Strapi Plugin CKEditor

The CKEditor 5 official integration for Strapi is a custom-field plugin that adds a configurable CKEditor 5 rich-text editor to Strapi's admin panel, produced by the CKEditor team.

What is the CKEditor 5 official integration for Strapi?

The CKEditor 5 official integration for Strapi is an open-source plugin that registers CKEditor 5 as a custom field inside Strapi's Content-Type Builder, so developers can attach a rich-text editor to any content type. It accepts text input through the editor UI and stores the result as HTML content in Strapi, and it is installed as an npm package (@ckeditor/strapi-plugin-ckeditor). The plugin is maintained by the CKEditor team and is licensed under MIT; CKEditor 5 itself is licensed under GPL v2+ or a commercial license and requires a valid license key.

Key Features

• No-code field customization — each CKEditor field can be configured per usage scenario, from a short note to a blog article or a full document, without writing custom editor code.
• Predefined editor presets — the plugin ships with preset sets of CKEditor 5 plugins and their configuration so editors can pick a starting point.
• Custom max-length validation — Twitter-like character counter with visual indicators that counts text characters rather than the length of the HTML string.
• Dark mode support — the editor adapts to Strapi's dark admin theme.
• Media library integration — images can be inserted directly from Strapi's media library into the editor content.
• Upcoming features — the maintainers list upload adapter integration and more granular toolbar and plugin configuration as planned additions.

Who should use this plugin?

• Strapi developers building content-driven sites can install the plugin, add the required CSP directives, and rebuild Strapi to expose CKEditor fields in any content type.
• Editorial teams and content writers get a familiar WYSIWYG editor with presets for blog articles, notes, and documents, plus character-based length validation.
• Teams planning a migration from Strapi 4 to Strapi 5 can use plugin version 0.x.x on Strapi ≥ 4.4 and version 1.x.x on Strapi ≥ 5.0.0.

What can you do with it?

• Content-heavy websites: add a CKEditor 5 field to blog post content types so editors can write and format articles with media from the Strapi library.
• Admin UI customization: configure distinct editor presets per field so a short excerpt field behaves differently from a full document body.
• Teams with design constraints: enable dark mode for the editor to match the Strapi admin theme.

How does the plugin work?

Installation is a three-step process: add the package with npm or yarn, add content security policy directives in config/middlewares.ts to allow loading CKEditor 5 from https://cdn.ckeditor.com and sending usage data to https://proxy-event.ckeditor.com, then run npm run build or yarn build. The plugin also documents a contributing workflow that uses create-strapi-app --quickstart, a src/plugins folder, and a config/plugins.js entry to register the local plugin.

Compatibility with Strapi versions

Starting with plugin version 1.0.0, the integration is compatible with Strapi 5.0.0 and newer and cannot be used on Strapi 4.4+. The plugin maintainers keep two tracks: version 1.x.x targets Strapi ≥ 5.0.0, while version 0.x.x supports Strapi ≥ 4.4, so users can stay on the 0.x track before migrating.

Licensing and license keys

The plugin itself is MIT-licensed, but a valid CKEditor 5 license key is required to use it; the CKEditor team offers a commitment-free trial to obtain a key. CKEditor 5 is available under GPL v2+ or a commercial license, and the repository links to CKEditor's pricing page.

FAQ

Does this plugin work with Strapi 4?

Yes — use plugin version 0.x.x with Strapi 4.4 and newer. Version 1.0.0 and later require Strapi 5.0.0 or newer, so the two version tracks are maintained in parallel.

Is the plugin free?

The plugin code is released under the MIT license, but using CKEditor 5 requires a valid license key. A commitment-free trial key is available from the CKEditor portal, and CKEditor 5 itself is GPL v2+ or commercially licensed.

How do I configure the Content Security Policy?

Add a rule to config/middlewares.ts in your Strapi project that sets script-src to include https://cdn.ckeditor.com and connect-src to include https://proxy-event.ckeditor.com, then rebuild the project.

Can I insert images from Strapi's media library?

Yes, media library integration is a built-in feature of the plugin, so editors can insert images stored in Strapi's media library directly into the CKEditor field.

Does the editor support dark mode?

Yes, dark mode support is listed as a feature, so the editor follows Strapi's dark admin theme.