(Legacy) Integrating from source using webpack

CKEditor 5 is currently built using webpack@5. All builds, examples and demos are generated using this bundler. It should also be possible to build CKEditor 5 using other bundlers (if they are configured properly), such as Rollup or Browserify, but these setups are not officially supported yet. However, there is integration for Vite. It is still in an experimental phase and supports a limited number of features. For example, the @ckeditor/ckeditor5-dev-translations that allows localizing the editor is only available for webpack. More work on this subject will be done in the future.

Therefore, a prerequisite to this guide is that you are using webpack as your build tool.

This scenario allows you to fully control the building process of CKEditor 5. This means that you will not actually use the builds anymore, but instead build CKEditor 5 from the source directly into your project. This integration method gives you full control over which features will be included and how webpack will be configured.

You can achieve similar results to what this method allows by customizing an existing build and integrating your custom build. This will give faster build times (since CKEditor 5 will be built once and committed), however, it requires maintaining a separate repository and installing the code from that repository into your project (for example, by publishing a new npm package or using tools like Lerna). This makes it less convenient than the method described in this scenario.

First of all, you need to install the source packages that you will use in your existing project. If you base your integration on one of the existing builds, you can take them from that build’s package.json file (see, for example, classic build’s package.json). At this moment you can choose the editor type and the features you want. Keep in mind, however, that all packages (excluding @ckeditor/ckeditor5-dev-*) must have the same version as the base editor package.

Copy these dependencies to your package.json and call npm install to install them. You can also install them individually. An example list of plugins may look like this:

npm install --save @ckeditor/ckeditor5-theme-lark \
  @ckeditor/ckeditor5-autoformat \
  @ckeditor/ckeditor5-basic-styles \
  @ckeditor/ckeditor5-block-quote \
  @ckeditor/ckeditor5-editor-classic \
  @ckeditor/ckeditor5-essentials \
  @ckeditor/ckeditor5-heading \
  @ckeditor/ckeditor5-link \
  @ckeditor/ckeditor5-list \
  @ckeditor/ckeditor5-paragraph

The second step is to install the dependencies needed to build the editor. The list may differ if you want to customize the webpack configuration, but this is a typical setup:

npm install --save \
    @ckeditor/ckeditor5-dev-translations@43 \
    @ckeditor/ckeditor5-dev-utils@43 \
    css-loader@5 \
    postcss-loader@4 \
    raw-loader@4 \
    style-loader@2 \
    webpack@5 \
    webpack-cli@4

The list will differ if you want to use TypeScript in your project - additionally, you need to install ts-loader.

npm install --save ts-loader

# Webpack configuration

You can now configure webpack. There are a couple of things that you need to take care of when building CKEditor 5:

• Handling CSS files of the CKEditor theme. They are included in the CKEditor 5 sources using import 'path/to/styles.css' statements, so you need proper loaders.
• Similarly, you need to handle bundling SVG icons, which are also imported directly into the source. For that, you need the raw-loader.
• Finally, to localize the editor you need to use the @ckeditor/ckeditor5-dev-translations webpack plugin.

# JavaScript

The minimal configuration, assuming that you use the same methods of handling assets as CKEditor 5 builds, will look like this:

// webpack.config.js

const path = require( 'path' );
const { CKEditorTranslationsPlugin } = require( '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-dev-translations' );
const { styles } = require( '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-dev-utils' );

module.exports = {
    entry: './main.js',
    output: {
        path: path.resolve( __dirname, 'dist' ),
        filename: 'bundle.js'
    },
    plugins: [
        // More plugins.
        // ...

        new CKEditorTranslationsPlugin( {
            // See https://ckeditor.com/docs/ckeditor5/latest/features/ui-language.html
            language: 'pl'
        } )
    ],
    module: {
        rules: [
            {
                test: /ckeditor5-[^/\\]+[/\\]theme[/\\]icons[/\\][^/\\]+\.svg$/,
                use: [ 'raw-loader' ]
            },
            {
                test: /ckeditor5-[^/\\]+[/\\]theme[/\\].+\.css$/,
                use: [
                    {
                        loader: 'style-loader',
                        options: {
                            injectType: 'singletonStyleTag',
                            attributes: {
                                'data-cke': true
                            }
                        }
                    },
                    'css-loader',
                    {
                        loader: 'postcss-loader',
                        options: {
                            postcssOptions: styles.getPostCssConfig( {
                                themeImporter: {
                                    themePath: require.resolve( '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-theme-lark' )
                                },
                                minify: true
                            } )
                        }
                    }
                ]
            }
        ]
    }
};

# TypeScript

Optionally, you may need to handle .ts files to use TypeScript in your project. There is the ts-loader for this purpose. Webpack configuration must take into account these changes.

