# Getting Started
This is a step-by-step guide for anyone who wants to create their own builder with GrapesJS. This is not a comprehensive guide, just a concise overview of the most common modules. Follow along to create a page builder from scratch. Skip to the end of this page to see the final result.
# Import the library
Before you start using GrapesJS, you'll have to import it. Let's import the latest version:
<link rel="stylesheet" href="//unpkg.com/grapesjs/dist/css/grapes.min.css" />
<script src="//unpkg.com/grapesjs"></script>
<!--
If you need plugins, put them below the main grapesjs script
<script src="/path/to/some/plugin.min.js"></script>
-->
or if you're in a Node environment
import 'grapesjs/dist/css/grapes.min.css';
import grapesjs from 'grapesjs';
// If you need plugins, put them below the main grapesjs script
// import 'grapesjs-some-plugin';
# Start from the canvas
The first step is to define the interface of our editor. For this purpose we gonna start with basic HTML layouts. Finding a common structure for the UI of any project is not an easy task. That's why GrapesJS prefers to keep this process as simple as possible. We provide a few helpers, but let the user define the interface. This guarantees maximum flexibility. The main part of the GrapesJS editor is the canvas, this is where you create the structure of your templates and you can't miss it. Let's try to initiate the editor with the canvas and no panels.
<div id="gjs">
<h1>Hello World Component!</h1>
</div>
const editor = grapesjs.init({
// Indicate where to init the editor. You can also pass an HTMLElement
container: '#gjs',
// Get the content for the canvas directly from the element
// As an alternative we could use: `components: '<h1>Hello World Component!</h1>'`,
fromElement: true,
// Size of the editor
height: '300px',
width: 'auto',
// Disable the storage manager for the moment
storageManager: false,
// Avoid any default panel
panels: { defaults: [] },
});
/* Let's highlight canvas boundaries */
#gjs {
border: 3px solid #444;
}
/* Reset some default styling */
.gjs-cv-canvas {
top: 0;
width: 100%;
height: 100%;
}
Hello World Component!
With just the canvas you're already able to move, copy and delete components from the structure. For now, we see the example template taken from the container. Next let's look at how to create and drag custom blocks into our canvas.
# Add Blocks
The block in GrapesJS is just a reusable piece of HTML that you can drop in the canvas. A block can be an image, a button, or an entire section with videos, forms and iframes. Let's start by creating another container and append a few basic blocks inside of it. Later we can use this technique to build more complex structures.
<div id="gjs">
...
</div>
<div id="blocks"></div>
const editor = grapesjs.init({
// ...
blockManager: {
appendTo: '#blocks',
blocks: [
{
id: 'section', // id is mandatory
label: '<b>Section</b>', // You can use HTML/SVG inside labels
attributes: { class: 'gjs-block-section' },
content: `<section>
<h1>This is a simple title</h1>
<div>This is just a Lorem text: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet</div>
</section>`,
},
{
id: 'text',
label: 'Text',
content: '<div data-gjs-type="text">Insert your text here</div>',
},
{
id: 'image',
label: 'Image',
// Select the component once it's dropped
select: true,
// You can pass components as a JSON instead of a simple HTML string,
// in this case we also use a defined component type `image`
content: { type: 'image' },
// This triggers `active` event on dropped components and the `image`
// reacts by opening the AssetManager
activate: true,
},
],
},
});
.gjs-block {
width: auto;
height: auto;
min-height: auto;
}
Hello World Component!
As you can see we add our blocks via the initial configuration. Obviously there might be a case in which you would like to add them dynamically, in this case you have to use the Block Manager API:
editor.BlockManager.add('my-block-id', {
label: '...',
category: '...',
// ...
});
TIP
If you want to learn more about blocks we suggest reading its dedicated article: Block Manager Module.
# Define Components
Technically, once you drop your HTML block inside the canvas each element of the content is transformed into a GrapesJS Component. A GrapesJS Component is an object containing information about how the element is rendered in the canvas (managed in the View) and how it might look in its final code (created by the properties in the Model). Generally, all Model properties are reflected in the View. Therefore, if you add a new attribute to the model, it will be available in the export code (which we will learn more about later), and the element you see in the canvas will be updated with new attributes. This isn't totally out of the ordinary, but the unique thing about Components is that you can create a totally decoupled View. This means you can show the user whatever you desire regardless of what is in the Model. For example, by dragging a placeholder text you can fetch and show instead a dynamic content. If you want to learn more about Custom Components, you should check out Component Manager Module.
GrapesJS comes with a few built-in Components that enable different features once rendered in the canvas. For example, by double clicking on an image component you will see the default Asset Manager, which you can customize or integrate your own. By double clicking on the text component you're able to edit it via the built-in Rich Text Editor, which is also customizable and replaceable.
