Writing agent state
Write to agent's state from your application.
This example demonstrates writing to shared state in the CopilotKit Feature Viewer.
What is this?
You can easily write to your agent's state from your native application, allowing you to update the agent's state from your UI.
When should I use this?
You can use this when you want to provide user input or control to your agent's state. As your application state changes, you can update the agent state to reflect these changes.
Implementation
Run and connect your agent
You'll need to run your agent and connect it to CopilotKit before proceeding.
If you don't already have CopilotKit and your agent connected, choose one of the following options:
Setup your agent with state
Define your agent's state schema. AWS Strands maintains state throughout execution.
from strands import Agent
from typing import TypedDict
# 1. Define the agent state schema
class AgentState(TypedDict):
language: str # "english" or "spanish"
# 2. Create the agent with state
agent = Agent(
name="languageAgent",
description="Always communicate in the preferred language of the user as defined in the state",
state_schema=AgentState,
initial_state={"language": "english"},
instructions="Always communicate in the preferred language of the user as defined in your state. Do not communicate in any other language."
)Use the useCoAgent Hook
With your agent connected and running, call the useCoAgent hook, pass the agent's name, and
use the setState function to update the agent state.
import { useCoAgent } from "@copilotkit/react-core";
// Define the agent state type to match your Strands agent
type AgentState = {
language: "english" | "spanish";
};
function YourMainContent() {
const { state, setState } = useCoAgent<AgentState>({
name: "languageAgent",
// optionally provide a type-safe initial state
initialState: { language: "spanish" }
});
const toggleLanguage = () => {
setState({ language: state.language === "english" ? "spanish" : "english" });
};
return (
// style excluded for brevity
<div>
<h1>Your main content</h1>
<p>Language: {state.language}</p>
<button onClick={toggleLanguage}>Toggle Language</button>
</div>
);
}The setState function in useCoAgent will update the agent state and trigger a rerender when the state changes.
Give it a try!
You can now use the setState function to update the agent state and state to read it. Try toggling the language button
and talking to your agent. You'll see the language change to match the agent's state.
Important
Shared-state in AWS Strands is prompt-driven. This means that your Agent's awareness of the shared state will be augmented by the instructions you provide to your agent.
