diff --git a/libs/chat/src/lib/a2ui/surface-to-spec.spec.ts b/libs/chat/src/lib/a2ui/surface-to-spec.spec.ts
index d0ee9a871..ca544ba5b 100644
--- a/libs/chat/src/lib/a2ui/surface-to-spec.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/chat/src/lib/a2ui/surface-to-spec.spec.ts
@@ -26,13 +26,21 @@ describe('surfaceToSpec (v1)', () => {
     expect(spec.elements['root'].props['text']).toBe('Hi');
   });
 
-  it('resolves DynamicString path prop against dataModel', () => {
+  it('leaves DynamicString path prop as $bindState marker for json-render', () => {
+    // Path refs preserve their dynamic resolution: surface-to-spec emits
+    // a `$bindState` marker so json-render reads the current value from
+    // its state store on every render. This is what enables user input
+    // (TextField, MultipleChoice, etc.) to write back through the
+    // a2ui:datamodel:<path>:<value> emit protocol and have the UI
+    // reflect those writes immediately.
     const surface = makeSurface(
       [{ id: 'root', component: { Text: { text: { path: '/greeting' } } } }],
       { greeting: 'Hello World' },
     );
     const spec = surfaceToSpec(surface)!;
-    expect(spec.elements['root'].props['text']).toBe('Hello World');
+    expect(spec.elements['root'].props['text']).toEqual({ $bindState: '/greeting' });
+    // Spec.state seeds the json-render store with the initial value.
+    expect(spec.state).toEqual({ greeting: 'Hello World' });
   });
 
   it('returns null when surface has no components', () => {
@@ -175,7 +183,11 @@ describe('surfaceToSpec (v1)', () => {
       { name: 'Alice' },
     );
     const spec = surfaceToSpec(surface)!;
-    expect(spec.elements['root'].props['text']).toBe('Alice');
+    // Path refs become $bindState markers (see "leaves DynamicString
+    // path prop" test above). _bindings still maps prop name → path so
+    // catalog components emit a2ui:datamodel:<path>:<value> on user
+    // input.
+    expect(spec.elements['root'].props['text']).toEqual({ $bindState: '/name' });
     expect(spec.elements['root'].props['_bindings']).toEqual({ text: '/name' });
   });
 
diff --git a/libs/chat/src/lib/a2ui/surface-to-spec.ts b/libs/chat/src/lib/a2ui/surface-to-spec.ts
index e3d869ca0..1e3262443 100644
--- a/libs/chat/src/lib/a2ui/surface-to-spec.ts
+++ b/libs/chat/src/lib/a2ui/surface-to-spec.ts
@@ -76,8 +76,22 @@ export function surfaceToSpec(surface: A2uiSurface): Spec | null {
 
     for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(rawProps)) {
       if (RESERVED_PROP_KEYS.has(key)) continue;
-      if (isPathRef(value)) bindings[key] = (value as { path: string }).path;
-      resolvedProps[key] = resolveDynamic(value, surface.dataModel);
+      if (isPathRef(value)) {
+        // Leave path refs as json-render two-way binding markers so the
+        // render lib resolves them against its state store on every
+        // render. Without this, the catalog component receives a static
+        // snapshot taken at conversion time and never reflects user
+        // input writes back into the store. The `_bindings` map below
+        // tells the catalog component which prop names map to which
+        // paths so its emit() callback can write back via the
+        // a2ui:datamodel:<path>:<value> magic-string protocol that
+        // render-element's emitFn intercepts.
+        const path = (value as { path: string }).path;
+        bindings[key] = path;
+        resolvedProps[key] = { $bindState: path };
+      } else {
+        resolvedProps[key] = resolveDynamic(value, surface.dataModel);
+      }
     }
     if (Object.keys(bindings).length > 0) {
       resolvedProps['_bindings'] = bindings;
diff --git a/libs/render/src/lib/render-element.component.ts b/libs/render/src/lib/render-element.component.ts
index 3f9ce5355..1c94c9573 100644
--- a/libs/render/src/lib/render-element.component.ts
+++ b/libs/render/src/lib/render-element.component.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,33 @@ import type { RepeatScope } from './contexts/repeat-scope';
 import { buildPropResolutionContext } from './internals/prop-signal';
 import type { AngularComponentRenderer } from './render.types';
 
