CKEditor 5 Rails Integration โจ
Unofficial CKEditor 5 Ruby on Rails integration gem. Provides seamless integration of CKEditor 5 with Rails applications through web components and helper methods.
Installation ๐ ๏ธ
Add this line to your application's Gemfile:
gem 'ckeditor5'
In your layout:
<!-- app/views/layouts/application.html.erb -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<!--
โ ๏ธ **Important**: When using `importmap-rails`, make sure the importmap
tags are rendered after `ckeditor5_assets` helper. In this scenario,
content is yielded before rendering `javascript_importmap_tags`.
-->
<!-- javascript_importmap_tags -->
<%= yield :head %>
</head>
<body>
<%= yield %>
</body>
</html>
In your view:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<!-- ๐ฆ Adds importmap with CKEditor 5 assets. -->
<!-- ๐ It'll automatically use your `I18n.locale` language. -->
<%= ckeditor5_assets %>
<% end %>
<!-- ๐๏ธ CKEditor 5 might be placed using simple view helper ... -->
<%= ckeditor5_editor %>
<!-- ... or using form input helper -->
<%= form_for @post do |f| %>
<%= f.ckeditor5 :content, required: true %>
<% end %>
(optional) Customize your config (the default config is defined here):
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ๐ Specify the version of editor you want.
# โ๏ธ Default configuration includes:
# ๐ Classic editor build
# ๐งฉ Essential plugins (paragraphs, basic styles)
# ๐๏ธ Default toolbar layout
# ๐ GPL license
# Optionally, you can specify version of CKEditor 5 to use.
# If it's not specified the default version specified in the gem will be used.
# version '44.0.0'
# Upload images to the server using the simple upload adapter, instead of Base64 encoding.
# simple_upload_adapter
# Specify global language for the editor.
# It can be done here, in controller or in the view.
# By default the `I18n.locale` is used.
# language :pl
end
Voilร ! You have CKEditor 5 integrated with your Rails application. ๐
Try Demos! ๐ฎ โจ
Explore various editor configurations with the interactive demo application. For additional inspiration, visit the official CKEditor 5 examples.
To run the demos locally, follow these steps:
bundle install # Install dependencies
bundle exec guard -g rails # Start the server
Open http://localhost:3000/ in a browser to start experimenting. Modify the code as needed.
For extending CKEditor's functionality, refer to the plugins directory to create custom plugins. Community contributions are welcome.
Table of Contents ๐
- CKEditor 5 Rails Integration โจ
- Installation ๐ ๏ธ
- Try Demos! ๐ฎ โจ
- Table of Contents ๐
- Presets ๐จ
- Automatic upgrades ๐
- Available Configuration Methods โ๏ธ
-
cdn(cdn = nil, &block)
method -
version(version)
method -
automatic_upgrades(enabled: true)
method -
gpl
method -
license_key(key)
method -
premium
method -
editable_height(height)
method -
language(ui, content:)
method -
translations(*languages)
method -
ckbox
method -
type(type)
method -
toolbar(*items, should_group_when_full: true, &block)
method -
menubar(visible: true)
method -
configure(name, value)
method -
plugin(name, premium:, import_name:)
method -
plugins(*names, **kwargs)
method -
inline_plugin(name, code)
method -
external_plugin(name, script:, import_as: nil, window_name: nil, stylesheets: [])
method -
simple_upload_adapter(url)
method -
wproofreader(version: nil, cdn: nil, **config)
method
-
- Controller / View helpers ๐ฆ
-
ckeditor5_element_ref(selector)
method -
ckeditor5_preset(name = nil, &block)
method
-
- Including CKEditor 5 assets ๐ฆ
- Format ๐
- Using default preset
- Custom preset
- Inline preset definition
- Lazy loading ๐
-
ckeditor5_lazy_javascript_tags
helper
-
- GPL usage ๐
- Commercial usage ๐ฐ
- Format ๐
- Editor placement ๐๏ธ
- Setting Initial Content ๐
- Watchdog ๐
- Classic editor ๐
- Multiroot editor ๐ณ
- Inline editor ๐
- Balloon editor ๐
- Decoupled editor ๐
- Using Context ๐ฆ
- Using Context in CKEditor 5 ๐
- Example usage of
ckeditor5_context
helper ๐
- How to access editor instance? ๐ค
- Common Tasks and Solutions ๐ก
- Setting Editor Language ๐
- Setting the language in the assets helper
- Setting the language in the initializer
- Setting the language on the editor level
- Preloading multiple translation packs
- Spell and Grammar Checking ๐
- Integrating with Forms ๐
- Rails form builder integration
- Simple form integration
- Integration with Turbolinks ๐
- Custom Styling ๐จ
- Custom plugins ๐งฉ
- Setting Editor Language ๐
- Events fired by the editor ๐
-
editor-ready
event -
editor-error
event -
editor-change
event - Inline event handling
-
- Gem Development ๐
- Running tests ๐งช
- Trademarks ๐
- License ๐
Presets ๐จ
Presets are predefined configurations of CKEditor 5, allowing quick setup with specific features. The gem includes a :default
preset with common features like bold, italic, underline, and link for the classic editor.
