Plate

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Getting Started

A quick tutorial to get you up and running with Plate.

Use our interactive builder to generate personalized installation steps.

Create project

You can choose one of the following templates to get started:

Option	NextJS	Plate	Plugins	AI & Backend
Notion-like template	✅	✅	✅	✅
Plate playground template	✅	✅	✅
Plate minimal template	✅	✅
NextJS template	✅

For an existing project, jump to the next step.

Add dependencies

Install the core and the plugins you need. You need at least:

npm install @udecode/plate-common slate slate-react slate-history slate-hyperscript react react-dom

Alternatively you can install @udecode/plate that contains all the packages excluding the ones with heavy dependencies (e.g. @udecode/plate-dnd).

npm install @udecode/plate slate slate-react slate-history slate-hyperscript react react-dom

Basic Editor

Let's start with a minimal editor setup.

import {
  usePlateEditor,
  Plate,
  PlateContent,
} from '@udecode/plate-common/react';
 
export default function BasicEditor() {
  const editor = usePlateEditor();
 
  return (
    <Plate editor={editor}>
      <PlateContent placeholder="Type..." />
    </Plate>
  );
}

Plate manages the editor state and PlateContent renders the editor content.

Styling

Let's give our editor some styles: Editor is a styled version of PlateContent.

Note: Editor is just an example of a styled editor using Tailwind, and if you're using it, make sure to follow the installation steps in the Manual Installation guide. You can create your own styled version of PlateContent.

'use client';
 
import React from 'react';
 
import type { PlateContentProps } from '@udecode/plate-common/react';
import type { VariantProps } from 'class-variance-authority';
 
import { cn } from '@udecode/cn';
import { PlateContent } from '@udecode/plate-common/react';
import { cva } from 'class-variance-authority';
 
const editorContainerVariants = cva(
  'relative flex cursor-text [&_.slate-selection-area]:border [&_.slate-selection-area]:border-brand/25 [&_.slate-selection-area]:bg-brand/15',
  {
    defaultVariants: {
      variant: 'default',
    },
    variants: {
      variant: {
        default: 'w-full',
        demo: 'h-[650px] w-full overflow-y-auto',
      },
    },
  }
);
 
export const EditorContainer = React.forwardRef<
  HTMLDivElement,
  React.ComponentPropsWithoutRef<'div'> &
    VariantProps<typeof editorContainerVariants>
>(({ className, variant, ...props }, ref) => {
  return (
    <div
      ref={ref}
      className={cn(
        'ignore-click-outside/toolbar',
        editorContainerVariants({ variant }),
        className
      )}
      role="button"
      {...props}
    />
  );
});
 
EditorContainer.displayName = 'EditorContainer';
 
const editorVariants = cva(
  cn(
    'group/editor',
    'relative w-full whitespace-pre-wrap break-words',
    'rounded-md ring-offset-background placeholder:text-muted-foreground/80 focus-visible:outline-none',
    '[&_[data-slate-placeholder]]:text-muted-foreground/80 [&_[data-slate-placeholder]]:!opacity-100',
    '[&_[data-slate-placeholder]]:top-[auto_!important]',
    '[&_strong]:font-bold'
  ),
  {
    defaultVariants: {
      variant: 'default',
    },
    variants: {
      disabled: {
        true: 'cursor-not-allowed opacity-50',
      },
      focused: {
        true: 'ring-2 ring-ring ring-offset-2',
      },
      variant: {
        ai: 'w-full px-0 text-sm',
        aiChat:
          'max-h-[min(70vh,320px)] w-full max-w-[700px] overflow-y-auto px-3 py-2 text-sm',
        default:
          'min-h-full w-full px-16 pb-72 pt-4 text-base sm:px-[max(64px,calc(50%-350px))]',
        demo: 'min-h-full w-full px-16 pb-72 pt-4 text-base sm:px-[max(64px,calc(50%-350px))]',
        fullWidth: 'min-h-full w-full px-16 pb-72 pt-4 text-base sm:px-24',
      },
    },
  }
);
 
export type EditorProps = PlateContentProps &
  VariantProps<typeof editorVariants>;
 
export const Editor = React.forwardRef<HTMLDivElement, EditorProps>(
  ({ className, disabled, focused, variant, ...props }, ref) => {
    return (
      <PlateContent
        ref={ref}
        className={cn(
          editorVariants({
            disabled,
            focused,
            variant,
          }),
          className
        )}
        disabled={disabled}
        disableDefaultStyles
        {...props}
      />
    );
  }
);
 
Editor.displayName = 'Editor';

Initializing Editor's Value

Let's specify the initial content of the editor: a single paragraph.

