ckeditor4

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.