Integrating CKEditor 5 with Angular from CDN

CKEditor 5 has an official Angular component that you can use to add a rich text editor to your application, whether you use standalone or NGModule components. It works with multiple editor types, including classic, inline, and decoupled (document), and integrates with Angular forms through ngModel. This guide will help you install and configure it using the CDN distribution of CKEditor 5.

This guide assumes you already have an Angular project. To create such a project, you can use Angular CLI. Refer to the Angular documentation to learn more.

First, install the CKEditor 5 WYSIWYG editor component for Angular:

npm install @ckeditor/ckeditor5-angular

Angular is a TypeScript-first environment, so you may need to import TypeScript types for CKEditor. Depending on the plugins and features you use, you may also need to install the required open-source and premium packages:

npm install --save-dev ckeditor5 # Open-source plugin types.
npm install --save-dev ckeditor5-premium-features # Premium features plugin types.

In the below example, the loadCKEditorCloud helper is used to load the editor code and plugins from CDN. To use CKEditor 5 with CDN, you need to import the function and call it inside the ngOnInit lifecycle hook with the version provided in the configuration. To use premium plugins, set the premium property to true and provide your license key in the configuration. For more information about the loadCKEditorCloud helper, see the Loading CDN resources guide.

// app.component.ts

import { Component } from '@angular/core';
import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';
import { CKEditorModule, loadCKEditorCloud, CKEditorCloudResult } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-angular';
import type { ClassicEditor, EditorConfig } from 'https://cdn.ckeditor.com/typings/ckeditor5.d.ts';

@Component( {
	selector: 'app-root',
	templateUrl: './app.component.html',
	styleUrls: ['./app.component.css'],
	imports: [ CommonModule, CKEditorModule ],
	standalone: true
} )
export class AppComponent {
	public Editor: typeof ClassicEditor | null = null;

	public config: EditorConfig | null = null;

	public ngOnInit(): void {
		loadCKEditorCloud( {
			version: '49.0.0',
			premium: true
		} ).then( this._setupEditor.bind( this ) );
	}

	private _setupEditor ( cloud: CKEditorCloudResult<{ version: '49.0.0', premium: true }> ) {
		const {
			ClassicEditor,
			Essentials,
			Paragraph,
			Bold,
			Italic
		} = cloud.CKEditor;

		const { FormatPainter } = cloud.CKEditorPremiumFeatures;

		this.Editor = ClassicEditor;
		this.config = {
			licenseKey: '<YOUR_LICENSE_KEY>',
			plugins: [ Essentials, Paragraph, Bold, Italic, FormatPainter ],
			toolbar: [ 'undo', 'redo', '|', 'bold', 'italic', '|', 'formatPainter' ]
		};
	}
}

In the example above, the EditorConfig type is imported from the https://cdn.ckeditor.com/typings/ckeditor5.d.ts package, while the editor itself loads from the CDN. Note that https://cdn.ckeditor.com/typings/ckeditor5.d.ts is not an actual URL to the CKEditor 5 typings file but a synthetic TypeScript module providing type definitions for the editor. The ckeditor5 or ckeditor5-premium-features packages supply the actual types, which depend on the @ckeditor/ckeditor5-angular package.

Finally, use the <ckeditor> tag in the template to run the rich text editor. The usage is the same regardless of the plugin configuration.

<!-- app.component.html -->

<ckeditor
	*ngIf="( Editor && config )"
	data="<p>Hello, world!</p>"
	[editor]="Editor"
	[config]="config"
>
</ckeditor>

The following @Input properties are supported by the CKEditor 5 rich text editor component for Angular:

The Editor which provides the static create() method to create an instance of the editor:

<ckeditor [editor]="Editor"></ckeditor>

The configuration of the editor:

<ckeditor [config]="{ toolbar: [ 'heading', '|', 'bold', 'italic' ] }"></ckeditor>

The initial data of the editor. It can be a static value:

<ckeditor data="<p>Hello, world!</p>"></ckeditor>

or a shared parent component’s property

@Component( {
	// ...
} )
export class MyComponent {
	public editorData;

	private _setupEditor( cloud ) {
		this.editorData = '<p>Hello, world!</p>';
	}
	// ...
}

<ckeditor [data]="editorData"></ckeditor>

The tag name of the HTML element on which the rich text editor will be created.

The default tag is <div>.

<ckeditor tagName="textarea"></ckeditor>

Controls the editor’s read–only state:

@Component( {
	// ...
} )
export class MyComponent {
	public isDisabled;
	// ...
	private _setupEditor( cloud ) {
		this.isDisabled = false;
	}
	toggleDisabled() {
		this.isDisabled = !this.isDisabled;
	}
}

<ckeditor [disabled]="isDisabled"></ckeditor>

<button (click)="toggleDisabled()">
	{{ isDisabled ? 'Enable editor' : 'Disable editor' }}
</button>

Allows disabling the two-way data binding mechanism. The default value is false.

