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The Inspector is a sidebar that provides a way to inspect and edit the email’s properties. From the Inspector, you can edit document, node, and text properties such as colors, fonts, and padding. View a minimal example of the Inspector at the One Line Editor Inspector demo page.

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Quick start

Add EmailTheming and render Inspector.Root next to the editor content. The inspector switches automatically between document, node, and text controls based on the current selection. 
import { StarterKit } from '@react-email/editor/extensions';
import { EmailTheming } from '@react-email/editor/plugins';
import { Inspector } from '@react-email/editor/ui';
import { EditorContent, EditorContext, useEditor } from '@tiptap/react';
import '@react-email/editor/themes/default.css';

const extensions = [StarterKit, EmailTheming];

export function MyEditor() {
  const editor = useEditor({
    extensions,
    content,
  });

  return (
    <EditorContext.Provider value={{ editor }}>
      <div className="flex min-h-0 overflow-hidden">
        <div className="flex-1 min-w-0 p-4">
          <EditorContent editor={editor} />
        </div>

        <Inspector.Root className="w-60 shrink-0 border-l p-4">
          <Inspector.Breadcrumb />
          <Inspector.Document />
          <Inspector.Node />
          <Inspector.Text />
        </Inspector.Root>
      </div>
    </EditorContext.Provider>
  );
}
Click the editor background to edit document-level styles. Click a node, such as a button, to edit its properties. Select text to switch to text controls.
You can customize the inspector with render props. The default panels can also be styled using CSS variables and data-re-* selectors.

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Using with EmailEditor

If you use the one-line EmailEditor component, pass the inspector as a child instead of setting up EditorProvider manually. 
import { EmailEditor } from '@react-email/editor';
import { Inspector } from '@react-email/editor/ui';

export function MyEditor() {
  return (
    <div className="flex" style={{ height: '600px' }}>
      <EmailEditor
        content="<h1>Hello</h1><p>Click any element to inspect it.</p>"
        className="flex-1 min-w-0 overflow-y-auto p-4"
      >
        <Inspector.Root className="w-60 shrink-0 border-l p-4 overflow-y-auto">
          <Inspector.Breadcrumb />
          <Inspector.Document />
          <Inspector.Node />
          <Inspector.Text />
        </Inspector.Root>
      </EmailEditor>
    </div>
  );
}
EmailEditor includes EmailTheming in its default extensions, so the required extension is already covered.
Children of EmailEditor render inside the Tiptap EditorProvider as DOM siblings of the editor content area, so flex layouts work naturally.

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Required extension

Inspector.Root requires the EmailTheming extension. Without it, the inspector cannot resolve theme defaults or apply document-level style changes, and it will error. 
import { StarterKit } from '@react-email/editor/extensions';
import { EmailTheming } from '@react-email/editor/plugins';

const extensions = [StarterKit, EmailTheming];

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Zero-config defaults

When you render the three default panels without children, the inspector gives you a ready-made sidebar with sensible controls for common editing tasks using the standard HTML elements like input and select.
ComponentWhen it appearsDefault behavior
Inspector.DocumentWhen the editor is not focused on a specific node or text selectionControls global theme-backed styles like page background and container settings
Inspector.NodeWhen a node is focused or selectedAdapts to the current node type and shows sections like attributes, size, typography, padding, border, and background
Inspector.TextWhen text is selectedShows text formatting, alignment, typography, and link color controls
This gives you a complete inspector with no custom UI code required. Use Inspector.Breadcrumb to show the current path from the document root down to the focused node, and let users jump back up the hierarchy. 
<Inspector.Root>
  <Inspector.Breadcrumb>
    {(segments) =>
      segments.map((segment, index) => (
        <button key={index} type="button" onClick={() => segment.focus()}>
          {segment.node?.nodeType ?? 'Layout'}
        </button>
      ))
    }
  </Inspector.Breadcrumb>

  <Inspector.Document />
  <Inspector.Node />
  <Inspector.Text />
</Inspector.Root>
To use the default breadcrumb rendering: 
<Inspector.Root>
  <Inspector.Breadcrumb/>
  <Inspector.Document />
  <Inspector.Node />
  <Inspector.Text />
</Inspector.Root>

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Customizing the Inspector

The Inspector.Root itself keeps track of what is meant to be inspected. This can either be the document, a node, or a text selection. The <Inspector.Document>, <Inspector.Node>, and <Inspector.Text> components are convenience components that only render when their respective target is active.

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Inspector.Document

<Inspector.Root>
  <Inspector.Document>
    {({ findStyleValue, setGlobalStyle, batchSetGlobalStyle }) => (
      <input
        type="color"
        value={findStyleValue('body', 'backgroundColor')}
        onChange={(e) =>
          setGlobalStyle('body', 'backgroundColor', e.target.value)
        }
      />
    )}
  </Inspector.Document>
</Inspector.Root>
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findStyleValue
(classReference, property) => string | number
Looks up the current value for a document-level style property.
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setGlobalStyle
(classReference, property, value) => void
Updates an existing style entry or adds a new one.
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batchSetGlobalStyle
(changes) => void
Applies multiple document-level style updates in one call.
Internally, EmailTheming keeps track of the document-level styles through a large JSON array with entries for each selector and style property.

