{"slug": "show-hn-editor-ui-toolkit-for-building-ai-writing-workflows", "title": "Show HN: Editor UI toolkit for building AI writing workflows", "summary": "Redactor, a new editor UI toolkit for building AI writing workflows, launched on Show HN. The toolkit is model-agnostic, allowing developers to connect their own backend, prompts, and models, and it does not add per-token billing. It supports multiple modes including review, apply, report, and report-review, and offers various transport options such as HTTP, async jobs, and custom handlers.", "body_md": "Model-agnostic · Server-side prompts · Structured document context · Sync, jobs, or custom transport\n\nRedactor provides the document editor and review UI. You connect your own backend, prompts, and model.\n\nHow it works\n\nRedactor sends the selected blocks or the full document as structured context.\n\nYour endpoint chooses the prompt, model, limits, logging, and data policy.\n\nThe response becomes a review, report, list of alternatives, or an applied document change.\n\nRedactor does not require a specific AI provider and does not add per-token billing.\n\nIntegration\n\nThe editor sends an action ID and document context. Your backend selects the full prompt, calls the model, and returns the response shape expected by the selected mode.\n\nMinimal initialization\n\n```\nRedactor('#entry', {\n  plugins: ['assistant'],\n  ai: {\n    url: '/api/ai/text',\n    model: 'your-model'\n  }\n});\n```\n\nMinimal request\n\n```\n{\n  \"action\": \"shorter\",\n  \"mode\": \"review\",\n  \"context\": {\n    \"scope\": \"blocks\",\n    \"blocks\": [\n      {\n        \"uid\": \"block-3\",\n        \"type\": \"text\",\n        \"tag\": \"p\",\n        \"content\": \"...\"\n      }\n    ]\n  },\n  \"lang\": \"en\",\n  \"model\": \"your-model\"\n}\n```\n\nOne integration, several editing surfaces\n\n| Mode | Backend returns | Redactor shows |\n|---|---|---|\n`review` |\nIssues and suggested content | Review cards with accept/reject |\n`apply` |\nDirectly applicable issues | Changes or inline annotations |\n`report` |\nTitle, tab and HTML | A document report tab |\n`report-review` |\nReport and optional issues | Report with reviewable fixes |\n\nActions\n\nDefine actions around your own content, users, and editorial rules. Each action can use selected blocks or the full document, send additional context to your backend, and present the result as a review, an applied change, or a report.\n\nBuilt-in actions provide working examples, but the menu, prompts, models, response handling, and application logic can all be adapted to your project.\n\nThe editor sends an action ID and structured document context to your backend. Your application decides how that request is processed and what is returned.\n\nThe Assistant is not tied to a particular model provider. Your backend can call OpenAI, Claude, a local model, or a custom service as long as it returns the expected response format.\n\nEvents let the host application inspect and modify the Assistant workflow at each important stage.\n\nHooks that can change content or requests run before the corresponding action. Lifecycle events provide the result after the action has completed.\n\nChoose how Assistant requests reach your application. All transports use the same action context and return the same review or report response formats.\n\nSend an HTTP request and return the completed result in the same response.\n\nCreate an asynchronous job and poll your application until the result is ready.\n\nProvide a JavaScript request handler instead of using the built-in HTTP transports.\n\nThe Assistant uses a small request and response contract. These guides cover the backend, prompt templates, asynchronous processing, and report output.\n\nDefine server-side prompt templates that receive structured document blocks and return JSON for reviews, changes, and reports.\n\nSee request and response formats with backend examples for OpenAI, Claude, text actions, and image generation.\n\nImplement the create-and-poll protocol for long documents, queued processing, and slower models.\n\nUse the included HTML framework to present summaries, writing checks, key points, and other structured results in report tabs.\n\nReview configuration options, action modes, response formats, transports, events, and extension points.\n\nPricing\n\nAdd-on for Redactor Core · Core not included\n\nIncludes the AI Assistant, review workflows, reports, configurable actions, transport options, and full source code.\n\nUses your own backend and model provider. AI requests and token usage are not included.\n\nLicenses are perpetual for the purchased versions. Assistant Suite updates are free for the current Redactor Core major version. A paid Assistant upgrade may be required when moving to a new major version of Core.\n\nFAQ\n\nHow the Assistant connects to your backend, what the license includes, and what remains under your application’s control.\n\nNo. You connect it to your own backend and model provider.\n\nNo. It is an add-on and requires a separate Core license.\n\nNo. Provider usage is billed according to the model and infrastructure you choose.\n\nYes. Actions are identified by IDs and can be mapped to server-side prompt templates or application logic.\n\nYes. The integration is based on Redactor’s request and response contract, not a specific provider SDK.\n\nThe jobs transport supports asynchronous create-and-poll workflows for long documents and queued processing.\n\nYes. Review actions present the original and suggested content and let the author accept or reject each change.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-editor-ui-toolkit-for-building-ai-writing-workflows", "canonical_source": "https://imperavi.com/redactor/ai-assistant/", "published_at": "2026-08-20 09:09:31+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-20 09:44:27.484558+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["developer-tools", "ai-tools", "generative-ai"], "entities": ["Redactor", "OpenAI", "Claude"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-editor-ui-toolkit-for-building-ai-writing-workflows", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-editor-ui-toolkit-for-building-ai-writing-workflows.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-editor-ui-toolkit-for-building-ai-writing-workflows.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-editor-ui-toolkit-for-building-ai-writing-workflows.jsonld"}}