when the agent's state changes.
</Callout>

</Step> <Step> ### Give it a try! As the agent state updates, your `state` variable will automatically update with it! In this case, you'll see the language set to "english" as that's the initial state we set. </Step> </Steps>

Rendering agent state in the chat

You can also render the agent's state in the chat UI. This is useful for informing the user about the agent's state in a more in-context way. To do this, you can use the useAgent hook with a render function.

tsx

// Define the agent state type, should match the actual state of your agent
type AgentState = {
  language: "english" | "spanish";
};

function YourMainContent() {
  // ...
  // [!code highlight:7]
  useAgent({
    agentId: "sample_agent",
    render: ({ state }) => {
      if (!state.language) return null;
      return <div>Language: {state.language}</div>;
    },
  });
  // ...
}

<Callout type="info"> The `agent.state` in `useAgent` is reactive and will automatically update when the agent's state changes. </Callout>

Intermediately Stream and Render Agent State

By default, the CrewAI Flow agent state will only update between CrewAI Flow node transitions -- which means state updates will be discontinuous and delayed.

You likely want to render the agent state as it updates continuously.

See emit intermediate state.