// webpack.config.js

const path = require( 'path' );
const { CKEditorTranslationsPlugin } = require( '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-dev-translations' );
const { styles } = require( '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-dev-utils' );

module.exports = {
    entry: './main.ts',
    output: {
        path: path.resolve( __dirname, 'dist' ),
        filename: 'bundle.js'
    },
    plugins: [
        // More plugins.
        // ...

        new CKEditorTranslationsPlugin( {
            // See https://ckeditor.com/docs/ckeditor5/latest/features/ui-language.html
            language: 'pl'
        } )
    ],
    resolve: {
        extensions: [ '.ts', '.js', '.json' ],
        extensionAlias: {
            '.js': [ '.js', '.ts' ]
        }
    },
    module: {
        rules: [
            {
                test: /\.ts/,
                use: [ 'ts-loader' ]
            },
            {
                test: /ckeditor5-[^/\\]+[/\\]theme[/\\]icons[/\\][^/\\]+\.svg$/,

                use: [ 'raw-loader' ]
            },
            {
                test: /ckeditor5-[^/\\]+[/\\]theme[/\\].+\.css$/,

                use: [
                    {
                        loader: 'style-loader',
                        options: {
                            injectType: 'singletonStyleTag',
                            attributes: {
                                'data-cke': true
                            }
                        }
                    },
                    'css-loader',
                    {
                        loader: 'postcss-loader',
                        options: {
                            postcssOptions: styles.getPostCssConfig( {
                                themeImporter: {
                                    themePath: require.resolve( '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-theme-lark' )
                                },
                                minify: true
                            } )
                        }
                    }
                ]
            }
        ]
    }
};

# Webpack Encore

If you use Webpack Encore, you can use the following configuration:

const { CKEditorTranslationsPlugin } = require( '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-dev-translations' );
const { styles } = require( '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-dev-utils' );

Encore.
    // Your configuration.
    // ...

    .addPlugin( new CKEditorTranslationsPlugin( {
        // See https://ckeditor.com/docs/ckeditor5/latest/features/ui-language.html
        language: 'pl'
    } ) )

    // Use raw-loader for CKEditor 5 SVG files.
    .addRule( {
        test: /ckeditor5-[^/\\]+[/\\]theme[/\\]icons[/\\][^/\\]+\.svg$/,
        loader: 'raw-loader'
    } )

    // Configure other image loaders to exclude CKEditor 5 SVG files.
    .configureLoaderRule( 'images', loader => {
        loader.exclude = /ckeditor5-[^/\\]+[/\\]theme[/\\]icons[/\\][^/\\]+\.svg$/;
    } )

    // Configure PostCSS loader.
    .addLoader({
        test: /ckeditor5-[^/\\]+[/\\]theme[/\\].+\.css$/,
        loader: 'postcss-loader',
        options: {
            postcssOptions: styles.getPostCssConfig( {
                themeImporter: {
                    themePath: require.resolve( '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-theme-lark' )
                },
                minify: true
            } )
        }
    } )

# TypeScript configuration

If you want to use TypeScript, add the tsconfig.json file at the root of your project. You can copy the below example configuration or create your own.

// tsconfig.json

{
    "compilerOptions": {
        "types": [],
        "lib": [
        "ES2019",
        "ES2020.String",
        "DOM",
        "DOM.Iterable"
        ],
        "noImplicitAny": true,
        "noImplicitOverride": true,
        "strict": true,
        "module": "es6",
        "target": "es2019",
        "sourceMap": true,
        "allowJs": true,
        "moduleResolution": "node",
        "skipLibCheck": true
    },
    "include": ["./**/*.ts"],
    "exclude": [
        "node_modules/**/*"
    ]
}

# Running the editor – method 1

# JavaScript

You can now import all the needed plugins and the creator directly into your code and use it there. The easiest way to do so is to copy it from the src/ckeditor.js file available in every build repository.

