generative-ui-playground

Generative UI Demo

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/79ead351-f63c-4119-9d28-9d604e7f8876

A generative UI playground showcasing the three types for building AI-powered user interfaces with CopilotKit.

Demo Overview

This demo demonstrates how different types of generative UI can be used to create rich, interactive AI experiences:

Spec	Description	Use Case
Static GenUI	Pre-built React components rendered by frontend hooks	Weather cards, stock displays, task approvals
MCP Apps	HTML/JS apps served by MCP servers in sandboxed iframes	Flight booking, hotel search, trading simulator
A2UI	Agent-composed declarative JSON UI rendered dynamically	Restaurant finder, booking forms

CopilotKit Features Used

• CopilotKitProvider - Main provider with agent switching
• CopilotSidebar - Chat interface component
• useRenderToolCall - Display-only tool rendering (WeatherCard, StockCard)
• useHumanInTheLoop - Interactive approval flows (TaskApprovalCard)
• A2UIRenderer - Renders A2UI declarative JSON from agent responses
• MCPAppsMiddleware - Bridges MCP server tools with UI resources
• BasicAgent - TypeScript agent for Static GenUI + MCP Apps
• HttpAgent - Connects to Python A2A backend for A2UI

Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• Python 3.11+
• OpenAI API key

Installation

# Clone and install dependencies
cd ui-protocols-demo
npm install

# Install MCP server dependencies
cd mcp-server
npm install
cd ..

# Install Python A2A agent
cd a2a-agent
pip install -e .
cd ..

Environment Variables

Create a .env file:

OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-your-key-here
MCP_SERVER_URL=http://localhost:3001/mcp
A2A_AGENT_URL=http://localhost:10002

Running the Demo

Start all three services:

# Terminal 1: MCP Server (port 3001)
cd mcp-server && npm run dev

# Terminal 2: Python A2A Agent (port 10002)
cd a2a-agent && python -m agent

# Terminal 3: Next.js Frontend (port 3000)
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:3000 to see the demo.

Usage

Static + MCP Apps Mode

Click the “Static + MCP Apps” tab to use:

• “What’s the weather in Tokyo?” → Weather card
• “Get stock price for AAPL” → Stock card with sparkline
• “Open the calculator” → Interactive calculator app
• “Search for flights to Paris” → Flight booking workflow

A2UI Mode

Click the “A2UI” tab to use:

• “Find Italian restaurants nearby” → Restaurant list with booking
• “Show me Chinese food options” → Filtered results
• “Book a table for 4” → Interactive booking form

Architecture

Frontend (Next.js) ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
├── Protocol tabs switch between agents
├── Static GenUI: useRenderToolCall, useHumanInTheLoop
├── MCP Apps: Automatic iframe rendering via middleware events
└── A2UI: A2UIRenderer for declarative JSON
                    │
          ┌─────────┴─────────┐
          ▼                   ▼
   "default" Agent      "a2ui" Agent
   BasicAgent + MCP     HttpAgent → Python
   Port 3001            Port 10002

Project Structure

ui-protocols-demo/
├── src/app/              # Next.js frontend
│   ├── page.tsx          # Main page with agent switching
│   ├── theme.ts          # A2UI theme configuration
│   ├── api/copilotkit/   # CopilotKit API route
│   └── components/       # React components
├── mcp-server/           # MCP Apps server
│   ├── server.ts         # Tool registrations
│   └── apps/             # HTML app files
└── a2a-agent/            # Python A2A agent
    └── agent/            # Agent modules

Learn More

• CopilotKit Documentation
• Generative UI Types
• A2UI Specification
• MCP Apps

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Note: This project has been consolidated into the CopilotKit monorepo. The latest version lives at examples/showcases/generative-ui-playground. Please open issues and pull requests in the main CopilotKit repository.