XDS — Design System

XDSChatMessageMetadata@xds/core · Chat

Preview coming soon

Usage

XDSChatMessageList is the scrollable container for chat messages. It renders children in a flex column with role="log" for accessibility, provides density context to child messages, and supports infinite scroll for loading older messages. Use it inside XDSChatLayout for full-page chat with auto-scroll and composer docking, or standalone for embedded message panels.

Best practices

Guidance	Practices
Do	Compose messages using MessageList > Message > Bubble for consistent sender-aware styling and density.
Do	Set the density prop to control spacing globally — compact for sidebars, balanced for most views, spacious for long-form reading. Individual messages can override.
Do	Use the group prop on bubbles (first, middle, last) when a single sender sends multiple consecutive messages — it tightens corner radius to visually connect them.
Do	Use XDSChatSystemMessage with variant="divider" for date separators and default for inline status notices like joins, leaves, or topic changes.
Do	Put name on the first bubble and metadata on the last bubble in a message so they align with the bubble's inline padding.
Do	Provide an emptyState prop so new users see a clear prompt to start a conversation instead of a blank screen.
Do	Use the ghost bubble variant for AI-style responses that show rich content like code blocks or markdown without a visible boundary.
Don't	Don't use XDSChatSystemMessage for sender content — it has no avatar, alignment, or bubble. Use XDSChatMessage with a sender role instead.
Don't	Don't put long or multi-line content in a system message — keep it to a single short sentence. If you need more, use a bubble or a card.
Don't	Don't nest XDSChatMessage inside another XDSChatMessage — each message is a standalone article element with its own sender context.
Don't	Don't apply a fixed height directly on the message list — wrap it in a sized container and let the list fill with flex: 1.
Don't	Don't mix filled and ghost bubble variants within the same sender's messages — pick one style per side and use it consistently.
Don't	Don't place metadata or names on both the bubble and the message wrapper — pick one based on whether the content has a bubble boundary.

Anatomy

Element		Description
Message area	required	Scrollable region for messages. Renders children (typically XDSChatMessageList) in a flex column that pushes content to the bottom when the list is short.
Frosted glass dock	required	Sticky or fixed container at the bottom with a backdrop-blur layer. Houses the scroll button and composer.
Scroll-to-bottom button		Appears when the user scrolls up or new messages arrive. Defaults to XDSChatLayoutScrollButton; pass null to hide or a custom element to override.
Composer	required	The input area for sending messages, typically XDSChatComposer. Docked at the bottom inside the frosted glass layer.
Empty state		Centered placeholder shown when no messages exist. Use XDSEmptyState for a consistent look.
Avatar		A sender avatar rendered beside the message. Typically XDSAvatar with size="small". Hidden for system messages.
Name		Sender name above the message body. Place on the bubble when using bubbles, or on the message wrapper for raw content.
Content	required	The message body — one or more XDSChatMessageBubble elements, or any free-form ReactNode like images or tool calls.
Metadata		Timestamp, delivery status, and footer actions below the message. Place on the last bubble or on the message wrapper.

Import

ts
import {XDSChatMessageMetadata} from '@xds/core/Chat'

Props

Prop	Type	Description
timestamp	ReactNode	Timestamp content — a string or XDSTimestamp component.
footer	ReactNode	Footer content — model info, reaction buttons, copy button.
status	'sending' \| 'sent' \| 'delivered' \| 'read' \| 'error'	Message delivery status. Shows icon + label.

Examples

Common configurations, variations, and states.

ChatMessageMetadata — Footer ActionsAssistant message with footer actions — copy, retry, thumbs up/down, and model label. Use for AI responses that need feedback or utility controls.