// ...
 
const value = [
  {
    type: 'p',
    children: [
      {
        text: 'This is editable plain text with react and history plugins, just like a <textarea>!',
      },
    ],
  },
];
 
export default function BasicEditor() {
  const editor = usePlateEditor({
    value,
  });
 
  return (
    <Plate editor={editor}>
      <PlateContent />
    </Plate>
  );
}

Note: Plate uses the type property to enable plugins to render nodes by type.

Implementing Change Handler

At this stage, it's crucial to monitor editor modifications in order to store the values appropriately. The onChange prop will serve this purpose. You can also persist the editor's state by saving the value to local storage or a database and loading it back when needed.

// ...
 
export default function BasicEditor() {
  const localValue =
    typeof window !== 'undefined' && localStorage.getItem('editorContent');
 
  const editor = usePlateEditor({
    value: localValue ? JSON.parse(localValue) : value,
  });
 
  return (
    <Plate
      editor={editor}
      onChange={({ value }) => {
        localStorage.setItem('editorContent', JSON.stringify(value));
      }}
    >
      <PlateContent />
    </Plate>
  );
}

Plugins

Use our interactive builder to pick your plugins.

Let's use the basic plugins for a rich-text editor.

// ...
 
import {
  BoldPlugin,
  ItalicPlugin,
  UnderlinePlugin,
  CodePlugin,
} from '@udecode/plate-basic-marks/react';
import { HeadingPlugin } from '@udecode/plate-heading/react';
import { BlockquotePlugin } from '@udecode/plate-block-quote/react';
import { CodeBlockPlugin } from '@udecode/plate-code-block/react';
 
const value = [
  // ...
];
 
export default function BasicEditor() {
  const editor = usePlateEditor({
    value,
    plugins: [
      HeadingPlugin,
      BlockquotePlugin,
      CodeBlockPlugin,
      BoldPlugin,
      ItalicPlugin,
      UnderlinePlugin,
      CodePlugin,
    ],
  });
 
  return (
    <Plate editor={editor}>
      <PlateContent />
    </Plate>
  );
}

The plugins are functioning correctly. However, since we haven't specified any custom components for rendering, the editor is using the default (unstyled) components. Specifically, the default element component is a div, and the default leaf component is a span.

Note: You don't need to add core plugins such as ReactPlugin, HistoryPlugin and ParagraphPlugin as usePlateEditor already does it.

Components

Note: Plate plugins are packaged unstyled, implying that you have complete control over markup and styling, hence you can integrate your own design system or Plate UI. If using the latter, use our interactive builder to pick your components.

To plug-in all the components in one place, we can use the override.components option in usePlateEditor:

// ...
 
// Import Prism for code highlighting
import Prism from 'prismjs';
 
// This is a local file, you will need to create this file in your project
import { createPlateUI } from '@/lib/create-plate-ui';
 
export default function BasicEditor() {
  const editor = usePlateEditor({
    plugins: [
      HeadingPlugin,
      BlockquotePlugin,
      CodeBlockPlugin.configure({ options: { prism: Prism } }),
      BoldPlugin,
      ItalicPlugin,
      UnderlinePlugin,
      CodePlugin,
    ],
    override: {
      components: createPlateUI(),
    },
  });
 
