--- title: "Embeddable Editor SDK: Embed a Creative Editor, Don't Build One" description: "Embed a creative editor into your web, mobile, or desktop app with CE.SDK. One SDK across frameworks, full-UI or headless, running on your own domain, no editor to build." url: "https://img.ly/capabilities/embeddable-editor/" type: "page" --- > This is the markdown version of [Embeddable Editor SDK: Embed a Creative Editor, Don't Build One](https://img.ly/capabilities/embeddable-editor/). For all pages in one file, see [llms-full.txt](https://img.ly/llms-full.txt). For an index of all available pages, see [llms.txt](https://img.ly/llms.txt). --- # Embeddable Editor: A creative editor embedded in your app, not bolted on Add a design, photo, or video editor that runs inside your product with one SDK: on your own domain, with your data, and under your control. - Runs inside your app, not in an iframe - One SDK across web, mobile, desktop - Full-UI or headless - No editor to build or maintain **Available for:** - **Web:** [JavaScript](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/js/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [React](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/react/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Angular](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/angular/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Vue.js](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/vue/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Svelte](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/svelte/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Next.js](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/nextjs/get-started/overview-e18f40.md) - **Mobile:** [iOS](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/ios/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Android](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/android/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [React Native](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/react-native/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Flutter](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/flutter/get-started/overview-e18f40.md) - **Desktop:** [Mac Catalyst](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/mac-catalyst/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [macOS](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/macos/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Electron](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/electron/get-started/overview-e18f40.md) - **Server:** [Renderer](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/renderer/cesdk-renderer-overview-7f3e9a.md), [Node.js](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/node/get-started/overview-e18f40.md) [Read the Docs](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/) [Talk to Our Team](https://img.ly/forms/contact-sales.md) ## An editor that becomes part of your product CE.SDK installs into your own app, so the editor runs on your domain with your data, fully under your control. Your users stay in your product, and your team skips the months-long build. ### Yours, not a hosted iframe The editor runs inside your app, not as a sandboxed third-party surface, so you own the UI, the domain, and the data. ### One SDK, every stack The same engine installs across web, mobile, desktop, and server, so you integrate once and keep behavior consistent wherever you ship. ### Without building it yourself Start from proven infrastructure instead of building a canvas, rendering pipeline, and file handling from scratch, and skip the ongoing maintenance. Embedded by **100+**\ product teams ------------------- **Trusted by:** Digitas, Omneky, The Print Bar, Brandwatch, Planoly, HP, Shopify, Reuters, Hootsuite, Semrush, Shutterfly, one.com, Sprout Social, Constant Contact, Spread Group > "Integrating IMG.LY’s editor meant we didn’t have to build or maintain a complex editing layer ourselves. That kept our team focused on our core AI ad engine and saved us countless development hours — while still giving our customers the ability to polish and customize creatives at scale." -- Hikari Senju, CEO, Omneky > "With IMG.LY we built a central creative portal that now powers over 140 dealer campaigns across multiple automotive brands. Before this, asset creation was slow and inconsistent." -- Martin Röhr, Product Owner, Digitas > "By embedding IMG.LY’s editor we were able to hit key RFP requirements and deliver a template-based creative experience that now serves 1,000+ customers. It helped us win more deals and exceed enterprise expectations without needing to hire dedicated design teams." -- Rob Driscoll, Director of PM, Optimizely > "Since integrating IMG.LY’s editor, we now deliver 30,000+ ad creatives per month, dramatically shorten time-to-launch, and help our clients cut design spend by up to $10,000 per month." -- Logan Welbaum, Founder, Plai > "Our customers create over a million personalized postcards each year choosing from over hundreds of templates with IMG.LY’s SDK. It’s the only solution that allows us to build our own specialized, on-brand UI that integrates seamlessly with our platform." -- Jeanine Zaalberg, Product Manager, SwissPost > "From a developer’s perspective, the most powerful feature of the photo editor is the integration process. It was