diff --git a/frontends/nextjs/src/lib/hooks/use-rest-api.ts b/frontends/nextjs/src/lib/hooks/use-rest-api.ts
index 089b1ad5b..9dcc18aac 100644
--- a/frontends/nextjs/src/lib/hooks/use-rest-api.ts
+++ b/frontends/nextjs/src/lib/hooks/use-rest-api.ts
@@ -69,22 +69,30 @@ export function useRestApi<T = unknown>(options?: UseRestApiOptions) {
   // Try to get tenant from context, fall back to options
   const tenantContext = useTenantOptional()
   const tenant = options?.tenant || tenantContext?.tenant
-  const packageId = options?.packageId || tenantContext?.packageId
+  const defaultPackageId = options?.packageId || tenantContext?.packageId
 
   /**
    * Build the base URL for API calls
+   * @param entity Entity name
+   * @param id Optional record ID
+   * @param action Optional action name
+   * @param pkgOverride Override the package (for dependency package access)
    */
   const buildUrl = useCallback(
-    (entity: string, id?: string, action?: string) => {
-      if (!tenant || !packageId) {
-        throw new Error('Tenant and package are required')
+    (entity: string, id?: string, action?: string, pkgOverride?: string) => {
+      if (!tenant) {
+        throw new Error('Tenant is required')
       }
-      let url = `/api/v1/${tenant}/${packageId}/${entity}`
+      const pkg = pkgOverride || defaultPackageId
+      if (!pkg) {
+        throw new Error('Package is required')
+      }
+      let url = `/api/v1/${tenant}/${pkg}/${entity}`
       if (id) url += `/${id}`
       if (action) url += `/${action}`
       return url
     },
-    [tenant, packageId]
+    [tenant, defaultPackageId]
   )
 
   /**
@@ -96,7 +104,8 @@ export function useRestApi<T = unknown>(options?: UseRestApiOptions) {
       setError(null)
 
       try {
-        const url = buildUrl(entity) + buildQueryString(options || {})
+        const { packageId: pkgOverride, ...queryOpts } = options || {}
+        const url = buildUrl(entity, undefined, undefined, pkgOverride) + buildQueryString(queryOpts)
         const response = await fetch(url)
         const json: ApiResponse<T[]> = await response.json()
 
@@ -307,3 +316,40 @@ export function useEntity<T = unknown>(entity: string, options?: UseRestApiOptio
       api.action(entity, id, actionName, data),
   }
 }
+
+/**
+ * Hook for accessing entities from a dependency package
+ * 
+ * @example
+ * // On a forum_forge page, access user_manager entities
+ * const { list: listRoles } = useDependencyEntity<Role>('user_manager', 'roles')
+ * const roles = await listRoles()
+ */
+export function useDependencyEntity<T = unknown>(
+  packageId: string,
+  entity: string
+) {
+  const tenantContext = useTenantOptional()
+  
+  // Verify package is accessible (either primary or a dependency)
+  if (tenantContext && !tenantContext.hasPackage(packageId)) {
+    console.warn(
+      `Package '${packageId}' is not accessible from '${tenantContext.primaryPackage}'. ` +
+      `Add it to dependencies in metadata.json.`
+    )
+  }
+
+  const api = useRestApi<T>({ packageId })
+
+  return {
+    loading: api.loading,
+    error: api.error,
+    list: (opts?: Omit<RequestOptions, 'packageId'>) => api.list(entity, opts),
+    read: (id: string) => api.read(entity, id),
+    create: (data: Record<string, unknown>) => api.create(entity, data),
+    update: (id: string, data: Record<string, unknown>) => api.update(entity, id, data),
+    remove: (id: string) => api.remove(entity, id),
+    action: (id: string, actionName: string, data?: Record<string, unknown>) =>
+      api.action(entity, id, actionName, data),
+  }
+}