Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.twenty.com/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Front components are React components that render directly inside Twenty’s UI. They run in an isolated Web Worker using Remote DOM — your code is sandboxed but renders natively in the page, not in an iframe.
Where front components can be used
Front components can render in two locations within Twenty:
- Side panel — Non-headless front components open in the right-hand side panel. This is the default behavior when a front component is triggered from the command menu.
- Widgets (dashboards and record pages) — Front components can be embedded as widgets inside page layouts. When configuring a dashboard or a record page layout, users can add a front component widget.
A front component on its own isn’t reachable from the UI — you need to surface it. The two ways to do that are:
- Pair it with a command menu item — registers it in the command menu (Cmd+K) and, optionally, as a pinned quick-action.
- Embed it as a widget in a page layout — places it on a record’s detail page or dashboard.
Basic example
The quickest way to see a front component in action is to pair it with a defineCommandMenuItem, so it appears as a quick-action button in the top-right corner of the page:
src/front-components/hello-world.tsx
import { defineFrontComponent } from 'twenty-sdk/define';
const HelloWorld = () => {
return (
<div style={{ padding: '20px', fontFamily: 'sans-serif' }}>
<h1>Hello from my app!</h1>
<p>This component renders inside Twenty.</p>
</div>
);
};
export default defineFrontComponent({
universalIdentifier: '74c526eb-cb68-4cf7-b05c-0dd8c288d948',
name: 'hello-world',
description: 'A simple front component',
component: HelloWorld,
});
src/command-menu-items/hello-world.command-menu-item.ts
import { defineCommandMenuItem } from 'twenty-sdk/define';
export default defineCommandMenuItem({
universalIdentifier: 'd4e5f6a7-b8c9-0123-defa-456789012345',
shortLabel: 'Hello',
label: 'Hello World',
icon: 'IconBolt',
isPinned: true,
availabilityType: 'GLOBAL',
frontComponentUniversalIdentifier: '74c526eb-cb68-4cf7-b05c-0dd8c288d948',
});
After syncing with yarn twenty dev (or running a one-shot yarn twenty dev --once), the quick action appears in the top-right corner of the page:
Click it to render the component inline.
Configuration fields
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|
universalIdentifier | Yes | Stable unique ID for this component |
component | Yes | A React component function |
name | No | Display name |
description | No | Description of what the component does |
isHeadless | No | Set to true if the component has no visible UI (see below) |
Placing a front component on a page
Beyond commands, you can embed a front component directly into a record page by adding it as a widget in a page layout. See Page Layouts for details.
Headless vs non-headless
Front components come in two rendering modes controlled by the isHeadless option:
Non-headless (default) — The component renders a visible UI. When triggered from the command menu it opens in the side panel. This is the default behavior when isHeadless is false or omitted.
Headless (isHeadless: true) — The component mounts invisibly in the background. It does not open the side panel. Headless components are designed for actions that execute logic and then unmount themselves — for example, running an async task, navigating to a page, or showing a confirmation modal. They pair naturally with the SDK Command components described below.
src/front-components/sync-tracker.tsx
import { defineFrontComponent } from 'twenty-sdk/define';
import { useRecordId, enqueueSnackbar } from 'twenty-sdk/front-component';
import { useEffect } from 'react';
const SyncTracker = () => {
const recordId = useRecordId();
useEffect(() => {
enqueueSnackbar({ message: `Tracking record ${recordId}`, variant: 'info' });
}, [recordId]);
return null;
};
export default defineFrontComponent({
universalIdentifier: '...',
name: 'sync-tracker',
description: 'Tracks record views silently',
isHeadless: true,
component: SyncTracker,
});
Because the component returns null, Twenty skips rendering a container for it — no empty space appears in the layout. The component still has access to all hooks and the host communication API.
SDK Command components
The twenty-sdk package provides four Command helper components designed for headless front components. Each component executes an action on mount, handles errors by showing a snackbar notification, and automatically unmounts the front component when done.
Import them from twenty-sdk/command:
Command — Runs an async callback via the execute prop.
