Imagine you are setting up this cool editor for your app. You copied snippets from the docs, installed the packages, and quickly embedded the editor in your app. Everything works, you can type, and play with it. But now you start thinking about your specific use case. There’s just this one plugin that you want to add. You do it… and all hell breaks loose 🔥🔥🔥 Wall of errors, misleading docs. “I copied it straight from the docs! What’s wrong?! 😖 ” bangs in your head.

This is just one scenario of misleading onboarding to CKEditor 5. Which, you ask? The one where you extend a predefined build with additional plugins. 😮‍💨

Over the years, we learned a lot about the issues that you are facing. We resolved some and worked around some others, but the core issues remained there. We feel that it's now the right time to get to the root of it. 💪

For the past few months, we have researched the topic even further, focusing on these key issues:

• We have several methods of installation. Each has its specific quirks that make using the documentation difficult.
• The source packages that we release to npm need a specific setup, like webpack scripts, or a Vite plugin.
• Certain popular environments require various workarounds to set up CKEditor 5 (e.g. server-side rendered (SSR) applications like Next.js, Nuxt.js, or SvelteKit).

The ultimate goal is to make setting up of CKEditor a pleasure, not a nightmare. It should feel like adding another library to your application — nothing more, nothing less. And we came up with a plan for how to do that.

Now, we need your help!

Share your experiences, ask us questions, correct our assumptions, and show your unique use cases. Finally, let us know if you like the proposed direction. 🙏

The RFC with the details is in the first comment below. Join us on this exciting ride!🎢