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useAgent

showcase/shell-docs/src/content/reference/hooks/useAgent.mdx

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Overview

useAgent is a React hook that returns an AG-UI AbstractAgent instance. The hook subscribes to agent state changes and triggers re-renders when the agent's state, messages, or execution status changes.

Throws error if no agent is configured with the specified agentId.

Signature

tsx
import { useAgent } from "@copilotkit/react-core/v2";

function useAgent(options?: UseAgentProps): { agent: AbstractAgent };

Parameters

<PropertyReference name="options" type="UseAgentProps"> Configuration object for the hook. <PropertyReference name="agentId" type="string" default='"default"'> ID of the agent to retrieve. Must match an agent configured in `CopilotKitProvider`. </PropertyReference> <PropertyReference name="updates" type="UseAgentUpdate[]" default="[OnMessagesChanged, OnStateChanged, OnRunStatusChanged]"> Controls which agent changes trigger component re-renders. Options: - `UseAgentUpdate.OnMessagesChanged` - Re-render when messages change - `UseAgentUpdate.OnStateChanged` - Re-render when state changes - `UseAgentUpdate.OnRunStatusChanged` - Re-render when execution status changes
Pass an empty array `[]` to prevent automatic re-renders.
</PropertyReference> </PropertyReference>

Return Value

<PropertyReference name="object" type="{ agent: AbstractAgent }"> Object containing the agent instance. <PropertyReference name="agent" type="AbstractAgent"> The AG-UI agent instance. See [AbstractAgent documentation](https://docs.ag-ui.com/sdk/js/client/abstract-agent) for full interface details.
### Core Properties

<PropertyReference name="agentId" type="string | undefined">
  Unique identifier for the agent instance.
</PropertyReference>

<PropertyReference name="description" type="string">
  Human-readable description of the agent's purpose.
</PropertyReference>

<PropertyReference name="threadId" type="string">
  Unique identifier for the current conversation thread.
</PropertyReference>

<PropertyReference name="messages" type="Message[]">
  Array of conversation messages. Each message contains:
  - `id: string` - Unique message identifier
  - `role: "user" | "assistant" | "system"` - Message role
  - `content: string` - Message content
</PropertyReference>

<PropertyReference name="state" type="any">
  Shared state object synchronized between application and agent. Both can read and modify this state.
</PropertyReference>

<PropertyReference name="isRunning" type="boolean">
  Indicates whether the agent is currently executing.
</PropertyReference>

### Methods

<PropertyReference name="runAgent" type="(options?: RunAgentOptions) => Promise<void>">
  Manually triggers agent execution.

  **Parameters:**
  - `options.forwardedProps?: any` - Data to pass to the agent execution context

  **Example:**
  ```tsx
  await agent.runAgent({
    forwardedProps: {
      command: { resume: "user response" }
    }
  });
  ```
</PropertyReference>

<PropertyReference name="setState" type="(newState: any) => void">
  Updates the shared state. Changes are immediately available to both application and agent.

  **Example:**
  ```tsx
  agent.setState({
    ...agent.state,
    theme: "dark"
  });
  ```
</PropertyReference>

<PropertyReference name="subscribe" type="(subscriber: AgentSubscriber) => { unsubscribe: () => void }">
  Subscribes to agent events. Returns cleanup function.

  **Subscriber Events:**
  - `onCustomEvent?: ({ event: { name: string, value: any } }) => void` - Custom events
  - `onRunStartedEvent?: () => void` - Agent execution starts
  - `onRunFinalized?: () => void` - Agent execution completes
  - `onStateChanged?: (state: any) => void` - State changes
  - `onMessagesChanged?: (messages: Message[]) => void` - Messages added/modified
</PropertyReference>

<PropertyReference name="addMessage" type="(message: Message) => void">
  Adds a single message to the conversation and notifies subscribers.
</PropertyReference>

<PropertyReference name="addMessages" type="(messages: Message[]) => void">
  Adds multiple messages to the conversation and notifies subscribers once.
</PropertyReference>

<PropertyReference name="setMessages" type="(messages: Message[]) => void">
  Replaces the entire message history with a new array of messages.
</PropertyReference>

<PropertyReference name="abortRun" type="() => void">
  Aborts the currently running agent execution.
</PropertyReference>

<PropertyReference name="clone" type="() => AbstractAgent">
  Creates a deep copy of the agent with cloned messages, state, and configuration.
</PropertyReference>
</PropertyReference> </PropertyReference>

Usage

Basic Usage

tsx
function AgentStatus() {
  const { agent } = useAgent();

  return (
    <div>
      <div>Agent: {agent.agentId}</div>
      <div>Messages: {agent.messages.length}</div>
      <div>Running: {agent.isRunning ? "Yes" : "No"}</div>
    </div>
  );
}

Accessing and Updating State

tsx
function StateController() {
  const { agent } = useAgent();

  return (
    <div>
      <pre>{JSON.stringify(agent.state, null, 2)}</pre>
      <button onClick={() => agent.setState({ ...agent.state, count: 1 })}>
        Update State
      </button>
    </div>
  );
}

Event Subscription

tsx
function EventListener() {
  const { agent } = useAgent();

  useEffect(() => {
    const { unsubscribe } = agent.subscribe({
      onRunStartedEvent: () => console.log("Started"),
      onRunFinalized: () => console.log("Finished"),
    });

    return unsubscribe;
  }, []);

  return null;
}

Multiple Agents

tsx
function MultiAgentView() {
  const { agent: primary } = useAgent({ agentId: "primary" });
  const { agent: support } = useAgent({ agentId: "support" });

  return (
    <div>
      <div>Primary: {primary.messages.length} messages</div>
      <div>Support: {support.messages.length} messages</div>
    </div>
  );
}

Optimizing Re-renders

tsx
// Only re-render when messages change
function MessageCount() {
  const { agent } = useAgent({
    updates: [UseAgentUpdate.OnMessagesChanged],
  });

  return <div>Messages: {agent.messages.length}</div>;
}

Behavior

  • Automatic Re-renders: Component re-renders when agent state, messages, or execution status changes (configurable via updates parameter)
  • Error Handling: Throws error if no agent exists with specified agentId
  • State Synchronization: State updates via setState() are immediately available to both app and agent
  • Event Subscriptions: Subscribe/unsubscribe pattern for lifecycle and custom events