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Inspector.Node

<Inspector.Root>
  <Inspector.Node>
    {({ 
      nodeType, 
      getStyle, 
      setStyle, 
      getAttr, 
      setAttr, 
      themeDefaults, 
      presetColors 
    }) => (
      <>
        <div>{nodeType}</div>
        <input
          type="text"
          value={String(getAttr('alt') ?? '')}
          onChange={(e) => setAttr('alt', e.target.value)}
        />
        <input
          type="color"
          value={String(getStyle('backgroundColor') ?? '')}
          onChange={(e) => setStyle('backgroundColor', e.target.value)}
        />
      </>
    )}
  </Inspector.Node>
</Inspector.Root>
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nodeType
string
The currently focused node type, such as image, button, or section.
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getStyle
(prop) => string | number | undefined
Reads a resolved style value from the active node.
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setStyle
(prop, value) => void
Updates a single inline style on the active node.
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batchSetStyle
(changes) => void
Applies multiple style updates in one call.
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getAttr
(name) => unknown
Reads a node attribute such as alt, href, or width.
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setAttr
(name, value) => void
Updates a node attribute.
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themeDefaults
Record<string, string | number | undefined>
The resolved theme defaults for the current node before inline overrides.
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presetColors
string[]
Colors collected from the current document that can be reused in custom controls.
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nodePos
{ pos: number; inside: number }
The ProseMirror position metadata for the focused node.

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Inspector.Text

<Inspector.Root>
  <Inspector.Text>
    {({ 
      marks, 
      toggleMark, 
      alignment, 
      setAlignment, 
      linkHref, 
      linkColor, 
      setLinkColor, 
      isLinkActive, 
      getStyle, 
      setStyle, 
      presetColors 
    }) => (
      <>
        <button type="button" onClick={() => toggleMark('bold')}>
          {marks.bold ? 'Unbold' : 'Bold'}
        </button>
        <button type="button" onClick={() => setAlignment('center')}>
          {alignment === 'center' ? 'Centered' : 'Center'}
        </button>
      </>
    )}
  </Inspector.Text>
</Inspector.Root>
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marks
Record<string, boolean>
A map of active text marks. These include bold, italic, underline, strike, and code.
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toggleMark
(mark) => void
Toggles a text mark on the current selection.
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alignment
string
The current alignment of the parent text block.
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setAlignment
(value) => void
Updates the alignment of the parent text block.
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linkHref
string
The current link URL when the selection is inside a link.
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linkColor
string
The resolved color for the active link.
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setLinkColor
(color) => void
Updates the color of the active link.
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isLinkActive
boolean
Whether the current text selection is inside a link.
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getStyle
(prop) => string | number | undefined
Reads a resolved style value from the parent text block.
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setStyle
(prop, value) => void
Updates a style on the parent text block.
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presetColors
string[]
Colors collected from the current document that can be reused in custom controls.

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Using portals without losing inspector focus

If your custom inspector uses portaled UI like Radix Select, Popover, or dropdown content, moving focus into that portal can make the editor think it blurred. That can switch the active inspector target or clear the current text selection. Wrap the portaled content with EditorFocusScope so focus inside the portal is still treated as part of the editor UI. 
import { EditorFocusScope, Inspector } from '@react-email/editor/ui';
import * as Select from '@radix-ui/react-select';

<Inspector.Node>
  {({ getAttr, setAttr }) => (
    <Select.Root
      value={String(getAttr('alignment') ?? 'left')}
      onValueChange={(value) => setAttr('alignment', value)}
    >
      <Select.Trigger>
        <Select.Value />
      </Select.Trigger>

      <Select.Portal>
        <EditorFocusScope>
          <Select.Content>
            <Select.Viewport>
              <Select.Item value="left">
                <Select.ItemText>Left</Select.ItemText>
              </Select.Item>
              <Select.Item value="center">
                <Select.ItemText>Center</Select.ItemText>
              </Select.Item>
              <Select.Item value="right">
                <Select.ItemText>Right</Select.ItemText>
              </Select.Item>
            </Select.Viewport>
          </Select.Content>
        </EditorFocusScope>
      </Select.Portal>
    </Select.Root>
  )}
</Inspector.Node>
Inspector.Root already includes the required focus-scope provider, so inside a custom inspector you only need to add EditorFocusScope around the portaled content. The same pattern works for other portaled Radix components, not just Select.

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Reusing built-in sections

You can also mix custom layouts with the built-in section components. 
<Inspector.Node>
  {(context) => (
    <>
      <Inspector.Size {...context} />
      <Inspector.Padding {...context} initialCollapsed />
      <Inspector.Border {...context} initialCollapsed />
    </>
  )}
</Inspector.Node>
Available section components:
ComponentDescription
Inspector.AttributesEditable node attributes using field types inferred from the attribute schema
Inspector.BackgroundBackground color control for nodes
Inspector.BorderBorder width, style, color, and radius controls
Inspector.LinkLink URL and link color controls for active text links
Inspector.PaddingFour-sided padding editor
Inspector.SizeWidth and height controls
Inspector.TypographyColor, size, line height, marks, and alignment controls

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Examples

See the inspector in action with runnable examples:

Inspector — Defaults

Zero-config document, node, and text inspectors.

Inspector — Composed

Showing how to use default sections and add a custom one.

Inspector — Fully Custom

Fully custom inspector UI built from render props.

One-Line Editor — Inspector

Inspector sidebar with the one-line EmailEditor component.