What is ckeditor4?

ckeditor/ckeditor4 — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-26

★ 5,816Rich Text FormatAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      WYSIWYG web editor
      Formatted content no HTML
      Embeds into any website
    Features
      500 plus plugins
      70 language localizations
      Right-to-left text support
    Integrations
      React and Angular
      Vue.js packages
      CDN and npm install
    Licensing
      Open source EOL June 2023
      LTS version paid license
      Migrate to CKEditor 5

mindmap root((repo)) What it does WYSIWYG web editor Formatted content no HTML Embeds into any website Features 500 plus plugins 70 language localizations Right-to-left text support Integrations React and Angular Vue.js packages CDN and npm install Licensing Open source EOL June 2023 LTS version paid license Migrate to CKEditor 5

Click or tap to explore — scroll the page freely

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Embed a feature-rich WYSIWYG editor in a web app so users can format content without writing any HTML

USE CASE 2

Add rich text editing to a React, Angular, or Vue.js application using the official CKEditor 4 integration packages

USE CASE 3

Enable users to paste from Microsoft Word or Google Docs with formatting preserved using built-in paste plugins

USE CASE 4

Support multilingual content and right-to-left text in a web editing experience using the 70-plus localizations

What is it built with?

JavaScriptnpmAngularReactVue.js

How does it compare?

	ckeditor/ckeditor4	langchain-ai/opengpts	addyosmani/backbone-fundamentals
Stars	5,816	6,748	9,184
Language	Rich Text Format	Rich Text Format	Rich Text Format
Setup difficulty	easy	hard	easy
Complexity	2/5	4/5	1/5
Audience	developer	developer	developer

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

The open-source version (4.22.1) has reached End of Life and receives no security patches, continuing to use it is a security risk. The maintained LTS version requires a paid license key from CKEditor.

Open-source version (4.22.1 and earlier) is available under its original terms but receives no security updates. The current LTS version requires a paid commercial license key and is supported until December 2028.

So what is it?

CKEditor 4 is a rich text editor that can be embedded into a website to give users a word-processor-like editing experience. WYSIWYG stands for What You See Is What You Get, meaning text appears formatted as it will look when published rather than as raw HTML code. Users can add formatted text, headings, tables, images, videos, and other content without writing any code themselves. The project has over 500 plugins available in a separate add-ons repository, supporting features like pasting from Microsoft Word and Google Docs, drag-and-drop image uploads, media embeds, clipboard integration, and accessibility compliance. It works across a wide range of browsers including older ones, and supports more than 70 language localizations with full right-to-left text support. There is an important licensing change to be aware of. CKEditor 4 reached its official End of Life on June 30, 2023. The open-source version, specifically 4.22.1 and earlier, is still available under its original license terms, but it no longer receives security updates, and the README notes that continuing to use it puts applications at risk. The current state of this repository reflects a commercially licensed version called CKEditor 4 LTS (Long Term Support). This version continues to receive security fixes and critical bug patches until December 2028, but it requires a paid license key. Anyone who wants to keep using CKEditor 4 safely after the End of Life needs to either purchase an Extended Support Model contract or migrate to CKEditor 5, which the README describes as a separate, fully rewritten product requiring a different migration process. The editor can be added to a website via npm, a CDN link, or a manual download. It also integrates with Angular, React, and Vue.js through dedicated packages.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

I want to embed CKEditor 4 in my website using a CDN link. Show me the minimal HTML needed to get a basic rich text editor working on a page.

Prompt 2

How do I integrate CKEditor 4 into a React component? Show me the setup code using the official CKEditor 4 React package and how to read the editor content.

Prompt 3

I need CKEditor 4 to handle pasting content from Microsoft Word and automatically clean up the markup. Which plugin do I need and how do I configure it?

Prompt 4

I am evaluating whether to stay on CKEditor 4 LTS with a paid license or migrate to CKEditor 5. What are the main differences, breaking changes, and migration challenges I should plan for?

Prompt 5

How do I add a custom toolbar button to CKEditor 4 that inserts a predefined HTML snippet when clicked?

Frequently asked questions