+/** Magic prefix on `emit()` strings that catalog components use to
+ * write back to the data model (binding `path` and the new value). The
+ * render-element's emitFn intercepts this and writes via the state
+ * store, sidestepping the normal `el.on[event]` handler binding which
+ * the catalog components have no way to declare for arbitrary paths. */
+const A2UI_DATAMODEL_PREFIX = 'a2ui:datamodel:';
+
+/** Best-effort string→typed coercion for datamodel writes. Catalog
+ * components emit raw string values; the underlying state may have
+ * been declared as number/boolean/array, and consumers reading the
+ * resolved props expect the correct type. */
+function coerceValue(raw: string): unknown {
+  if (raw === '') return '';
+  if (raw === 'true') return true;
+  if (raw === 'false') return false;
+  // JSON-array passthrough (MultipleChoice emits stringified arrays)
+  if (raw.startsWith('[') && raw.endsWith(']')) {
+    try { return JSON.parse(raw); } catch { /* fall through */ }
+  }
+  // Numeric — only if the entire string parses cleanly as a number
+  if (/^-?\d+(?:\.\d+)?$/.test(raw)) {
+    const n = Number(raw);
+    if (!Number.isNaN(n)) return n;
+  }
+  return raw;
+}
+
 /**
  * Recursive element renderer.
  *
@@ -126,8 +153,28 @@ export class RenderElementComponent implements OnInit {
     return evaluateVisibility(el.visible, this.propCtx());
   });
 
-  /** Emit function that delegates to context handlers. */
+  /** Emit function that delegates to context handlers AND handles the
+   * canonical `a2ui:datamodel:<path>:<value>` write-back protocol that
+   * input components (TextField, MultipleChoice, CheckBox, Slider,
+   * DateTimeInput) emit when the user changes their value. The render
+   * lib's state store is the single source of truth for in-surface UI
+   * state; writing through it triggers re-render with the new value
+   * and re-evaluates any path-bound props (validation, computed
+   * visibility, etc.).
+   *
+   * The string format is `a2ui:datamodel:<path>:<value>` where:
+   *   - `<path>` is a JSON-Pointer-style path (e.g. `/name`, `/form/email`)
+   *   - `<value>` is the raw value rendered as a string. We attempt to
+   *     coerce numeric and boolean literals back to their typed form
+   *     so downstream consumers see correct types; arrays come through
+   *     as JSON-stringified payloads (catalog components emit them via
+   *     `JSON.stringify`).
+   */
   private readonly emitFn = (event: string) => {
+    if (event.startsWith(A2UI_DATAMODEL_PREFIX)) {
+      this.applyDatamodelWrite(event);
+      return;
+    }
     const el = this.element();
     if (!el?.on) return;
     const binding = el.on[event];
@@ -143,6 +190,25 @@ export class RenderElementComponent implements OnInit {
     }
   };
 
+  private applyDatamodelWrite(event: string): void {
+    // Strip the prefix, then split path and value at the last `:` —
+    // path may itself contain `:` characters (rare but legal in
+    // JSON-Pointer per RFC 6901), and values can certainly contain
+    // them (URLs, time strings). Catalog components emit
+    // `a2ui:datamodel:<path>:<value>` where path is the binding's
+    // path-ref (usually starts with `/`); split the LAST `:` because
+    // the value is the only field guaranteed to come last.
+    const rest = event.slice(A2UI_DATAMODEL_PREFIX.length);
+    const lastColon = rest.lastIndexOf(':');
+    if (lastColon === -1) return;
+    const path = rest.slice(0, lastColon);
+    const rawValue = rest.slice(lastColon + 1);
+    if (!path) return;
+    const store = this.ctx.store;
+    if (!store) return;
+    store.set(path, coerceValue(rawValue));
+  }
+
   /** Resolved inputs for non-repeat elements. */
   readonly resolvedInputs = computed(() => {
     const el = this.element();