The reason for the introduction of this option is performance issues in large documents. By default, while using the ngModel directive, whenever the editor’s data is changed, the component must synchronize the data between the editor instance and the connected property. This results in calling the editor.getData() function, which causes a massive slowdown while typing in large documents.

This option allows the integrator to disable the default behavior and only call the editor.getData() method on demand, which prevents the slowdowns. You can read more in the relevant issue.

The following @Output properties are supported by the CKEditor 5 rich text editor component for Angular:

Fired when the editor is ready. It corresponds with the editor#ready event.
It is fired with the editor instance.

Fired when the content of the editor has changed. It corresponds with the editor.model.document#change:data event.
It is fired with an object containing the editor and the CKEditor 5 change:data event object.

<ckeditor [editor]="Editor" (change)="onChange($event)"></ckeditor>

import { ClassicEditor } from 'ckeditor5';
import { ChangeEvent } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-angular/ckeditor.component';

@Component( {
	// ...
} )
export class MyComponent {
	public Editor;

	private _setupEditor( cloud ) {
		const {
			ClassicEditor
		} = cloud.CKEditor;

		this.Editor = ClassicEditor;
	}

	public onChange( { editor }: ChangeEvent ) {
		const data = editor.getData();

		console.log( data );
	}
	// ...
}

Fired when the editing view of the editor is blurred. It corresponds with the editor.editing.view.document#blur event.
It is fired with an object containing the editor and the CKEditor 5 blur event data.

Fired when the editing view of the editor is focused. It corresponds with the editor.editing.view.document#focus event.
It is fired with an object containing the editor and the CKEditor 5 focus event data.

Fired when an error is reported for the editor, either during the initialization or at runtime.

A reported error does not stop the editor. Its state may no longer be consistent, so do not leave the error unhandled. Nothing is restarted and no data is restored for you, so what happens next is your application’s decision.

The error handling guide covers the options: telling the user and switching the editor to read-only, recreating it, and recovering its content. If you are moving off the Watchdog, the migrating from the Watchdog guide shows how to recreate the editor and when to do it. In Angular that check differs from the other integrations because the error output carries no phase.

The component implements the ControlValueAccessor interface and works with the ngModel. Here is how to use it:

Create some model in your component to share with the editor:

@Component( {
	// ...
} )
export class MyComponent {
	public model;

	private _setupEditor( cloud ) {
		this.model = {
			editorData: '<p>Hello, world!</p>'
		};
	}
	// ...
}

Use the model in the template to enable a two–way data binding:

<ckeditor [(ngModel)]="model.editorData" [editor]="Editor"></ckeditor>

The CKEditor 5 rich text editor component for Angular can be styled using the component style sheet or using a global style sheet. See how to set the CKEditor 5 component’s height using these two approaches.

First, create a (S)CSS file in the parent component’s directory and style the given editor’s part preceded by the :host and ::ng-deep pseudo selectors:

/* src/app/app.component.css */

:host ::ng-deep .ck-editor__editable_inline {
	min-height: 500px;
}

Then, in the parent component, add the relative path to the above style sheet:

/* src/app/app.component.ts */

@Component( {
	// ...
	styleUrls: [ './app.component.css' ]
} )

To style the component using a global style sheet, first, create it:

/* src/styles.css */

.ck-editor__editable_inline {
	min-height: 500px;
}

Then, add it to the angular.json configuration file:

"architect": {
	"build": {
		"options": {
			"styles": [
				{ "input": "src/styles.css" }
			]
		}
	}
}

To display the placeholder in the main editable element, set the root.placeholder field in the CKEditor 5 rich text editor component configuration:

@Component( {
	// ...
} )
export class MyComponent {
	public config;

	private _setupEditor( cloud ) {
		// ...
		this.config = {
			root: {
				placeholder: 'Type the content here!'
			}
		}
	}

}

The CKEditor 5 rich text editor component provides all the functionality needed for most use cases. When access to the full CKEditor 5 API is needed, you can get the editor instance with an additional step.

