Pausing the Agent for Input
Pause an agent run mid-tool, hand control to a custom React component, and resume with the user's answer.
"""LangGraph agent for the Human-in-the-Loop (Interrupt-based) booking demo.Defines a backend tool `schedule_meeting(topic, attendee)` that usesLangGraph's `interrupt()` primitive to pause the run and surface astructured booking payload to the frontend. The frontend `useInterrupt`renderer shows a time picker inline in the chat and resolves with`{chosen_time, chosen_label}` or `{cancelled: true}`, which this toolturns into a human-readable result the agent uses to confirm the booking."""from __future__ import annotationsfrom datetime import datetime, time, timedeltafrom typing import Any, List, Optionalfrom zoneinfo import ZoneInfofrom langchain.agents import create_agentfrom langchain_core.tools import toolfrom langchain_openai import ChatOpenAIfrom langgraph.types import interruptfrom copilotkit import CopilotKitMiddlewareSYSTEM_PROMPT = ( "You are a scheduling assistant. Whenever the user asks you to book a " "call / schedule a meeting, you MUST call the `schedule_meeting` tool. " "Pass a short `topic` describing the purpose and `attendee` describing " "who the meeting is with. After the tool returns, confirm briefly " "whether the meeting was scheduled and at what time, or that the user " "cancelled.")# Demo-only fixed timezone. A real app would use the user's calendar +# locale (e.g. zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(user.timezone) and Google Calendar /# Outlook availability); we hardcode Pacific so screenshots are stable._DEMO_TZ = ZoneInfo("America/Los_Angeles")def _candidate_slots() -> List[dict]: """Upcoming candidate slots, relative to "now" so the picker never shows stale dates.""" now = datetime.now(_DEMO_TZ) tomorrow = (now + timedelta(days=1)).date() # Skip a week when the result would collide with `tomorrow` — i.e. # today is Mon (0 days away, picker would show two slots both # labelled "Monday") or Sun (1 day away, picker would show # "Tomorrow" and "Monday" both pointing at the same date). days_to_monday = (7 - now.weekday()) % 7 if days_to_monday <= 1: days_to_monday += 7 next_monday = (now + timedelta(days=days_to_monday)).date() candidates = [ ("Tomorrow 10:00 AM", tomorrow, time(10, 0)), ("Tomorrow 2:00 PM", tomorrow, time(14, 0)), ("Monday 9:00 AM", next_monday, time(9, 0)), ("Monday 3:30 PM", next_monday, time(15, 30)), ] return [ {"label": label, "iso": datetime.combine(d, t, _DEMO_TZ).isoformat()} for label, d, t in candidates ]@tooldef schedule_meeting(topic: str, attendee: Optional[str] = None) -> str: """Ask the user to pick a time slot for a call, via an in-chat picker. Args: topic: Short human-readable description of the call's purpose. attendee: Who the call is with (optional). Returns: Human-readable result string describing the chosen slot or indicating the user cancelled. """ # `interrupt()` pauses the LangGraph run and forwards a structured # payload to the client. The frontend v2 `useInterrupt` hook renders # the picker inline in the chat, then calls `resolve(...)` with the # user's selection — that value comes back here as `response`. response: Any = interrupt( { "topic": topic, "attendee": attendee, "slots": _candidate_slots(), } ) if isinstance(response, dict): if response.get("cancelled"): return f"User cancelled. Meeting NOT scheduled: {topic}" chosen_label = response.get("chosen_label") or response.get("chosen_time") if chosen_label: return f"Meeting scheduled for {chosen_label}: {topic}" return f"User did not pick a time. Meeting NOT scheduled: {topic}"model = ChatOpenAI(model="gpt-5.4")graph = create_agent( model=model, tools=[schedule_meeting], middleware=[CopilotKitMiddleware()], system_prompt=SYSTEM_PROMPT,)What is this?#
useInterrupt lets your agent pause mid-run, hand control to the user
through a custom React component, and resume with whatever the user
returns. How that pause is implemented depends on the framework's
runtime.
LangGraph ships a first-class
interrupt()
primitive that lets a running node suspend itself and hand control to
the client. The run is frozen server-side until the client resolves the
interrupt with a payload, at which point the node resumes as if
interrupt() had simply returned that payload.
CopilotKit's useInterrupt is the frontend half of that contract: it
subscribes to the paused run, renders whatever component you give it,
and calls the agent back with the user's answer.
When should I use this?#
Reach for useInterrupt when the pause is a graph-enforced
checkpoint where the code path must stop and wait for a human,
not an LLM-initiated tool call. Typical cases:
- A sensitive action (payments, irreversible writes) must be approved
- A required piece of state isn't known and can only be collected from the user
- The agent explicitly reaches an approval node in a longer workflow
- You want the server-side contract to be
interrupt(...)and resume with a payload
For LLM-initiated pauses where the model decides on the fly to ask
the user, prefer useHumanInTheLoop.
The backend: interrupt() inside a tool#
The example agent exposes a schedule_meeting tool. When the model
calls it, the tool issues a langgraph.interrupt(...)
with the meeting context. The run freezes here until the client
resolves; the resolution becomes the return value of interrupt(),
which the tool then turns into a final string for the model:
from __future__ import annotationsfrom datetime import datetime, time, timedeltafrom typing import Any, List, Optionalfrom zoneinfo import ZoneInfofrom langchain.agents import create_agentfrom langchain_core.tools import toolfrom langchain_openai import ChatOpenAIfrom langgraph.types import interruptfrom copilotkit import CopilotKitMiddlewareSYSTEM_PROMPT = ( "You are a scheduling assistant. Whenever the user asks you to book a " "call / schedule a meeting, you MUST call the `schedule_meeting` tool. " "Pass a short `topic` describing the purpose and `attendee` describing " "who the meeting is with. After the tool returns, confirm briefly " "whether the meeting was scheduled and at what time, or that the user " "cancelled.")# Demo-only fixed timezone. A real app would use the user's calendar +# locale (e.g. zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(user.timezone) and Google Calendar /# Outlook availability); we hardcode Pacific so screenshots are stable._DEMO_TZ = ZoneInfo("America/Los_Angeles")def _candidate_slots() -> List[dict]: """Upcoming candidate slots, relative to "now" so the picker never shows stale dates.""" now = datetime.now(_DEMO_TZ) tomorrow = (now + timedelta(days=1)).date() # Skip a week when the result would collide with `tomorrow` — i.e. # today is Mon (0 days away, picker would show two slots both # labelled "Monday") or Sun (1 day away, picker would show # "Tomorrow" and "Monday" both pointing at the same date). days_to_monday = (7 - now.weekday()) % 7 if days_to_monday <= 1: days_to_monday += 7 next_monday = (now + timedelta(days=days_to_monday)).date() candidates = [ ("Tomorrow 10:00 AM", tomorrow, time(10, 0)), ("Tomorrow 2:00 PM", tomorrow, time(14, 0)), ("Monday 9:00 AM", next_monday, time(9, 0)), ("Monday 3:30 PM", next_monday, time(15, 30)), ] return [ {"label": label, "iso": datetime.combine(d, t, _DEMO_TZ).isoformat()} for label, d, t in candidates ]@tooldef schedule_meeting(topic: str, attendee: Optional[str] = None) -> str: """Ask the user to pick a time slot for a call, via an in-chat picker. Args: topic: Short human-readable description of the call's purpose. attendee: Who the call is with (optional). Returns: Human-readable result string describing the chosen slot or indicating the user cancelled. """ # `interrupt()` pauses the LangGraph run and forwards a structured # payload to the client. The frontend v2 `useInterrupt` hook renders # the picker inline in the chat, then calls `resolve(...)` with the # user's selection — that value comes back here as `response`. response: Any = interrupt( { "topic": topic, "attendee": attendee, "slots": _candidate_slots(), } ) if isinstance(response, dict): if response.get("cancelled"): return f"User cancelled. Meeting NOT scheduled: {topic}" chosen_label = response.get("chosen_label") or response.get("chosen_time") if chosen_label: return f"Meeting scheduled for {chosen_label}: {topic}" return f"User did not pick a time. Meeting NOT scheduled: {topic}"Two things to note:
- The payload (
{"topic": topic, "attendee": attendee}) is what the frontend receives asevent.value. Keep it a plain, serializable object. It's the "pause-time context" the UI needs to render. - The return-side contract (
{chosen_label, chosen_time}or{cancelled: true}) is entirely yours. The client can send anything as the resolve payload; the tool is the one that gives it meaning.
The frontend: useInterrupt render prop#
On the client you register a useInterrupt hook per agent. When the
paused run arrives, its payload is handed to render as event.value,
and resolve(...) is how you resume the run:
import { CopilotKit, CopilotChat, useInterrupt,} from "@copilotkit/react-core/v2";import type { TimeSlot } from "./_components/time-picker-card";import { TimePickerCard } from "./_components/time-picker-card";import { generateFallbackSlots } from "../_shared/interrupt-fallback-slots";import { useGenUiInterruptSuggestions } from "./suggestions";export default function GenUiInterruptDemo() { return ( <CopilotKit runtimeUrl="/api/copilotkit" agent="gen-ui-interrupt"> <div className="flex justify-center items-center h-screen w-full"> <div className="h-full w-full max-w-4xl"> <Chat /> </div> </div> </CopilotKit> );}function Chat() { useGenUiInterruptSuggestions(); // `useInterrupt` is the low-level primitive for handling LangGraph // `interrupt(...)` events. The backend's `schedule_meeting` tool surfaces // a structured payload — `{ topic, attendee, slots }` — which we render // inline in the chat as a message bubble. Calling `resolve(...)` resumes // the LangGraph run with the user's selection. useInterrupt({ agentId: "gen-ui-interrupt", renderInChat: true, render: ({ event, resolve }) => { // The AG-UI adapter JSON-stringifies interrupt values, so parse // when needed to extract the structured payload. const raw = event.value ?? {}; const payload = (typeof raw === "string" ? JSON.parse(raw) : raw) as { topic?: string; attendee?: string; slots?: TimeSlot[]; }; const slots = payload.slots && payload.slots.length > 0 ? payload.slots : generateFallbackSlots(); return ( <TimePickerCard topic={payload.topic ?? "a call"} attendee={payload.attendee} slots={slots} onSubmit={(result) => { // Defer resolve so React commits the picked/cancelled state // before useInterrupt clears the interrupt element. A single // requestAnimationFrame is not reliable — rAF fires before // React's commit in some scheduling scenarios. Using a short // setTimeout ensures the commit lands first and the user sees // the "Booked"/"Cancelled" badge before the card unmounts. setTimeout(() => resolve(result), 500); }} /> ); }, });Whatever you pass to resolve is round-tripped back to the agent as
the return value of the matching interrupt(...) call.
Key props#
agentId— must match a runtime-registered agent. If omitted, the hook assumes"default". A mismatch means the interrupt never fires.render— receives{ event, resolve }.event.valueis the payload you passed tointerrupt(...)on the server.renderInChat— whentrue(as above), the picker appears inline in the chat transcript, between the paused assistant turn and the still-pending continuation.
Multiple interrupts? Add a type and gate with enabled#
If your graph issues more than one kind of interrupt (e.g. "ask" vs
"approval"), tag each with a type field on the payload and install
one useInterrupt per shape, each gated by an enabled predicate:
useInterrupt({
agentId: "gen-ui-interrupt",
enabled: ({ eventValue }) => eventValue.type === "ask",
render: ({ event, resolve }) => (
<AskCard question={event.value.content} onAnswer={resolve} />
),
});
useInterrupt({
agentId: "gen-ui-interrupt",
enabled: ({ eventValue }) => eventValue.type === "approval",
render: ({ event, resolve }) => (
<ApproveCard content={event.value.content} onAnswer={resolve} />
),
});Preprocess with handler#
For cases where the interrupt can sometimes be resolved without user
input (e.g. the current user already has permission), pass a handler
that runs before render. The handler can call resolve(...) itself
to short-circuit the UI, or return a value that render receives as
result:
useInterrupt({
agentId: "gen-ui-interrupt",
handler: async ({ event, resolve }) => {
const dept = await lookupUserDepartment();
if (event.value.accessDepartment === dept || dept === "admin") {
resolve({ code: "AUTH_BY_DEPARTMENT" });
return; // skip render
}
return { dept };
},
render: ({ result, event, resolve }) => (
<RequestAccessCard
dept={result.dept}
onRequest={() => resolve({ code: "REQUEST_AUTH" })}
onCancel={() => resolve({ code: "CANCEL" })}
/>
),
});Going further#
- Tool-based HITL with
useHumanInTheLoop— for LLM-initiated pauses. - Headless interrupts — compose the lower-level primitives
(
useAgent,agent.subscribe,copilotkit.runAgent) to resolve interrupts outside a chat surface.