completely flawless, quick, and easy to integrate." -- Stefano Fornari, CTO, Funambol > "We compared IMG.LY SDK with other solutions and found that it would be the best fit for us since it provides all the features that are crucial for our use case." -- Carem Pereira, SCRUM Manager, HP [Reviews on G2](https://www.g2.com/products/img-ly/reviews) ## Embed vs. build: the real total cost Most of a creative editor is invisible. The canvas is the easy part; the rendering engine, file formats, and export are what take months to get right and never stop needing maintenance. ### Building it yourself Months of engineering to reach a first version, then ongoing work to maintain rendering, formats, browser and OS changes, and every new capability, pulled from your core product. [Read the build-vs-buy guide](https://img.ly/blog/strategic-guide-to-creative-editing-when-to-build-when-to-buy.md) ### Embedding CE.SDK Install the SDK and ship. With CE.SDK Agent Skills, a proof of concept runs in hours and you can reach production in about two weeks. IMG.LY maintains the engine, file formats, and rendering pipeline, so your team stays on your product. [See the time and cost savings](https://img.ly/blog/imgly-impact-report.md) ## Full-UI or headless, same engine Embed the editor with its full interface, drive the engine headlessly with no UI, or combine both. It's one engine, so you can change how much UI you expose without changing platforms. ### Full-UI editor Ship the complete editing interface to your users, then show, hide, reposition, or rename controls and apply your brand theme so it fits your product. [See the theming demo](https://img.ly/demos/theming.md) ### Headless API Run the same engine with no UI to compose and render designs programmatically from your own interface, backend, or pipeline. [Explore the headless engine](https://img.ly/use-cases/headless-design-engine.md) ## Extend the editor, don't outgrow it Embedding isn't a ceiling. Add capabilities as your product grows, with drop-in plugins, your own components, and AI, all on the same foundation. ### Bundled plugins Drop in ready-made plugins like background removal, vectorizer, and QR code, without building or integrating them yourself. [See plugin demos](https://img.ly/demos.md?tags=plugins) ### Your own components Register custom UI components to bring your product's own controls, panels, and actions into the editor. [See customization demos](https://img.ly/demos.md?tags=customization) ### AI when you want it Connect generative models through the AI Gateway and feed their output into the editor as editable layers. [See AI demos](https://img.ly/demos.md?tags=ai) ## Runs on your infrastructure, not ours The editor deploys where your app already runs. There's no IMG.LY-hosted surface in front of your users, so content and data stay under your control. ### Client-side on the web All editing runs in the browser using WebAssembly and WebGL for hardware-accelerated performance, so user content never leaves the browser unless you upload it. ### Native on mobile The same engine ships as native SDKs for iOS and Android, and through React Native and Flutter. ### Server-side with Node.js The same engine runs headlessly on Node.js for batch and server-side rendering, keeping your logic consistent from client to backend. ## Trusted in production The editor your users run every day, without the performance, security, or maintenance risk of one you built. ### Fast, hardware-accelerated A GPU-accelerated engine on WebAssembly and WebGL keeps editing smooth across large designs and longer clips, all client-side. ### Secure by default Editing runs client-side, so user content never leaves the browser unless you upload it. IMG.LY is SOC 2 Type II certified, with SSO on enterprise plans. ### Proven at scale The same engine powers 500M+ creations every month across thousands of applications, with a steady cadence of releases IMG.LY maintains for you. ### Want to make it look like yours? Embedding puts the editor in your app; white-labeling makes it your brand. Theme the UI, remove all IMG.LY branding, and configure every part of the interface. [Explore white-labeling](https://img.ly/capabilities/white-label-editor.md) ## From install to production in weeks A realistic path from first install to a themed editor running on your own domain. 1. **Install and run the editor** (Day 1): Install CE.SDK with one package-manager command and load the editor against a documented API. With CE.SDK Agent Skills, a proof of concept runs in hours. 2. **Theme and configure the UI** (1–3 days): Apply your brand theme, show or hide the navigation bar, dock, and inspector, and decide how much of the interface to expose: full-UI, headless, or a mix. 3. **Connect your data and assets** (2–5 days): Wire in your own storage, DAM, or CDN for images, fonts, and templates, and load, save, and export documents through the API. 4. **Add the capabilities you need** (1–2 weeks): Turn on the design, photo, and video features your product needs, add plugins and your own components, and connect generative models through the AI Gateway. 