Use AI Elements where its components fit the interaction. The generated source belongs to the project: inspect it for the actual API and customize it deliberately.
Project and documentation
Follow the project's package manager, aliases, shadcn configuration and AI SDK
major. Read ai-sdk to resolve the installed version, then the appropriate
ai-sdk-6 or ai-sdk-7 guidance. AI Elements and AI SDK versions can change
independently.
Read generated components/ai-elements/<component>.tsx first, then the
matching references/ file and its scripts/ examples. Use the
AI Elements site or available AI Elements MCP
for current documentation. Load only relevant references; verify bundled
examples against installed source.
For installation, use the project's runner with ai-elements@latest add <component>
or shadcn@latest add @ai-elements/<component>. Components land in
components/ai-elements/ under the alias configured in components.json; that
installed source is the offline API reference. Check installed components and
review generated files before replacing local customization. Use shadcn for
registry, preset and primitive-base details.
AI Elements targets the Radix base (upstream uses style new-york with
radix-ui). On Base UI projects expect prop mismatches in prompt-input,
attachments, inline-citation and plan (upstream #446,
open 2026-10-11); adapt the installed copies.
Integration
Integration covers the UI/SDK boundary, v6
pitfalls and the context.tsx patch that AI SDK 7 needs. Keep stable message
IDs and render supported message parts with the generated compound components.
Keep model choice, tools, credentials and authorization on the server.
Compose the states the feature needs: streaming, completion, retry, cancellation, attachments, approval or sources. Avoid adding components merely because the library offers them. Preserve keyboard interaction, accessible labels and useful scroll behavior.
When rendering fails, inspect the owned component, theme imports, semantic tokens
and actual configured aliases. Do not copy a default tsconfig or replace the
project's theme to fix one import.
For unstyled markdown, check the MessageResponse setup.
Verify the rendered flow with real message states and the project's checks; type correctness alone does not establish usable streaming or attachment behavior.