activeadmin-quill_editor/docs/update-quill.md

Quill Editor Migration Guide for ActiveAdmin 4

Overview

This guide helps you migrate the activeadmin-quill_editor gem to support ActiveAdmin 4 with modern Rails 8+ and Propshaft asset pipeline.

Key Changes Made

1. Removed jQuery Dependency

Before: JavaScript relied on jQuery for initialization and DOM manipulation After: Pure vanilla JavaScript with modern event listeners

2. Asset Pipeline Updates

Before: Sprockets-based asset compilation with CDN dependencies After: Propshaft-compatible with NPM-based Quill installation

3. Ruby and Rails Version Requirements

• Minimum Ruby: 3.2+ (previously 3.0+)
• Rails Support: 7.0+ with ActiveAdmin 2.9-4.x
• ActiveAdmin 4: Full support with Propshaft

Installation & Setup

Step 1: Update Your Gemfile

gem 'activeadmin_quill_editor', '~> 2.0'

Step 2: Install Quill via NPM

# In your Rails app root
npm install quill@^2.0.2

Or add to package.json:

{
  "dependencies": {
    "quill": "^2.0.2"
  }
}

Step 3: Configure JavaScript (Rails 8 with esbuild)

Create or update app/javascript/active_admin.js:

// Import ActiveAdmin (if using AA4)
import '@activeadmin/activeadmin';

// Import Quill
import Quill from 'quill';
window.Quill = Quill;

// The gem's initialization will auto-load when included

Step 4: Configure CSS

With Tailwind CSS (ActiveAdmin 4)

In app/assets/stylesheets/active_admin.tailwind.css:

@import "tailwindcss/base";
@import "tailwindcss/components";
@import "tailwindcss/utilities";

/* Quill styles */
@import "quill/dist/quill.snow.css";
@import "quill/dist/quill.bubble.css";

With Sass/SCSS (Legacy)

In app/assets/stylesheets/active_admin.scss:

@import "active_admin/base";
@import "quill/dist/quill.snow";
// Optional bubble theme
@import "quill/dist/quill.bubble";

Step 5: Build Configuration

esbuild.config.js

const esbuild = require('esbuild');
const path = require('path');

const config = {
  entryPoints: ['app/javascript/active_admin.js'],
  bundle: true,
  sourcemap: true,
  format: 'iife',
  outdir: 'app/assets/builds',
  publicPath: '/assets',
};

// Build or watch
if (process.argv.includes('--watch')) {
  esbuild.context(config).then(ctx => {
    ctx.watch();
  });
} else {
  esbuild.build(config);
}

package.json scripts

{
  "scripts": {
    "build:js": "node esbuild.config.js",
    "build:css": "tailwindcss -i app/assets/stylesheets/active_admin.tailwind.css -o app/assets/builds/active_admin.css -m",
    "build": "npm run build:js && npm run build:css"
  }
}

Usage

Basic Usage

# app/admin/posts.rb
ActiveAdmin.register Post do
  permit_params :title, :content, :description

  form do |f|
    f.inputs do
      f.input :title
      f.input :content, as: :quill_editor
      f.input :description, as: :quill_editor, input_html: {
        data: {
          options: {
            theme: 'snow',
            modules: {
              toolbar: [
                ['bold', 'italic', 'underline'],
                ['link', 'image'],
                [{ list: 'ordered' }, { list: 'bullet' }]
              ]
            }
          }
        }
      }
    end
    f.actions
  end
end

Custom Toolbar Configuration

f.input :content, as: :quill_editor, input_html: {
  data: {
    options: {
      theme: 'snow',  # or 'bubble'
      modules: {
        toolbar: [
          [{ 'header': [1, 2, 3, false] }],
          ['bold', 'italic', 'underline', 'strike'],
          [{ 'color': [] }, { 'background': [] }],
          [{ 'script': 'sub' }, { 'script': 'super' }],
          ['blockquote', 'code-block'],
          [{ 'list': 'ordered' }, { 'list': 'bullet' }],
          [{ 'align': [] }],
          ['link', 'image', 'video'],
          ['clean']
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Image Upload Support (Optional)

npm install quill-image-uploader

Configure in your form:

f.input :content, as: :quill_editor, input_html: {
  data: {
    plugins: {
      image_uploader: {
        server_url: '/admin/upload',
        field_name: 'file'
      }
    }
  }
}

JavaScript API

The gem exposes these global functions:

// Get all Quill editor instances
const editors = getQuillEditors();

// Get editor by index (0-based)
const firstEditor = getQuillEditorByIndex(0);

// Get editor by element ID
const editor = getQuillEditorByElementId('post_content');

// Access Quill API directly
editor.getContents();
editor.setText('New content');
editor.format('bold', true);

Migration from Legacy Versions

Removing jQuery Dependencies

Old initialization (jQuery):

$(document).ready(function() {
  // Initialization code
});

New initialization (Vanilla JS):

// Automatically handled by the gem
// Or manually initialize:
document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {
  // Custom initialization if needed
});

Asset Pipeline Changes

Old (Sprockets):

//= require activeadmin/quill_editor/quill
//= require activeadmin/quill_editor_input

New (Propshaft/esbuild):

import Quill from 'quill';
// Gem's initialization auto-loads

Troubleshooting

Issue: Quill not initializing

Solution: Ensure JavaScript is properly included:

• Check that window.Quill is defined
• Verify the gem's JS is loaded after Quill
• Check browser console for errors

Issue: Styles not loading

Solution: Verify CSS imports:

• Ensure Quill CSS is imported
• Check that Tailwind processes the styles
• Verify no CSS conflicts with ActiveAdmin

Issue: Form submission not saving content

Solution: The gem automatically handles form submission. Check:

• Hidden input field is present in HTML
• No JavaScript errors preventing update
• Strong parameters permit the field

Testing Your Implementation

RSpec System Tests

# spec/system/admin_posts_spec.rb
require 'rails_helper'

RSpec.describe 'Admin Posts', type: :system do
  it 'creates a post with Quill editor' do
    visit '/admin/posts/new'

    # Fill in Quill editor
    within '[data-aa-quill-editor]' do
      find('.ql-editor').set('Test content')
    end

    click_button 'Create Post'

    expect(page).to have_content('Post was successfully created')
    expect(Post.last.content).to include('Test content')
  end
end

Version Compatibility Matrix

Gem Version	ActiveAdmin	Rails	Ruby	Quill
2.0.x	2.9-4.x	7.0-8.x	3.2+	2.x
1.x	2.x-3.x	6.1-7.x	3.0+	1.x

Additional Resources

• Quill Documentation
• ActiveAdmin 4 Migration Guide
• Propshaft Documentation
• Rails 8 Asset Pipeline Guide

Support

For issues or questions:

• GitHub Issues: https://github.com/rs-pro/activeadmin-quill_editor/issues
• ActiveAdmin Community: https://github.com/activeadmin/activeadmin/discussions