TemplatesChat UIs

Inline Citations Demo

Loading pattern preview

Problems solved

Technical challenges this implementation handles out of the box.
  • Render research answers with inline citation components
  • Map cited sources to clickable references in the UI
  • Support fact-checked writing workflows in chat

Use cases

Products and workflows this pattern is designed to support.
  • Academic writing assistants
  • Research content creation tools
  • Policy briefs with source footnotes
  • Journalism drafts that keep citations inline

Setup

Requirements, wiring steps, and what this pattern adds to your project.

Getting started

Pick how you want to pull this pattern in. Then wire env vars and routes the same way.

  1. 1

    Download → Next.js app

    Use Download → Next.js app in the preview toolbar. You get a zip scaffold (Pro downloads rewrite preview `/view/.../api/*` paths to `/api/*` automatically).

  2. 2

    Extract the zip and install dependencies

    Unzip the archive, then run `pnpm install` (or npm / yarn) in the project folder.

  3. 3

    Fill .env.local

    The download includes .env.local placeholders when needed. Add real values for: OPENAI_API_KEY.

  4. 4

    Customize the agent and tool files

    Adapt prompts, tools, and stop conditions in the generated project for your product.

  5. 5

    Run the app and open the pattern route

    Run `pnpm dev`, open the setup/checklist page if present, then navigate to the generated pattern route and verify responses.

Environment variables

Capabilities

AI SDK APIs

streamObject

Providers

OpenAI

Files added

7 files
  • app/page.tsx
  • app/layout.tsx
  • lib/request-utils.ts
  • lib/schema.ts
  • components/inline-citation-demo.tsx
  • app/api/citation/route.ts
  • README.md

Dependencies

8 total

npm packages

5
AISDKlucide-reactNext.jsReactZod

Shadcn IconRegistry components

3
buttonemptytooltip

Critical files

  • citation/route.ts

    API route implementing AI citation generation: uses streamObject with a citationSchema to generate content with inline numbered citations and real source URLs.

  • lib/schema.ts

    Defines the citationSchema used by streamObject: structured output with content string and citations array (number, title, url, description, quote).

Requirements

Complexity
Beginner
Setup time
~15 minutes
Node
24+
Memory
512MB
Upstash Redis