---
title: Atomic for commerce
slug: p8bd0068
canonical_url: https://docs.coveo.com/en/p8bd0068/
collection: coveo-for-commerce
source_format: adoc
---
# Atomic for commerce
> **Important**
>
> Atomic for Commerce components are in open beta and remain under active development.
> 
> Atomic for Commerce hasn't yet gone through a formal accessibility review.
> If you have accessibility needs, contact your customer success manager and we'll work with you to address them.

## What's Coveo Atomic for commerce?

_[Coveo Atomic](https://docs.coveo.com/en/lcdf0264/)_ is a [web component](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Web_Components) library for assembling responsive, accessible, and future-proof Coveo-powered [product discovery interfaces](https://docs.coveo.com/en/o53d9587/).
[Atomic](https://docs.coveo.com/en/lcdf0264/) components are self-encapsulated, composable, and lightweight.
Under the hood, [Atomic](https://docs.coveo.com/en/lcdf0264/) relies on the [Coveo Headless](https://docs.coveo.com/en/o52e9091/) library to interface with the [Coveo Platform](https://docs.coveo.com/en/186/) and handle application state.

In the context of Coveo for Commerce, [Atomic](https://docs.coveo.com/en/lcdf0264/) is used in conjunction with the [Coveo Merchandising Hub (CMH)](https://docs.coveo.com/en/o5290573/) to power your product discovery interfaces.
As [Atomic](https://docs.coveo.com/en/lcdf0264/) is built upon Headless, it relies on the [Commerce API](https://docs.coveo.com/en/103/) to query products from Coveo and the [Event Protocol](https://docs.coveo.com/en/3188/) to send analytics events to Coveo.

> **Notes**
>
> * Because [Atomic](https://docs.coveo.com/en/lcdf0264/) for commerce is commerce-specific, don't expect a one-to-one match with the generic [Atomic library](https://docs.coveo.com/en/atomic/latest/).
> 
> * As [Atomic](https://docs.coveo.com/en/lcdf0264/) wraps around the Commerce API, it's also descriptive in nature.
> See [How the Commerce API interacts with the CMH](https://docs.coveo.com/en/o6od0220/) for more information.

## When should I use Atomic?

[Atomic](https://docs.coveo.com/en/lcdf0264/) is an ideal option to assemble a feature-rich Coveo-powered product discovery interface without having to implement all its UI components.

If you intend to use your own UI component library to interface with Coveo for Commerce, then you should use [Coveo Headless for commerce](https://docs.coveo.com/en/o52e9091/) instead.

If you're using either React or Angular, consider using [Atomic React](https://docs.coveo.com/en/atomic/latest/usage/frameworks/atomic-react-wrapper) or [Atomic Angular](https://docs.coveo.com/en/atomic/latest/usage/frameworks/atomic-angular-wrapper).
They're wrappers around [Atomic](https://docs.coveo.com/en/lcdf0264/) that make it easier to use [Atomic](https://docs.coveo.com/en/lcdf0264/) for commerce components.

## Where to start?

To learn about event tracking with Atomic for commerce, refer to [Event tracking with Atomic](https://docs.coveo.com/en/p9499444/).

To learn how to build a product discovery interface with [Atomic](https://docs.coveo.com/en/lcdf0264/), refer to the following articles:

* [Build search pages](https://docs.coveo.com/en/p8bg0188/)

* [Build product listing pages](https://docs.coveo.com/en/p8dg0472/)

* [Build recommendation interfaces](https://docs.coveo.com/en/p8ff6370/)

You can review the [Atomic commerce Storybook](https://static.cloud.coveo.com/atomic/v3/storybook/index.html?path=/story/commerce-introduction\--introduction) to see how the different components are implemented.
Storybook is a front-end tool for showcasing UI components in isolation.
Each story displays a different interactive component and contains documentation on how to use it.