CKEditor
WYSIWYG text editor to be used inside web pages
CKEditor (formerly known as FCKeditor) is a WYSIWYG rich text editor which enables writing content directly inside of web pages or online applications. Its core code is written in TypeScript. CKEditor is available under open source and commercial licenses (including a free tier ready for commercial use).
History
FCKeditor and CKEditor 3
The first version of CKEditor, under the name FCKeditor, was released in March 2003 by Frederico Caldeira Knabben, the creator of the editor and the project's Benevolent Dictator for Life. After reaching more than 3 million downloads, FCKeditor was extensively reviewed and redesigned as CKEditor 3, with special attention given to performance, accessibility and a new UI.
CKEditor 4
In December 2012, CKEditor 4 was released with an Inline Editing solution, reformatted source code, enhanced DOM and CSS performance. The server-side implementations were removed. It was retired in June 2023.
CKEditor 4 LTS
A special commercial-only continuance of CKEditor 4 only for security updates and critical bug fixes, limited until December 2029.
CKEditor 5
After five years, in 2018, CKEditor 5’s first stable version was introduced. With its code rewritten from scratch, CKEditor 5 has a custom data model and plug-in-based architecture.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “CKEditor” is wYSIWYG text editor to be used inside web pages. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through CKEditor, WYSIWYG and text, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “wYSIWYG text editor to be used inside web pages” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q136559. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2003, 2012, 2023 and 2029.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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Three-step research path
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- Expand the search: follow CKEditor primary sources, CKEditor archive and CKEditor research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “CKEditor” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.