Existing Vanilla Svelte Project - Svelte

Integrate CreativeEditor SDK (CE.SDK) into your Svelte project with a custom component. This guide shows you how to embed a working CE.SDK component in your app, and prepare it for customization.

Who Is This Guide For?#

This tutorial is for developers who:

Work with Svelte.
Maintain a vanilla Svelte project (not SvelteKit).
Want to integrate a full-featured image and video editor into their app.

What You’ll Achieve#

Install CE.SDK in your project.
Set up CE.SDK within your Svelte project.
Render the custom CE.SDK Svelte component in your app.

Prerequisites#

Make sure your system has the following before you start:

Node.js v20+ installed locally Download the latest LTS version of Node.js.
A Svelte 5+ project, managed with a build tool like Vite, Parcel, or RSBuild.
A valid CE.SDK license key (Get a free trial).

Step 1: Install CE.SDK#

First, add CreativeEditor SDK to your project’s dependencies using your project’s package manager. Run the following command in your project’s repository to install it:

npm

yarn

pnpm

npm install @cesdk/cesdk-js

yarn add @cesdk/cesdk-js

pnpm add @cesdk/cesdk-js

Step 2: Create Your Creative Editor Svelte Component#

The examples assume a vanilla Svelte project with the default Vite file structure, adapt as needed for other layouts. A typical Svelte project structure looks like this:

your-svelte-app/
│
├── public
│   └── ...
│
└── src
│   ├── assets
│   │   └── ...
│   │
│   ├── lib
│   │   └── ...
│   │
│   ├── app.css
│   ├── App.svelte
│   ├── main.js
│   └── vite-env.d.ts
│
├── .gitignore
├── index.html
├── jsconfig.json
├── package.json
├── README.md
├── svelte.config.js
└── vite.config.js

You create a new component by adding a file in your project’s components folder. In a typical Vite setup, this folder is src/lib/. Adjust the location if your project uses a different structure, then:

Create a file named CreativeEditorSDK.svelte.
Paste the following code into CreativeEditorSDK.svelte to define a custom image and video component.
Replace <YOUR_LICENSE_KEY> with your CE.SDK license key.

<script>
  import CreativeEditorSDK from '@cesdk/cesdk-js';
  import { onDestroy, onMount } from 'svelte';

  // Reference to the container HTML element where CE.SDK will be initialized
  let container;
  // Where to keep track of the CE.SDK instance
  let cesdk = null;

  // Default CreativeEditor SDK configuration
  const defaultConfig = {
    license: '<YOUR_LICENSE_KEY>', // replace it with a valid CE.SDK license key
    // other default configs...
  };

  // Accessing the component's props
  const { el, children, class: _, config, ...props } = $props();

  // Hook to initialize the CreativeEditorSDK component
  onMount(() => {
    // Integrate the configs read from props with the default ones
    const ceSDKConfig = {
      ...defaultConfig,
      ...config,
    };

    try {
      // Initialize the CreativeEditorSDK instance in the container element
      // using the given config
      CreativeEditorSDK.create(container, ceSDKConfig).then(async instance => {
        cesdk = instance;

        // Do something with the instance of CreativeEditor SDK (e.g., populate
        // the asset library with default / demo asset sources)
        await Promise.all([
          cesdk.addDefaultAssetSources(),
          cesdk.addDemoAssetSources({ sceneMode: 'Design', withUploadAssetSources: true }),
        ]);

        // Create a new design scene in the editor
        await cesdk.createDesignScene();
      });
    } catch (err) {
      console.warn(`CreativeEditor SDK failed to mount.`, { err });
    }
  });

  // Hook to clean up when the component unmounts
  onDestroy(() => {
    try {
      // Dispose of the CE.SDK instance if it exists
      if (cesdk) {
        cesdk.dispose();
        cesdk = null;
      }
    } catch (err) {
      // Log error if CreativeEditor SDK fails to unmount
      console.warn(`CreativeEditor SDK failed to unmount.`, { err });
    }
  });
</script>

<!-- The container HTML element where the CE.SDK editor will be mounted -->
<div id="cesdk_container" bind:this="{container}"></div>

<style>
  /* Styling for the CE.SDK container element to take full viewport size */
  #cesdk_container {
    height: 100vh;
    width: 100vw;
  }
</style>

This Svelte component:

Initializes a CreativeEditor SDK instance.
Applies a basic configuration and attaches it to a <div> container in the HTML section.
Disposes of the CE.SDK instance on unmount to free resources.

Step 3: Render the Creative Editor Component#

Import the CreativeEditorSDK component into a Svelte file where you want to use it. For example, add the following line in the <script> section of App.svelte:

import CreativeEditorSDK from './lib/CreativeEditorSDK.svelte';

You can now render the CreativeEditorSDK component in the template section of App.svelte as follows:

With Custom Properties

Without Custom Properties

<CreativeEditorSDK
  config={
    {
      // custom configs ...
    }
  }
/>

Or, without custom properties:

<CreativeEditorSDK />

Your App.svelte should now look like this:

<script>
  // Other imports...
  import CreativeEditorSDK from "./lib/CreativeEditorSDK.svelte";
</script>

<main>
  <!-- Other components... -->
  <CreativeEditorSDK
    config={{
      // Custom configs ...
    }}
  />
  <!-- Other components... -->
</main>

<style>
  /* Custom stylying... */
</style>

Step 4: Serve the Project#

Run the project locally using the bundler configured in your project. This example uses Vite with the following command:

npm

yarn

pnpm

npm run dev

yarn dev

pnpm run dev

By default, the Svelte local app is available on your localhost at http://localhost:5173/.

Step 5: Test the Integration#

Open http://localhost:5173/ in your browser.
A fully functional CE.SDK editor should load on the page where you integrated it.

Troubleshooting & Common Errors#

❌ Error: The following dependencies are imported but could not be resolved: @cesdk/cesdk-js

Verify that you’ve correctly installed CE.SDK.

❌ Error: The $props rune is only available inside .svelte and .svelte.js/ts files

Calling $props() in the wrong place causes this error. To fix it:
1. Use $props() only in the top-level <script> section of your Svelte component.
2. Don’t call it inside onMount() or any other lifecycle function.

❌ Error: Editor engine could not be loaded: The License Key (API Key) you are using to access CE.SDK is invalid

Double-check that your license key is valid and hasn’t expired.

❌ Editor doesn’t load

Check the browser console for any errors.
Verify that your component paths and imports are correct.

Next Steps#

Congratulations! You’ve successfully integrated CE.SDK into your existing Svelte project. Now, take some time to explore the SDK and move on to the next steps whenever you’re ready: