---
title: Slot
description: A placeholder that renders dynamic component trees from state.
icon: puzzle-piece
---

import { ComponentPreview } from '/snippets/component-preview.mdx'

Most components in a Prefab layout are defined up front — you know at build time that there's a heading here, a table there. But sometimes a region of your UI needs to be filled in later, maybe by an action that fetches content or by state that arrives after the initial render. `Slot` reserves a named place in your layout for that dynamic content.

`Slot` watches a state key. When that key holds a component tree (a JSON object with a `type` field), Slot renders it. When the key is empty, Slot renders its children as fallback content — or nothing at all.

## Basic Usage

Pass the state key name as the first argument. Here, `info` holds a Card component tree in state:

<ComponentPreview json={{"view":{"cssClass":"gap-4","type":"Column","children":[{"content":"Starship Registry","type":"Heading","level":3},{"type":"Slot","name":"info"}]},"state":{"info":{"type":"Card","children":[{"type":"CardHeader","children":[{"type":"CardTitle","content":"Heart of Gold"},{"type":"CardDescription","content":"Infinite Improbability Drive equipped"}]}]}}}} playground=" ">
<CodeGroup>
```python Python icon="python"
from prefab_ui.app import set_initial_state
from prefab_ui.components import Column, Heading, Slot

set_initial_state(
    info={
        "type": "Card",
        "children": [
            {
                "type": "CardHeader",
                "children": [
                    {"type": "CardTitle", "content": "Heart of Gold"},
                    {
                        "type": "CardDescription",
                        "content": "Infinite Improbability Drive equipped",
                    },
                ],
            }
        ],
    }
)

with Column(gap=4):
    Heading("Starship Registry", level=3)
    Slot("info")
```
```json Protocol icon="brackets-curly"
{
  "view": {
    "cssClass": "gap-4",
    "type": "Column",
    "children": [
      {"content": "Starship Registry", "type": "Heading", "level": 3},
      {"type": "Slot", "name": "info"}
    ]
  },
  "state": {
    "info": {
      "type": "Card",
      "children": [
        {
          "type": "CardHeader",
          "children": [
            {"type": "CardTitle", "content": "Heart of Gold"},
            {"type": "CardDescription", "content": "Infinite Improbability Drive equipped"}
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}
```
</CodeGroup>
</ComponentPreview>

The layout defines *where* the dynamic content goes. The state (or an action that populates it) determines *what* appears there. In practice, the state key is often populated by a `CallTool` or `API` action with `result_key` — the action fetches a component tree and writes it into state, and the Slot picks it up automatically.

## Fallback Content

Nest children inside `Slot` to define what shows when the state key is empty. Toggle the switch to see the transition — the ternary expression pulls the `detail_card` component tree from state when on, or `null` when off.

<ComponentPreview json={{"view":{"cssClass":"gap-4","type":"Column","children":[{"content":"Item Detail","type":"Heading","level":3},{"name":"selected_item","type":"Switch","label":"Show details","checked":false,"size":"default","disabled":false,"required":false,"onChange":{"action":"setState","key":"selected_item","value":"{{ $event ? detail_card : null }}"}},{"type":"Slot","name":"selected_item","children":[{"cssClass":"text-muted-foreground","content":"Toggle the switch to load details","type":"Text"}]}]},"state":{"selected_item":false,"detail_card":{"type":"Card","children":[{"type":"CardHeader","children":[{"type":"CardTitle","content":"Heart of Gold"},{"type":"CardDescription","content":"Infinite Improbability Drive equipped"}]}]}}}} playground=" ">
<CodeGroup>
```python Python icon="python"
from prefab_ui.app import set_initial_state
from prefab_ui.components import Column, Heading, Slot, Switch, Text
from prefab_ui.actions import SetState

set_initial_state(
    detail_card={
        "type": "Card",
        "children": [
            {
                "type": "CardHeader",
                "children": [
                    {"type": "CardTitle", "content": "Heart of Gold"},
                    {
                        "type": "CardDescription",
                        "content": "Infinite Improbability Drive equipped",
                    },
                ],
            }
        ],
    }
)

with Column(gap=4):
    Heading("Item Detail", level=3)
    Switch(
        label="Show details",
        name="selected_item",
        on_change=SetState(
            "selected_item",
            "{{ $event ? detail_card : null }}",
        ),
    )
    with Slot("selected_item"):
        Text(
            "Toggle the switch to load details",
            css_class="text-muted-foreground",
        )
```
```json Protocol icon="brackets-curly"
{
  "view": {
    "cssClass": "gap-4",
    "type": "Column",
    "children": [
      {"content": "Item Detail", "type": "Heading", "level": 3},
      {
        "name": "selected_item",
        "type": "Switch",
        "label": "Show details",
        "checked": false,
        "size": "default",
        "disabled": false,
        "required": false,
        "onChange": {
          "action": "setState",
          "key": "selected_item",
          "value": "{{ $event ? detail_card : null }}"
        }
      },
      {
        "type": "Slot",
        "name": "selected_item",
        "children": [
          {
            "cssClass": "text-muted-foreground",
            "content": "Toggle the switch to load details",
            "type": "Text"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "state": {
    "selected_item": false,
    "detail_card": {
      "type": "Card",
      "children": [
        {
          "type": "CardHeader",
          "children": [
            {"type": "CardTitle", "content": "Heart of Gold"},
            {"type": "CardDescription", "content": "Infinite Improbability Drive equipped"}
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}
```
</CodeGroup>
</ComponentPreview>

Since the fallback is a regular component tree, you can make it as rich as you need — icons, buttons, styled containers. Once `state["selected_item"]` gets a component tree, the fallback disappears and the slot content takes over.

## API Reference

<Card icon="code" title="Slot Parameters">
<ParamField body="name" type="str" required>
  State key containing the component tree to render. Can be passed as a positional argument.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="children" type="list[Component]" default="[]">
  Fallback content rendered when the state key is empty or missing.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="css_class" type="str | None" default="None">
  Additional Tailwind CSS classes.
</ParamField>
</Card>

## Protocol Reference

```json Slot
{
  "type": "Slot",
  "children?": "[Component]",
  "let?": "object",
  "name": "string (required)",
  "cssClass?": "string"
}
```

For the complete protocol schema, see [Slot](/protocol/slot).