tsx
'use client';
import {
  XDSChatMessageList,
  XDSChatMessage,
  XDSChatMessageBubble,
  XDSChatMessageMetadata,
} from '@xds/core/Chat';
import {XDSTimestamp} from '@xds/core/Timestamp';
import {XDSButton} from '@xds/core/Button';
import {XDSIcon} from '@xds/core/Icon';
import {XDSText} from '@xds/core/Text';
import {XDSHStack} from '@xds/core/Layout';
import {
  ClipboardDocumentIcon,
  ArrowPathIcon,
  HandThumbUpIcon,
  HandThumbDownIcon,
} from '@heroicons/react/24/outline';
export default function ChatMessageMetadataFooter() {
  return (
    <XDSChatMessageList>
      <XDSChatMessage sender="user">
        <XDSChatMessageBubble
          metadata={
            <XDSChatMessageMetadata
              timestamp={
                <XDSTimestamp value="2026-04-29T09:41:00" format="time" />
              }
              status="read"
            />
          }>
          Summarize the Q1 revenue report.
        </XDSChatMessageBubble>
      </XDSChatMessage>
      <XDSChatMessage sender="assistant">
        <XDSChatMessageBubble
          metadata={
            <XDSChatMessageMetadata
              timestamp={
                <XDSTimestamp value="2026-04-29T09:42:00" format="time" />
              }
              footer={
                <XDSHStack gap={1}>
                  <XDSButton
                    label="Copy"
                    variant="ghost"
                    size="sm"
                    icon={<XDSIcon icon={ClipboardDocumentIcon} size="sm" />}
                    isIconOnly
                    onClick={() => {}}
                  />
                  <XDSButton
                    label="Retry"
                    variant="ghost"
                    size="sm"
                    icon={<XDSIcon icon={ArrowPathIcon} size="sm" />}
                    isIconOnly
                    onClick={() => {}}
                  />
                  <XDSButton
                    label="Good response"
                    variant="ghost"
                    size="sm"
                    icon={<XDSIcon icon={HandThumbUpIcon} size="sm" />}
                    isIconOnly
                    onClick={() => {}}
                  />
                  <XDSButton
                    label="Bad response"
                    variant="ghost"
                    size="sm"
                    icon={<XDSIcon icon={HandThumbDownIcon} size="sm" />}
                    isIconOnly
                    onClick={() => {}}
                  />
                  <XDSText type="supporting" color="secondary">
                    GPT-4o
                  </XDSText>
                </XDSHStack>
              }
            />
          }>
          Q1 revenue reached $2.4B, up 18% year-over-year. Enterprise
          subscriptions drove 62% of the growth, while ad revenue held steady at
          $890M.
        </XDSChatMessageBubble>
      </XDSChatMessage>
    </XDSChatMessageList>
  );
}

ChatMessageMetadata — StatusAll 5 delivery statuses — sending, sent, delivered, read, and error — each with a timestamp. Use to show message delivery progress or surface failures.

tsx
'use client';
import {
  XDSChatMessageList,
  XDSChatMessage,
  XDSChatMessageBubble,
  XDSChatMessageMetadata,
} from '@xds/core/Chat';
import {XDSTimestamp} from '@xds/core/Timestamp';
const STATUSES = [
  {status: 'sending' as const, text: 'Deploying the update now…'},
  {status: 'sent' as const, text: 'Config pushed to staging.'},
  {status: 'delivered' as const, text: 'Verified on the staging cluster.'},
  {status: 'read' as const, text: 'Looks good — promoting to prod.'},
  {status: 'error' as const, text: 'Rollback triggered, checking logs.'},
];
export default function ChatMessageMetadataStatus() {
  return (
    <XDSChatMessageList>
      {STATUSES.map(({status, text}) => (
        <XDSChatMessage key={status} sender="user">
          <XDSChatMessageBubble
            metadata={
              <XDSChatMessageMetadata
                timestamp={
                  <XDSTimestamp value="2026-04-29T10:15:00" format="time" />
                }
                status={status}
              />
            }>
            {text}
          </XDSChatMessageBubble>
        </XDSChatMessage>
      ))}
    </XDSChatMessageList>
  );
}

ChatMessageMetadata — TimestampsTimestamp-only metadata on user and assistant messages. Supports absolute time and relative formats via XDSTimestamp.

tsx
'use client';
import {
  XDSChatMessageList,
  XDSChatMessage,
  XDSChatMessageBubble,
  XDSChatMessageMetadata,
} from '@xds/core/Chat';
import {XDSTimestamp} from '@xds/core/Timestamp';
export default function ChatMessageMetadataTimestamp() {
  return (
    <XDSChatMessageList>
      <XDSChatMessage sender="user">
        <XDSChatMessageBubble
          metadata={
            <XDSChatMessageMetadata
              timestamp={
                <XDSTimestamp value="2026-04-29T14:30:00" format="time" />
              }
            />
          }>
          Thanks — any blockers I should know about?
        </XDSChatMessageBubble>
      </XDSChatMessage>
      <XDSChatMessage sender="assistant">
        <XDSChatMessageBubble
          metadata={
            <XDSChatMessageMetadata
              timestamp={
                <XDSTimestamp value="2026-04-28T16:45:00" format="relative" />
              }
            />
          }>
          Relative timestamps work too — helpful for older messages where the
          exact time matters less than recency.
        </XDSChatMessageBubble>
      </XDSChatMessage>
    </XDSChatMessageList>
  );
}

