@json-render/svelte

Svelte 5 renderer that converts json-render specs into Svelte component trees.

Quick Start

<script lang="ts">
  import { Renderer, JsonUIProvider } from "@json-render/svelte";
  import type { Spec } from "@json-render/svelte";
  import Card from "./components/Card.svelte";
  import Button from "./components/Button.svelte";

  interface Props {
    spec: Spec | null;
  }

  let { spec }: Props = $props();
  const registry = { Card, Button };
</script>

<JsonUIProvider>
  <Renderer {spec} {registry} />
</JsonUIProvider>

Creating a Catalog

import { defineCatalog } from "@json-render/core";
import { schema } from "@json-render/svelte";
import { z } from "zod";

export const catalog = defineCatalog(schema, {
  components: {
    Button: {
      props: z.object({
        label: z.string(),
        variant: z.enum(["primary", "secondary"]).nullable(),
      }),
      description: "Clickable button",
    },
    Card: {
      props: z.object({ title: z.string() }),
      description: "Card container with title",
    },
  },
});

Defining Components

Components should accept BaseComponentProps<TProps>:

interface BaseComponentProps<TProps> {
  props: TProps; // Resolved props for this component
  children?: Snippet; // Child elements (use {@render children()})
  emit: (event: string) => void; // Fire a named event
  bindings?: Record<string, string>; // Map of prop names to state paths (for $bindState)
  loading?: boolean; // True while spec is streaming
}

<!-- Button.svelte -->
<script lang="ts">
  import type { BaseComponentProps } from "@json-render/svelte";

  interface Props extends BaseComponentProps<{ label: string; variant?: string }> {}
  let { props, emit }: Props = $props();
</script>

<button class={props.variant} onclick={() => emit("press")}>
  {props.label}
</button>

<!-- Card.svelte -->
<script lang="ts">
  import type { Snippet } from "svelte";
  import type { BaseComponentProps } from "@json-render/svelte";

  interface Props extends BaseComponentProps<{ title: string }> {
    children?: Snippet;
  }

  let { props, children }: Props = $props();
</script>

<div class="card">
  <h2>{props.title}</h2>
  {#if children}
    {@render children()}
  {/if}
</div>

Creating a Registry

import { defineRegistry } from "@json-render/svelte";
import { catalog } from "./catalog";
import Card from "./components/Card.svelte";
import Button from "./components/Button.svelte";

const { registry, handlers, executeAction } = defineRegistry(catalog, {
  components: {
    Card,
    Button,
  },
  actions: {
    submit: async (params, setState, state) => {
      // handle action
    },
  },
});

Spec Structure (Element Tree)

The Svelte schema uses the element tree format:

{
  "root": "card1",
  "elements": {
    "card1": {
      "type": "Card",
      "props": { "title": "Hello" },
      "children": ["btn1"]
    },
    "btn1": {
      "type": "Button",
      "props": { "label": "Click me" }
    }
  }
}

Visibility Conditions

Use visible on elements to show/hide based on state:

• { "$state": "/path" } - truthy check
• { "$state": "/path", "eq": value } - equality check
• { "$state": "/path", "not": true } - falsy check
• { "$and": [cond1, cond2] } - AND conditions
• { "$or": [cond1, cond2] } - OR conditions

Providers (via JsonUIProvider)

JsonUIProvider composes all contexts. Individual contexts:

Context	Purpose
StateContext	Share state across components (JSON Pointer paths)
ActionContext	Handle actions dispatched via the event system
VisibilityContext	Enable conditional rendering based on state
ValidationContext	Form field validation

Event System

Components use emit to fire named events. The element's on field maps events to action bindings:

<!-- Button.svelte -->
<script lang="ts">
  import type { BaseComponentProps } from "@json-render/svelte";

  interface Props extends BaseComponentProps<{ label: string }> {}

  let { props, emit }: Props = $props();
</script>

<button onclick={() => emit("press")}>{props.label}</button>

{
  "type": "Button",
  "props": { "label": "Submit" },
  "on": { "press": { "action": "submit" } }
}

Built-in Actions

The setState action is handled automatically and updates the state model:

{
  "action": "setState",
  "actionParams": { "statePath": "/activeTab", "value": "home" }
}

Other built-in actions: pushState, removeState, push, pop.

Dynamic Props and Two-Way Binding

Expression forms resolved before your component receives props:

• {"$state": "/state/key"} - read from state
• {"$bindState": "/form/email"} - read + write-back to state
• {"$bindItem": "field"} - read + write-back for repeat items
• {"$cond": <condition>, "$then": <value>, "$else": <value>} - conditional value

For writable bindings inside components, use getBoundProp:

<script lang="ts">
  import { getBoundProp } from "@json-render/svelte";
  import type { BaseComponentProps } from "@json-render/svelte";

  interface Props extends BaseComponentProps<{ value?: string }> {}
  let { props, bindings }: Props = $props();

  let value = getBoundProp<string>(
    () => props.value,
    () => bindings?.value,
  );
</script>

<input bind:value={value.current} />

Context Helpers

Preferred helpers:

• getStateValue(path) - returns { current } (read/write)
• getBoundProp(() => value, () => bindingPath) - returns { current } (read/write when bound)
• isVisible(condition) - returns { current } (boolean)
• getAction(name) - returns { current } (registered handler)

Advanced context access:

• getStateContext()
• getActionContext()
• getVisibilityContext()
• getValidationContext()
• getOptionalValidationContext()
• getFieldValidation(ctx, path, config?)

Streaming UI

Use createUIStream for spec streaming:

<script lang="ts">
  import { createUIStream, Renderer } from "@json-render/svelte";

  const stream = createUIStream({
    api: "/api/generate-ui",
    onComplete: (spec) => console.log("Done", spec),
  });

  async function generate() {
    await stream.send("Create a login form");
  }
</script>

<button onclick={generate} disabled={stream.isStreaming}>
  {stream.isStreaming ? "Generating..." : "Generate UI"}
</button>

{#if stream.spec}
  <Renderer spec={stream.spec} {registry} loading={stream.isStreaming} />
{/if}

Use createChatUI for chat + UI responses:

const chat = createChatUI({ api: "/api/chat-ui" });
await chat.send("Build a settings panel");