draft-js vs react-draft-wysiwyg vs react-markdown vs react-markdown-editor-lite vs react-quill vs slate
Rich Text Editors for React
draft-jsreact-draft-wysiwygreact-markdownreact-markdown-editor-litereact-quillslateSimilar Packages:

Rich Text Editors for React

Rich text editors are essential tools in web development that allow users to create and format text content easily. They provide a user-friendly interface for editing text with various formatting options, such as bold, italics, lists, and links. The selected libraries each offer unique features and capabilities, catering to different use cases and developer preferences. Understanding the differences between these libraries can help developers choose the right tool for their specific needs, whether it's for simple markdown editing or complex rich text formatting.

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draft-js022,647-9546 years agoMIT
react-draft-wysiwyg06,474299 kB753-MIT
react-markdown015,70852.6 kB5a year agoMIT
react-markdown-editor-lite01,134494 kB544 months agoMIT
react-quill07,016405 kB432-MIT
slate031,6842.17 MB660a month agoMIT

Feature Comparison: draft-js vs react-draft-wysiwyg vs react-markdown vs react-markdown-editor-lite vs react-quill vs slate

Customization

  • draft-js:

    Draft.js offers extensive customization options, allowing developers to create tailored editing experiences. You can define custom block types, inline styles, and even implement your own decorators to handle specific formatting needs.

  • react-draft-wysiwyg:

    React Draft WYSIWYG provides a pre-built toolbar with various formatting options, but customization is limited compared to Draft.js. It allows for some styling adjustments but is primarily designed for quick integration without deep customization.

  • react-markdown:

    React Markdown is primarily focused on rendering markdown rather than editing, so customization is minimal. It supports basic markdown syntax and can be styled through CSS, but it does not offer editing capabilities.

  • react-markdown-editor-lite:

    React Markdown Editor Lite allows for some customization in terms of toolbar options and markdown rendering, but it is still limited compared to more complex editors. It is designed for ease of use rather than extensive customization.

  • react-quill:

    React Quill strikes a balance between customization and usability. It allows developers to customize the toolbar and add custom formats, making it flexible for various editing needs while maintaining a user-friendly interface.

  • slate:

    Slate is designed for maximum customization and extensibility. It provides a low-level API that allows developers to create completely unique editing experiences, making it suitable for applications with specific requirements.

Ease of Use

  • draft-js:

    Draft.js has a steeper learning curve due to its flexibility and customization options. Developers need to invest time in understanding its architecture and how to implement features effectively.

  • react-draft-wysiwyg:

    React Draft WYSIWYG is user-friendly and easy to integrate, making it suitable for developers who want a quick solution without extensive configuration. Its WYSIWYG interface is intuitive for end-users as well.

  • react-markdown:

    React Markdown is straightforward to use for rendering markdown content. It requires minimal setup and is ideal for developers looking for a simple solution to display formatted text.

  • react-markdown-editor-lite:

    React Markdown Editor Lite is designed for ease of use, providing a live preview feature that enhances the user experience. It is suitable for users who prefer a simple markdown editing experience with immediate visual feedback.

  • react-quill:

    React Quill is relatively easy to use, with a simple API and a customizable toolbar. It strikes a good balance between functionality and usability, making it accessible for both beginners and experienced developers.

  • slate:

    Slate has a steep learning curve due to its flexibility and the need for custom implementations. While it offers powerful capabilities, developers may need to invest significant time to fully understand and utilize its features.

Rendering Performance

  • draft-js:

    Draft.js is optimized for performance, handling large documents efficiently. It uses an immutable data structure to manage state, which helps in minimizing re-renders and improving overall performance.

  • react-draft-wysiwyg:

    React Draft WYSIWYG performs well for typical use cases, but performance may degrade with very large documents or complex content due to its reliance on Draft.js under the hood.

  • react-markdown:

    React Markdown is lightweight and efficient for rendering markdown content. It performs well even with larger markdown documents, as it focuses solely on rendering rather than editing.

  • react-markdown-editor-lite:

    React Markdown Editor Lite maintains good performance while providing live previews. However, performance may vary with extremely large markdown inputs due to real-time rendering.