// ckeditor.js

import { ClassicEditor as ClassicEditorBase } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-editor-classic';
import { Essentials } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-essentials';
import { Autoformat } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-autoformat';
import { Bold, Italic } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-basic-styles';
import { BlockQuote } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-block-quote';
import { Heading } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-heading';
import { Link } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-link';
import { List } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-list';
import { Paragraph } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-paragraph';

export default class ClassicEditor extends ClassicEditorBase {}

ClassicEditor.builtinPlugins = [
    Essentials,
    Autoformat,
    Bold,
    Italic,
    BlockQuote,
    Heading,
    Link,
    List,
    Paragraph
];

ClassicEditor.defaultConfig = {
    toolbar: {
        items: [
            'heading',
            '|',
            'bold',
            'italic',
            'link',
            'bulletedList',
            'numberedList',
            'blockQuote',
            'undo',
            'redo'
        ]
    },
    language: 'en'
};

This module will export an editor creator class which has all the plugins and configuration settings that you need already built-in. To use the configured editor, simply import that class and call the static .create() method like in all examples.

// main.js

import ClassicEditor from './ckeditor';

ClassicEditor
    // Note that you do not have to specify the plugin and toolbar configuration — using defaults from the build.
    .create( document.querySelector( '#app' ) )
    .then( editor => {
        console.log( 'Editor was initialized', editor );
    } )
    .catch( error => {
        console.error( error.stack );
    } );

# TypeScript

If you want to use TypeScript, the ckeditor file looks similar. However, do not forget about the .ts extension.

// ckeditor.ts

import { ClassicEditor } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-editor-classic';
import { Essentials } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-essentials';
import { Autoformat } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-autoformat';
import { Bold, Italic } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-basic-styles';
import { BlockQuote } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-block-quote';
import { Heading } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-heading';
import { Link } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-link';
import { List } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-list';
import { Paragraph } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-paragraph';

export default class CustomEditor extends ClassicEditor {}

CustomEditor.builtinPlugins = [
    Essentials,
    Autoformat,
    Bold,
    Italic,
    BlockQuote,
    Heading,
    Link,
    List,
    Paragraph
];

CustomEditor.defaultConfig = {
    toolbar: {
        items: [
            'heading',
            '|',
            'bold',
            'italic',
            'link',
            'bulletedList',
            'numberedList',
            'blockQuote',
            'undo',
            'redo'
        ]
    },
    language: 'en'
};

Then, you can use the configured editor with TypeScript in your application.

// main.ts

import ClassicEditor from './ckeditor';

ClassicEditor
    // Note that you do not have to specify the plugin and toolbar configuration — using defaults from the build.
    .create( document.querySelector( '#app' ) as HTMLElement )
    .then( editor => {
        console.log( 'Editor was initialized', editor );
    } )
    .catch( error => {
        console.error( error.stack );
    } );

# Running the editor – method 2

# JavaScript

The second variant of how to run the editor is to use the creator class directly, without creating an intermediary subclass. The above code would translate to:

// main.js

import { ClassicEditor } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-editor-classic';
import { Essentials } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-essentials';
import { Autoformat } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-autoformat';
import { Bold, Italic } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-basic-styles';
import { BlockQuote } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-block-quote';
import { Heading } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-heading';
import { Link } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-link';
import { List } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-list';
import { Paragraph } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-paragraph';

ClassicEditor
    .create( document.querySelector( '#app'), {
        // The plugins are now passed directly to .create().
        plugins: [
            Essentials,
            Autoformat,
            Bold,
            Italic,
            BlockQuote,
            Heading,
            Link,
            List,
            Paragraph,
        ],

        // So is the rest of the default configuration.
        toolbar: [
            'heading',
            'bold',
            'italic',
            'link',
            'bulletedList',
            'numberedList',
            'blockQuote',
            'undo',
            'redo'
        ]
    } )
    .then( editor => {
        console.log( editor );
    } )
    .catch( error => {
        console.error( error );
    } );

# TypeScript

You can also translate the above code using TypeScript.

