# useClientTransport

Read the `ClientTransport` exposed by the nearest [`TransportProvider`](https://ably.com/docs/ai-transport/api/react/providers.md#TransportProvider). The hook is a thin context reader; it does not create or own transport state.

This hook must be used within a [`TransportProvider`](https://ably.com/docs/ai-transport/api/react/providers.md#TransportProvider) or a [`ChatTransportProvider`](https://ably.com/docs/ai-transport/api/react/providers.md#ChatTransportProvider).

<Code>

#### React

```
import { useClientTransport } from '@ably/ai-transport/react';

function Chat() {
  const { transport, transportError } = useClientTransport();
  if (transportError) return <ErrorBanner error={transportError} />;
  // Use transport.view, transport.cancel(), etc.
}
```
</Code>

## Parameters

<Table id='UseClientTransportProps'>

| Prop | Required | Description | Type |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| channelName | Optional | The `channelName` of the `TransportProvider` to read from. Omit to use the nearest provider in the tree. | String |
| skip | Optional | When `true`, returns a stub transport that throws on any access. Useful when a condition (auth, feature flag) is not yet resolved. | Boolean |
| onError | Optional | Called whenever the resolved transport emits a non-fatal error. The subscription is established once the transport resolves and removed on unmount or when the transport changes. | `(error: Ably.ErrorInfo) => void` |

</Table>

## Returns

`ClientTransportHandle<TEvent, TMessage>`

<Table id='ClientTransportHandle'>

| Property | Description | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| transport | The resolved transport. A throwing stub when `skip` is `true`, when no matching provider is found, or when transport construction failed. Check `transportError` before use. | `ClientTransport<TEvent, TMessage>` |
| transportError | Set when no matching provider is found or transport construction failed and `skip` is `false`. `undefined` when the transport resolved successfully or `skip` is `true`. | `Ably.ErrorInfo` or Undefined |

</Table>

Check `transportError` before using `transport` to avoid throws from the stub. See [`ClientTransport`](https://ably.com/docs/ai-transport/api/javascript/client-transport.md) for the full surface the returned transport exposes.

## Example

<Code>

### React

```
import { useClientTransport, useView } from '@ably/ai-transport/react';

function Chat() {
  const { transport, transportError } = useClientTransport({
    onError: (error) => console.error(`Transport error ${error.code}:`, error.message),
  });

  const { messages } = useView({ limit: 30 });

  if (transportError) return <ErrorBanner error={transportError} />;

  return (
    <div>
      {messages.map((m) => <Message key={m.id} message={m} />)}
      <button onClick={() => transport.cancel()}>Stop</button>
    </div>
  );
}
```
</Code>

## Related Topics

- [Providers](https://ably.com/docs/ai-transport/api/react/providers.md): TransportProvider and ChatTransportProvider for the AI Transport React integration.
- [useView](https://ably.com/docs/ai-transport/api/react/use-view.md): Subscribe to a paginated, branch-aware view of the AI Transport conversation tree from React.
- [useCreateView](https://ably.com/docs/ai-transport/api/react/use-create-view.md): Create an independent View over the AI Transport conversation tree from React, with its own branch selections and pagination.
- [useTree](https://ably.com/docs/ai-transport/api/react/use-tree.md): Stable structural query callbacks for the AI Transport conversation tree from React.
- [useActiveTurns](https://ably.com/docs/ai-transport/api/react/use-active-turns.md): Subscribe to active turns on the AI Transport channel from React.
- [useAblyMessages](https://ably.com/docs/ai-transport/api/react/use-ably-messages.md): Subscribe to raw Ably InboundMessages on the AI Transport channel from React.
- [useChatTransport](https://ably.com/docs/ai-transport/api/react/use-chat-transport.md): Read a ChatTransport and its underlying ClientTransport from the nearest ChatTransportProvider in AI Transport.
- [useMessageSync](https://ably.com/docs/ai-transport/api/react/use-message-sync.md): Wire AI Transport message updates into Vercel useChat's message state from React.

## Documentation Index

To discover additional Ably documentation:

1. Fetch [llms.txt](https://ably.com/llms.txt) for the canonical list of available pages.
2. Identify relevant URLs from that index.
3. Fetch target pages as needed.

Avoid using assumed or outdated documentation paths.