AI SDK UI - Frontend React Hooks

Frontend React hooks for AI-powered user interfaces with Vercel AI SDK v5/v6.

Version: AI SDK v5.0.99 (Stable) / v6.0.0-beta.108 (Beta)
Framework: React 18+, Next.js 14+
Last Updated: 2025-11-22

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AI SDK 6 Beta (November 2025)

Status: Beta (stable release planned end of 2025)
Latest: ai@6.0.0-beta.108 (Nov 22, 2025)
Migration: Minimal breaking changes from v5 → v6

New UI Features in v6 Beta

1. Agent Integration
Type-safe messaging with agents using InferAgentUIMessage<typeof agent>:

import { useChat } from '@ai-sdk/react';
import type { InferAgentUIMessage } from 'ai';
import { myAgent } from './agent';

export default function AgentChat() {
  const { messages, sendMessage } = useChat<InferAgentUIMessage<typeof myAgent>>({
    api: '/api/chat',
  });
  // messages are now type-checked against agent schema
}

2. Tool Approval Workflows (Human-in-the-Loop)
Request user confirmation before executing tools:

import { useChat } from '@ai-sdk/react';
import { useState } from 'react';

export default function ChatWithApproval() {
  const { messages, sendMessage, addToolApprovalResponse } = useChat({
    api: '/api/chat',
  });

  const handleApprove = (toolCallId: string) => {
    addToolApprovalResponse({
      toolCallId,
      approved: true,  // or false to deny
    });
  };

  return (
    <div>
      {messages.map(message => (
        <div key={message.id}>
          {message.toolInvocations?.map(tool => (
            tool.state === 'awaiting-approval' && (
              <div key={tool.toolCallId}>
                <p>Approve tool call: {tool.toolName}?</p>
                <button onClick={() => handleApprove(tool.toolCallId)}>
                  Approve
                </button>
                <button onClick={() => addToolApprovalResponse({
                  toolCallId: tool.toolCallId,
                  approved: false
                })}>
                  Deny
                </button>
              </div>
            )
          ))}
        </div>
      ))}
    </div>
  );
}

3. Auto-Submit Capability
Automatically continue conversation after handling approvals:

import { useChat, lastAssistantMessageIsCompleteWithApprovalResponses } from '@ai-sdk/react';

export default function AutoSubmitChat() {
  const { messages, sendMessage } = useChat({
    api: '/api/chat',
    sendAutomaticallyWhen: lastAssistantMessageIsCompleteWithApprovalResponses,
    // Automatically resubmit after all approval responses provided
  });
}

4. Structured Output in Chat
Generate structured data alongside tool calling (previously only available in useObject):

import { useChat } from '@ai-sdk/react';
import { z } from 'zod';

const schema = z.object({
  summary: z.string(),
  sentiment: z.enum(['positive', 'neutral', 'negative']),
});

export default function StructuredChat() {
  const { messages, sendMessage } = useChat({
    api: '/api/chat',
    // Server can now stream structured output with chat messages
  });
}

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useChat Hook - v4 → v5 Breaking Changes

CRITICAL: useChat no longer manages input state in v5!

v4 (OLD - DON'T USE):

const { messages, input, handleInputChange, handleSubmit, append } = useChat();

<form onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
  <input value={input} onChange={handleInputChange} />
</form>

v5 (NEW - CORRECT):

const { messages, sendMessage } = useChat();
const [input, setInput] = useState('');

<form onSubmit={(e) => {
  e.preventDefault();
  sendMessage({ content: input });
  setInput('');
}}>
  <input value={input} onChange={(e) => setInput(e.target.value)} />
</form>

Summary of v5 Changes:

1. Input management removed: input, handleInputChange, handleSubmit no longer exist
2. append() → sendMessage(): New method for sending messages
3. onResponse removed: Use onFinish instead
4. initialMessages → controlled mode: Use messages prop for full control
5. maxSteps removed: Handle on server-side only

See references/use-chat-migration.md for complete migration guide.

