BlockSuite Components Overview

In a nutshell, BlockSuite categorizes components into the following types:

• Editor - A container used to present document content in various forms. Different editors are composed of different sets of block specs.
• Block - The atomic unit for constructing document within the editor. Once a block spec is registered, multiple corresponding block instances can be rendered in the editor.
• Widget - Auxiliary components that contextually show up in the editor on demand, such as a search bar or color picker. Every block can define its own widgets.
• Fragment - External components outside the editor. They share the document with the editor but have their own lifecycles.

These BlockSuite components are all implemented based on web components. For a more detailed description of the relationships between these components, please refer to the component types document.

Extension and Customization

Based on the components API, BlockSuite allows:

• Defining custom blocks compatible with multiple editors.
• Configuring, extending, and replacing widgets within the editor, such as various toolbars, popups, and menus.
• Reusing components outside of the editor, such as panels for comments, outlines, or even AI copilots.

All BlockSuite components only need to be attached to the BlockSuite document model for use. For information on how to interact with this block tree, please refer to the usage guide for the BlockSuite framework.

Integration

Regarding how BlockSuite components can be used in AFFiNE and other applications, here are some quick takeaways:

• The BlockSuite editor consists of various block specs, each of which can optionally include some widgets. Therefore, when you are reusing an existing first-party BlockSuite editor, you are actually reusing a preset of blocks and widgets. Default editors are fine-tuned presets for AFFiNE, but you are free to compose you own presets.
• Currently, all BlockSuite components are native web components, but we plan to provide official support for multiple frameworks.
• BlockSuite does not have special variants for AFFiNE, we eat our own dogfood.