As we have seen before you can create Blocks directly as Components:
editor.BlockManager.add('my-block-id', {
// ...
content: {
tagName: 'div',
draggable: false,
attributes: { 'some-attribute': 'some-value' },
components: [
{
tagName: 'span',
content: '<b>Some static content</b>',
},
{
tagName: 'div',
// use `content` for static strings, `components` string will be parsed
// and transformed in Components
components: '<span>HTML at some point</span>',
},
],
},
});
TIP
Check out the Components API to learn how to interact with components dynamically.
An example of how to select some inner component and replace its children with new contents:
// The wrapper is the root Component
const wrapper = editor.DomComponents.getWrapper();
const myComponent = wrapper.find('div.my-component')[0];
myComponent.components().forEach(component => /* ... do something ... */);
myComponent.components('<div>New content</div>');
# Panels & Buttons
Now that we have a canvas and custom blocks let's see how to create a new custom panel with some buttons inside (using Panels API) which trigger commands (the core one or custom).
<div class="panel__top">
<div class="panel__basic-actions"></div>
</div>
<div id="gjs">
...
</div>
<div id="blocks"></div>
.panel__top {
padding: 0;
width: 100%;
display: flex;
position: initial;
justify-content: center;
justify-content: space-between;
}
.panel__basic-actions {
position: initial;
}
editor.Panels.addPanel({
id: 'panel-top',
el: '.panel__top',
});
editor.Panels.addPanel({
id: 'basic-actions',
el: '.panel__basic-actions',
buttons: [
{
id: 'visibility',
active: true, // active by default
className: 'btn-toggle-borders',
label: '<u>B</u>',
command: 'sw-visibility', // Built-in command
},
{
id: 'export',
className: 'btn-open-export',
label: 'Exp',
command: 'export-template',
context: 'export-template', // For grouping context of buttons from the same panel
},
{
id: 'show-json',
className: 'btn-show-json',
label: 'JSON',
context: 'show-json',
command(editor) {
editor.Modal.setTitle('Components JSON')
.setContent(
`<textarea style="width:100%; height: 250px;">
${JSON.stringify(editor.getComponents())}
</textarea>`,
)
.open();
},
},
],
});
Hello World Component!
We have defined where to render the panel with el: '#basic-panel' and then for each button we added a command property. The command could be the id, an object with run and stop functions or simply a single function.
Try to use Commands when possible, they allow you to track actions globally. Commands also execute callbacks before and after their execution (you can even interrupt them).
editor.on('run:export-template:before', (opts) => {
console.log('Before the command run');
if (0 /* some condition */) {
opts.abort = 1;
}
});
editor.on('run:export-template', () => console.log('After the command run'));
editor.on('abort:export-template', () => console.log('Command aborted'));
TIP
Check out the Panels API to see all the available methods.
# Layers
Another utility tool you might find useful when working with web elements is the layer manager. It's a tree overview of the structure nodes and enables you to manage it easier. To enable it you just have to specify where you want to render it.
<div class="panel__top">
<div class="panel__basic-actions"></div>
</div>
<div class="editor-row">
<div class="editor-canvas">
<div id="gjs">...</div>
</div>
<div class="panel__right">
<div class="layers-container"></div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="blocks"></div>
.editor-row {
display: flex;
justify-content: flex-start;
align-items: stretch;
flex-wrap: nowrap;
height: 300px;
}
.editor-canvas {
flex-grow: 1;
}
.panel__right {
flex-basis: 230px;
position: relative;
overflow-y: auto;
}
const editor = grapesjs.init({
// ...
layerManager: {
appendTo: '.layers-container',
},
// We define a default panel as a sidebar to contain layers
panels: {
defaults: [
{
id: 'layers',
el: '.panel__right',
// Make the panel resizable
resizable: {
maxDim: 350,
minDim: 200,
tc: false, // Top handler
cl: true, // Left handler
cr: false, // Right handler
bc: false, // Bottom handler
// Being a flex child we need to change `flex-basis` property
// instead of the `width` (default)
keyWidth: 'flex-basis',
},
},
],
},
});
Hello World Component!
# Style Manager
Once you have defined the structure of the template the next step is the ability to style it. To meet this need GrapesJS includes the Style Manager module which is composed by CSS style properties and sectors. To make it more clear, let's see how to define a basic set.
Let's start by adding one more panel inside the panel__right and another one in panel__top which will contain a Layer/Style Manager switcher:
<div class="panel__top">
<div class="panel__basic-actions"></div>
<div class="panel__switcher"></div>
</div>
...
<div class="panel__right">
<div class="layers-container"></div>
<div class="styles-container"></div>
</div>
...