You can create your own by defining it in the config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
file using the config.presets.define
method. The example below illustrates the setup of a custom preset with a classic editor and a custom toolbar:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# It's possible to override the default preset right in the initializer.
version '44.0.0'
# New presets inherit properties from the default preset defined in the initializer.
# In this example, the custom preset inherits everything from default but disables the menubar:
presets.define :inherited_custom
menubar visible: false
end
# In order to define preset from scratch, you can use the `inherit: false` option.
presets.define :blank_preset, inherit: false do
version '44.0.0'
# It tells the integration to fetch the newest security patches and bug fixes.
# It may be disabled, but it's highly recommended to keep it enabled to avoid
# potential security issues.
automatic_upgrades
gpl
type :classic
menubar
toolbar :undo, :redo, :|, :heading, :|, :bold, :italic, :underline, :|,
:link, :insertImage, :mediaEmbed, :insertTable, :blockQuote, :|,
:bulletedList, :numberedList, :todoList, :outdent, :indent
plugins :AccessibilityHelp, :Autoformat, :AutoImage, :Autosave,
:BlockQuote, :Bold, :CloudServices,
:Essentials, :Heading, :ImageBlock, :ImageCaption, :ImageInline,
:ImageInsert, :ImageInsertViaUrl, :ImageResize, :ImageStyle,
:ImageTextAlternative, :ImageToolbar, :ImageUpload, :Indent,
:IndentBlock, :Italic, :Link, :LinkImage, :List, :ListProperties,
:MediaEmbed, :Paragraph, :PasteFromOffice, :PictureEditing,
:SelectAll, :Table, :TableCaption, :TableCellProperties,
:TableColumnResize, :TableProperties, :TableToolbar,
:TextTransformation, :TodoList, :Underline, :Undo, :Base64UploadAdapter
configure :image, {
toolbar: ['imageTextAlternative', 'imageStyle:inline', 'imageStyle:block', 'imageStyle:side']
}
end
end
In order to override existing presets, you can use the presets.override
method. The method takes the name of the preset you want to override and a block with the old configuration. The example below shows how to hide the menubar in the default preset:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
presets.override :custom do
menubar visible: false
toolbar do
remove :underline, :heading
end
end
end
You can define presets in the controller using the ckeditor5_preset
helper method. See it in the section below (Controller / View helpers).
Configuration of the editor can be complex, and it's recommended to use the CKEditor 5 online builder to generate the configuration. It allows you to select the features you want to include and generate the configuration code in JavaScript format. Keep in mind that you need to convert the JavaScript configuration to Ruby format before using it in this gem.
Automatic upgrades ๐
The gem includes a feature that automatically upgrades the CKEditorย 5 version when it's released. It's enabled by default for the :default
preset. It means that the editor will automatically check the version of the editor during the initialization and upgrade it to the latest version if the new patch or minor version is released.
If you want to disable automatic upgrades, you can pass the enabled: false
keyword argument to the automatic_upgrades
method.
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
automatic_upgrades enabled: false
end
Available Configuration Methods โ๏ธ
cdn(cdn = nil, &block)
method
Defines the CDN to be used for CKEditor 5 assets. The example below shows how to set the CDN to :jsdelivr
:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
cdn :jsdelivr
end
It also allows you to define a custom CDN by passing a block with the bundle, version, and path arguments. The example below shows how to define it for the jsdelivr
CDN:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
cdn do |bundle, version, path|
base_url = "https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/#{bundle}@#{version}/dist"
"#{base_url}/#{path.start_with?('translations/') ? '' : 'browser/'}#{path}"
end
end
version(version)
method
Defines the version of CKEditor 5 to be used. The example below shows how to set the version to 43.2.0
:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
version '44.0.0'
end
automatic_upgrades(enabled: true)
method
Defines if automatic upgrades should be enabled. It's enabled for the :default
preset by default. The example below shows how to disable automatic upgrades:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
automatic_upgrades enabled: false
end
It means that the editor will automatically upgrade to the latest version when the gem is updated. It'll upgrade the editor only if the new patch or minor version is released. If you want to disable automatic upgrades, you can pass the enabled: false
keyword argument to the automatic_upgrades
method.
Version is checked every nth day, where n is the number of days since the last check. Currently it's 4 days.
gpl
method
Defines the license of CKEditor 5. The example below shows how to set the license to GPL:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
gpl
end
license_key(key)
method
Defines the license key of CKEditor 5. It calls premium
method internally. The example below shows how to set the license key:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
license_key 'your-license-key'
end
premium
method
Defines if premium package should be included in JS assets. The example below shows how to add ckeditor5-premium-features
to import maps:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
premium
end
editable_height(height)
method
Defines the height of the editor. The example below shows how to set the height to 300px
:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
editable_height 300
end
language(ui, content:)
method
Defines the language of the editor. You can pass the language code as an argument. Keep in mind that the UI and content language can be different. The example below shows how to set the Polish language for the UI and content:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
language :pl
end
In order to set the language for the content, you can pass the content
keyword argument:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
language :pl, content: :en
end
The example above sets the Polish language for the UI and content. If pl
language was not defined in the translations, the builder will append the language to the list of translations to fetch. In order to prefetch more translations, use the helper below.
translations(*languages)
method
Defines the translations of CKEditor 5. You can pass the language codes as arguments. The example below shows how tell integration to fetch Polish and Spanish translations:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
translations :pl, :es
end
โ ๏ธ You need to use language
method to set the default language of the editor, as the translations
only fetch the translations files and makes them available to later use.