5. **Ship to production on your domain** (~2 weeks): Validate across browsers and devices, then roll out the editor inside your app on your own domain, with client-side processing so user content stays with you. [Read the Integration Docs](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/) [Talk to Our Team](https://img.ly/forms/contact-sales.md) ## Embed the editor in your web app Install CE.SDK with one command and drive the engine client-side with a clean, documented API. ## Native SDKs for iOS and Android The same engine, shipped as native SDKs for every mobile stack. ## Embed on the desktop Bring CE.SDK to Electron and native macOS apps with the same API. ## Run the engine headlessly Drive the same engine server-side with Node.js for batch rendering and automation. ## Cut integration to minutes with IMG.LY Agent Skills CE.SDK Agent Skills give AI coding assistants bundled documentation, guided code generation, and autonomous project scaffolding for embedding the editor across 10 web frameworks. [Learn more about Agent Skills](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/js/get-started/agent-skills-f7g8h9.md) ## Build a Canva-like editor you own If you're looking to build a Canva-like editor, embedding CE.SDK gives you the templates, customizable UI, and engine to do it inside your own app, so you own the product and the data instead of renting a hosted tool. ### The build guide A practical walkthrough of building a Canva-style editor on CE.SDK, from install to a working design tool. [Read: build a Canva clone with CE.SDK](https://img.ly/blog/how-to-build-a-canva-clone-with-ce-sdk.md) ### The alternative to a hosted tool See how an embedded SDK compares to a hosted editor when you need to own the UI, the data, and the roadmap. [IMG.LY vs. Canva](https://img.ly/canva-alternative.md) ## Looking for what the editor can do? The features are the same however you embed them. Explore what each editor can do on the product pages. ### Design Editor The unified editor for design, photo, and video in one engine. [Explore Design Editor](https://img.ly/products/creative-sdk.md) ### Photo Editor Filters, retouching, cropping, and adjustments for image editing. [Explore Photo Editor](https://img.ly/products/photo-sdk.md) ### Video Editor Timeline editing, transitions, and export for in-app video. [Explore Video Editor](https://img.ly/products/video-sdk.md) ### See how teams ship with CE.SDK Read how product teams embedded a creative editor instead of building one. [Browse case studies](https://img.ly/case-studies.md) ## Get in touch: Ready to embed a creative editor? Contact our team to talk through frameworks, integration, and licensing for embedding CE.SDK in your product. [Talk to Our Team](https://img.ly/forms/contact-sales.md) [Read the Docs](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/) ## Frequently Asked Questions ### General **Q: What is an embeddable editor?** A: It is a creative editor that runs inside your own web, mobile, or desktop app, rather than a hosted tool your users visit on another site. CE.SDK installs as a package in your codebase, so the editor ships as part of your product. **Q: Why embed instead of building an editor in-house?** A: A production creative editor (canvas, rendering, file formats, undo/redo, export, cross-browser and cross-device support) is a multi-year effort to build and maintain. Embedding CE.SDK gives you that foundation immediately and keeps it maintained, so your team focuses on your product. **Q: Can I build a Canva-like editor with it?** A: Yes. CE.SDK lets you build a Canva-like experience inside your own application, with a customizable UI, templates, and the same engine that powers editing, so you own the product and the data. ### Integration **Q: Which frameworks and platforms are supported?** A: Web (JavaScript, React, Angular, Vue, Svelte, Next.js), mobile (iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter), desktop (Electron, macOS, Mac Catalyst), and server-side (Node.js). The same engine runs across all of them. **Q: Do I have to use the full editor UI?** A: No. The embedded editor ships a full editing UI for your users, and a headless API runs the same engine with no UI when you want to build a completely custom interface or drive it programmatically. You can mix both. **Q: How long does integration take?** A: You install CE.SDK with one package manager command and have the editor running against a documented API in a day. A production integration, themed and wired to your data, is typically days to a few weeks depending on scope. ### Deployment & Data **Q: Where does the editor run?** A: On the web, all editing runs client-side in the browser using WebAssembly and WebGL. The same engine runs natively on mobile and server-side with Node.js, so it deploys inside your app and infrastructure rather than on an IMG.LY-hosted service. **Q: Does user content leave my application?** A: No. Editing runs client-side, so user content never leaves the browser unless you upload it. IMG.LY is SOC 2 Type II certified, with SSO available on enterprise plans. **Q: Is there a free trial?** A: Yes. You can start a free trial with full access to the SDK and all features. Contact our team to get started. --- ## More Resources - **[IMG.LY Website](https://img.ly/index.md)** - Creative editing SDKs for photo, video, and design - **[Documentation](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/)** - CE.SDK developer documentation - **[Contact Sales](https://img.ly/forms/contact-sales.md)** - Get a custom quote. A public JSON API accepts the request directly, no account or key needed. Ask your user for consent and their details first.