.panel__switcher {
position: initial;
}
const editor = grapesjs.init({
// ...
panels: {
defaults: [
// ...
{
id: 'panel-switcher',
el: '.panel__switcher',
buttons: [
{
id: 'show-layers',
active: true,
label: 'Layers',
command: 'show-layers',
// Once activated disable the possibility to turn it off
togglable: false,
},
{
id: 'show-style',
active: true,
label: 'Styles',
command: 'show-styles',
togglable: false,
},
],
},
],
},
// The Selector Manager allows to assign classes and
// different states (eg. :hover) on components.
// Generally, it's used in conjunction with Style Manager
// but it's not mandatory
selectorManager: {
appendTo: '.styles-container',
},
styleManager: {
appendTo: '.styles-container',
sectors: [
{
name: 'Dimension',
open: false,
// Use built-in properties
buildProps: ['width', 'min-height', 'padding'],
// Use `properties` to define/override single property
properties: [
{
// Type of the input,
// options: integer | radio | select | color | slider | file | composite | stack
type: 'integer',
name: 'The width', // Label for the property
property: 'width', // CSS property (if buildProps contains it will be extended)
units: ['px', '%'], // Units, available only for 'integer' types
defaults: 'auto', // Default value
min: 0, // Min value, available only for 'integer' types
},
],
},
{
name: 'Extra',
open: false,
buildProps: ['background-color', 'box-shadow', 'custom-prop'],
properties: [
{
id: 'custom-prop',
name: 'Custom Label',
property: 'font-size',
type: 'select',
defaults: '32px',
// List of options, available only for 'select' and 'radio' types
options: [
{ value: '12px', name: 'Tiny' },
{ value: '18px', name: 'Medium' },
{ value: '32px', name: 'Big' },
],
},
],
},
],
},
});
// Define commands
editor.Commands.add('show-layers', {
getRowEl(editor) {
return editor.getContainer().closest('.editor-row');
},
getLayersEl(row) {
return row.querySelector('.layers-container');
},
run(editor, sender) {
const lmEl = this.getLayersEl(this.getRowEl(editor));
lmEl.style.display = '';
},
stop(editor, sender) {
const lmEl = this.getLayersEl(this.getRowEl(editor));
lmEl.style.display = 'none';
},
});
editor.Commands.add('show-styles', {
getRowEl(editor) {
return editor.getContainer().closest('.editor-row');
},
getStyleEl(row) {
return row.querySelector('.styles-container');
},
run(editor, sender) {
const smEl = this.getStyleEl(this.getRowEl(editor));
smEl.style.display = '';
},
stop(editor, sender) {
const smEl = this.getStyleEl(this.getRowEl(editor));
smEl.style.display = 'none';
},
});
Hello World Component!
Inside Style Manager definition we use buildProps which helps us create common properties from available built-in objects then in properties we can override same objects (eg. passing another name to change the label) identified by property name. As you can see from custom-prop example it's a matter of defining the CSS property and the input type. We suggest checking a more complete example of Style Manager properties usage from the webpage preset demo (opens new window).
TIP
Check the Style Manager API to see how to update sectors and properties dynamically.
# Traits
Most of the time you would style your components and place them somewhere in the structure, but sometimes your components might need custom attributes or even custom behaviors and for this need you can make use of traits. Traits are commonly used to update HTML element attributes (eg. placeholder for inputs or alt for images), but you can also define your own custom traits. Access the selected Component model and do whatever you want. For this guide, we are going to show you how to render available traits, for more details on how to extend them we suggest you read the Trait Manager Module page.
Let's create a new container for traits. Tell the editor where to render it and update the sidebar switcher:
...
<div class="panel__right">
<div class="layers-container"></div>
<div class="styles-container"></div>
<div class="traits-container"></div>
</div>
...
const editor = grapesjs.init({
// ...
panels: {
defaults: [
// ...
{
id: 'panel-switcher',
el: '.panel__switcher',
buttons: [
// ...
{
id: 'show-traits',
active: true,
label: 'Traits',
command: 'show-traits',
togglable: false,
},
],
},
],
},
traitManager: {
appendTo: '.traits-container',
},
});
// Define command
// ...
editor.Commands.add('show-traits', {
getTraitsEl(editor) {
const row = editor.getContainer().closest('.editor-row');
return row.querySelector('.traits-container');
},
run(editor, sender) {
this.getTraitsEl(editor).style.display = '';
},
stop(editor, sender) {
this.getTraitsEl(editor).style.display = 'none';
},
});
Hello World Component!
Now if you switch to the Trait panel and select one of the inner components you should see its default traits.