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
translations :pl
language :pl
end
ckbox
method
Defines the CKBox plugin to be included in the editor. The example below shows how to include the CKBox plugin:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
ckbox '2.6.0', theme: :lark
end
type(type)
method
Defines the type of editor. Available options:
-
:classic
- classic edytor -
:inline
- inline editor -
:decoupled
- decoupled editor -
:balloon
- balloon editor -
:multiroot
- editor with multiple editing areas
The example below sets the editor type to multiroot
in the custom preset:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
type :multiroot
end
toolbar(*items, should_group_when_full: true, &block)
method
Defines the toolbar items. You can use predefined items like :undo
, :redo
, :|
or specify custom items. There are a few special items:
-
:_
- breakpoint -
:|
- separator
The should_group_when_full
keyword argument determines whether the toolbar should group items when there is not enough space. It's set to true
by default.
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
toolbar :undo, :redo, :|, :heading, :|, :bold, :italic, :underline, :|,
:link, :insertImage, :ckbox, :mediaEmbed, :insertTable, :blockQuote, :|,
:bulletedList, :numberedList, :todoList, :outdent, :indent
end
Keep in mind that the order of items is important, and you should install the corresponding plugins. You can find the list of available plugins in the CKEditor 5 documentation.
If you want to add or prepend items to the existing toolbar, you can use the block syntax:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
toolbar do
append :selectAll, :|, :selectAll, :selectAll
# Or prepend: prepend :selectAll, :|, :selectAll, :selectAll
end
end
If you want to remove items from the toolbar, you can use the remove
method:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
toolbar do
remove :selectAll, :heading #, ...
end
end
If you want to append groups of items, you can use the group
method:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
toolbar do
group :text_formatting, label: 'Text Formatting', icon: 'threeVerticalDots' do
append :bold, :italic, :underline, :strikethrough, separator,
:subscript, :superscript, :removeFormat
end
end
end
If you want add new line or the separator, you can use the break_line
or separator
methods:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
toolbar do
append :bold, break_line
append separator, :italic
end
end
menubar(visible: true)
method
Defines the visibility of the menubar. By default, it's set to true
.
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
toolbar :undo, :redo, :|, :heading, :|, :bold, :italic, :underline, :|,
:link, :insertImage, :ckbox, :mediaEmbed, :insertTable, :blockQuote, :|,
:bulletedList, :numberedList, :todoList, :outdent, :indent
end
configure(name, value)
method
Allows you to set custom configuration options. You can pass the name of the option and its value as arguments. The ckeditor5_element_ref(selector)
helper allows you to reference DOM elements that will be used by the editor's features. It's particularly useful for features that need to check element presence or operate on specific DOM elements.
For example, you can use it to configure font family dropdown to show only fonts available in specific elements:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
configure :fontFamily, {
supportAllValues: true,
options: [
'default',
'Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif',
'Courier New, Courier, monospace',
'Georgia, serif',
'Lucida Sans Unicode, Lucida Grande, sans-serif',
'Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif',
'Times New Roman, Times, serif',
'Trebuchet MS, Helvetica, sans-serif',
'Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif'
]
}
end
plugin(name, premium:, import_name:)
method
Defines a plugin to be included in the editor. You can pass the name of the plugin as an argument. The premium
keyword argument determines whether the plugin is premium. The import_name
keyword argument specifies the name of the package to import the plugin from.
The example below show how to import Bold plugin from the ckeditor5
npm package:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
plugin :Bold
end
In order to import a plugin from a custom ESM package, you can pass the import_name
keyword argument:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
plugin :YourPlugin, import_name: 'your-package'
end
In order to import a plugin from a custom Window entry, you can pass the window_name
keyword argument:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
plugin :YourPlugin, window_name: 'YourPlugin'
end
plugins(*names, **kwargs)
method
Defines the plugins to be included in the editor. You can specify multiple plugins by passing their names as arguments. The keyword arguments are identical to the configuration of the plugin
method defined below.
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
plugins :Bold, :Italic, :Underline, :Link
end
Methods such as remove
, append
, and prepend
can be used to modify the plugins configuration. To remove a plugin, you can use the remove
method with the plugin name as an argument:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
plugins do
remove :Heading
end
end
inline_plugin(name, code)
method
โ ๏ธ Warning: Use with caution as this is an inline definition of the plugin code, and it can potentially cause XSS vulnerabilities. Only use this method with static, trusted JavaScript code. The example below shows how to define a custom plugin that highlights the text:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
inline_plugin :MyCustomPlugin, <<~JS
import { Plugin } from 'ckeditor5';
export default class MyCustomPlugin extends Plugin {
static get pluginName() {
return 'MyCustomPlugin';
}
init() {
const config = this.editor.config.get('myCustomPlugin') || {};
// ... Your plugin code
}
}
JS
end
To configure the custom plugin, use the configure
method in your initializer. The example below shows how to configure the myCustomPlugin
:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
configure :myCustomPlugin, {
option1: 'value1',
option2: 'value2'
}
end
This approach is resistant to XSS attacks as it avoids inline JavaScript.
external_plugin(name, script:, import_as: nil, window_name: nil, stylesheets: [])
method
Defines an external plugin to be included in the editor. You can pass the name of the plugin as an argument. The script
keyword argument specifies the URL of the script to import the plugin from. The import_as
keyword argument specifies the name of the package to import the plugin from. The window_name
keyword argument specifies the name of the plugin in the window object. The stylesheets
keyword argument specifies the URLs of the stylesheets to import.
