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menu-title Next.js
meta-title Using the CKEditor 5 rich-text editor with Next.jsfrom npm | CKEditor 5 Documentation
meta-description Integrate the CKEditor 5 WYSIWYG editor with the Next.js framework using both routing strategies (App Router or Pages Router) and npm.
category self-hosted
order 40
modified_at 2023-11-14

Integrating CKEditor 5 with Next.js from npm

Next.js is a React meta-framework that helps create full-stack web applications. It offers different rendering strategies like server-side rendering (SSR), client-side rendering (CSR), or static site generation (SSG). Additionally, it provides file-based routing, automatic code splitting, and other handy features out of the box.

Next.js 13 introduced a new App Router as an alternative to the previous Pages Router. App Router supports server components and is more server-centric than Pages Router, which is client-side oriented.

CKEditor 5 does not support server-side rendering, but you can integrate it with the Next.js framework. In this guide, you will add the editor to a Next.js project using both routing paradigms. For this purpose, you will need Next.js CLI, and the official {@link getting-started/integrations/react-default-npm CKEditor 5 React component}.

{@snippet getting-started/use-builder}

Setting up the project

This guide assumes you already have a Next project. To create such a project, you can use CLI like create-next-app. Refer to the Next.js documentation to learn more.

Installing from npm

First, install the CKEditor 5 packages:

  • ckeditor5 – package with open-source plugins and features.
  • ckeditor5-premium-features – package with premium plugins and features.

Depending on your configuration and chosen plugins, you may need to install the first or both packages.

npm install ckeditor5 ckeditor5-premium-features

Next.js is based on React, so install the CKEditor 5 WYSIWYG editor component for React, too:

npm install @ckeditor/ckeditor5-react

Next, you will use the installed dependencies in a React component. Create a new component in the components directory, for example, components/custom-editor.js. Inside the component file, import all necessary dependencies. Then, create a functional component that returns the CKEditor 5 React component. The below example shows how to use the component with open-source and premium plugins.

App Router, by default, uses server components. It means you need to mark a component as client-side explicitly. You can achieve that by using the 'use client' directive at the top of a file, above your imports. You do not need the directive if you use the Pages Router.

Starting from version 44.0.0, the `licenseKey` property is required to use the editor. If you use a self-hosted editor from npm: 
* You must either comply with the GPL or
* Obtain a license for {@link getting-started/licensing/license-key-and-activation self-hosting distribution}.

You can set up [a free trial](https://portal.ckeditor.com/checkout?plan=free) to test the editor and evaluate the self-hosting.

// components/custom-editor.js
'use client' // Required only in App Router.

import { CKEditor } from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-react';
import { ClassicEditor, Essentials, Paragraph, Bold, Italic } from 'ckeditor5';
import { FormatPainter } from 'ckeditor5-premium-features';

import 'ckeditor5/ckeditor5.css';
import 'ckeditor5-premium-features/ckeditor5-premium-features.css';

function CustomEditor() {
	return (
		<CKEditor
			editor={ ClassicEditor }
			config={ {
				licenseKey: '<YOUR_LICENSE_KEY>', // Or 'GPL'.
				plugins: [ Essentials, Paragraph, Bold, Italic, FormatPainter ],
				toolbar: [ 'undo', 'redo', '|', 'bold', 'italic', '|', 'formatPainter' ],
				initialData: '<p>Hello from CKEditor 5 in React!</p>'
			} }
		/>
	);
}

export default CustomEditor;

The CustomEditor component is ready to be used inside a page. The page's directory will differ depending on the chosen routing strategy.

The CKEditor 5 HTML editor is a client-side text editor and relies on the browser APIs, so you need to disable server-side rendering for our custom component. You can lazily load the component using the dynamic() function built into Next.js.

Prepare a wrapper for the CustomEditor component to load it on the client side.

// components/client-side-custom-editor.js
'use client' // Required only in App Router.

import dynamic from 'next/dynamic';

const ClientSideCustomEditor = dynamic( () => import( '@/components/custom-editor' ), { ssr: false } );

export default ClientSideCustomEditor;

And then use it in your application.

// app/page.js (App Router)
// pages/index.js (Pages Router)

import ClientSideCustomEditor from '@/components/client-side-custom-editor';

function Home() {
  return (
    <ClientSideCustomEditor />
  );
}

export default Home;

You can run your project now. If you chose create-next-app, type npm run dev to see your application in the browser.

If you have trouble seeing the editor, remember that the Next.js project ships with CSS files that can interfere with the editor. You can remove them or add your styling.

Also, pay attention to the import path – this guide uses the default import alias (@). If you did not configure it, change the path appropriately.

In the example above, we only used basic features of the <CKEditor> component. To learn more about additional features and configuration options, refer to the {@link getting-started/integrations/react-default-npm React integration guide}.

How to?

Using the editor with collaboration plugins

We provide several ready-to-use integrations featuring collaborative editing in Next.js applications:

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

Next steps

  • See how to manipulate the editor's data in the {@link getting-started/setup/getting-and-setting-data Getting and setting data} guide.
  • Refer to further guides in the {@link getting-started/setup/configuration setup section} to see how to customize your editor further.
  • Check the {@link features/index features category} to learn more about individual features.