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useAssistant Hook

Interact with OpenAI-compatible assistant APIs with automatic UI state management.

Import:

import { useAssistant } from '@ai-sdk/react';

Basic Usage:

'use client';
import { useAssistant } from '@ai-sdk/react';
import { useState, FormEvent } from 'react';

export default function AssistantChat() {
  const { messages, sendMessage, isLoading, error } = useAssistant({
    api: '/api/assistant',
  });
  const [input, setInput] = useState('');

  const handleSubmit = (e: FormEvent) => {
    e.preventDefault();
    sendMessage({ content: input });
    setInput('');
  };

  return (
    <div>
      {messages.map(m => (
        <div key={m.id}>
          <strong>{m.role}:</strong> {m.content}
        </div>
      ))}
      <form onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
        <input
          value={input}
          onChange={(e) => setInput(e.target.value)}
          disabled={isLoading}
        />
      </form>
      {error && <div>{error.message}</div>}
    </div>
  );
}

Use Cases:

• Building OpenAI Assistant-powered UIs
• Managing assistant threads and runs
• Streaming assistant responses with UI state management
• File search and code interpreter integrations

See official docs for complete API reference: https://ai-sdk.dev/docs/reference/ai-sdk-ui/use-assistant

---

Top UI Errors & Solutions

See references/top-ui-errors.md for complete documentation. Quick reference:

1. useChat Failed to Parse Stream

Error: SyntaxError: Unexpected token in JSON at position X

Cause: API route not returning proper stream format.

Solution:

// ✅ CORRECT
return result.toDataStreamResponse();

// ❌ WRONG
return new Response(result.textStream);

2. useChat No Response

Cause: API route not streaming correctly.

Solution:

// App Router - use toDataStreamResponse()
export async function POST(req: Request) {
  const result = streamText({ /* ... */ });
  return result.toDataStreamResponse(); // ✅
}

// Pages Router - use pipeDataStreamToResponse()
export default async function handler(req, res) {
  const result = streamText({ /* ... */ });
  return result.pipeDataStreamToResponse(res); // ✅
}

3. Streaming Not Working When Deployed

Cause: Deployment platform buffering responses.

Solution: Vercel auto-detects streaming. Other platforms may need configuration.

4. Stale Body Values with useChat

Cause: body option captured at first render only.

Solution:

// ❌ WRONG - body captured once
const { userId } = useUser();
const { messages } = useChat({
  body: { userId },  // Stale!
});

// ✅ CORRECT - use controlled mode
const { userId } = useUser();
const { messages, sendMessage } = useChat();

sendMessage({
  content: input,
  data: { userId },  // Fresh on each send
});

5. React Maximum Update Depth

Cause: Infinite loop in useEffect.

Solution:

// ❌ WRONG
useEffect(() => {
  saveMessages(messages);
}, [messages, saveMessages]); // saveMessages triggers re-render!

// ✅ CORRECT
useEffect(() => {
  saveMessages(messages);
}, [messages]); // Only depend on messages

See references/top-ui-errors.md for 7 more common errors.

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Streaming Best Practices

Performance

Always use streaming for better UX:

// ✅ GOOD - Streaming (shows tokens as they arrive)
const { messages } = useChat({ api: '/api/chat' });

// ❌ BAD - Non-streaming (user waits for full response)
const response = await fetch('/api/chat', { method: 'POST' });

UX Patterns

Show loading states:

{isLoading && <div>AI is typing...</div>}

Provide stop button:

{isLoading && <button onClick={stop}>Stop</button>}

Auto-scroll to latest message:

useEffect(() => {
  messagesEndRef.current?.scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth' });
}, [messages]);

Disable input while loading:

<input disabled={isLoading} />

See references/streaming-patterns.md for comprehensive best practices.