  return (
    <Plate editor={editor}>
      <PlateContent />
    </Plate>
  );
}

// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/ban-ts-comment
// @ts-nocheck
import { withProps } from '@udecode/cn';
import { AIPlugin } from '@udecode/plate-ai/react';
import {
  BoldPlugin,
  CodePlugin,
  ItalicPlugin,
  StrikethroughPlugin,
  SubscriptPlugin,
  SuperscriptPlugin,
  UnderlinePlugin,
} from '@udecode/plate-basic-marks/react';
import { BlockquotePlugin } from '@udecode/plate-block-quote/react';
import {
  CodeBlockPlugin,
  CodeLinePlugin,
  CodeSyntaxPlugin,
} from '@udecode/plate-code-block/react';
import { CommentsPlugin } from '@udecode/plate-comments/react';
import { ParagraphPlugin } from '@udecode/plate-common/react';
import {
  type NodeComponent,
  PlateElement,
  PlateLeaf,
} from '@udecode/plate-common/react';
import { DatePlugin } from '@udecode/plate-date/react';
import { EmojiInputPlugin } from '@udecode/plate-emoji/react';
import { ExcalidrawPlugin } from '@udecode/plate-excalidraw/react';
import { FindReplacePlugin } from '@udecode/plate-find-replace';
import { HEADING_KEYS } from '@udecode/plate-heading';
import { TocPlugin } from '@udecode/plate-heading/react';
import { HighlightPlugin } from '@udecode/plate-highlight/react';
import { HorizontalRulePlugin } from '@udecode/plate-horizontal-rule/react';
import { KbdPlugin } from '@udecode/plate-kbd/react';
import { ColumnItemPlugin, ColumnPlugin } from '@udecode/plate-layout/react';
import { LinkPlugin } from '@udecode/plate-link/react';
import {
  BulletedListPlugin,
  ListItemPlugin,
  NumberedListPlugin,
  TodoListPlugin,
} from '@udecode/plate-list/react';
import { ImagePlugin, MediaEmbedPlugin } from '@udecode/plate-media/react';
import {
  MentionInputPlugin,
  MentionPlugin,
} from '@udecode/plate-mention/react';
import { SlashInputPlugin } from '@udecode/plate-slash-command/react';
import {
  TableCellHeaderPlugin,
  TableCellPlugin,
  TablePlugin,
  TableRowPlugin,
} from '@udecode/plate-table/react';
import { TogglePlugin } from '@udecode/plate-toggle/react';
 
import { AILeaf } from '@/components/plate-ui/ai-leaf';
import { BlockquoteElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/blockquote-element';
import { CodeBlockElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/code-block-element';
import { CodeLeaf } from '@/components/plate-ui/code-leaf';
import { CodeLineElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/code-line-element';
import { CodeSyntaxLeaf } from '@/components/plate-ui/code-syntax-leaf';
import { ColumnElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/column-element';
import { ColumnGroupElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/column-group-element';
import { CommentLeaf } from '@/components/plate-ui/comment-leaf';
import { DateElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/date-element';
import { EmojiInputElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/emoji-input-element';
import { ExcalidrawElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/excalidraw-element';
import { HeadingElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/heading-element';
import { HighlightLeaf } from '@/components/plate-ui/highlight-leaf';
import { HrElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/hr-element';
import { ImageElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/image-element';
import { KbdLeaf } from '@/components/plate-ui/kbd-leaf';
import { LinkElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/link-element';
import { ListElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/list-element';
import { MediaEmbedElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/media-embed-element';
import { MentionElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/mention-element';
import { MentionInputElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/mention-input-element';
import { ParagraphElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/paragraph-element';
import { withPlaceholders } from '@/components/plate-ui/placeholder';
import { SearchHighlightLeaf } from '@/components/plate-ui/search-highlight-leaf';
import { SlashInputElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/slash-input-element';
import {
  TableCellElement,
  TableCellHeaderElement,
} from '@/components/plate-ui/table-cell-element';
import { TableElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/table-element';
import { TableRowElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/table-row-element';
import { TocElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/toc-element';
import { TodoListElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/todo-list-element';
import { ToggleElement } from '@/components/plate-ui/toggle-element';
import { withDraggables } from '@/components/plate-ui/with-draggables';
 