CommandLink — Navigates to an app path. Props: to, params, queryParams, options.
CommandModal — Opens a confirmation modal. If the user confirms, executes the execute callback. Props: title, subtitle, execute, confirmButtonText, confirmButtonAccent.
CommandOpenSidePanelPage — Opens a specific side panel page. Props: page, pageTitle, pageIcon.
Here is a full example of a headless front component using Command to run an action from the command menu:
src/front-components/run-action.tsx
import { defineFrontComponent } from 'twenty-sdk/define';
import { Command } from 'twenty-sdk/command';
import { CoreApiClient } from 'twenty-sdk/clients';
const RunAction = () => {
const execute = async () => {
const client = new CoreApiClient();
await client.mutation({
createTask: {
__args: { data: { title: 'Created by my app' } },
id: true,
},
});
};
return <Command execute={execute} />;
};
export default defineFrontComponent({
universalIdentifier: 'e5f6a7b8-c9d0-1234-efab-345678901234',
name: 'run-action',
description: 'Creates a task from the command menu',
component: RunAction,
isHeadless: true,
});
src/command-menu-items/run-action.command-menu-item.ts
import { defineCommandMenuItem } from 'twenty-sdk/define';
export default defineCommandMenuItem({
universalIdentifier: 'f6a7b8c9-d0e1-2345-fabc-456789012345',
label: 'Run my action',
icon: 'IconPlayerPlay',
frontComponentUniversalIdentifier: 'e5f6a7b8-c9d0-1234-efab-345678901234',
});
And an example using CommandModal to ask for confirmation before executing:
src/front-components/delete-draft.tsx
import { defineFrontComponent } from 'twenty-sdk/define';
import { CommandModal } from 'twenty-sdk/command';
const DeleteDraft = () => {
const execute = async () => {
// perform the deletion
};
return (
<CommandModal
title="Delete draft?"
subtitle="This action cannot be undone."
execute={execute}
confirmButtonText="Delete"
confirmButtonAccent="danger"
/>
);
};
export default defineFrontComponent({
universalIdentifier: 'a7b8c9d0-e1f2-3456-abcd-567890123456',
name: 'delete-draft',
description: 'Deletes a draft with confirmation',
component: DeleteDraft,
isHeadless: true,
});
Accessing runtime context
Inside your component, use SDK hooks to access the current user, record, and component instance:
src/front-components/record-info.tsx
import { defineFrontComponent } from 'twenty-sdk/define';
import {
useUserId,
useRecordId,
useFrontComponentId,
} from 'twenty-sdk/front-component';
const RecordInfo = () => {
const userId = useUserId();
const recordId = useRecordId();
const componentId = useFrontComponentId();
return (
<div>
<p>User: {userId}</p>
<p>Record: {recordId ?? 'No record context'}</p>
<p>Component: {componentId}</p>
</div>
);
};
export default defineFrontComponent({
universalIdentifier: 'b2c3d4e5-f6a7-8901-bcde-f23456789012',
name: 'record-info',
component: RecordInfo,
});
Available hooks:
| Hook | Returns | Description |
|---|
useUserId() | string or null | The current user’s ID |
useSelectedRecordIds() | string[] | All selected record IDs (empty array if none selected) |
useRecordId() | string or null | Deprecated. Use useSelectedRecordIds() instead |
useFrontComponentId() | string | This component instance’s ID |
useFrontComponentExecutionContext(selector) | varies | Access the full execution context with a selector function |
Host communication API
Front components can trigger navigation, modals, and notifications using functions from twenty-sdk:
| Function | Description |
|---|
navigate(to, params?, queryParams?, options?) | Navigate to a page in the app |
openSidePanelPage(params) | Open a side panel |
closeSidePanel() | Close the side panel |
openCommandConfirmationModal(params) | Show a confirmation dialog |
enqueueSnackbar(params) | Show a toast notification |
unmountFrontComponent() | Unmount the component |
updateProgress(progress) | Update a progress indicator |
Here is an example that uses the host API to show a snackbar and close the side panel after an action completes:
src/front-components/archive-record.tsx
import { defineFrontComponent } from 'twenty-sdk/define';
import { useRecordId } from 'twenty-sdk/front-component';
import { enqueueSnackbar, closeSidePanel } from 'twenty-sdk/front-component';
import { CoreApiClient } from 'twenty-sdk/clients';
const ArchiveRecord = () => {
const recordId = useRecordId();
const handleArchive = async () => {
const client = new CoreApiClient();
await client.mutation({
updateTask: {
__args: { id: recordId, data: { status: 'ARCHIVED' } },
id: true,
},
});
await enqueueSnackbar({
message: 'Record archived',
variant: 'success',
});
await closeSidePanel();
};
return (
<div style={{ padding: '20px' }}>
<p>Archive this record?</p>
<button onClick={handleArchive}>Archive</button>
</div>
);
};
export default defineFrontComponent({
universalIdentifier: 'c9d0e1f2-a3b4-5678-cdef-789012345678',
name: 'archive-record',
description: 'Archives the current record',
component: ArchiveRecord,
});
Working with multiple records
Use useSelectedRecordIds() to handle multiple selected records. This is useful for bulk operations:
src/front-components/bulk-export.tsx
import { defineFrontComponent } from 'twenty-sdk/define';
import { useSelectedRecordIds, numberOfSelectedRecords } from 'twenty-sdk/front-component';
import { enqueueSnackbar, closeSidePanel } from 'twenty-sdk/front-component';
import { CoreApiClient } from 'twenty-sdk/clients';
const BulkExport = () => {
const selectedRecordIds = useSelectedRecordIds();
const handleExport = async () => {
const client = new CoreApiClient();
for (const recordId of selectedRecordIds) {
await client.mutation({
updateTask: {
__args: { id: recordId, data: { exported: true } },
id: true,
},
});
}
await enqueueSnackbar({
message: `Exported ${selectedRecordIds.length} records`,
variant: 'success',
});
await closeSidePanel();
};
return (
<div style={{ padding: '20px' }}>
<p>Export {selectedRecordIds.length} selected record(s)?</p>
<button onClick={handleExport}>Export</button>
</div>
);
};
export default defineFrontComponent({
universalIdentifier: 'd0e1f2a3-b4c5-6789-defa-012345678901',
name: 'bulk-export',
description: 'Export selected records',
component: BulkExport,
command: {
universalIdentifier: 'd0e1f2a3-b4c5-6789-defa-012345678902',
label: 'Bulk Export',
availabilityType: 'RECORD_SELECTION',
conditionalAvailabilityExpression: numberOfSelectedRecords > 0,
},
});
Public assets
Front components can access files from the app’s public/ directory using getPublicAssetUrl:
import { defineFrontComponent, getPublicAssetUrl } from 'twenty-sdk/define';
const Logo = () => <img src={getPublicAssetUrl('logo.png')} alt="Logo" />;
export default defineFrontComponent({
universalIdentifier: '...',
name: 'logo',
component: Logo,
});
See the public assets section for details.
Styling
Front components support multiple styling approaches. You can use:
- Inline styles —
style={{ color: 'red' }}
- Twenty UI components — import from
twenty-sdk/ui (Button, Tag, Status, Chip, Avatar, and more)
- Emotion — CSS-in-JS with
@emotion/react
- Styled-components —
styled.div patterns
- Tailwind CSS — utility classes
- Any CSS-in-JS library compatible with React
import { defineFrontComponent } from 'twenty-sdk/define';
import { Button, Tag, Status } from 'twenty-sdk/ui';
const StyledWidget = () => {
return (
<div style={{ padding: '16px', display: 'flex', gap: '8px' }}>
<Button title="Click me" onClick={() => alert('Clicked!')} />
<Tag text="Active" color="green" />
<Status color="green" text="Online" />
</div>
);
};
export default defineFrontComponent({
universalIdentifier: 'e5f6a7b8-c9d0-1234-efab-567890123456',
name: 'styled-widget',
component: StyledWidget,
});