Capellic Launches Hyperdrive: A New High-Performance, Component-Based Drupal Theme Architecture

Capellic has announced the release of Hyperdrive, a new theme architecture for Drupal that promises faster builds, reduced dependencies, and close alignment with emerging Drupal core features like Single Directory Components (SDC) and Experience Builder.

Unveiled in a detailed blog post by developer Dustin LeBlanc, Hyperdrive was designed from the ground up, deliberately avoiding existing frameworks like Emulsify or PatternLab. Instead, Capellic focused on modern, streamlined tooling: TailwindCSS for styling, AlpineJS for JavaScript behavior, and Vite as the build tool—chosen for its speed and simplicity.

“We started with a clean directory and a fresh package.json file,” LeBlanc wrote. “Hyperdrive is a clean slate.”

Hyperdrive builds fully on Drupal’s SDC system, aiming for deep integration with upcoming features like Experience Builder. The architecture prioritizes server-rendered Twig templates over modern JavaScript frameworks like Vue or React, citing performance trade-offs and increased maintenance burden with decoupled setups. According to Capellic, this approach suits the majority of client projects better, especially those not requiring highly interactive interfaces.

The move to TailwindCSS marks a departure from Drupal’s traditional use of SMACSS and BEM conventions. Capellic argues that Tailwind delivers smaller, faster, and more maintainable stylesheets by avoiding specificity wars and bloated rule sets. For JavaScript, AlpineJS offers a lightweight, Vue-like alternative that Capellic says meets 80% of common frontend needs with minimal footprint.

Tooling-wise, Vite has drastically cut build times. In internal testing, Hyperdrive’s theme compiled in just 15 seconds, compared to five minutes using Emulsify. The result: faster development cycles, reduced CI costs, and improved developer productivity.

While Hyperdrive currently uses Storybook to accelerate frontend development, Capellic is exploring a shift toward more Drupal-native tools like SDC Styleguide and Vite-based alternatives for long-term maintainability.

In summary, Hyperdrive reflects Capellic’s philosophy of “close-to-core” development, minimal overhead, and high performance—positioning it as a forward-looking solution in a fast-evolving Drupal ecosystem.

For the full technical breakdown, visit Capellic's blog post.