A Quill alternative that's headless & HTML-native.
Quill is a solid classic, but it ships Snow/Bubble themes, stores content as Delta, and has no built-in collaboration. Rune is headless, reads and writes clean HTML, offers 14 configurable block types, and includes real-time collaboration.
Rune vs Quill
| rune | Quill | |
|---|---|---|
| Zero runtime dependencies | Yes | No |
| No build step required | Yes | Yes |
| Headless / CSS-variable theming | Yes | No — Snow/Bubble themes |
| Config-driven toolbar & menus | Yes | Partial — toolbar module |
| Works without a framework | Yes | Yes |
| Real-time collaboration | Built in (Yjs) | No |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
What you gain with Rune.
- 01
Headless, not themed
Quill ships Snow and Bubble themes. Rune is headless and styled entirely through CSS variables, so it matches your design instead of imposing one.
- 02
HTML in, HTML out
Quill's native model is Delta (JSON). Rune reads and writes clean, sanitized HTML directly — no conversion layer to manage.
- 03
More blocks, plus collaboration
Rune has 14 block types (tables, callouts, task lists, toggles, columns) as config toggles, and an opt-in Yjs collaboration layer Quill doesn't offer.
Migrating from Quill
Quill mounts on a container with a theme and a toolbar module. Rune mounts on a container from a config object and emits clean HTML.
import Quill from 'quill'
import 'quill/dist/quill.snow.css'
const quill = new Quill('#editor', {
theme: 'snow',
modules: { toolbar: ['bold', 'italic', 'link'] },
})
quill.on('text-change', () =>
console.log(quill.root.innerHTML))import { createFromConfig } from '@parityfox/rune-editor'
import config from './rune.config.js'
import '@parityfox/rune-editor/styles'
const editor = createFromConfig('#editor', config, {
content: '<p>Hello</p>',
onChange: (html) => console.log(html),
})When to choose Quill instead
Quill is stable, widely deployed, and hardened by years in production behind a simple API. If you want a proven editor with a large community and don't need headless theming or built-in collaboration, Quill is a safe, well-trodden choice.
Questions
- Does Rune output HTML like Quill?
- Rune reads and writes clean HTML directly. Quill's native model is Delta (JSON), although it can render HTML.
- Is Rune headless, unlike Quill's themes?
- Yes. Quill ships Snow and Bubble themes; Rune is headless and styled entirely through CSS variables.
- Does Rune support tables and richer blocks?
- Yes — 14 block types including tables, callouts, task lists, toggles, and columns, each a toggle in config.
Try the headless alternative.
Install Rune for a headless, HTML-native editor with more blocks and built-in collaboration.