Showcase source

tsx
'use client';
import * as stylex from '@stylexjs/stylex';
import {
  XDSChatMessageList,
  XDSChatMessage,
  XDSChatMessageBubble,
  XDSChatMessageMetadata,
} from '@xds/core/Chat';
import {XDSTimestamp} from '@xds/core/Timestamp';
import {XDSText} from '@xds/core/Text';
import {XDSButton} from '@xds/core/Button';
import {XDSIcon} from '@xds/core/Icon';
import {XDSHStack, XDSVStack} from '@xds/core/Layout';
import {
  ClipboardDocumentIcon,
  ArrowPathIcon,
  HandThumbUpIcon,
  HandThumbDownIcon,
} from '@heroicons/react/24/outline';
const styles = stylex.create({
  container: {
    maxWidth: 600,
  },
});
export default function ChatMessageMetadataShowcase() {
  return (
    <XDSVStack xstyle={styles.container}>
      <XDSChatMessageList>
        <XDSChatMessage sender="assistant">
          <XDSChatMessageBubble
            metadata={
              <XDSChatMessageMetadata
                timestamp={
                  <XDSTimestamp value="2026-03-15T14:30:00" format="time" />
                }
                status="error"
                footer={
                  <XDSHStack gap={1}>
                    <XDSButton
                      label="Retry"
                      variant="ghost"
                      size="sm"
                      icon={<XDSIcon icon={ArrowPathIcon} size="sm" />}
                      isIconOnly
                      onClick={() => {}}
                    />
                  </XDSHStack>
                }
              />
            }>
            Sorry, something went wrong on my end.
          </XDSChatMessageBubble>
        </XDSChatMessage>
        <XDSChatMessage sender="user">
          <XDSChatMessageBubble
            metadata={
              <XDSChatMessageMetadata
                timestamp={
                  <XDSTimestamp value="2026-03-15T14:31:00" format="time" />
                }
                status="read"
              />
            }>
            No worries — try again with just the last 24 hours of logs.
          </XDSChatMessageBubble>
        </XDSChatMessage>
        <XDSChatMessage sender="assistant">
          <XDSChatMessageBubble
            metadata={
              <XDSChatMessageMetadata
                timestamp={
                  <XDSTimestamp value="2026-03-15T14:32:00" format="time" />
                }
                footer={
                  <XDSHStack gap={1}>
                    <XDSButton
                      label="Copy"
                      variant="ghost"
                      size="sm"
                      icon={<XDSIcon icon={ClipboardDocumentIcon} size="sm" />}
                      isIconOnly
                      onClick={() => {}}
                    />
                    <XDSButton
                      label="Retry"
                      variant="ghost"
                      size="sm"
                      icon={<XDSIcon icon={ArrowPathIcon} size="sm" />}
                      isIconOnly
                      onClick={() => {}}
                    />
                    <XDSButton
                      label="Good response"
                      variant="ghost"
                      size="sm"
                      icon={<XDSIcon icon={HandThumbUpIcon} size="sm" />}
                      isIconOnly
                      onClick={() => {}}
                    />
                    <XDSButton
                      label="Bad response"
                      variant="ghost"
                      size="sm"
                      icon={<XDSIcon icon={HandThumbDownIcon} size="sm" />}
                      isIconOnly
                      onClick={() => {}}
                    />
                    <XDSText type="supporting" color="secondary">
                      Claude Opus 4.6
                    </XDSText>
                  </XDSHStack>
                }
              />
            }>
            The canary at 11:42 AM caused a memory spike. Rolled back
            at 11:58 AM.
          </XDSChatMessageBubble>
        </XDSChatMessage>
      </XDSChatMessageList>
    </XDSVStack>
  );
}