  • react-quill:

    React Quill is designed for performance and can handle rich text content efficiently. It optimizes rendering and updates, making it suitable for applications with dynamic content.

  • slate:

    Slate's performance is highly dependent on how it is implemented. While it can handle complex editing scenarios, developers need to be mindful of performance optimizations, especially with large documents.

Community and Support

  • draft-js:

    Draft.js has a strong community and is backed by Facebook, ensuring ongoing support and updates. There are numerous resources and examples available for developers to learn from.

  • react-draft-wysiwyg:

    React Draft WYSIWYG has an active community, and while it may not be as large as Draft.js, it offers sufficient resources and documentation to assist developers.

  • react-markdown:

    React Markdown has a solid user base and is widely used for rendering markdown in React applications. Its simplicity contributes to a strong community of users sharing tips and solutions.

  • react-markdown-editor-lite:

    React Markdown Editor Lite has a growing community, and while it may not have extensive resources, it is easy to use, which encourages user contributions and support.

  • react-quill:

    React Quill benefits from a large community and extensive documentation, making it easy for developers to find help and resources. Its popularity ensures a wealth of examples and plugins available for use.

  • slate:

    Slate has a dedicated community of developers, and while it may not be as large as others, it offers robust documentation and resources for building custom editors.

Integration

  • draft-js:

    Draft.js integrates seamlessly with React applications, allowing for smooth state management and component interactions. It is designed specifically for React, making it a natural choice for React developers.

  • react-draft-wysiwyg:

    React Draft WYSIWYG is easy to integrate into existing React applications, providing a straightforward way to add rich text editing capabilities without extensive setup.

  • react-markdown:

    React Markdown can be easily integrated into any React application for rendering markdown content. Its simplicity and lightweight nature make it a convenient choice for displaying formatted text.

  • react-markdown-editor-lite:

    React Markdown Editor Lite integrates well into React applications, providing a simple way to add markdown editing capabilities with live previews, making it user-friendly.

  • react-quill:

    React Quill is designed for easy integration into React applications, with a straightforward API and customizable components that fit well into existing workflows.

  • slate:

    Slate requires more effort for integration due to its flexibility and customization options. While it can be integrated into React applications, developers need to be prepared for a more complex setup.

How to Choose: draft-js vs react-draft-wysiwyg vs react-markdown vs react-markdown-editor-lite vs react-quill vs slate

  • draft-js:

    Choose Draft.js if you need a highly customizable rich text editor that allows for deep integration with React. It provides a solid foundation for building complex text editing experiences but requires more effort to implement features like toolbars and formatting options.

  • react-draft-wysiwyg:

    Select React Draft WYSIWYG if you want a ready-to-use rich text editor with a WYSIWYG interface. It simplifies the process of integrating rich text editing into your application, offering a user-friendly toolbar and built-in formatting options without extensive customization.

  • react-markdown:

    Opt for React Markdown if your primary focus is on rendering markdown content rather than editing. It is lightweight and straightforward, making it ideal for displaying formatted text while supporting a variety of markdown features without the overhead of a full editor.

  • react-markdown-editor-lite:

    Use React Markdown Editor Lite if you want a simple markdown editor with a live preview feature. It combines markdown editing with a visual representation, making it easy for users to see their formatting changes in real-time, suitable for lightweight applications.

  • react-quill:

    Choose React Quill if you need a versatile editor that balances simplicity and functionality. It offers a rich set of features, including a customizable toolbar, and is easy to integrate, making it suitable for both beginners and advanced users looking for a straightforward rich text editing solution.

  • slate:

    Select Slate if you require a highly customizable and extensible framework for building rich text editors. It provides a low-level API that allows developers to create unique editing experiences tailored to specific requirements, making it ideal for complex use cases.

README for draft-js

draftjs-logo

Draft.js

Build Status npm version

Live Demo


Draft.js is a JavaScript rich text editor framework, built for React and backed by an immutable model.