The example below shows how to define an external plugin that highlights the text:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
external_plugin :MyExternalPlugin,
script: 'https://example.com/my-external-plugin.js'
end
In order to import a plugin from a custom ESM package, you can pass the import_as
keyword argument:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
external_plugin :MyExternalPlugin,
script: 'https://example.com/my-external-plugin.js',
import_as: 'Plugin'
end
It's equivalent to the following JavaScript code:
import { Plugin } from 'my-external-plugin';
In order to import a plugin from a custom Window entry, you can pass the window_name
keyword argument:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
external_plugin :MyExternalPlugin,
script: 'https://example.com/my-external-plugin.js',
window_name: 'MyExternalPlugin'
end
It's equivalent to the following JavaScript code:
const Plugin = window.MyExternalPlugin;
In order to import a plugin with stylesheets, you can pass the stylesheets
keyword argument:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
external_plugin :MyExternalPlugin,
script: 'https://example.com/my-external-plugin.js',
stylesheets: ['https://example.com/my-external-plugin.css']
end
simple_upload_adapter(url)
method
Defines the URL for the simple upload adapter. The default endpoint is /uploads
and the method is POST
. The example below shows how to set the URL to /uploads
:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
simple_upload_adapter
# or: simple_upload_adapter '/uploads'
end
wproofreader(version: nil, cdn: nil, **config)
method
Defines the WProofreader plugin to be included in the editor. The example below shows how to include the WProofreader plugin:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
wproofreader serviceId: 'your-service-ID',
srcUrl: 'https://svc.webspellchecker.net/spellcheck31/wscbundle/wscbundle.js'
end
The version
keyword argument allows you to specify the version of the WProofreader plugin. The cdn
keyword argument allows you to specify the CDN to be used for the WProofreader plugin.
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
wproofreader version: '2.0.0',
cdn: 'https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@ckeditor/ckeditor5-wproofreader@2.0.0/dist',
serviceId: 'your-service-ID',
srcUrl: 'https://svc.webspellchecker.net/spellcheck31/wscbundle/wscbundle.js'
end
If no language
is set, the plugin will use the default language of the editor. If you want to set the language of the WProofreader plugin, you can use the language
keyword argument:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
wproofreader serviceId: 'your-service-ID',
srcUrl: 'https://svc.webspellchecker.net/spellcheck31/wscbundle/wscbundle.js',
language: :en_US,
localization: :pl
end
For more info about the WProofreader plugin, check the official documentation.
Controller / View helpers ๐ฆ
ckeditor5_element_ref(selector)
method
In other words, it allows you to reference DOM elements that will be used by the editor's features. It's particularly useful for features that need to check element presence or operate on specific DOM elements. The primary example is the presence list
feature that requires a reference to the element that will be used to display the list.
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
configure :yourPlugin, {
element: ckeditor5_element_ref("body")
}
end
ckeditor5_preset(name = nil, &block)
method
It may be useful when you want to define a preset based on the current user or request.
# app/controllers/application_controller.rb
class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
def show
@preset = ckeditor5_preset do
version '44.0.0'
toolbar :sourceEditing, :|, :bold, :italic, :underline, :strikethrough,
:subscript, :superscript, :removeFormat, :|, :bulletedList, :numberedList,
:fontFamily, :fontSize, :|, :link, :anchor, :|,
:fontColor, :fontBackgroundColor
plugins :Essentials, :Paragraph, :Bold, :Italic, :Underline, :Strikethrough,
:Subscript, :Superscript, :RemoveFormat, :List, :Link, :Font,
:FontFamily, :FontSize, :FontColor, :FontBackgroundColor, :SourceEditing, :Essentials, :Paragraph
end
end
end
In order to use the preset in the view, you can pass it to the ckeditor5_assets
helper method:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets preset: @preset %>
<% end %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor %>
If you want to override the preset defined in the initializer, you can search for the preset by name and then override it (it'll create copy of the preset):
# app/controllers/application_controller.rb
class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
def show
@preset = ckeditor5_preset(:default).override do
version '44.0.0'
toolbar :sourceEditing, :|, :bold, :italic, :underline, :strikethrough,
:subscript, :superscript, :removeFormat, :|, :bulletedList, :numberedList,
:fontFamily, :fontSize, :|, :link, :anchor, :|,
:fontColor, :fontBackgroundColor
plugins :Essentials, :Paragraph, :Bold, :Italic, :Underline, :Strikethrough,
:Subscript, :Superscript, :RemoveFormat, :List, :Link, :Font,
:FontFamily, :FontSize, :FontColor, :FontBackgroundColor, :SourceEditing, :Essentials, :Paragraph
end
end
end
Including CKEditor 5 assets ๐ฆ
To include CKEditor 5 assets in your application, you can use the ckeditor5_assets
helper method. This method takes the version of CKEditor 5 as an argument and includes the necessary resources of the editor. Depending on the specified configuration, it includes the JS and CSS assets from the official CKEditor 5 CDN or one of the popular CDNs.
