---
title: "useComponent"
description: "Register a React component as a frontend tool renderer in chat"
---

## Overview

`useComponent` is a convenience hook built on top of `useFrontendTool`.
It registers a tool and renders a React Native component in chat using the tool call parameters.

<Callout type="info">
  Re-exported from `@copilotkit/react-core/v2`. It is identical to the [React (V2) `useComponent`](/reference/v2/hooks/useComponent); only the import path differs.
</Callout>

Use this when you want a visual component renderer without writing a full frontend tool config manually. The component you pass to `render` returns React Native elements that CopilotKit surfaces in the chat. See [`useRenderTool`](/reference/react-native/hooks/useRenderTool) for the underlying React Native render mechanism.

## Signature

```tsx
import { z } from "zod";
import type { ComponentType } from "react";
import { useComponent } from "@copilotkit/react-native";

function useComponent<TSchema extends z.ZodTypeAny | undefined = undefined>(
  config: {
    name: string;
    description?: string;
    parameters?: TSchema;
    // When parameters is provided, props are inferred via z.infer.
    // When omitted, render accepts any props.
    render: ComponentType<InferRenderProps<TSchema>>;
    agentId?: string;
  },
  deps?: ReadonlyArray<unknown>,
): void;
```

## Parameters

- `config.name`: tool name used by the agent to invoke this component tool.
- `config.description`: optional extra description for model guidance.
- `config.parameters`: optional Zod schema for typed/validated parameters. When provided, `render` props are inferred from the schema.
- `config.render`: React Native component rendered with parsed tool parameters. Accepts any props when `parameters` is omitted.
- `config.agentId`: optional agent scope for the registration.
- `deps`: optional dependency array for refreshing registration.

## Behavior

- Prepends a default instruction to the description: _"Use this tool to display the \"&lt;name&gt;\" component in the chat..."_.
- Calls `useFrontendTool` internally with a render function that spreads the tool parameters as component props.
- Inherits `useFrontendTool` lifecycle behavior: duplicate-name override warning, tool removal on unmount, and renderer retention for chat history.
- Tracks updates by `config.name` plus `deps` (include any changing captured values in `deps`).

## Usage

```tsx
import { Text, View } from "react-native";
import { useComponent } from "@copilotkit/react-native";
import { z } from "zod";

const weatherCardSchema = z.object({
  city: z.string().describe("City name"),
  unit: z.enum(["c", "f"]).default("c"),
});

type WeatherCardProps = z.infer<typeof weatherCardSchema>;

function WeatherCard({ city, unit }: WeatherCardProps) {
  return (
    <View style={{ borderWidth: 1, borderRadius: 8, padding: 12 }}>
      <Text style={{ fontSize: 12, color: "#71717a" }}>Weather request</Text>
      <Text style={{ fontWeight: "500" }}>
        {city} ({unit.toUpperCase()})
      </Text>
    </View>
  );
}

function App() {
  useComponent(
    {
      name: "showWeatherCard",
      description: "Render a weather card in chat for the requested city.",
      parameters: weatherCardSchema,
      render: WeatherCard,
    },
    [],
  );

  return null;
}
```

## Related

- [`useFrontendTool`](/reference/react-native/hooks/useFrontendTool)
- [`useRenderTool`](/reference/react-native/hooks/useRenderTool)
- [React (V2) reference](/reference/v2/hooks/useComponent)
