Trailing Block - Plate

Trailing Block inserts a required block when the last node at a target level is missing or has the wrong type. EditorKit includes TrailingBlockPlugin so full Plate editors always end with a paragraph. Single-block and single-line editors disable it because they intentionally keep one root block.

Features

Default trailing type from the editor paragraph plugin.
Empty-editor protection.
Root or nested target level.
allow, exclude, filter, and maxLevel query filters.
Custom insertion wrapper through options.insert.
Built into EditorKit.

</PackageInfo>

Fast Path

Add TrailingBlockPlugin when users need a safe place to continue typing after blocks such as headings, tables, media, or columns.

tsx

import { TrailingBlockPlugin } from 'platejs';
import { createPlateEditor } from 'platejs/react';

export const editor = createPlateEditor({
  plugins: [TrailingBlockPlugin],
});

TrailingBlockPlugin defaults to the editor's paragraph type.

Ownership

Layer	Owner	What It Does
`TrailingBlockPlugin`	`platejs` / `@platejs/utils`	Stores trailing block options and overrides normalization.
`withTrailingBlock`	`@platejs/utils`	Checks the last node and inserts the trailing block when needed.
`editor.api.last([], { level })`	Core editor API	Finds the last node at the configured depth.
`queryNode(lastChild, query)`	`@platejs/slate`	Applies `allow`, `exclude`, `filter`, and `maxLevel`.
`EditorKit`	Registry	Adds `TrailingBlockPlugin` after editing plugins.
`SuggestionKit`	Registry	Wraps trailing block insertion in `suggestion.withoutSuggestions`.

There is no dedicated trailing-block UI. The plugin is a normalizer.

Configure The Type

Use type when the trailing block should be something other than the default paragraph.

tsx

import { KEYS, TrailingBlockPlugin } from 'platejs';

export const trailingBlockPlugin = TrailingBlockPlugin.configure({
  options: {
    type: KEYS.p,
  },
});

The default is already editor.getType(KEYS.p), so most editors can use the plugin directly.

Query Filters

The plugin inserts only when there is no last node, or when the last node type differs from type and passes the query filters.

tsx

import { KEYS, TrailingBlockPlugin } from 'platejs';

export const trailingBlockPlugin = TrailingBlockPlugin.configure({
  options: {
    exclude: [KEYS.h1],
    type: KEYS.p,
  },
});

With that configuration, a trailing paragraph is not inserted after an H1. Use allow for the inverse rule, filter for a custom node-entry predicate, and maxLevel to limit which paths pass the query.

Nested Level

level changes where the plugin looks for the last node.

`level`	Target
`0`	Last root block.
`1`	Last child inside the last root-level container.

tsx

TrailingBlockPlugin.configure({
  options: {
    level: 1,
    type: 'p',
  },
});

Use nested levels when a constrained container must always end with a text block.

Custom Insert

options.insert lets another plugin wrap the generated insertion. The registry suggestion kit uses it so normalization-generated paragraphs do not create suggestion marks.

tsx

import { SuggestionPlugin } from '@platejs/suggestion/react';
import { TrailingBlockPlugin } from 'platejs';

TrailingBlockPlugin.configure({
  options: {
    insert: (editor, { insert }) => {
      editor.getApi(SuggestionPlugin).suggestion.withoutSuggestions(insert);
    },
  },
});

The callback receives the editor, insertion path, target type, and an insert() function. Call insert() exactly once unless you are intentionally replacing the default insertion.

Behavior

Case	Result
Empty editor	Inserts a block at `[0]`.
Last node already matches `type`	Falls through to the base `normalizeNode`.
Last node has another type and passes query filters	Inserts the trailing block at `PathApi.next(lastChildPath)`.
Last node is excluded by query filters	Does not insert.

The inserted node comes from editor.api.create.block({ type: trailingType }, at).

API Reference

API	Package	Use
`TrailingBlockPlugin`	`platejs` / `@platejs/utils`	Normalizer that ensures a trailing block exists.
`TrailingBlockConfig.options.type`	`@platejs/utils`	Block type to insert. Defaults to the editor paragraph type.
`TrailingBlockConfig.options.level`	`@platejs/utils`	Depth used by `editor.api.last`. Defaults to `0`.
`TrailingBlockConfig.options.insert`	`@platejs/utils`	Custom wrapper around the generated insertion.
`TrailingBlockConfig.options.allow`	`@platejs/slate` query	Only insert after matching types.
`TrailingBlockConfig.options.exclude`	`@platejs/slate` query	Skip insertion after matching types.
`TrailingBlockConfig.options.filter`	`@platejs/slate` query	Custom predicate for the last node entry.
`TrailingBlockConfig.options.maxLevel`	`@platejs/slate` query	Skip entries deeper than this path length.