Why Quill.js Dominates Rich Text Editing in 2025#

Delta Advantages#

Portability: Transfer content between systems without data loss Versioning: Track document changes with operational transforms Consistency: Same content produces identical output Collaboration: Real-time editing becomes possible

Available Modules#

Toolbar: Customizable formatting controls History: Undo/redo functionality with configurable stack Clipboard: Smart paste handling with format preservation Keyboard: Custom keyboard shortcuts and bindings Syntax: Code highlighting for technical content

React Integration#

import { useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
import Quill from 'quill';

function QuillEditor({ onChange }) {
  const editorRef = useRef();
  const quillRef = useRef();

  useEffect(() => {
    if (!quillRef.current) {
      quillRef.current = new Quill(editorRef.current, {
        theme: 'snow'
      });

      quillRef.current.on('text-change', () => {
        onChange(quillRef.current.getContents());
      });
    }
  }, [onChange]);

  return <div ref={editorRef} />;
}

Vue Integration#

<template>
  <div ref="editor"></div>
</template>

<script>
import Quill from 'quill'

export default {
  mounted() {
    this.quill = new Quill(this.$refs.editor, {
      theme: 'snow'
    })
    
    this.quill.on('text-change', () => {
      this.$emit('change', this.quill.getContents())
    })
  }
}
</script>

vs TinyMCE#

TinyMCE: Heavy bundle size. Complex configuration. HTML-centric output. Quill: Lightweight. Simple setup. Structured data model.

vs CKEditor#

CKEditor: Legacy architecture. Plugin complexity. Inconsistent APIs. Quill: Modern design. Modular approach. Clean APIs.

vs Draft.js#

Draft.js: React-only. Immutable state complexity. Facebook-specific needs. Quill: Framework agnostic. Simple state model. Universal compatibility.

vs Slate.js#

Slate.js: Complex setup. React dependency. Steep learning curve. Quill: Plug-and-play. Framework independent. Gentle learning curve.

Documentation Platforms#

GitBook uses Quill for content editing. Delta format enables collaborative editing. Version control integrates naturally.

CMS Systems#

Headless CMS providers adopt Quill widely. Structured content fits API-first architectures. Frontend flexibility increases.

Communication Tools#

Email composers benefit from consistent formatting. Delta operations enable draft synchronization across devices.

Note-Taking Applications#

Personal knowledge management tools leverage Quill’s reliability. Export capabilities support multiple formats.

Custom Formats#

Define application-specific formatting beyond built-in options.

import Quill from 'quill';

const Inline = Quill.import('blots/inline');

class CustomFormat extends Inline {
  static blotName = 'custom';
  static tagName = 'span';
  static className = 'custom-format';
}

Quill.register(CustomFormat);

Event Handling#

Comprehensive event system enables custom behaviors.

quill.on('text-change', (delta, oldDelta, source) => {
  if (source == 'api') {
    console.log('Programmatic change');
  } else if (source == 'user') {
    console.log('User change');
  }
});

quill.on('selection-change', (range, oldRange, source) => {
  if (range) {
    console.log('User selected', range.index, range.length);
  }
});

Custom Modules#

Build domain-specific functionality as modules.

class WordCounter {
  constructor(quill, options) {
    this.quill = quill;
    this.options = options;
    this.container = quill.addContainer('ql-word-counter');
    quill.on('text-change', this.update.bind(this));
    this.update();
  }

  calculate() {
    const text = this.quill.getText();
    return text.trim().split(/\s+/).length;
  }

  update() {
    const length = this.calculate();
    this.container.innerText = length + ' words';
  }
}

Quill.register('modules/wordCounter', WordCounter);

From TinyMCE#

TinyMCE stores HTML. Convert to Delta format for Quill compatibility.

import { QuillDeltaToHtmlConverter } from 'quill-delta-to-html';

// Convert TinyMCE HTML to Quill Delta
const converter = new QuillDeltaToHtmlConverter(deltaOps);
const html = converter.convert();

From CKEditor#

Similar HTML conversion process. Preserve formatting through mapping.

From Draft.js#

Draft.js uses similar block-based model. Direct conversion possible with transformations.

Configuration#

Start minimal. Add features incrementally. Avoid over-configuration.

// Good: Minimal setup
const quill = new Quill('#editor', {
  theme: 'snow',
  modules: {
    toolbar: [
      ['bold', 'italic'],
      ['link']
    ]
  }
});

// Avoid: Kitchen sink approach
const quill = new Quill('#editor', {
  theme: 'snow',
  modules: {
    toolbar: [
      ['bold', 'italic', 'underline', 'strike'],
      ['blockquote', 'code-block'],
      [{ 'header': 1 }, { 'header': 2 }],
      [{ 'list': 'ordered'}, { 'list': 'bullet' }],
      [{ 'script': 'sub'}, { 'script': 'super' }],
      [{ 'indent': '-1'}, { 'indent': '+1' }],
      [{ 'direction': 'rtl' }],
      [{ 'size': ['small', false, 'large', 'huge'] }],
      [{ 'header': [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, false] }],
      [{ 'color': [] }, { 'background': [] }],
      [{ 'font': [] }],
      [{ 'align': [] }],
      ['clean']
    ]
  }
});

Content Validation#

Validate Delta content before processing. Prevent malicious input.

function validateDelta(delta) {
  return delta.ops.every(op => {
    if (op.insert && typeof op.insert === 'string') {
      return op.insert.length <= 1000; // Limit text length
    }
    return true;
  });
}

Performance Optimization#

Monitor document size. Implement pagination for large content.

quill.on('text-change', () => {
  const delta = quill.getContents();
  if (delta.ops.length > 10000) {
    console.warn('Large document detected');
    // Consider pagination
  }
});

Basic Setup#

npm install quill

import Quill from 'quill';
import 'quill/dist/quill.snow.css';

const quill = new Quill('#editor', {
  theme: 'snow'
});

Content Operations#

// Set content
quill.setContents([
  { insert: 'Hello ' },
  { insert: 'World', attributes: { bold: true } },
  { insert: '\n' }
]);

// Get content
const content = quill.getContents();

// Listen for changes
quill.on('text-change', (delta, oldDelta, source) => {
  console.log('Content changed:', delta);
});

Toolbar Customization#

const toolbarOptions = [
  ['bold', 'italic', 'underline'],
  [{ 'list': 'ordered'}, { 'list': 'bullet' }],
  ['link', 'image'],
  ['clean']
];

const quill = new Quill('#editor', {
  modules: {
    toolbar: toolbarOptions
  },
  theme: 'snow'
});