Ckeditor Bundle Laravel Package

Getting Started

First, a scope check. This is a Symfony bundle (Ivory\CKEditorBundle), not a Laravel package. There is no service provider, no facade, and no config/ckeditor.php. If you are working in a Laravel app you cannot composer require this and expect anything to happen — you want unisharp/laravel-ckeditor, a Livewire editor component, or just a CKEditor 5 npm install and a Blade partial. The rest of this write-up assumes you have been dropped into a Symfony project (or are evaluating this bundle before recommending a replacement).

Also note the package is effectively a fork/mirror of the long-abandoned Ivory CKEditor bundle, last tagged in January 2019. Before writing code against it, open composer.json in the repo and confirm which Symfony versions the constraints actually allow. On modern Symfony (5.4+/6+) you will almost certainly need friendsofsymfony/ckeditor-bundle (the maintained successor) instead — the API below is ~95% identical, so anything you learn here transfers directly.

Minimal path in a compatible Symfony 3.4/4.x app:

1. Read the bundle class first. vendor/sirroland/ckeditor-bundle/ — confirm the namespace (Ivory\CKEditorBundle vs a fork-specific namespace) and the container alias. This determines your config root key (ivory_ck_editor: is the historical one).

2. Install and register:

   composer require sirroland/ckeditor-bundle
   

   // config/bundles.php
   Ivory\CKEditorBundle\IvoryCKEditorBundle::class => ['all' => true],
   

3. Drop in a config file — config/packages/ivory_ck_editor.yaml:

   ivory_ck_editor:
       default_config: default
       autoload: true          # let the bundle ship CKEditor's JS for you
       configs:
           default:
               toolbar: standard
   

4. First use case — a form field:

   use Ivory\CKEditorBundle\Form\Type\CKEditorType;
   
   $builder->add('body', CKEditorType::class);
   

   Render normally with {{ form_row(form.body) }}. The bundle emits the <textarea> plus an inline <script> that boots CKEditor against it.

5. Verify the pipeline with bin/console debug:config ivory_ck_editor (or whatever the alias is) and bin/console debug:container --tag=form.type | grep -i ckeditor. If the type is not registered, nothing else matters.

Implementation Patterns

Named configs, one per editor context. The bundle's main value is that you define CKEditor configs once in YAML and reference them by name from any form across the app. Keep a small set (minimal, standard, full, comment) rather than per-form one-offs:

ivory_ck_editor:
    default_config: standard
    configs:
        minimal:
            toolbar: [['Bold', 'Italic']]
            height: 120
        standard:
            toolbar: standard
            uiColor: '#f4f4f4'

$builder->add('comment', CKEditorType::class, ['config_name' => 'minimal']);

Per-field config overrides. The config option merges a raw array on top of the named config — useful for one-off height or read-only tweaks without polluting the YAML:

$builder->add('notes', CKEditorType::class, [
    'config_name' => 'standard',
    'config' => ['height' => 300, 'readOnly' => true],
]);

File uploads / elFinder. The classic Symfony integration is config.filebrowserUploadRoute + filebrowserBrowseRoute pointing at a controller (often the FMElfinderBundle). Wire it once in the config:

standard:
    filebrowserUploadRoute: admin_upload
    filebrowserBrowseRoute: admin_browse

Then secure those routes — see the gotcha below.

Asset handling. autoload: true is the fast path and is fine for prototypes. In a real app using Webpack Encore, set autoload: false, install CKEditor via npm, and import ckeditor/ckeditor in your entrypoint. The bundle still handles the form type; you just own the script tag.

Reusable application form type. Wrap CKEditorType in your own type (RichTextType) so the rest of the codebase never imports a third-party bundle form type directly. When you eventually swap to FOSCKEditor or CKEditor 5, you change one class:

class RichTextType extends CKEditorType
{
    public function configureOptions(OptionsResolver $resolver): void
    {
        $resolver->setDefault('config_name', 'standard');
    }
}

Non-form usage. Rendering an editor outside a Symfony Form is painful with this bundle — it is form-centric. For Twig-only pages, either create a tiny one-field form in the controller or bypass the bundle and call CKEditor's ClassicEditor.create() yourself. Don't fight it.

Testing. Because CKEditorType extends TextareaType, PHPUnit form tests keep working — assert on the <textarea name="..."> and the presence of the CKEditor config JSON in the response. No browser needed for the form contract.

Laravel equivalent patterns, if you're translating: laravel-ckeditor gives you @ckeditor('body') in Blade; for a richer setup (uploads, plugins) you'll find yourself writing the controller endpoint and CKEditor config object by hand regardless of framework — the JavaScript side is identical. The only thing this bundle saves you is the Symfony form wiring.

Gotchas and Tips

• It is abandoned. No releases since 2019, 0 dependents, 0 stars. PHP 8 and Symfony 5+ compatibility is unverified in the constraint set. If you must use it, pin it and be prepared to fork it back. For new work use friendsofsymfony/ckeditor-bundle or CKEditor 5 directly.
• Namespace/alias drift. This is a fork of the Ivory bundle. The container alias may be ivory_ck_editor, egeloen_ck_editor (older), or fork-specific. Always resolve the truth with bin/console debug:config / config:dump-reference before assuming the YAML key — a wrong root key silently does nothing rather than erroring loudly in some versions.
• autoload: true vs Encore is a real conflict. If you enable autoload and import CKEditor in your Webpack entrypoint, you get two copies and confusing "editor already attached" behavior. Pick one. The bundle's autoload is also pinned to whatever CKEditor 4.x it vendored years ago — you don't get CKEditor 5 features.
• CKEditor 4 vs 5 config schemas are incompatible. The bundle predates CKEditor 5. Anything you copy from modern CKEditor docs (toolbar.items, @ckeditor/* plugins) will not work in this bundle's YAML. Use the legacy toolbar: [['Bold','Italic']] array syntax.
• config merges shallowly. Nested arrays (toolbar groups, plugin lists) are replaced wholesale, not deep-merged. If your override unexpectedly drops a toolbar row, that's why. Put the full desired value in the override.
• Filebrowser routes are an attack surface. filebrowserUploadRoute calls a controller with a file — make sure that route is behind auth, validates MIME/extension server-side, and does not trust CKEditorFuncNum. The bundle hands the URL and func-num to the browser; validation is entirely your job.
• Debugging checklist: (1) is the type registered — debug:container --tag=form.type; (2) is the config alias correct — debug:config; (3) is the JS actually loaded — view source and search for ckeditor.js; (4) did the inline init script run — check the console for CKEDITOR is not defined (asset problem) vs editor already attached (double bootstrap).
• Extension points are thin but real: ivory_ck_editor.config_manager (or similarly named) is a public service you can use to read/modify configs at runtime; the form type accepts config so most customization happens there rather than via events. If you need plugin-specific Symfony wiring, a small custom form type wrapping CKEditorType is cleaner than monkey-patching the bundle.
• Upgrade path note for Laravel readers: this whole class of bundle exists because pre-Encore Symfony had no good asset story. If you're porting a project to Laravel, don't look for a "bundle equivalent" — use CKEditor 5 via npm/Vite, a single data-controller hook for bootstrapping, and a plain controller for uploads. You will write less glue than this bundle provides.