a2ui

A2UI Development Skill

This skill helps you generate A2UI (Agent to UI) protocol compliant code for building rich, interactive user interfaces that AI agents can stream to clients.

Protocol Version

This skill targets A2UI Protocol v0.8 (Stable Release).

Standard Catalog ID: https://github.com/google/A2UI/blob/main/specification/0.8/json/standard_catalog_definition.json

Core Concepts

1. Message Types

A2UI uses four message types in a JSONL stream:

Message	Purpose
surfaceUpdate	Define or update UI components
dataModelUpdate	Populate or update application state
beginRendering	Signal client to start rendering
deleteSurface	Remove a UI surface

2. Adjacency List Model

Components are defined as a flat list with ID references, not nested trees:

{"surfaceUpdate": {"surfaceId": "main", "components": [
  {"id": "root", "component": {"Column": {"children": {"explicitList": ["header", "content"]}}}},
  {"id": "header", "component": {"Text": {"text": {"literalString": "Welcome"}, "usageHint": "h1"}}},
  {"id": "content", "component": {"Text": {"text": {"path": "/user/name"}}}}
]}}

3. Data Binding (BoundValue)

Three patterns for binding values:

// Literal only - static value
{"literalString": "Hello"}

// Path only - dynamic from data model
{"path": "/user/name"}

// Both - initialization shorthand (sets default AND binds)
{"path": "/form/email", "literalString": "[email protected]"}

4. Styles Configuration

Customize appearance in beginRendering:

{"beginRendering": {
  "surfaceId": "main",
  "root": "root",
  "styles": {
    "font": "Roboto",
    "primaryColor": "#1976D2"
  }
}}

Property	Description
font	Primary font family
primaryColor	Theme color (hex format #RRGGBB)

Standard Catalog Components

Layout Components

• Row - Horizontal container with distribution and alignment
• Column - Vertical container with distribution and alignment
• List - Scrollable list with direction (vertical/horizontal)
• Card - Material card wrapper with single child
• Tabs - Tab navigation with tabItems array
• Modal - Dialog with entryPointChild and contentChild
• Divider - Separator with axis (horizontal/vertical)

Display Components

• Text - Text display with usageHint (h1-h5, caption, body). Supports simple Markdown.
• Image - Image with url, fit, usageHint
• Icon - Icon from standard set (see components reference)
• Video - Video player with url
• AudioPlayer - Audio with url and description

Input Components

• Button - Clickable with child and action
• TextField - Text input with label, textFieldType
• CheckBox - Toggle with label and value
• DateTimeInput - Date/time picker with enableDate/enableTime
• MultipleChoice - Selection with options and maxAllowedSelections
• Slider - Range input with minValue/maxValue

Component Weight

Use weight on components inside Row/Column for flex layout:

{"id": "sidebar", "weight": 1, "component": {"Column": {...}}},
{"id": "main", "weight": 3, "component": {"Column": {...}}}

Generating A2UI Messages

Basic Flow

1. Define components via surfaceUpdate
2. Populate data via dataModelUpdate
3. Trigger render via beginRendering

Complete Example: Simple Form

{"surfaceUpdate": {"surfaceId": "booking", "components": [
  {"id": "root", "component": {"Column": {"children": {"explicitList": ["title", "name_field", "date_field", "submit_btn"]}}}},
  {"id": "title", "component": {"Text": {"text": {"literalString": "Book a Table"}, "usageHint": "h2"}}},
  {"id": "name_field", "component": {"TextField": {"label": {"literalString": "Your Name"}, "text": {"path": "/form/name"}}}},
  {"id": "date_field", "component": {"DateTimeInput": {"value": {"path": "/form/date"}, "enableDate": true}}},
  {"id": "submit_btn", "component": {"Button": {"child": "submit_text", "action": {"name": "submit_booking", "context": [{"key": "name", "value": {"path": "/form/name"}}, {"key": "date", "value": {"path": "/form/date"}}]}}}},
  {"id": "submit_text", "component": {"Text": {"text": {"literalString": "Confirm Booking"}}}}
]}}
{"dataModelUpdate": {"surfaceId": "booking", "contents": [{"key": "form", "valueMap": [{"key": "name", "valueString": ""}, {"key": "date", "valueString": ""}]}]}}
{"beginRendering": {"surfaceId": "booking", "root": "root"}}

Event Handling

User Actions

When a user interacts (e.g., clicks a button), the client sends userAction:

{
  "userAction": {
    "name": "submit_booking",
    "surfaceId": "booking",
    "sourceComponentId": "submit_btn",
    "timestamp": "2025-01-01T10:00:00Z",
    "context": {"name": "John Doe", "date": "2025-01-15"}
  }
}

Error Reporting

Clients report errors via error message:

{
  "error": {
    "type": "RENDER_ERROR",
    "message": "Component 'user_card' references missing child",
    "surfaceId": "main",
    "componentId": "user_card",
    "timestamp": "2025-01-01T10:30:05Z"
  }
}

Best Practices

1. Unique IDs: Every component needs a unique id within its surface
2. Flat Structure: Use ID references for parent-child relationships
3. Data Separation: Keep UI structure in surfaceUpdate, dynamic values in dataModelUpdate
4. Path Convention: Use JSON Pointer format for paths (e.g., /user/profile/name)
5. Progressive Rendering: Send beginRendering after essential components are defined
6. Clean up surfaces: Use deleteSurface when flows complete

Reference Documentation

Core References

• Component Reference - All 16 components with properties
• Data Binding Guide - BoundValue patterns and templates
• API Integration - Event handling and backend connection
• Schema Reference - JSON Schema for validation

Advanced Topics

• Catalog Negotiation - Multi-catalog support
• Surface Management - Multiple UI regions
• Streaming & Performance - Progressive rendering
• Agent Prompting - LLM integration

Examples

Basic Patterns

• Form Example - Registration and booking forms
• List Example - Dynamic lists with templates
• Modal Example - Dialog and popup patterns

Advanced Patterns

• Booking Flow - End-to-end business flow
• Multi-Surface - Multiple UI regions
• Streaming - Progressive rendering