Keep in mind that you need to include the helper result in the head
section of your layout. In examples below, we use content_for
helper to include the assets in the head
section of the view.
Format ๐
Using default preset
The example below users the default preset defined here.
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets %>
<% end %>
If you want to fetch some additional translations, you can extend your initializer with the following configuration:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... rest of the configuration
translations :pl, :es
end
Custom preset
To specify a custom preset, you need to pass the preset
keyword argument with the name of the preset. The example below shows how to include the assets for the custom preset:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets preset: :custom %>
<% end %>
<%-# This editor will use `custom` preset defined in `ckeditor5_assets` above %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor %>
In order to define such preset, you can use the following configuration:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... rest of the configuration
presets.define :custom do
# ... your preset configuration
translations :pl, :es
end
end
โ ๏ธ Keep in mind that all ckeditor5_editor
helpers will use the configuration from the preset defined in the ckeditor5_assets
. If you want to use a different preset for a specific editor, you can pass the preset
keyword argument to the ckeditor5_editor
helper.
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets preset: :custom %>
<% end %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor preset: :default %>
Inline preset definition
It's possible to define the preset directly in the ckeditor5_assets
helper method. It allows you to dynamically specify version, cdn provider or even translations in the view. The example below inherits the default preset and adds Polish translations and other options:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets version: '43.3.0', cdn: :jsdelivr, translations: [:pl], license_key: '<YOUR KEY> OR GPL' %>
<% end %>
Lazy loading ๐
All JS assets defined by the ckeditor5_assets
helper method are loaded asynchronously. It means that the assets are loaded in the background without blocking the rendering of the page. However, the CSS assets are loaded synchronously to prevent the flash of unstyled content and ensure that the editor is styled correctly.
It has been achieved by using web components, together with import maps, which are supported by modern browsers. The web components are used to define the editor and its plugins, while the import maps are used to define the dependencies between the assets.
ckeditor5_lazy_javascript_tags
helper
This method is slow as content is being loaded on the fly on the client side. Use it only when necessary.
If you want to include the CKEditor 5 JavaScripts and Stylesheets when the editor is being appended to the DOM using Turbolinks, Stimulus, or other JavaScript frameworks, you can use the ckeditor5_lazy_javascript_tags
helper method.
This method does not preload the assets, and it's appending web component that loads the assets when the editor is being appended to the DOM. It's useful when turbolinks frame is being replaced or when the editor is being appended to the DOM dynamically.
The example below shows how to include the CKEditor 5 assets lazily:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_lazy_javascript_tags %>
<% end %>
<%= turbo_frame_tag 'editor' do %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor %>
<% end %>
โ ๏ธ Keep in mind that the ckeditor5_lazy_javascript_tags
helper method should be included in the head
section of the layout and it does not create controller context for the editors. In other words, you have to specify preset
every time you use ckeditor5_editor
helper (in ckeditor5_assets
it's not necessary, as it's inherited by all editors).
If you want to keep inheritance of the presets and enforce integration to inject CKEditor 5 files on the fly, you can use the lazy
keyword argument in the ckeditor5_assets
helper method:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets preset: :custom, lazy: true %>
<% end %>
<!-- This time preset will be inherited but stylesheets and js files will be injected on the client side. -->
<%= ckeditor5_editor %>
GPL usage ๐
If you want to use CKEditor 5 under the GPL license, you can include the assets using the ckeditor5_assets
without passing any arguments. It'll include the necessary assets for the GPL license from one of the most popular CDNs. In our scenario, we use the jsdelivr
CDN which is the default one.
Example:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets %>
<% end %>
In that scenario it's recommended to add gpl
method to the initializer along with the version:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
gpl
version '44.0.0'
end
In order to use unpkg
CDN, you can extend your initializer with the following configuration:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... rest of the configuration
cdn :unpkg
end
However, you can also specify the CDN directly in the view:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets cdn: :unpkg %>
<% end %>
or using helper function:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_jsdelivr_assets %>
<% end %>
Commercial usage ๐ฐ
If you want to use CKEditor 5 under a commercial license, you have to specify license key. It can be done in the initializer:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
license_key 'your-license-key'
end
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets %>
<% end %>
or directly in the view:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets license_key: 'your-license-key' %>
<% end %>
In this scenario, the assets are included from the official CKEditor 5 CDN which is more reliable and provides better performance, especially for commercial usage.
Editor placement ๐๏ธ
The ckeditor5_editor
helper renders CKEditor 5 instances in your views. Before using it, ensure you've included the necessary assets in your page's head section otherwise the editor won't work as there are no CKEditor 5 JavaScript and CSS files loaded.
Setting Initial Content ๐
You can set the initial content of the editor using the initial_data
keyword argument or by passing the content directly to the ckeditor5_editor
helper block.
The example below shows how to set the initial content of the editor using the initial_data
and language
keyword arguments:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<%= ckeditor5_editor initial_data: "<p>Initial content</p>" %>
The example below shows how to set the initial content of the editor using the ckeditor5_editor
helper block.
