Namespaces

Identify registry sources independently of item categories and installed paths

Configure registry source aliases such as @chatjs or @acme in components.json. An address such as @chatjs/word-count identifies an item from that source. The item’s meta.chatjs.kind identifies its category independently of its name.

Source folders, public item names, and installed paths are separate. The built-in Vercel item is named vercel-gateway, is authored under src/gateways/vercel/, and installs into lib/ai/gateway.ts. Changing a registry alias does not change an item’s explicit file targets.

For example, configure an external source alongside the built-in registry:

{
  "registries": {
    "@chatjs": "https://unpkg.com/@chat-js/registry@1/dist/r/{name}.json",
    "@acme": "https://example.com/r/{name}.json"
  }
}

Install an external tool with npx @chat-js/cli@latest add @acme/my-tool. Replace the example registry address with your publisher’s endpoint.

A third-party gateway still belongs to the gateway category. Its namespace identifies who distributes it, while its metadata identifies its ChatJS contract. Review explicit file targets when composing items from different registries. A namespace does not automatically isolate installed files or registration keys.

See Tools Overview for direct shadcn installation and sync.