FormidableLabs / FormidableLabs/react-live

Standalone `Editor` loses focus after the first keystroke

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bug
Dominant language
TypeScript
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Description

### Summary

The exported `Editor` component loses DOM focus after the first keystroke when used standalone. Only one character can be typed; subsequent keystrokes are discarded until the user clicks back into the editor.

`LiveProvider` + `LiveEditor` is unaffected, so this only bites consumers using the standalone `Editor` export.

### Version

`react-live@4.1.8` (reproduced against the published package, not a local build).

### Reproduction

```jsx
import { Editor } from "react-live";

{}} />;
```

Click at the end of the text and type `XYZ`.

**Expected:** `abcXYZ`
**Actual:** `abcX`, and `document.activeElement` is ``

### Automated reproduction

Driving the above page with Playwright:

| case | typed | result | `document.activeElement` |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `` standalone | `XYZ` | `abcX` | `BODY` |
| `` + `` | `XYZ` | `abcXYZ` | `PRE` |

Same outcome with 30ms and 250ms between keystrokes, and still `BODY` after a 1.5s pause.

A human tester saw a slightly different variant — two characters landed, then typing became possible again after a pause — so the exact cut-off may be timing dependent, but the first keystroke reliably drops focus.

### Notes from debugging

- The `

` element is **not** replaced: it is the same node before and after (`sameNode: true`, `isConnected: true`).

- A real `blur` event fires on it.
- Calling `.focus()` on the same element afterwards restores normal typing, so the component is otherwise healthy.
- `use-editable` restores focus in a `useLayoutEffect`, but only when it has a recorded position (`if (e.position) { a.focus(); ... }`).
- The working `LiveProvider` path produces an extra re-render when its async transpile resolves, which appears to be what re-runs that layout effect. Standalone `Editor` has no such second render.

This suggests the standalone case depends on a re-render it does not reliably get, rather than the blur itself being intentional.

### Related

- #409 (pasting a newline moves the cursor incorrectly)
- #390 (keyboard accessibility / moving focus out of the editor)

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by tracing the standalone Editor export and use-editable's focus-restoration useLayoutEffect, then compare that path with LiveProvider and LiveEditor. Add an automated regression using the Playwright reproduction: type XYZ into standalone Editor and verify abcXYZ remains focused, while preserving the working LiveEditor behavior.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
playwright, react, typescript
Domain
frontend
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
68/100

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