  • Extensible and Customizable: We provide the building blocks to enable the creation of a broad variety of rich text composition experiences, from basic text styles to embedded media.
  • Declarative Rich Text: Draft.js fits seamlessly into React applications, abstracting away the details of rendering, selection, and input behavior with a familiar declarative API.
  • Immutable Editor State: The Draft.js model is built with immutable-js, offering an API with functional state updates and aggressively leveraging data persistence for scalable memory usage.

Learn how to use Draft.js in your own project.

API Notice

Before getting started, please be aware that we recently changed the API of Entity storage in Draft. The latest version, v0.10.0, supports both the old and new API. Following that up will be v0.11.0 which will remove the old API. If you are interested in helping out, or tracking the progress, please follow issue 839.

Getting Started

npm install --save draft-js react react-dom

or

yarn add draft-js react react-dom

Draft.js depends on React and React DOM which must also be installed.

Using Draft.js

import React from 'react';
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom';
import {Editor, EditorState} from 'draft-js';

class MyEditor extends React.Component {
  constructor(props) {
    super(props);
    this.state = {editorState: EditorState.createEmpty()};
    this.onChange = (editorState) => this.setState({editorState});
    this.setEditor = (editor) => {
      this.editor = editor;
    };
    this.focusEditor = () => {
      if (this.editor) {
        this.editor.focus();
      }
    };
  }

  componentDidMount() {
    this.focusEditor();
  }

  render() {
    return (
      <div style={styles.editor} onClick={this.focusEditor}>
        <Editor
          ref={this.setEditor}
          editorState={this.state.editorState}
          onChange={this.onChange}
        />
      </div>
    );
  }
}

const styles = {
  editor: {
    border: '1px solid gray',
    minHeight: '6em'
  }
};

ReactDOM.render(
  <MyEditor />,
  document.getElementById('container')
);

Since the release of React 16.8, you can use Hooks as a way to work with EditorState without using a class.

import React from 'react';
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom';
import {Editor, EditorState} from 'draft-js';

function MyEditor() {
  const [editorState, setEditorState] = React.useState(
    EditorState.createEmpty()
  );

  const editor = React.useRef(null);

  function focusEditor() {
    editor.current.focus();
  }

  React.useEffect(() => {
    focusEditor()
  }, []);

  return (
    <div onClick={focusEditor}>
      <Editor
        ref={editor}
        editorState={editorState}
        onChange={editorState => setEditorState(editorState)}
      />
    </div>
  );
}

Note that the editor itself is only as tall as its contents. In order to give users a visual cue, we recommend setting a border and a minimum height via the .DraftEditor-root CSS selector, or using a wrapper div like in the above example.

Because Draft.js supports unicode, you must have the following meta tag in the <head> </head> block of your HTML file:

<meta charset="utf-8" />

Further examples of how Draft.js can be used are provided below.

Examples

Visit http://draftjs.org/ to try out a basic rich editor example.

The repository includes a variety of different editor examples to demonstrate some of the features offered by the framework.

To run the examples, first build Draft.js locally. The Draft.js build is tested with Yarn v1 only. If you're using any other package manager and something doesn't work, try using yarn v1:

git clone https://github.com/facebook/draft-js.git
cd draft-js
yarn install
yarn run build

then open the example HTML files in your browser.

Draft.js is used in production on Facebook, including status and comment inputs, Notes, and messenger.com.

Browser Support

IE / Edge
IE / Edge
Firefox
Firefox
Chrome
Chrome
Safari
Safari
iOS Safari
iOS Safari
Chrome for Android
Chrome for Android
IE11, Edge [1, 2]last 2 versionslast 2 versionslast 2 versionsnot fully supported [3]not fully supported [3]

[1] May need a shim or a polyfill for some syntax used in Draft.js (docs).

[2] IME inputs have known issues in these browsers, especially Korean (docs).

[3] There are known issues with mobile browsers, especially on Android (docs).

Resources and Ecosystem

Check out this curated list of articles and open-sourced projects/utilities: Awesome Draft-JS.

Discussion and Support

Join our Slack team!

Contribute

We actively welcome pull requests. Learn how to contribute.

License

Draft.js is MIT licensed.

Examples provided in this repository and in the documentation are separately licensed.