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When to Use This Skill

Use ai-sdk-ui When:

• Building React chat interfaces
• Implementing AI completions in UI
• Streaming AI responses to frontend
• Building Next.js AI applications
• Handling chat message state
• Displaying tool calls in UI
• Managing file attachments with AI
• Migrating from v4 to v5 (UI hooks)
• Encountering useChat/useCompletion errors

Don't Use When:

• Need backend AI functionality → Use ai-sdk-core instead
• Building non-React frontends (Svelte, Vue) → Check official docs
• Need Generative UI / RSC → See https://ai-sdk.dev/docs/ai-sdk-rsc
• Building native apps → Different SDK required

Related Skills:

• ai-sdk-core - Backend text generation, structured output, tools, agents
• Compose both for full-stack AI applications

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Package Versions

Stable (v5):

{
  "dependencies": {
    "ai": "^5.0.99",
    "@ai-sdk/react": "^1.0.0",
    "@ai-sdk/openai": "^2.0.68",
    "react": "^18.2.0",
    "zod": "^3.23.8"
  }
}

Beta (v6):

{
  "dependencies": {
    "ai": "6.0.0-beta.108",
    "@ai-sdk/react": "beta",
    "@ai-sdk/openai": "beta"
  }
}

Version Notes:

• AI SDK v5.0.99 (stable, Nov 2025)
• AI SDK v6.0.0-beta.108 (beta, Nov 22, 2025) - minimal breaking changes
• React 18+ (React 19 supported)
• Next.js 14+ recommended (13.4+ works)
• Zod 3.23.8+ for schema validation

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Links to Official Documentation

Core UI Hooks:

• AI SDK UI Overview: https://ai-sdk.dev/docs/ai-sdk-ui/overview
• useChat: https://ai-sdk.dev/docs/ai-sdk-ui/chatbot
• useCompletion: https://ai-sdk.dev/docs/ai-sdk-ui/completion
• useObject: https://ai-sdk.dev/docs/ai-sdk-ui/object-generation

Advanced Topics (Link Only):

• Generative UI (RSC): https://ai-sdk.dev/docs/ai-sdk-rsc/overview
• Stream Protocols: https://ai-sdk.dev/docs/ai-sdk-ui/stream-protocols
• Message Metadata: https://ai-sdk.dev/docs/ai-sdk-ui/message-metadata

Next.js Integration:

• Next.js App Router: https://ai-sdk.dev/docs/getting-started/nextjs-app-router
• Next.js Pages Router: https://ai-sdk.dev/docs/getting-started/nextjs-pages-router

Migration & Troubleshooting:

• v4→v5 Migration: https://ai-sdk.dev/docs/migration-guides/migration-guide-5-0
• Troubleshooting: https://ai-sdk.dev/docs/troubleshooting
• Common Issues: https://ai-sdk.dev/docs/troubleshooting/common-issues

Vercel Deployment:

• Vercel Functions: https://vercel.com/docs/functions
• Streaming on Vercel: https://vercel.com/docs/functions/streaming

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Templates

This skill includes the following templates in templates/:

1. use-chat-basic.tsx - Basic chat with manual input (v5 pattern)
2. use-chat-tools.tsx - Chat with tool calling UI rendering
3. use-chat-attachments.tsx - File attachments support
4. use-completion-basic.tsx - Basic text completion
5. use-object-streaming.tsx - Streaming structured data
6. nextjs-chat-app-router.tsx - Next.js App Router complete example
7. nextjs-chat-pages-router.tsx - Next.js Pages Router complete example
8. nextjs-api-route.ts - API route for both App and Pages Router
9. message-persistence.tsx - Save/load chat history
10. custom-message-renderer.tsx - Custom message components with markdown
11. package.json - Dependencies template

Reference Documents

See references/ for:

• use-chat-migration.md - Complete v4→v5 migration guide
• streaming-patterns.md - UI streaming best practices
• top-ui-errors.md - 12 common UI errors with solutions
• nextjs-integration.md - Next.js setup patterns
• links-to-official-docs.md - Organized links to official docs

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Production Tested: WordPress Auditor (https://wordpress-auditor.webfonts.workers.dev)
Last Updated: 2025-11-22