To do this, create a template reference variable #editor pointing to the <ckeditor> component:

<ckeditor #editor [editor]="Editor"></ckeditor>

Then get the <ckeditor> component using a property decorated by @ViewChild( 'editor' ) and access the editor instance when needed:

@Component()
export class MyComponent {
	@ViewChild( 'editor' ) editorComponent: CKEditorComponent;

	public getEditor() {
		// Warning: This may return "undefined" if the editor is hidden behind the `*ngIf` directive or
		// if the editor is not fully initialised yet.
		return this.editorComponent.editorInstance;
	}
}

If you want to use the document (decoupled) editor, you need to add the toolbar to the DOM manually:

// app.component.ts

import { Component } from '@angular/core';
import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';
import { CKEditorCloudResult, CKEditorModule, loadCKEditorCloud } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-angular';
import { DecoupledEditor, EditorConfig } from 'https://cdn.ckeditor.com/typings/ckeditor5.d.ts';

@Component( {
	selector: 'app-root',
	templateUrl: './app.component.html',
	styleUrls: [ './app.component.css' ],
	imports: [ CommonModule, CKEditorModule ],
	standalone: true
} )
export class AppComponent {
	title = 'angular';

	public Editor: typeof DecoupledEditor | null = null;

	public config: EditorConfig | null = null;

	public ngOnInit(): void {
		loadCKEditorCloud( {
			version: '49.0.0'
		} ).then( this._setupEditor.bind( this ) );
	}

	private _setupEditor( cloud: CKEditorCloudResult<{ version: '49.0.0'}>) {
		const {
			DecoupledEditor,
			Essentials,
			Paragraph,
			Bold,
			Italic
		} = cloud.CKEditor;

		this.Editor = DecoupledEditor;
		this.config = {
			licenseKey: '<YOUR_LICENSE_KEY>',
			plugins: [ Essentials, Paragraph, Bold, Italic ],
			toolbar: [ 'undo', 'redo', '|', 'bold', 'italic' ]
		};
	}

	public onReady( editor: DecoupledEditor ) {
		const element = editor.ui.getEditableElement()!;
		const parent = element.parentElement!;

		parent.insertBefore(
			editor.ui.view.toolbar.element!,
			element
		);
	}
}

And then, link the method in the template:

<!-- app.component.html -->

<ckeditor
  *ngIf="(Editor && config)"
  data="<p>Hello, world!</p>"
  [editor]="Editor"
  [config]="config"
  (ready)="onReady($event)"
>
</ckeditor>

Single-root editors such as InlineEditor, BalloonEditor, and DecoupledEditor can be configured as inline editors that accept only inline content (text, bold, italic, links) instead of blocks. This is useful for short fields such as titles, captions, or single-line inputs.

Set root.modelElement to '$inlineRoot' to restrict the root to inline content. Optionally, provide a custom root.element to render the editable host as a specific tag (for example, <h1> for a title) instead of the default <div>.

// app.component.ts

import { Component } from '@angular/core';
import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';
import { CKEditorCloudResult, CKEditorModule, loadCKEditorCloud } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-angular';
import { BalloonEditor, EditorConfig } from 'https://cdn.ckeditor.com/typings/ckeditor5.d.ts';

@Component( {
	selector: 'app-root',
	templateUrl: './app.component.html',
	imports: [ CommonModule, CKEditorModule ],
	standalone: true
} )
export class AppComponent {
	public Editor: typeof BalloonEditor | null = null;

	public config: EditorConfig | null = null;

	public ngOnInit(): void {
		loadCKEditorCloud( {
			version: '49.0.0'
		} ).then( this._setupEditor.bind( this ) );
	}

	private _setupEditor( cloud: CKEditorCloudResult<{ version: '49.0.0' }> ) {
		const { BalloonEditor, Essentials, Bold, Italic } = cloud.CKEditor;

		this.Editor = BalloonEditor;
		this.config = {
			licenseKey: '<YOUR_LICENSE_KEY>',
			plugins: [ Essentials, Bold, Italic ],
			toolbar: [ 'bold', 'italic' ],
			root: {
				element: 'h1',
				modelElement: '$inlineRoot',
				initialData: 'Document title',
				placeholder: 'Enter title...'
			}
		};
	}
}

<!-- app.component.html -->

<ckeditor
  *ngIf="(Editor && config)"
  [editor]="Editor"
  [config]="config"
></ckeditor>

The root.element property accepts:

• A tag name string, for example 'h1' or 'section'.
• A descriptor object with name, classes, styles, and attributes fields.

Without modelElement: '$inlineRoot', only the host tag changes – the schema still permits blocks inside the root.

Rendering the editor inside a shadow root isolates it from the styles of the host page. Set ViewEncapsulation.ShadowDom on the component and Angular attaches the root for you. Use a component that wraps the editor rather than the root component of the application, or everything the application renders ends up inside the root.

The loader injects the editor style sheets as <link> tags, so point it at that root with the injectedStylesheetsLocation option. Without it they would land in document.head, which the shadow root cannot see. The whole editor UI, including the body collection that holds balloons and dropdown panels, stays inside the shadow root, so the scoped style sheets cover all of it. This happens because config.ui.overlayContainer is not set, so the editor falls back to the root it is in and logs the ui-overlay-container-not-configured warning. For a more robust setup, set your own overlay container and load the same style sheets into it, as described in the Where the floating user interface mounts section of the Shadow DOM guide.

