VLLNT UI vs assistant-ui
assistant-ui gives you an opinionated chat thread fast. VLLNT UI is a broader, agent-first design system: the same chat surfaces, plus the tool calls, agent activity, citations, artifacts, and product UI an AI-first app needs — all installed via the shadcn CLI so you own the source.
| Attribute | VLLNT UI | assistant-ui |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Full design system — chat plus agents, artifacts, and 200+ UI components | Focused on the chat/assistant thread experience |
| Install model | shadcn CLI — source copied into your repo, yours to edit | npm dependency with a runtime |
| Beyond chat | Tool calls, agent activity, citations, model comparison, artifacts, dashboards | Primarily conversation-centric |
| Agent-readable registry | Yes — llms.txt, llms-full.txt, per-component JSON, MCP | No |
| Theming | CSS variables + design tokens shared across the whole product | Themeable chat primitives |
| When to pick it | You're building a whole AI-first product, not just a chat box | You want an opinionated chat thread fast |