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<%= ckeditor5_editor do %>
<p>Initial content</p>
<% end %>
Watchdog ๐
CKEditor 5 uses a watchdog utility to protect you from data loss in case the editor crashes. It saves your content just before the crash and creates a new instance of the editor with your content intact. It's enabled by default in the gem.
If you want to disable the watchdog, you can pass the watchdog
keyword argument with the value false
:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<%= ckeditor5_editor watchdog: false %>
Classic editor ๐
The classic editor is the most common type of editor. It provides a toolbar with various formatting options like bold, italic, underline, and link.
It looks like this:
The example below shows how to include the classic editor in your view:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets %>
<% end %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor style: 'width: 600px' %>
You can pass the style
keyword argument to the ckeditor5_editor
helper to define the editor's style. The example above shows how to set the width of the editor to 600px
. However you can pass any HTML attribute you want, such as class
, id
, data-*
, etc.
While example above uses predefined :default
preset, you can use your custom presets by passing the preset
keyword argument:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets %>
<% end %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor preset: :custom, style: 'width: 600px' %>
If your configuration is even more complex, you can pass the config
and type
arguments with the configuration hash:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets %>
<% end %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor type: :classic, config: { plugins: [:Bold, :Italic], toolbar: [:Bold, :Italic] }, style: 'width: 600px' %>
If you want to override the configuration of the editor specified in default or custom preset, you can pass the extra_config
keyword argument with the configuration hash:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<!-- You can override default preset in assets helper too. -->
<%= ckeditor5_assets translations: [:pl] %>
<% end %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor extra_config: { toolbar: [:Bold, :Italic] }, style: 'width: 600px' %>
It's possible to define the height of the editor by passing the editable_height
keyword argument with the value in pixels:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets %>
<% end %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor editable_height: 300 %>
Multiroot editor ๐ณ
The multiroot editor allows you to create an editor with multiple editable areas. It's useful when you want to create a CMS with multiple editable areas on a single page.
-
ckeditor5_editor
: Defines the editor instance. -
ckeditor5_editable
: Defines the editable areas within the editor. -
ckeditor5_toolbar
: Defines the toolbar for the editor.
If you want to use a multiroot editor, you can pass the type
keyword argument with the value :multiroot
:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets %>
<% end %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor type: :multiroot, style: 'width: 600px' do %>
<%= ckeditor5_toolbar %>
<br>
<%= ckeditor5_editable 'toolbar', style: 'border: 1px solid var(--ck-color-base-border);' do %>
This is a toolbar editable
<% end %>
<br>
<%= ckeditor5_editable 'content', style: 'border: 1px solid var(--ck-color-base-border)' %>
<br>
<% end %>
Roots can be defined later to the editor by simply adding new elements rendered by ckeditor5_editable
helper.
Inline editor ๐
Inline editor allows you to create an editor that can be placed inside any element. Keep in mind that inline editor does not work with textarea
elements so it might be not suitable for all use cases.
If you want to use an inline editor, you can pass the type
keyword argument with the value :inline
:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets %>
<% end %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor type: :inline, style: 'width: 600px' %>
Balloon editor ๐
Balloon editor is a floating toolbar editor that provides a minimalistic interface. It's useful when you want to create a simple editor with a floating toolbar.
If you want to use a balloon editor, you can pass the type
keyword argument with the value :balloon
:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets %>
<% end %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor type: :balloon, style: 'width: 600px' %>
Decoupled editor ๐
Decoupled editor is a variant of classic editor that allows you to separate the editor from the content area. It's useful when you want to create a custom interface with the editor.
If you want to use a decoupled editor, you can pass the type
keyword argument with the value :decoupled
:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets %>
<% end %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor type: :decoupled, style: 'width: 600px' do %>
<div class="menubar-container">
<%= ckeditor5_menubar %>
</div>
<div class="toolbar-container">
<%= ckeditor5_toolbar %>
</div>
<div class="editable-container">
<%= ckeditor5_editable %>
</div>
<% end %>
Using Context ๐ฆ
Context CKEditor 5 is a feature that allows multiple editor instances to share a common configuration and state. This is particularly useful in collaborative environments where multiple users are editing different parts of the same document simultaneously. By using a shared context, all editor instances can synchronize their configurations, plugins, and other settings, ensuring a consistent editing experience across all users.
Using Context in CKEditor 5 ๐
Format of the ckeditor5_context
helper:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<%= ckeditor5_context @context_preset do %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor %>
<% end %>
The ckeditor5_context
helper takes the context preset as an argument and renders the editor instances within the context. The context preset defines the shared configuration and state of the editor instances. It should be defined somewhere in controller.
Example usage of ckeditor5_context
helper ๐
In your view:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets preset: :ultrabasic %>
<% end %>
<%= ckeditor5_context @context_preset do %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor initial_data: 'Hello World' %>
<br>
<%= ckeditor5_editor initial_data: 'Hello World 2' %>
<% end %>
In your controller:
# app/controllers/demos_controller.rb
class DemosController < ApplicationController
def index
@context_preset = ckeditor5_context_preset do
# Syntax is identical to the `toolbar` method of the preset configuration.
toolbar :bold, :italic
# It's possible to define plugins. Syntax is identical to the `plugins` method of the preset configuration.
# Example:
# plugin :Bold
# inline_plugin :MyCustomPlugin, '...'
end
end
end
It's possible to omit the preset argument, in that case the empty preset will be used.