// editor.component.ts

import { Component, ElementRef, ViewEncapsulation, inject, type AfterViewInit } from '@angular/core';
import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';
import { CKEditorCloudResult, CKEditorModule, loadCKEditorCloud } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-angular';
import { ClassicEditor, EditorConfig } from 'https://cdn.ckeditor.com/typings/ckeditor5.d.ts';

@Component( {
	selector: 'app-editor',
	templateUrl: './editor.component.html',
	imports: [ CommonModule, CKEditorModule ],
	standalone: true,
	encapsulation: ViewEncapsulation.ShadowDom
} )
export class EditorComponent implements AfterViewInit {
	public Editor: typeof ClassicEditor | null = null;

	public config: EditorConfig | null = null;

	private readonly _elementRef: ElementRef<HTMLElement> = inject( ElementRef );

	// Loading starts after the view is initialized, so that the shadow root is already in the
	// document. A `<link>` in a detached tree never starts loading, and the loader would wait for it.
	public ngAfterViewInit(): void {
		loadCKEditorCloud( {
			version: '49.0.0',
			injectedStylesheetsLocation: {
				targetNode: this._elementRef.nativeElement.shadowRoot!
			}
		} ).then( this._setupEditor.bind( this ) );
	}

	private _setupEditor( cloud: CKEditorCloudResult<{ version: '49.0.0' }> ) {
		const { ClassicEditor, Essentials, Paragraph, Bold, Italic } = cloud.CKEditor;

		this.Editor = ClassicEditor;
		this.config = {
			licenseKey: '<YOUR_LICENSE_KEY>',
			plugins: [ Essentials, Paragraph, Bold, Italic ],
			toolbar: [ 'bold', 'italic' ]
		};
	}
}

<!-- editor.component.html -->

<ckeditor
  *ngIf="(Editor && config)"
  data="<p>Hello, world!</p>"
  [editor]="Editor"
  [config]="config"
></ckeditor>

An override of a --ck-* variable on :root has no effect on an editor inside a shadow root, so put it on the shadow host instead. The Shadow DOM guide explains why, and covers the known limitations.

We provide ready-to-use integration featuring collaborative editing in an Angular application:

• CKEditor 5 with real-time collaboration features

It is not mandatory to build an application on top of the above samples, however, it should help you get started.

To share one Context between editors, create it yourself and pass it in the editor configuration:

this.context = await MyEditor.Context.create( {
	// The context configuration.
} );

this.config = { context: this.context };

The context is yours, so destroy it when you are done with it.

Hold the editors back until the context is ready, with *ngIf="config" on the <ckeditor> element. The component reads its configuration only once, when it creates the editor. If it renders before Context.create() resolves, the editor gets no context, and setting the configuration later changes nothing. Errors attributed to the context rather than to one of its editors are not emitted by the component; register a callback for those with MyEditor.Context.onEditorError().

CKEditor 5 supports multiple UI languages, and so does the official Angular component. To translate the editor, pass the languages you need into the translations array inside the configuration of the loadCKEditorCloud function.

import { Component } from '@angular/core';
import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';
import { CKEditorModule, loadCKEditorCloud, CKEditorCloudResult } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-angular';
import { ClassicEditor, EditorConfig } from 'https://cdn.ckeditor.com/typings/ckeditor5.d.ts';

@Component( {
	selector: 'app-root',
	templateUrl: './app.component.html',
	styleUrls: ['./app.component.css'],
	imports: [ CommonModule, CKEditorModule ],
	standalone: true
} )
export class AppComponent {
	public Editor: typeof ClassicEditor | null = null;

	public config: EditorConfig | null = null;

	public ngOnInit(): void {
		loadCKEditorCloud( {
			version: '49.0.0',
			translations: [ 'es' ]
		} ).then( this._setupEditor.bind( this ) );
	}

	private _setupEditor ( cloud: CKEditorCloudResult<{ version: '49.0.0'}> ) {
		const {
			ClassicEditor,
			Paragraph,
			Essentials,
			Bold,
			Italic
		} = cloud.CKEditor;

		this.Editor = ClassicEditor;
		this.config = {
			licenseKey: '<YOUR_LICENSE_KEY>',
			plugins: [ Essentials, Bold, Italic, Paragraph ],
			toolbar: [ 'undo', 'redo', '|', 'bold', 'italic' ]
		};
	}
}

Because of the breaking changes in the Angular library output format, the @ckeditor/ckeditor5-angular package is released in the following versions to support various Angular ecosystems:

All available Angular versions are listed on npm, where they can be pulled from.

The source code of the CKEditor 5 rich text editor component for Angular is available on GitHub at https://github.com/ckeditor/ckeditor5-angular.

• See how to manipulate the editor’s data in the Getting and setting data guide.
• Refer to further guides in the setup section to see how to customize your editor further.
• Check the features category to learn more about individual features.