export const createPlateUI = ({
  draggable,
  placeholder,
}: { draggable?: boolean; placeholder?: boolean } = {}) => {
  let components: Record<string, NodeComponent> = {
    [AIPlugin.key]: AILeaf,
    [BlockquotePlugin.key]: BlockquoteElement,
    [BoldPlugin.key]: withProps(PlateLeaf, { as: 'strong' }),
    [BulletedListPlugin.key]: withProps(ListElement, { variant: 'ul' }),
    [CodeBlockPlugin.key]: CodeBlockElement,
    [CodeLinePlugin.key]: CodeLineElement,
    [CodePlugin.key]: CodeLeaf,
    [CodeSyntaxPlugin.key]: CodeSyntaxLeaf,
    [ColumnItemPlugin.key]: ColumnElement,
    [ColumnPlugin.key]: ColumnGroupElement,
    [CommentsPlugin.key]: CommentLeaf,
    [DatePlugin.key]: DateElement,
    [EmojiInputPlugin.key]: EmojiInputElement,
    [ExcalidrawPlugin.key]: ExcalidrawElement,
    [FindReplacePlugin.key]: SearchHighlightLeaf,
    [HEADING_KEYS.h1]: withProps(HeadingElement, { variant: 'h1' }),
    [HEADING_KEYS.h2]: withProps(HeadingElement, { variant: 'h2' }),
    [HEADING_KEYS.h3]: withProps(HeadingElement, { variant: 'h3' }),
    [HEADING_KEYS.h4]: withProps(HeadingElement, { variant: 'h4' }),
    [HEADING_KEYS.h5]: withProps(HeadingElement, { variant: 'h5' }),
    [HEADING_KEYS.h6]: withProps(HeadingElement, { variant: 'h6' }),
    [HighlightPlugin.key]: HighlightLeaf,
    [HorizontalRulePlugin.key]: HrElement,
    [ImagePlugin.key]: ImageElement,
    [ItalicPlugin.key]: withProps(PlateLeaf, { as: 'em' }),
    [KbdPlugin.key]: KbdLeaf,
    [LinkPlugin.key]: LinkElement,
    [ListItemPlugin.key]: withProps(PlateElement, { as: 'li' }),
    [MediaEmbedPlugin.key]: MediaEmbedElement,
    [MentionInputPlugin.key]: MentionInputElement,
    [MentionPlugin.key]: MentionElement,
    [NumberedListPlugin.key]: withProps(ListElement, { variant: 'ol' }),
    [ParagraphPlugin.key]: ParagraphElement,
    [SlashInputPlugin.key]: SlashInputElement,
    [StrikethroughPlugin.key]: withProps(PlateLeaf, { as: 's' }),
    [SubscriptPlugin.key]: withProps(PlateLeaf, { as: 'sub' }),
    [SuperscriptPlugin.key]: withProps(PlateLeaf, { as: 'sup' }),
    [TableCellHeaderPlugin.key]: TableCellHeaderElement,
    [TableCellPlugin.key]: TableCellElement,
    [TablePlugin.key]: TableElement,
    [TableRowPlugin.key]: TableRowElement,
    [TocPlugin.key]: TocElement,
    [TodoListPlugin.key]: TodoListElement,
    [TogglePlugin.key]: ToggleElement,
    [UnderlinePlugin.key]: withProps(PlateLeaf, { as: 'u' }),
  };
 
  if (placeholder) {
    components = withPlaceholders(components);
  }
  if (draggable) {
    components = withDraggables(components);
  }
 
  return components;
};

Initializing Editor's Value with HTML String

You can also specify the initial content of the editor using an HTML string and the corresponding plugins.

// ...
 
const htmlValue = '<p>This is <b>bold</b> and <i>italic</i> text!</p>';
 
export default function BasicEditor() {
  const editor = usePlateEditor({
    value: htmlValue,
    plugins: [BoldPlugin, ItalicPlugin],
  });
 
  return (
    <Plate editor={editor}>
      <PlateContent />
    </Plate>
  );
}

That's it!

You can now play around with the Playground and start building your own editor.

Introduction Components

On This Page

Create project
Add dependencies
Basic Editor
Styling
Initializing Editor's Value
Implementing Change Handler
Plugins
Components
Initializing Editor's Value with HTML String
That's it!

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