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<%= ckeditor5_context do %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor %>
<% end %>
See demo for more details.
How to access editor instance? ๐ค
You can access the editor instance using plain HTML and JavaScript, as CKEditor 5 is a web component with defined instance
, instancePromise
and editables
properties.
For example:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets %>
<% end %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor style: 'width: 600px', id: 'editor' %>
โ ๏ธ Direct access of instance
property of the web component. Keep in mind it's unsafe and may cause issues if the editor is not loaded yet.
document.getElementById('editor').instance
๐ Accessing the editor instance using instancePromise
property. It's a promise that resolves to the editor instance when the editor is ready.
document.getElementById('editor').instancePromise.then(editor => {
console.log(editor);
});
โ
Accessing the editor through the runAfterEditorReady
helper method. It's a safe way to access the editor instance when the editor is ready.
document.getElementById('editor').runAfterEditorReady(editor => {
console.log(editor);
});
Common Tasks and Solutions ๐ก
This section covers frequent questions and scenarios when working with CKEditor 5 in Rails applications.
Setting Editor Language ๐
By default, CKEditor 5 uses the language specified in your I18n.locale
configuration. However, you can override the language of the editor by passing the language
keyword in few places.
Setting the language in the assets helper
Language specified here will be used for all editor instances on the page.
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_assets language: :pl %>
<% end %>
<%= ckeditor5_editor %>
Setting the language in the initializer
Language specified here will be used for all editor instances in your application.
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# Optional, it load multiple translation packs: translations :pl, :es
language :pl
end
Setting the language on the editor level
Language specified here will be used only for this editor instance. Keep in mind that you have to load the translation pack in the assets helper using the translations
initializer method.
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<%= ckeditor5_editor language: :pl %>
Preloading multiple translation packs
You can preload multiple translation packs in the initializer using the translations
method:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
translations :pl, :es
end
Spell and Grammar Checking ๐
CKEditor 5 provides a spell and grammar checking feature through the WProofreader plugin. You can enable this feature by configuring the WProofreader plugin in the initializer.
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
wproofreader serviceId: 'your-service-ID',
srcUrl: 'https://svc.webspellchecker.net/spellcheck31/wscbundle/wscbundle.js'
end
See wproofreader(version: nil, cdn: nil, **config)
method for more information about the WProofreader plugin configuration.
See the official documentation for more information about the WProofreader plugin.
Integrating with Forms ๐
You can integrate CKEditor 5 with Rails form builders like form_for
or simple_form
. The example below shows how to integrate CKEditor 5 with a Rails form using the form_for
helper:
Rails form builder integration
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<%= form_for @post do |f| %>
<%= f.label :content %>
<%= f.ckeditor5 :content, required: true, style: 'width: 700px', initial_data: 'Hello World!' %>
<% end %>
Simple form integration
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<%= simple_form_for :demo, url: '/demos', html: { novalidate: false } do |f| %>
<div class="form-group">
<%= f.input :content, as: :ckeditor5, initial_data: 'Hello, World 12!', input_html: { style: 'width: 600px' }, required: true %>
</div>
<div class="form-group mt-3">
<%= f.button :submit, 'Save', class: 'btn btn-primary' %>
</div>
<% end %>
Integration with Turbolinks ๐
If you're using Turbolinks in your Rails application, you may need to load CKEditor 5 in embeds that are loaded dynamically and not on the initial page load. In this case, you can use the ckeditor5_lazy_javascript_tags
helper method to load CKEditor 5 assets when the editor is appended to the DOM. This method is useful when you're using Turbolinks or Stimulus to load CKEditor 5 dynamically.
Your view should look like this:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<% content_for :head do %>
<%= ckeditor5_lazy_javascript_tags %>
<% end %>
Your ajax partial should look like this:
<!-- app/views/demos/_form.html.erb -->
<!-- Presets and other configuration as usual -->
<%= ckeditor5_editor %>
This method does not preload the assets, and it's appending web component that loads the assets when the editor is being appended to the DOM. Please see the Lazy Loading section for more information and demos on how to use this method.
Custom Styling ๐จ
You can pass the style
, class
and id
keyword arguments to the ckeditor5_editor
helper to define the styling of the editor. The example below shows how to set the height, margin, and CSS class of the editor:
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<%= ckeditor5_editor style: 'height: 400px; margin: 20px;', class: 'your_css_class', id: 'your_id' %>
Custom plugins ๐งฉ
You can create custom plugins for CKEditor 5 using the inline_plugin
method. It allows you to define a custom class or function inside your preset configuration.
