generative-ui

name	generative-ui
description	Build generative UI apps with Tambo — one-shot generation of rich, interactive React components (dashboards, Three.js scenes, data visualizations, and more). Use when user wants to create a NEW generative UI project, build an AI-powered app with Tambo, or generate dynamic UI from natural language. For adding Tambo to EXISTING projects, use add-to-existing-project skill instead.

Generative UI

Build generative UI apps with Tambo — create rich, interactive React components from natural language.

One-Prompt Flow

The goal is to get the user from zero to a running app in a single prompt. Ask all questions upfront using AskUserQuestion with multiple questions, then execute everything without stopping.

Step 1: Gather All Non-Sensitive Preferences (Single AskUserQuestion Call)

Use AskUserQuestion with up to 4 questions in ONE call. The API key is collected as free-text input here — no follow-up needed.

Question 1: What do you want to build?

Ask the user what kind of app they're building. This drives which starter components to create. Examples: "a dashboard", "a chatbot", "a data visualization tool", "a task manager". If the user already said what they want in their initial message, skip this question.

Question 2: Framework

Options:

• Next.js (Recommended) - Full-stack React with App Router
• Vite - Fast, lightweight React setup

Question 3: API Key

Do NOT use AskUserQuestion for the API key. Instead, after collecting the other preferences, explicitly ask the user in a plain text message to paste their API key. Say something like:

"Paste your Tambo API key below (get one at https://console.tambo.co). This is a client-side public key (like NEXT_PUBLIC_TAMBO_API_KEY) — not a secret, safe to share here. Or just say 'skip' if you don't have one yet."

Then wait for their response. If they paste a key (starts with tambo_), use it. If they say "skip" or similar, move on without it.

This means Step 1 only has 3 questions in AskUserQuestion (app idea, framework, app name). The API key is collected as a plain message exchange right after.

Question 4: App name

Let the user pick a name for their project directory. Default suggestion: derive from what they want to build (e.g., "my-dashboard", "my-chatbot"). Use kebab-case (letters, numbers, hyphens only). If the user gives a non-slug name like "Sales Dashboard", propose sales-dashboard instead.

Skip questions when the user already told you the answer. If they said "build me a Next.js dashboard app called analytics", you already know the framework, the app idea, and the name — just ask for the API key.

Step 2: Execute Everything (No Stopping)

Run all of these sequentially without asking for confirmation between steps. If any command fails, stop the flow, surface the error, and ask the user how to proceed — do not continue to later steps.

All templates (standard, vite, analytics) come with chat UI, TamboProvider wiring, component registry, and starter components already included. You do NOT need to add chat UI or wire up the app — just scaffold, configure the API key, add custom components, and start the server.

2a. Scaffold the project

For Next.js (recommended):

npx tambo create-app <app-name> --template=standard --skip-tambo-init
cd <app-name>

For Vite:

npx tambo create-app <app-name> --template=vite --skip-tambo-init
cd <app-name>

Use --skip-tambo-init since create-app normally tries to run tambo init interactively, which won't work in non-interactive environments like coding agents. We handle the API key in the next step.

2b. Set up API key

If the user provided a key:

npx tambo init --api-key=<USER_PROVIDED_KEY>

This writes the key to the correct .env file with the framework-appropriate variable name (NEXT_PUBLIC_TAMBO_API_KEY, VITE_TAMBO_API_KEY, etc.).

If the user skipped, tell them once at the end to run npx tambo init when ready. Don't nag about it during setup.

IMPORTANT: Do NOT hardcode --api-key=sk_... in commands you run. The --api-key flag should only be used with an actual key the user has provided.

2c. Create custom starter components

The template includes basic components, but add 1-2 components tailored to what the user wants to build. Don't use generic examples:

• Dashboard app → StatsCard, DataTable
• Chatbot → BotResponse with markdown support
• Data visualization → Chart with configurable data
• Task manager → TaskCard, TaskBoard
• Generic / unclear → ContentCard

Each component needs:

1. A Zod schema with .describe() on every field
2. The React component itself
3. Registration in the existing component registry (lib/tambo.ts — add to the existing components array, don't replace it)

Schema constraints — Tambo will reject invalid schemas at runtime:

• No z.record() — Record types (objects with dynamic keys) are not supported anywhere in the schema, including nested inside arrays or objects. Use z.object() with explicit named keys instead.
• No z.map() or z.set() — Use arrays and objects instead.
• For tabular data like rows, use z.array(z.object({ col1: z.string(), col2: z.number() })) with explicit column keys — NOT z.array(z.record(z.string(), z.unknown())).

