Deno

What’s CreativeEditor SDK?#

CreativeEditor SDK (CE.SDK) lets you integrate a customizable image and video editor into your web app. It includes filters, text overlays, and other media editing tools, and adapts easily to your use case.

CreativeEditor SDK is a commercial product. To use it, you need a valid license key. If you don’t have one yet, you can get a free trial or purchase a license.

Who Is This Guide For?#

This guide is for developers who:

• Want to programmatically edit and export scenes with native C++ performance using CE.SDK in Deno.
• Prefer a secure and modern runtime with built-in TypeScript and native fetch support.
• Need to integrate CE.SDK into server-side rendering or automation tools using Deno.

What You’ll Achieve#

• Install and configure CE.SDK Engine using the native bindings in a Deno project.
• Load and manipulate design scenes programmatically.
• Export scenes to PNG images without any UI.

Prerequisites#

Before getting started, ensure you have:

• Deno installed (Download Deno).
• A valid CE.SDK license key (Get a free trial).
• A supported platform: macOS (Apple Silicon or Intel), Linux (x64, glibc 2.39 or later) or Windows (x64, Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016).
• On Windows, install the GStreamer MSVC x86_64 runtime (1.24 or later) before you start. The package loads it at start, so it is necessary also for images. Windows renders on the CPU: device: 'gpu' gives an error and 'auto' uses the CPU.

Step 1: Initialize Your Deno Project#

Create your project structure:

deno init my_project

Resulting in the following project structure:

my_project
├── deno.json
├── main_test.ts
└── main.ts

Step 2: Install CE.SDK Native for Deno#

Native addons cannot be loaded from Deno’s global npm cache, so the package must be installed into a local node_modules/ directory. Add the package and enable the local node_modules directory in your deno.json:

deno add npm:@cesdk/node-native@1.82.0

{
  "imports": {
    "@cesdk/node-native": "npm:@cesdk/node-native@1.82.0"
  },
  "nodeModulesDir": "auto"
}

Then run deno install to materialize node_modules/.

In your main.ts, load and use the engine:

import CreativeEngine from '@cesdk/node-native';
import { writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises';

// CE.SDK configuration
const config = {
  license: 'YOUR_CESDK_LICENSE_KEY', // Enter your CE.SDK license key
};

const engine = await CreativeEngine.init(config);
console.log('CE.SDK Engine initialized (Deno)');

try {
  await engine.scene.load(
    'https://cdn.img.ly/assets/demo/v3/ly.img.template/templates/cesdk_instagram_photo_1.scene',
  );

  const [page] = engine.block.findByType('page');

  const blob = await engine.block.export(page, { mimeType: 'image/png' });
  const arrayBuffer = await blob.arrayBuffer();

  await writeFile('./example-output.png', new Uint8Array(arrayBuffer));
  console.log('Export completed: example-output.png');
} finally {
  engine.dispose();
}

Step 3: Run the Script#

Run the script with the permission flags the native addon needs:

deno run \
  --allow-ffi \
  --allow-read \
  --allow-env \
  --allow-net \
  --allow-write \
  main.ts

These flags are required to execute main.ts for the following reasons:

As with any native addon, code inside the .node binary itself is not sandboxed by Deno’s permission system.

This processes the scene and generates an image file named example-output.png in your project directory.

Troubleshooting & Common Errors#

❌ Error: Cannot find module '@cesdk/node-native'

• Make sure "nodeModulesDir": "auto" is set in your deno.json and run deno install — native addons cannot be loaded from Deno’s global npm cache.
• Ensure you’re on a supported platform (macOS ARM/x64, Linux x64 with glibc 2.39 or later, or Windows x64). Windows ARM64, Alpine Linux (musl) and Linux ARM64 are not supported — use the WASM-based @cesdk/node package there.

❌ Error: Requires ffi access

• Add the --allow-ffi flag — it is required to load the native addon.

❌ Error: Invalid license key

• Ensure your license key is correct and not expired.

Next Steps#

You’ve successfully integrated CE.SDK Engine with the native Node.js bindings in Deno. Now explore:

• Using source sets
• Modifying text variables
• Defining placeholders
• Text styling