Transform API 2.0.0 Released with Full Drupal 11 Support and Smarter Rendering for Headless Builds

The latest version of Transform API, a key tool in building headless Drupal applications, has been officially released. Version 2.0.0 introduces full support for Drupal 10.3 and Drupal 11, alongside major technical enhancements aimed at performance, flexibility, and ease of use for developers working on decoupled Drupal projects.

Transform API is designed to streamline the creation of JSON outputs from Drupal entities, menus, and custom routes, allowing site builders to reuse familiar tools like view modes, blocks, and templates—only this time, for structured data instead of HTML. Unlike JSON:API, which delivers raw entity data and requires extensive frontend formatting, Transform API produces front-end-ready JSON by leveraging Drupal’s core theming and rendering capabilities.

Version 2.0.0 marks a significant milestone in the module’s development. The update improves rendering through the use of Drupal's VariationCache system, which offers more efficient caching strategies. EntityTransform, the system’s core component for converting entities to JSON, now handles empty values more accurately, reducing frontend errors and the need for custom validation. The release also introduces support for querying multiple page regions in a single request—an improvement that simplifies frontend logic and reduces API overhead.

Mads Nørgaard, Drupal Developer at Novicell, announced the release on LinkedIn, describing the update as “a solid step forward for those building custom APIs and structured output in modern Drupal setups.” He credited Martin Giessing Pedersen, Alexandru Giuran, and Erik Petra for their continued contributions to the project.

The Transform API’s appeal lies in its seamless integration with Drupal’s render pipeline. Developers can configure “transform modes” similar to view modes, apply “transform blocks” in place of traditional blocks, and modify output through “transformers” and preprocess-like hooks such as transform_alter. This approach brings Drupal’s familiar theming and layout logic into the headless realm, minimizing the learning curve for site builders and developers transitioning from traditional theming.

Once installed, the module enables any Drupal entity to be rendered as JSON simply by appending ?format=json to its URL. Additional fields and custom structures can be exposed through configuration, making it suitable for complex frontend applications or mobile integrations. Like other renderable content in Drupal, transformed outputs are cached with appropriate cache tags and contexts, ensuring efficient performance and proper cache invalidation.

Transform API 2.0.0 is available now via Composer. Developers can install it by running composer require drupal/transform_api:^2.0. The module is backed by Novicell and currently used by a growing number of Drupal sites seeking to decouple their frontends while maintaining the stability and power of Drupal’s backend architecture.

Full documentation and changelogs are available on Drupal.org, including a guide outlining differences between version 1 and version 2, as well as examples of common use cases and integration strategies.