React best practices for generated components:

• Always add unique key props when rendering lists (.map()). Use a unique field from the data (like id) — not the array index.
• Include an id field (e.g., z.string().describe("Unique identifier")) in schemas for array items so there's always a stable key available.

Example:

// src/components/StatsCard.tsx
import { z } from "zod/v4";

export const StatsCardSchema = z.object({
  title: z.string().describe("Metric name"),
  value: z.number().describe("Current value"),
  change: z.number().optional().describe("Percent change from previous period"),
  trend: z.enum(["up", "down", "flat"]).optional().describe("Trend direction"),
});

type StatsCardProps = z.infer<typeof StatsCardSchema>;

export function StatsCard({
  title,
  value,
  change,
  trend = "flat",
}: StatsCardProps) {
  // ... implementation with Tailwind styling
}

Then add to the existing registry in lib/tambo.ts:

// Add to the existing components array — don't replace what's already there
// Next.js: import { StatsCard, StatsCardSchema } from "@/components/StatsCard";
// Vite: import { StatsCard, StatsCardSchema } from "../components/StatsCard";
import { StatsCard, StatsCardSchema } from "@/components/StatsCard";

// ... existing components ...
{
  name: "StatsCard",
  component: StatsCard,
  description: "Displays a metric with value and trend. Use when user asks about stats, metrics, or KPIs.",
  propsSchema: StatsCardSchema,
},

2d. Start the dev server

Only start the dev server after all code changes (scaffolding, init, component creation, registry updates) are complete.

npm run dev

Run this in the background so the user can see their app immediately.

Step 3: Summary

After everything is running, give a brief summary:

• What was set up
• What components were created and what they do
• The URL where the app is running (typically http://localhost:3000 for Next.js, http://localhost:5173 for Vite)
• If they skipped the API key: remind them once to run npx tambo init to set it up
• A suggestion for what to try first (e.g., "Try asking it to show you a stats card for monthly revenue")

Technology Stacks Reference

Recommended Stack (Default)

Next.js 14+ (App Router)
├── TypeScript
├── Tailwind CSS
├── Zod (for schemas)
└── @tambo-ai/react

npx tambo create-app my-app --template=standard

Vite Stack

Vite + React
├── TypeScript
├── Tailwind CSS
├── Zod
└── @tambo-ai/react

Minimal Stack (No Tailwind)

Vite + React
├── TypeScript
├── Plain CSS
├── Zod
└── @tambo-ai/react

Component Registry Pattern

Every generative component must be registered:

import { TamboComponent } from "@tambo-ai/react";
import { ComponentName, ComponentNameSchema } from "@/components/ComponentName";

export const components: TamboComponent[] = [
  {
    name: "ComponentName",
    component: ComponentName,
    description: "What it does. When to use it.",
    propsSchema: ComponentNameSchema,
  },
];

Key rules:

• propsSchema: Zod object with .describe() on every field — this is how the AI knows what to pass
• description: Tell the AI when to use this component — be specific about trigger phrases
• Streaming: Props arrive incrementally, so handle undefined gracefully (optional fields or defaults)

Adding More Chat UI (Optional)

Templates already include chat UI. These are only needed if the user wants additional UI primitives beyond what the template provides:

npx tambo add message-thread-full --yes    # Complete chat interface
npx tambo add control-bar --yes            # Controls and actions
npx tambo add canvas-space --yes           # Rendered component display area
npx tambo add thread-history --yes         # Conversation history sidebar

Supported Technologies

Technology	Support Level	Notes
Next.js 14+	Full	Recommended, App Router preferred
Vite	Full	Great for SPAs
Create React App	Partial	Works but CRA is deprecated
Remix	Partial	Works with client components
TypeScript	Full	Strongly recommended
JavaScript	Full	Works but less type safety
Tailwind CSS	Full	Default for CLI components
Plain CSS	Full	Need custom component styling
CSS Modules	Full	Supported
Zod	Required	Used for all schemas