# Responsive templates
GrapesJS implements a module which allows you to work with responsive templates easily. Let's see how to define different devices and a button for device switching:
<div class="panel__top">
<div class="panel__basic-actions"></div>
<div class="panel__devices"></div>
<div class="panel__switcher"></div>
</div>
...
.panel__devices {
position: initial;
}
const editor = grapesjs.init({
// ...
deviceManager: {
devices: [
{
name: 'Desktop',
width: '', // default size
},
{
name: 'Mobile',
width: '320px', // this value will be used on canvas width
widthMedia: '480px', // this value will be used in CSS @media
},
],
},
// ...
panels: {
defaults: [
// ...
{
id: 'panel-devices',
el: '.panel__devices',
buttons: [
{
id: 'device-desktop',
label: 'D',
command: 'set-device-desktop',
active: true,
togglable: false,
},
{
id: 'device-mobile',
label: 'M',
command: 'set-device-mobile',
togglable: false,
},
],
},
],
},
});
// Commands
editor.Commands.add('set-device-desktop', {
run: (editor) => editor.setDevice('Desktop'),
});
editor.Commands.add('set-device-mobile', {
run: (editor) => editor.setDevice('Mobile'),
});
Hello World Component!
As you can see from the commands definition we use the editor.setDevice method to change the size of the viewport. In case you need to trigger an action on device change you can setup a listener like this:
editor.on('change:device', () => console.log('Current device: ', editor.getDevice()));
What about the mobile-first approach? You can achieve it by changing your configurations in this way:
const editor = grapesjs.init({
// ...
mediaCondition: 'min-width', // default is `max-width`
deviceManager: {
devices: [
{
name: 'Mobile',
width: '320',
widthMedia: '',
},
{
name: 'Desktop',
width: '',
widthMedia: '1024',
},
],
},
// ...
});
// Set initial device as Mobile
editor.setDevice('Mobile');
TIP
Check out the Device Manager API to see all the available methods.
# Store & load data
Once you have finished with defining your builder interface the next step would be to setup the storing and loading process.
GrapesJS implements 2 simple type of storages inside its Storage Manager: The local (by using localStorage, active by default) and the remote one. Those are enough to cover most of the cases, but it's also possible to add new implementations (grapesjs-indexeddb (opens new window) is a good example).
Let's see how the default options work:
grapesjs.init({
// ...
storageManager: {
type: 'local', // Type of the storage, available: 'local' | 'remote'
autosave: true, // Store data automatically
autoload: true, // Autoload stored data on init
stepsBeforeSave: 1, // If autosave enabled, indicates how many changes are necessary before store method is triggered
options: {
local: {
// Options for the `local` type
key: 'gjsProject', // The key for the local storage
},
},
},
});
Let's take a look at the configuration required to setup the remote storage:
grapesjs.init({
// ...
storageManager: {
type: 'remote',
// ...
stepsBeforeSave: 10,
options: {
remote: {
headers: {}, // Custom headers for the remote storage request
urlStore: 'https://your-server/endpoint/store', // Endpoint URL where to store data project
urlLoad: 'https://your-server/endpoint/load', // Endpoint URL where to load data project
},
},
},
});
As you might noticed, we've left some default options unchanged, increased changes necessary for autosave triggering and passed remote endpoints. If you prefer you could also disable the autosaving and use a custom command to trigger the store:
// ...
storageManager: {
type: 'remote',
autosave: false,
// ...
},
// ...
commands: {
defaults: [
// ...
{
id: 'store-data',
run(editor) {
editor.store();
},
}
]
}
// ...
To get a better overview of the Storage Manager and how you should store/load the template, or how to define new storages you should read the Storage Manager Module page.
# Theming
One last step that might actually improve a lot your editor personality is how it looks visually. To achieve an easy theming we have adapted an atomic design for this purpose. So for example to customize the main palette of colors all you have to do is to place your custom CSS rules after the GrapesJS styles.
To complete our builder let's customize its color palette and to make it more visually "readable" we can replace all button labels with SVG icons:
/* We can remove the border we've set at the beginning */
#gjs {
border: none;
}
/* Theming */
/* Primary color for the background */
.gjs-one-bg {
background-color: #78366a;
}
/* Secondary color for the text color */
.gjs-two-color {
color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);
}
/* Tertiary color for the background */
.gjs-three-bg {
background-color: #ec5896;
color: white;
}
/* Quaternary color for the text color */
.gjs-four-color,
.gjs-four-color-h:hover {
color: #ec5896;
}
There is also a bunch of CSS custom properties (variables) (opens new window) that you can use to customize the styles of the editor.
For example, you could achieve the same result as above by doing this:
:root {
--gjs-primary-color: #78366a;
--gjs-secondary-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);
--gjs-tertiary-color: #ec5896;
--gjs-quaternary-color: #ec5896;
}
And here is our final result: