# jaredreich/pell

📝 the simplest and smallest WYSIWYG text editor for web, with no dependencies

Repository: https://github.com/jaredreich/pell
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/pell
Language: JavaScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: contenteditable, editor, javascript, rich-text-editor, text-editing, text-editor, wysiwyg, wysiwyg-editor
Last push: 2024-05-12T17:09:57+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3342, "days_push": 843, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 12045, forks 548 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:51.479108+00:00)

## What it is
pell is an extremely small (~1.4kB min+gzip) dependency-free WYSIWYG rich text editor for the web, built on contenteditable with pure ES6 JavaScript. It ships a minimal set of formatting actions (bold, italic, headings, lists, links, images) and supports custom actions via document.execCommand.

## Use cases
- add a lightweight rich text editor to a web page
- replace heavy editors like TinyMCE or Quill with a tiny alternative
- let users write formatted comments or posts in a web app
- embed a minimal WYSIWYG editor with no framework dependencies
- customize a rich text editor's toolbar with custom actions

## When to choose
- you need the smallest possible rich text editor with zero dependencies
- your formatting needs are basic (bold, italic, lists, links, images)
- you want full control over styling via CSS/Sass
- bundle size is a top priority

## When to avoid
- you need advanced features like collaborative editing, tables, or paste sanitization
- you rely on document.execCommand, which is deprecated and inconsistently implemented
- you need a maintained project with active development
- you need React/Vue framework-specific integrations

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: maintenance
- function: editor, ui-components
- domain: web-development, frontend, text-editors
- platform: browser
- tags: wysiwyg, rich-text-editor, contenteditable, tiny, zero-dependency, javascript, web-server

## Member repositories
- jaredreich/pell (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:51.479108+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:14:58.856782+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/jaredreich/pell (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:51.479108+00:00, sha cb6b7f8fa204)
  - registry_npm: https://registry.npmjs.org/pell (fetched 2026-08-29T08:12:52.413670+00:00, sha c97f86c78074)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.