The example below shows how to define a custom plugin that allows toggling the highlight of the selected text:
# config/initializers/ckeditor5.rb
CKEditor5::Rails.configure do
# ... other configuration
# 1. You can also use "window_name" option to import plugin from window object:
# plugin :MyPlugin, window_name: 'MyPlugin'
# 2. Create JavaScript file in app/javascript/custom_plugins/highlight.js,
# add it to import map and then load it in initializer:
# plugin :MyCustomPlugin, import_name: 'my-custom-plugin'
# 3 Create JavaScript file in app/javascript/custom_plugins/highlight.js
# and then load it in initializer:
# In Ruby initializer you can also load plugin code directly from file:
inline_plugin :MyCustomPlugin, File.read(
Rails.root.join('app/javascript/custom_plugins/highlight.js')
)
# 4. Or even define it inline:
# inline_plugin :MyCustomPlugin, <<~JS
# import { Plugin } from 'ckeditor5';
#
# export default class MyCustomPlugin extends Plugin {
# // ...
# }
# JS
# Add item to beginning of the toolbar.
toolbar do
prepend :highlight
end
end
// app/javascript/custom_plugins/highlight.js
import { Plugin, Command, ButtonView } from 'ckeditor5';
export default class MyCustomPlugin extends Plugin {
static get pluginName() {
return 'MyCustomPlugin';
}
init() {
const editor = this.editor;
// Define schema for highlight attribute
editor.model.schema.extend('$text', { allowAttributes: 'highlight' });
// Define conversion between model and view
editor.conversion.attributeToElement({
model: 'highlight',
view: {
name: 'span',
styles: {
'background-color': 'yellow'
}
}
});
// Create command that handles highlighting logic
// Command pattern is used to encapsulate all the logic related to executing an action
const command = new HighlightCommand(editor);
// Register command in editor
editor.commands.add('highlight', command);
// Add UI button
editor.ui.componentFactory.add('highlight', locale => {
const view = new ButtonView(locale);
// Bind button state to command state using bind method
// bind() allows to sync button state with command state automatically
view.bind('isOn').to(command, 'value');
view.set({
label: 'Highlight',
withText: true,
tooltip: true
});
view.on('execute', () => {
editor.execute('highlight');
editor.editing.view.focus();
});
return view;
});
}
}
// Command class that handles the highlight feature
// isEnabled property determines if command can be executed
class HighlightCommand extends Command {
execute() {
const model = this.editor.model;
const selection = model.document.selection;
model.change(writer => {
const ranges = model.schema.getValidRanges(selection.getRanges(), 'highlight');
for (const range of ranges) {
if (this.value) {
writer.removeAttribute('highlight', range);
} else {
writer.setAttribute('highlight', true, range);
}
}
});
}
refresh() {
const model = this.editor.model;
const selection = model.document.selection;
const isAllowed = model.schema.checkAttributeInSelection(selection, 'highlight');
// Set if command is enabled based on schema
this.isEnabled = isAllowed;
this.value = this.#isHighlightedNodeSelected();
}
// Check if the highlighted node is selected.
#isHighlightedNodeSelected() {
const { model } = this.editor
const { schema } = model
const selection = model.document.selection
if (selection.isCollapsed) {
return selection.hasAttribute('highlight')
}
return selection.getRanges().some(range =>
Array
.from(range.getItems())
.some(item =>
schema.checkAttribute(item, 'highlight') &&
item.hasAttribute('highlight')
)
);
}
}
Events fired by the editor ๐
CKEditor 5 provides a set of events that you can listen to in order to react to changes in the editor. You can listen to these events using the addEventListener
method or by defining event handlers directly in the view.
editor-ready
event
The event is fired when the initialization of the editor is completed. You can listen to it using the editor-ready
event.
document.getElementById('editor').addEventListener('editor-ready', () => {
console.log('Editor is ready');
});
editor-error
event
The event is fired when the initialization of the editor fails. You can listen to it using the editor-error
event.
document.getElementById('editor').addEventListener('editor-error', () => {
console.log('Editor has an error');
});
editor-change
event
The event is fired when the content of the editor changes. You can listen to it using the editor-change
event.
document.getElementById('editor').addEventListener('editor-change', () => {
console.log('Editor content has changed');
});
Inline event handling
You can also define event handlers directly in the view using the oneditorchange
, oneditorerror
, and oneditorready
attributes.
<!-- app/views/demos/index.html.erb -->
<script type="text/javascript">
function onEditorChange(event) {
// event.detail.editor, event.detail.data
}
function onEditorError(event) {
// event.detail.editor
}
function onEditorReady(event) {
// event.detail.editor
}
</script>
<%= ckeditor5_editor id: 'editor',
oneditorchange: 'onEditorChange',
oneditorerror: 'onEditorError',
oneditorready: 'onEditorReady'
%>
Gem Development ๐
If you want to contribute to the gem, you can clone the repository and run the following commands:
gem install bundler -v 2.5.22
bundle install
bundle exec guard -g rails
Running tests ๐งช
You can run the tests using the following command:
bundle exec rspec
If you want to watch the tests, you can use the following command:
bundle exec guard -g rspec
Trademarks ๐
CKEditorยฎ is a trademark of CKSource Holding sp. z o.o. All rights reserved. For more information about the license of CKEditorยฎ please visit CKEditor's licensing page.
This gem is not owned by CKSource and does not use the CKEditorยฎ trademark for commercial purposes. It should not be associated with or considered an official CKSource product.
License ๐
This project is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License v2.0 or later. See the LICENSE file for details.
This project uses CKEditor 5 which is licensed under the terms of GNU General Public License Version 2 or later. For more information about CKEditor 5 licensing, please see their official documentation.