Node.js - Plate — ContextQMD

Use Plate in Node.js when you need to read, validate, transform, or serialize editor values outside the browser. Node scripts use the base runtime imports, while React editors use /react subpaths. This guide walks through a server-safe editor, Markdown IO, and a content transform.

Node.js Setup

<Callout type="warning" title="Use base imports"> Do not import from `platejs/react` or `@platejs/*/react` in Node.js scripts. Use `createSlateEditor` from `platejs` and base plugins from `@platejs/*` packages. </Callout> <Steps>

Install Packages

Install the core runtime and the packages your pipeline needs.

bash

npm install platejs @platejs/basic-nodes @platejs/markdown

Package	Owns
`platejs`	`createSlateEditor`, core editor APIs, core paragraph behavior.
`@platejs/basic-nodes`	Base headings, blockquotes, horizontal rules, and text marks.
`@platejs/markdown`	Markdown serialization, deserialization, and the `MarkdownPlugin` API.

Create a Server Editor

Create the editor with base plugins only. The editor exposes the same editor.api and editor.tf surfaces without mounting a React tree.

import type { Value } from 'platejs';

import {
  BaseBasicBlocksPlugin,
  BaseBasicMarksPlugin,
} from '@platejs/basic-nodes';
import { createSlateEditor } from 'platejs';

const value: Value = [
  {
    children: [{ text: 'Document Title' }],
    type: 'h1',
  },
  {
    children: [
      { text: 'With ' },
      { bold: true, text: 'bold' },
      { text: ' text.' },
    ],
    type: 'p',
  },
];

const editor = createSlateEditor({
  plugins: [BaseBasicBlocksPlugin, BaseBasicMarksPlugin],
  value,
});

const plainText = editor.api.string([]);

console.info(plainText);

Read and Write Markdown

Add MarkdownPlugin when the script needs Markdown helpers through editor.getApi(MarkdownPlugin). You can also call deserializeMd and serializeMd directly.

import {
  BaseBasicBlocksPlugin,
  BaseBasicMarksPlugin,
} from '@platejs/basic-nodes';
import {
  MarkdownPlugin,
  deserializeMd,
  serializeMd,
} from '@platejs/markdown';
import { createSlateEditor } from 'platejs';

const editor = createSlateEditor({
  plugins: [BaseBasicBlocksPlugin, BaseBasicMarksPlugin, MarkdownPlugin],
});

const value = deserializeMd(
  editor,
  [
    '# Migration Note',
    '',
    'Move legacy content into **Plate** format.',
  ].join('\n')
);

const markdown = serializeMd(editor, { value });

console.info(markdown);

Transform Content

Use transforms for migrations and bulk cleanup. Pass at: [] when the operation should scan the whole document.

import type { Value } from 'platejs';

import {
  BaseBasicBlocksPlugin,
  BaseBasicMarksPlugin,
} from '@platejs/basic-nodes';
import { MarkdownPlugin, serializeMd } from '@platejs/markdown';
import { createSlateEditor } from 'platejs';

export function normalizeHeadings(value: Value) {
  const editor = createSlateEditor({
    plugins: [BaseBasicBlocksPlugin, BaseBasicMarksPlugin, MarkdownPlugin],
    value,
  });

  editor.tf.setNodes(
    { type: 'h2' },
    {
      at: [],
      match: (node) => 'type' in node && node.type === 'h1',
    }
  );

  editor.tf.insertNodes(
    [{ children: [{ text: 'Imported from the legacy CMS.' }], type: 'p' }],
    { at: [editor.children.length] }
  );

  return {
    markdown: serializeMd(editor),
    text: editor.api.string([]),
    value: editor.children,
  };
}

</Steps>

Runtime Boundaries

Runtime	Import from	Use for
Node.js scripts	`platejs`, `@platejs/*`	Migration, validation, serialization, search indexing.
React editors	`platejs/react`, `@platejs/*/react`	Editable UI, hooks, rendered components, toolbar behavior.
Static rendering	`platejs/static`	Server-rendered read-only content.

<Callout type="info"> Plugin packages can expose both base and React entrypoints. In Node.js, choose the base entrypoint even when the same feature has React components for the browser editor. </Callout>

API Reference

API	Package	Notes
`createSlateEditor`	`platejs`	Creates a non-React editor instance.
`editor.api.string([])`	`platejs`	Reads text from the whole document.
`editor.tf.setNodes`	`platejs`	Updates matching nodes. Use `at: []` for document-wide transforms.
`editor.tf.insertNodes`	`platejs`	Inserts nodes at a path.
`deserializeMd`	`@platejs/markdown`	Converts Markdown into a Plate value.
`serializeMd`	`@platejs/markdown`	Converts the editor value or an explicit `value` option to Markdown.

Next Steps

Task	Guide
Serialize to Markdown	Markdown
Serialize to HTML	HTML
Render read-only content	Static Rendering
Query editor state	Editor API
Apply transforms	Editor Transforms

Done. You now have a server-safe Plate runtime that can power migration scripts, validation jobs, and content serialization.