> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tavus.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Component: text

> A read-only card of text (an optional heading and a body) shown alongside the live video.

The **`text`** component displays a read-only card of plain text alongside the live video. Users can't type into or submit from it; to collect an answer, use [`question`](/sections/conversational-video-interface/magic-canvas/components/question) or [`input`](/sections/conversational-video-interface/magic-canvas/components/input).

`text` has no component-specific configuration; it's enabled once the Magic Canvas skill is attached (see [Enabling and configuring components](/sections/conversational-video-interface/magic-canvas/components#enabling-and-configuring-components)). To disable it, set `{ "components": { "text": { "enabled": false } } }` in the skill config.

## Display Behavior

Enabling the component adds system-prompt guidance to show a text card for reference material the user reads while the conversation continues. The PAL keeps talking while the card is on screen, and updates it via the `update_component` control action rather than stacking a second one.

## Arguments

The PAL invokes `canvas_show_text`; Tavus renders the card. The `tool_call_id` is echoed back on every interaction the card generates.

| Field          | Type   | Required | Description                                                                                                                                                                         |
| -------------- | ------ | -------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `title`        | string | ❌        | Short heading above the body. The renderer enforces a 120-character limit.                                                                                                          |
| `body`         | string | ✅        | The text to display, rendered as plain text by default (as Markdown when `format` is `markdown`). The renderer enforces a 4,000-character limit.                                    |
| `format`       | string | ❌        | `plain` or `markdown`, controlling how `body` is rendered. Defaults to `plain`.                                                                                                     |
| `layout`       | object | ❌        | `{ "preferred_slot": "safe-area-right" \| "safe-area-left" }`, where the card prefers to appear. Defaults to `safe-area-right`, beside the PAL video. Available on every component. |
| `display_mode` | string | ❌        | `inline` (the only supported value). Available on every component.                                                                                                                  |

```json Example call theme={null}
{
  "title": "Conversation note",
  "body": "Magic Canvas can show supporting text without interrupting the conversation."
}
```

## Interactions

`text` is a **lifecycle-only** component: it never produces `submit` or `skip` interactions. The interactions endpoint accepts four types:

| Type        | When it fires                                                                                                                                                                           |
| ----------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `dismiss`   | The user closed the card via a close control. The stock Tavus text card has an always-present X button (aria-label "Dismiss text"); clicking it fires a recorded `dismiss` interaction. |
| `clear`     | The card was removed: the PAL cleared or replaced it. The stock renderer handles `canvas_clear` and replacement locally without recording an interaction.                               |
| `error`     | The card failed on the client. Stock-renderer failures surface through the SDK's local `onError` callback, not as recorded interactions.                                                |
| `heartbeat` | A liveness signal a custom renderer may post while a card is on screen. The stock renderer never posts heartbeats.                                                                      |

<Note>
  The stock Tavus renderers (hosted embed and `@tavus/cvi-ui`) post a `dismiss` interaction for `text` cards (from the X button). They do not post `clear`, `error`, or `heartbeat`; expect those only from a custom renderer.
</Note>

Renderers post interactions to a public, conversation-scoped endpoint (no API key), accepted only while the conversation is active. Each interaction fires one [`canvas.interaction` webhook event](/sections/conversational-video-interface/magic-canvas/api/interactions) and appears in the interaction history (requires your API key):

```bash theme={null}
curl https://tavusapi.com/v2/conversations/{conversation_id}/canvas/interactions \
  -H "x-api-key: <your-api-key>"
```

### Webhook Payload

A `dismiss` for a text card; the other types share the same envelope, with only `type` (and sometimes `value`) changing.

```json [expandable] theme={null}
{
  "message_type": "canvas",
  "event_type": "canvas.interaction",
  "properties": {
    "conversation_id": "c123456",
    "interaction_id": "ci_call_8842_dismiss_4f1c2d3e",
    "tool_call_id": "call_8842",
    "component": "canvas.text",
    "component_version": "v1",
    "type": "dismiss",
    "value": {},
    "metadata": {},
    "created_at": "2026-06-09T21:14:03.412305"
  }
}
```

<Warning>
  For lifecycle-only components like `text`, the `value` object has **no
  enforced shape**; Tavus accepts any JSON object up to 16 KB for these types.
  Key your logic off `component`, `type`, and `tool_call_id`, not `value`
  contents.
</Warning>