# `zodSchema()`

`zodSchema` is a helper function that converts a Zod schema into a JSON schema object that is compatible with the AI SDK.
It takes a Zod schema and optional configuration as inputs, and returns a typed schema.

You can use it to [generate structured data](/docs/ai-sdk-core/generating-structured-data) and in [tools](/docs/ai-sdk-core/tools-and-tool-calling).

<Note>
  You can also pass Zod objects directly to the AI SDK functions. Internally,
  the AI SDK will convert the Zod schema to a JSON schema using `zodSchema()`.
  However, if you want to specify options such as `useReferences`, you can pass
  the `zodSchema()` helper function instead.
</Note>

## Example with recursive schemas

```ts
import { zodSchema } from 'ai';
import { z } from 'zod';

// Define a base category schema
const baseCategorySchema = z.object({
  name: z.string(),
});

// Define the recursive Category type
type Category = z.infer<typeof baseCategorySchema> & {
  subcategories: Category[];
};

// Create the recursive schema using z.lazy
const categorySchema: z.ZodType<Category> = baseCategorySchema.extend({
  subcategories: z.lazy(() => categorySchema.array()),
});

// Create the final schema with useReferences enabled for recursive support
const mySchema = zodSchema(
  z.object({
    category: categorySchema,
  }),
  { useReferences: true },
);
```

## Import

<Snippet text={`import { zodSchema } from "ai"`} prompt={false} />

## API Signature

### Parameters

<PropertiesTable
  content={[
    {
      name: 'zodSchema',
      type: 'z.Schema',
      description: 'The Zod schema definition.',
    },
    {
      name: 'options',
      type: 'object',
      description: 'Additional options for the schema conversion.',
      properties: [
        {
          type: 'object',
          parameters: [
            {
              name: 'useReferences',
              isOptional: true,
              type: 'boolean',
              description:
                'Enables support for references in the schema. This is required for recursive schemas, e.g. with `z.lazy`. However, not all language models and providers support such references. Defaults to `false`.',
            },
          ],
        },
      ],
    },
  ]}
/>

### Returns

A Schema object that is compatible with the AI SDK, containing both the JSON schema representation and validation functionality.


## Navigation

- [generateText](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/generate-text)
- [streamText](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/stream-text)
- [generateObject](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/generate-object)
- [streamObject](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/stream-object)
- [embed](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/embed)
- [embedMany](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/embed-many)
- [generateImage](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/generate-image)
- [transcribe](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/transcribe)
- [generateSpeech](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/generate-speech)
- [tool](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/tool)
- [experimental_createMCPClient](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/create-mcp-client)
- [Experimental_StdioMCPTransport](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/mcp-stdio-transport)
- [jsonSchema](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/json-schema)
- [zodSchema](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/zod-schema)
- [valibotSchema](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/valibot-schema)
- [CoreMessage](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/core-message)
- [createProviderRegistry](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/provider-registry)
- [customProvider](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/custom-provider)
- [cosineSimilarity](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/cosine-similarity)
- [wrapLanguageModel](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/wrap-language-model)
- [LanguageModelV1Middleware](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/language-model-v1-middleware)
- [extractReasoningMiddleware](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/extract-reasoning-middleware)
- [simulateStreamingMiddleware](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/simulate-streaming-middleware)
- [defaultSettingsMiddleware](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/default-settings-middleware)
- [simulateReadableStream](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/simulate-readable-stream)
- [smoothStream](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/smooth-stream)
- [generateId](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/generate-id)
- [createIdGenerator](/v4/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/create-id-generator)


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