Why another code editor for the web? I wanted something very simple, tiny and minimalistic, just for editing small chunks of HTML, JavaScript or CSS. Finally I decided to create my own code editor with a small syntax highlight.

Demo

Visit josemi.xyz/codecake to see a working example of the CodeCake editor.

Getting started

You can install CodeCake using npm or yarn:

## Install using NPM
$ npm install --save codecake

## Or install using yarn
$ yarn add codecake

In your HTML code, import the codecake.css style:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://unpkg.com/codecake/codecake.css">

Create a new <div> element:

<div id="editor" class=""></div>

In your <script type="module"> tag, import CodeCake and initialize the editor:

<script type="module">
    import * as CodeCake from "https://unpkg.com/codecake/codecake.js";

    const parent = document.getElementById("editor");
    const cake = CodeCake.create(parent, {
        language: "javascript",
        className: "codecake-dark",
        highlight: CodeCake.highlight,
    });
</script>

API

CodeCake.create(target, options)

The first argument of the CodeCake.create function is the reference to the <div> element. The second argument is an object with the editor options:

• language: language of the code. This value will be also passed as the second argument of the function provided in options.highlight. Default is "".
• readOnly: editor will be in read-only mode. Default is false.
• lineNumbers: editor will display line numbers. Default is false.
• indentWithTabs: editor will use the tab character "\t" for indentation instead of spaces. Default is false.
• tabSize: number of spaces for a tab. Default is 4.
• autoIndent: automatically add indentation on new lines. It also adds an extra line on closing brackets, braces and parenheses. Default is true.
• addClosing: automatically close brackets, braces, parentheses, and quotes. Default is true.
• lineWrap: allows the text to wrap to the next line when it reaches the end of the editor width. Default is false.
• highlight: allows to disable or to provide a custom function to highlight code. Default is CodeCake.highlight. Please read first the Custom highlight section before using other syntax highlights.
• className: custom classname to customize the editing area. Default is "".

The CodeCake.create function will return an object with some methods that you can use to manipulate the editor.

Use cake.getCode() to get the current code in the editor.

const code = cake.getCode();

Use cake.setCode(newCode) to update the code displayed in the editor.

cake.setCode("Hello world");

Use cake.onChange to register a listener that will be called each time user changes the code.

cake.onChange(code => {
    console.log("New code: ", code);
});

CodeCake.highlight(code, language)

We provide a tiny highlight module that you can use to highlight the text in your editor. Only basic web languages are supported (html, javascript,css, and markdown). Use this function with the options.highlight argument:

CodeCake.create(parent, {
    language: "javascript",
    highlight: (code, lang) => {
        return CodeCake.highlight(code, lang);
    },
    // ...other editor options
});

Note: after v0.4.0, you do not need to specify the CodeCake.highlight function in the highlight option, as it will be used by default.

Themes

We provide two themes to customize the editor and the highlighted code: codecake-light and codecake-dark.

const cake = CodeCake.create(parent, {
    className: "codecake-dark",
    // ...other editor options
});

Custom highlight

After version v0.4.0, CodeCake does not support other syntax highlights like highlight.js or Prism.

This is because the lineWrap feature (added in v0.4.0) involves splitting the code into lines and treating each line as an independent block. This design choice can affect the performance and accuracy of external syntax highlighters, especially when dealing with multiline strings or code blocks.

We are working on a better documentation of our syntax highlighter, so you can extend it and include your custom language highlights.

Preventing keyboard trap

The Tab key is commonly used by developers to indent code. However, this can sometimes lead to unexpected behavior, where the focus remains trapped within the editor, disrupting the workflow. To address this, we have introduced the Esc Tab key combination to move to the next focusable element, and the Esc Shift + Tab key combination to move to the previous focusable element.

Please note that we do not provide built-in help or a dedicated user interface for this feature. This is because the editor is designed as a lightweight code editor component, not a standalone application. Users are encouraged to consult the documentation or any user guides provided within the context of the web application that incorporates this component for information on available keyboard shortcuts and features.

License

CodeCake is released under the MIT License.