fix(agent-routes): return Vercel SSE Data Stream for agent chat

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -8,6 +8,14 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 ## [Unreleased]
 
 ### Fixed
+- **Agent Chat: Vercel SSE Data Stream support** — The agent chat endpoint
+  (`/api/v1/ai/agents/:agentName/chat`) now returns Vercel AI SDK v6 UI Message Stream Protocol
+  (SSE) by default, matching the general chat endpoint behaviour. Previously, the agent chat route
+  only returned plain JSON, causing `DefaultChatTransport` (used by `@ai-sdk/react` `useChat`) to
+  fail silently — the API responded correctly but the Studio AI Chat Panel rendered no content.
+  The endpoint now uses `streamChatWithTools` + `encodeVercelDataStream` for `stream !== false`
+  requests (the default), and falls back to JSON only when `stream: false` is explicitly set.
+  Studio's error UI is also enhanced to surface SSE parse failures clearly instead of silent failure.
 - **Agent Chat: Vercel AI SDK v6 `parts` format support** — The agent chat endpoint
   (`/api/v1/ai/agents/:agentName/chat`) now accepts Vercel AI SDK v6 `parts`-based message
   format in addition to the legacy `content` string format. Previously, sending messages

apps/studio/src/components/AiChatPanel.tsx

@@ -519,8 +519,20 @@ export function AiChatPanel() {
             </div>
           )}
           {error && (
-            <div className="rounded-lg border border-destructive/50 bg-destructive/10 px-3 py-2 text-sm text-destructive">
-              Error: {error.message || 'Something went wrong'}
+            <div className="flex items-start gap-2 rounded-lg border border-destructive/50 bg-destructive/10 px-3 py-2 text-sm text-destructive">
+              <ShieldAlert className="mt-0.5 h-4 w-4 shrink-0" />
+              <div>
+                <p className="font-medium">Chat Error</p>
+                <p className="mt-0.5 text-xs opacity-80">
+                  {error.message || 'Something went wrong'}
+                </p>
+                {error.message && /unexpected|json|parse|stream/i.test(error.message) && (
+                  <p className="mt-1 text-xs opacity-70">
+                    The server may not be returning the expected Vercel AI Data Stream format.
+                    Ensure the backend endpoint supports SSE streaming.
+                  </p>
+                )}
+              </div>
             </div>
           )}
         </div>

packages/services/service-ai/src/__tests__/chatbot-features.test.ts

@@ -807,13 +807,14 @@ describe('Agent Routes', () => {
     expect((resp.body as any).error).toContain('not active');
   });
 
-  it('should return 200 with agent response for valid request', async () => {
+  it('should return 200 with agent response for valid request (stream=false)', async () => {
     const chatRoute = routes.find(r => r.method === 'POST')!;
     const resp = await chatRoute.handler({
       params: { agentName: 'data_chat' },
       body: {
         messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'List all tables' }],
         context: { objectName: 'account' },
+        stream: false,
       },
     });
     expect(resp.status).toBe(200);
@@ -862,6 +863,7 @@ describe('Agent Routes', () => {
       params: { agentName: 'data_chat' },
       body: {
         messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'test' }],
+        stream: false,
         options: {
           tools: [{ name: 'injected_tool', description: 'Evil', parameters: {} }],
           toolChoice: 'injected_tool',
@@ -882,6 +884,7 @@ describe('Agent Routes', () => {
     const resp = await chatRoute.handler({
       params: { agentName: 'data_chat' },
       body: {
+        stream: false,
         messages: [
           {
             role: 'user',
@@ -899,6 +902,7 @@ describe('Agent Routes', () => {
     const resp = await chatRoute.handler({
       params: { agentName: 'data_chat' },
       body: {
+        stream: false,
         messages: [
           { role: 'user', content: 'Hello' },
           {
@@ -920,6 +924,7 @@ describe('Agent Routes', () => {
     const resp = await chatRoute.handler({
       params: { agentName: 'data_chat' },
       body: {
+        stream: false,
         messages: [
           {
             role: 'assistant',
@@ -946,6 +951,66 @@ describe('Agent Routes', () => {
     expect(resp.status).toBe(400);
     expect((resp.body as any).error).toContain('content');
   });
+
+  // ── Vercel Data Stream Protocol (SSE) ──
+
+  it('should default to Vercel Data Stream mode when stream is not specified', async () => {
+    const chatRoute = routes.find(r => r.method === 'POST')!;
+    const resp = await chatRoute.handler({
+      params: { agentName: 'data_chat' },
+      body: {
+        messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'List all tables' }],
+      },
+    });
+    expect(resp.status).toBe(200);
+    expect(resp.stream).toBe(true);
+    expect(resp.vercelDataStream).toBe(true);
+    expect(resp.events).toBeDefined();
+
+    // Consume the Vercel Data Stream events
+    const events: unknown[] = [];
+    for await (const event of resp.events!) {
+      events.push(event);
+    }
+    expect(events.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    // Must contain standard SSE lifecycle events
+    const eventsStr = events.join('');
+    expect(eventsStr).toContain('"type":"start"');
+    expect(eventsStr).toContain('"type":"text-delta"');
+    expect(eventsStr).toContain('"type":"finish"');
+    expect(eventsStr).toContain('data: [DONE]');
+  });
+
+  it('should return Vercel Data Stream when stream=true explicitly', async () => {
+    const chatRoute = routes.find(r => r.method === 'POST')!;
+    const resp = await chatRoute.handler({
+      params: { agentName: 'data_chat' },
+      body: {
+        messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'Hello agent' }],
+        stream: true,
+      },
+    });
+    expect(resp.status).toBe(200);
+    expect(resp.stream).toBe(true);
+    expect(resp.vercelDataStream).toBe(true);
+    expect(resp.events).toBeDefined();
+  });
+
+  it('should return JSON when stream=false', async () => {
+    const chatRoute = routes.find(r => r.method === 'POST')!;
+    const resp = await chatRoute.handler({
+      params: { agentName: 'data_chat' },
+      body: {
+        messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'Hello agent' }],
+        stream: false,
+      },
+    });
+    expect(resp.status).toBe(200);
+    expect(resp.stream).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(resp.vercelDataStream).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(resp.body).toBeDefined();
+    expect((resp.body as any).content).toBeDefined();
+  });
 });
 
 // ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

packages/services/service-ai/src/routes/agent-routes.ts

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import type { AIService } from '../ai-service.js';
 import type { AgentRuntime, AgentChatContext } from '../agent-runtime.js';
 import type { RouteDefinition } from './ai-routes.js';
 import { normalizeMessage, validateMessageContent } from './message-utils.js';
+import { encodeVercelDataStream } from '../stream/vercel-stream-encoder.js';
 
 /**
  * Allowed message roles for the agent chat endpoint.
@@ -68,10 +69,15 @@ export function buildAgentRoutes(
     },
 
     // ── Chat with a specific agent ──────────────────────────────
+    //
+    // Dual-mode endpoint matching the general chat route behaviour:
+    //   • `stream !== false` → Vercel Data Stream Protocol (SSE)
+    //   • `stream === false`  → JSON response (legacy)
+    //
     {
       method: 'POST',
       path: '/api/v1/ai/agents/:agentName/chat',
-      description: 'Chat with a specific AI agent',
+      description: 'Chat with a specific AI agent (supports Vercel AI Data Stream Protocol)',
       auth: true,
       permissions: ['ai:chat', 'ai:agents'],
       handler: async (req) => {
@@ -81,11 +87,12 @@ export function buildAgentRoutes(
         }
 
         // Parse request body
+        const body = (req.body ?? {}) as Record<string, unknown>;
         const {
           messages: rawMessages,
           context: chatContext,
           options: extraOptions,
-        } = (req.body ?? {}) as {
+        } = body as {
           messages?: unknown[];
           context?: AgentChatContext;
           options?: Record<string, unknown>;
@@ -138,12 +145,37 @@ export function buildAgentRoutes(
             ...rawMessages.map(m => normalizeMessage(m as Record<string, unknown>)),
           ];
 
-          // Use chatWithTools for automatic tool resolution
-          const result = await aiService.chatWithTools(fullMessages, {
+          const chatWithToolsOptions = {
             ...mergedOptions,
             maxIterations: agent.planning?.maxIterations,
-          });
+          };
 
+          // ── Choose response mode ─────────────────────────────
+          const wantStream = body.stream !== false;
+
+          if (wantStream) {
+            // Vercel Data Stream Protocol (SSE) — matches general chat behaviour
+            if (!aiService.streamChatWithTools) {
+              return { status: 501, body: { error: 'Streaming is not supported by the configured AI service' } };
+            }
+            const events = aiService.streamChatWithTools(fullMessages, chatWithToolsOptions);
+            return {
+              status: 200,
+              stream: true,
+              vercelDataStream: true,
+              contentType: 'text/event-stream',
+              headers: {
+                'Content-Type': 'text/event-stream',
+                'Cache-Control': 'no-cache',
+                'Connection': 'keep-alive',
+                'x-vercel-ai-ui-message-stream': 'v1',
+              },
+              events: encodeVercelDataStream(events),
+            };
+          }
+
+          // JSON response (non-streaming / legacy)
+          const result = await aiService.chatWithTools(fullMessages, chatWithToolsOptions);
           return { status: 200, body: result };
         } catch (err) {
           logger.error(