// main.ts

import { ClassicEditor } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-editor-classic';
import { Essentials } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-essentials';
import { Autoformat } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-autoformat';
import { Bold, Italic } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-basic-styles';
import { BlockQuote } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-block-quote';
import { Heading } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-heading';
import { Link } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-link';
import { List } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-list';
import { Paragraph } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-paragraph';

ClassicEditor
    .create( document.querySelector( '#app') as HTMLElement, {
        // The plugins are now passed directly to .create().
        plugins: [
            Essentials,
            Autoformat,
            Bold,
            Italic,
            BlockQuote,
            Heading,
            Link,
            List,
            Paragraph
        ],

        // So is the rest of the default configuration.
        toolbar: [
            'heading',
            'bold',
            'italic',
            'link',
            'bulletedList',
            'numberedList',
            'blockQuote',
            'undo',
            'redo'
        ]
    } )
    .then( editor => {
        console.log( editor );
    } )
    .catch( error => {
        console.error( error );
    } );

# Building

Finally, you can build your application. Add the build command to the scripts of your package.json.

// package.json

{
  "scripts": {
    "test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1",
    "build": "webpack"
  }
}

Now you can type npm run build in the terminal to run webpack on your project. The rich-text editor will be a part of it.

# Option: Minifying JavaScript

Webpack 4 introduced the concept of modes. It comes with two predefined modes: development and production. The latter automatically enables uglifyjs-webpack-plugin which takes care of JavaScript minification. Therefore, it is enough to execute webpack with the --mode production option or set mode: 'production' in your webpack.config.js to optimize the build.

# Option: Extracting CSS

One of the most common requirements is to extract CKEditor 5 CSS to a separate file (by default it is included in the output JavaScript file). To do that, you can use mini-css-extract-plugin:

npm install --save \
    mini-css-extract-plugin \
    css-loader@5

And add it to your webpack configuration:

const MiniCssExtractPlugin = require( 'mini-css-extract-plugin' );

module.exports = {
    // More configuration.
    // ...

    plugins: [
        // More plugins.
        // ...

        new MiniCssExtractPlugin( {
            filename: 'styles.css'
        } )
    ],

    module: {
        rules: [
            {
                test: /ckeditor5-[^/\\]+[/\\]theme[/\\]icons[/\\][^/\\]+\.svg$/,
                use: [ 'raw-loader' ]
            },
            {
                test: /ckeditor5-[^/\\]+[/\\]theme[/\\].+\.css$/,
                use: [
                    MiniCssExtractPlugin.loader,
                    'css-loader',
                    {
                        loader: 'postcss-loader',
                        options: {
                            postcssOptions: styles.getPostCssConfig( {
                                themeImporter: {
                                    themePath: require.resolve( '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-theme-lark' )
                                },
                                minify: true
                            } )
                        }
                    }
                ]
            }
        ]
    }
};

Webpack will now create a separate file called styles.css which you will need to load manually into your HTML (using the <link rel="stylesheet"> tag).

# Option: Building to ES5 target

CKEditor 5 is written in ECMAScript 2015 (also called ES6). All browsers in which CKEditor 5 is currently supported have sufficient ES6 support to run CKEditor 5. Thanks to that, CKEditor 5 builds are also published in the original ES6 format.

However, it may happen that your environment requires ES5. For instance, if you use tools like the original UglifyJS which do not support ES6+ yet, you may need to transpile CKEditor 5 source to ES5. This will create ~80% bigger builds but will ensure that your environment can process CKEditor 5 code.

To create an ES5 build of CKEditor 5, you can use Babel:

npm install --save babel-loader @babel/core @babel/preset-env regenerator-runtime

Then, add this item to webpack module.rules section:

module: {
    rules: [
        {
            // Match files from the `ckeditor5` package but also `ckeditor5-*` packages.
            test: /(ckeditor5(?:-[^\/\\]+)?)[\/\\].+\.js$/,
            use: [
                {
                    loader: 'babel-loader',
                    options: {
                        presets: [ require( '@babel/preset-env' ) ]
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        // More rules.
        // ...
    ]
}

Then, load regenerator-runtime (needed to make ES6 generators work after transpilation) by adding it as the first entry point:

entry: [
    require.resolve( 'regenerator-runtime/runtime.js' ),

    // Your entries.
    // ...
]