News Roundup

Drupal turns 25—and the global community is celebrating. Explore meetups, birthday parties, and a powerful AI webinar. Join online or in person to mark this milestone week.

Buro Van Staal explores how AI makes Drupal sites smarter by improving how teams use existing data. AI helps surface patterns, reduce user friction, and personalize content—when content models are solid. The takeaway: AI works best when paired with good structure, not as a quick fix.

Namgay Tshering highlights how Drupal’s Config Sync keeps multi-site environments aligned and consistent. It allows versioned exports and imports of content types, views, and other config settings. Used well, it reduces deployment errors and simplifies managing large Drupal ecosystems.

The WE BUILD Consortium has adopted Open Social, a Drupal-based platform, for EU-wide digital collaboration. Hosted fully in Europe, it supports data sovereignty and open standards—avoiding U.S. cloud dependencies. Drupal’s open-source foundation powers this secure, scalable approach to Europe’s digital future.

The Drupal AI Initiative has launched Drupal AI TV, a new hub for curated AI education content. It hosts sessions, demos, and case studies to guide ethical and effective AI use in Drupal projects. A go-to resource for devs, marketers, and strategists working with AI in the Drupal ecosystem.

Adaptive’s Dan Frost introduces MCP—Model Context Protocol—as a shift from APIs to contextual web communication. MCP could allow Drupal to act in federated systems that understand intent, not just structured data. While early-stage, it invites digital leaders to rethink governance and content architecture.

A new DevPanel blog explains how setup issues often block beginners from learning Drupal. Instead, it recommends using DrupalForge.org—offering instant, cloud-based sandboxes to skip the setup. This lets new users focus on real Drupal skills like content modeling and configuration.

The Drupal Association is inviting the community to share “25 words for Drupal” between January 8 and 15. Post a message, graphic, or image with the hashtag #Drupal25Words to join the celebration. It’s a fun way to reflect and show your connection to Drupal at 25.

Drupal’s 25th birthday will be celebrated in Zurich on January 15 at the Liip ZH office. The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. CET and welcomes all Drupal community members for an informal gathering. It’s part of a week of global celebrations marking Drupal’s milestone year.

Drupal Pune is celebrating 25 years of Drupal with a community meetup on January 10. Hosted at QED42, the event features a keynote by Ruturaj Chaubey and open discussion on Drupal’s journey. It’s a great way for newcomers and pros alike to connect and reflect on Drupal’s legacy.

Kanopi Studios has acquired Chapter Three, a veteran Drupal agency based in San Francisco. This move boosts Kanopi’s decoupled and headless Drupal capabilities, especially with Next.js expertise Clients gain broader support while both teams stay active contributors to the Drupal community.

Specbee introduces the AI Media Accessibility Audit module for Drupal 11 to improve image accessibility. It audits existing media for weak or missing alt text and suggests AI-generated improvements with human review. Great for large sites aiming to meet accessibility standards without relying on full automation.

Avi Schwab explains why DrupalCon Chicago 2026 is worth attending, especially for centrally located access. The event runs March 23–26 and includes workshops, summits, and community contributions. Even if you can't go in person, there are many ways to stay engaged with Drupal.

Skvare introduces the Webform Registration Handler, streamlining Drupal user account creation from Webform entries. It uses a plugin-based architecture for field mapping, validation, and dynamic role assignment. Ideal for membership or event sites needing flexible user registration in Drupal 10 and 11.

Acolono and Drupal Austria will host an in-person Drupal 25 celebration in Vienna on January 15. The evening event offers drinks, snacks, and community connection on Drupal’s official anniversary. It’s part of a week-long global celebration recognizing 25 years of open-source collaboration.

Mario Hernandez highlights the power of native HTML <details> and <summary> for building accordions. These elements offer lightweight, accessible UI without JavaScript, with full keyboard and screen reader support. It’s a reminder to use built-in browser features before reaching for heavier tools.

The Drupal Association is building a 25th birthday photo wall. You can join by submitting a creative photo featuring “25”. It’s open to all community members at celebratedrupal.org.

Dylan Shields revisits the Rabbit Hole module—a quiet but powerful tool for entity URL control. It lets devs block direct access to content like taxonomy terms or layout-only nodes, per entity or bundle. Used on over 51,000 sites, it's a practical solution for clean Drupal architectures.

DrupalCamp Costa Rica 2026 returns as Costa Rica’s largest free tech event, blending Drupal, web dev, AI, open source, and business content. The camp offers tracks and workshops for beginners to seasoned professionals and invites global participants to learn, connect, and create. Early registrants get a free tee and food, and the event encourages session proposals and community engagement.

Drupal turns 25 this January, and the Drupal Association is celebrating with a week-long global event. From meetups to cake-cutting, the community is invited to join in, no matter the scale. Mark the moment your way and help spotlight Drupal's global community impact.

ImageX’s Nadiia Nykolaichuk introduces the Uppy module for advanced file uploads in Drupal. It adds drag-and-drop uploads, image editing, and real-time previews to media fields. Ideal for content teams needing smoother, editor-friendly media workflows in Drupal.

Roland Obermair has released Permissions Turbo, a faster alternative to Drupal’s core permissions UI. It loads checkboxes dynamically, supports keyboard shortcuts, and slashes page load times and DOM size. Ideal for large sites struggling with slow admin pages—now with a cleaner, faster interface.

DrupalCon Chicago 2026 has extended its early bird deadline to January 20 at 7:59 a.m. CST. The event runs March 23–26, with sessions, contributions, and community networking across all Drupal roles. If you're planning to attend, now's the time to lock in the best rates.

Centarro's Matt Robison weighs in on Drupal Commerce’s role in modern eCommerce. He highlights its strength as a flexible, open-source framework for complex, content-rich storefronts. It’s ideal for merchants needing deep customization, workflow control, and long-term scalability.

Drupal turns 25 this year, and the community in Belgium is celebrating in style. A New Year reception will be held on January 20 at Technopolis in Mechelen with networking, tapas, and an escape game. It’s a milestone moment to reflect on Drupal’s legacy and connect with fellow contributors.

Philip Norton shares how to theme Search API forms with SVG buttons in Drupal 11. He uses form alter hooks and custom template suggestions to embed inline icons accessibly. It’s a useful pattern for frontend devs improving UX while preserving accessibility standards.

Bhimmu has published Yogesh Kushwaha’s guide to passing the Acquia Drupal 11 Backend exam. He outlines a practical, step-by-step approach built on real projects, API practice, and exam insights. Ideal for devs seeking formal certification or deeper backend confidence with Drupal 11.

DrupalCamp England 2026 will be held in Salford, Manchester from February 28 to March 1. The event expands to two days with tracks on AI, training, and community sprints. It’s a big step in bringing Drupal to broader audiences across the UK.

DrupalCon Nara 2025 announced Japan’s plan to launch an official Local Drupal Association. Masami Suzuki leads the committee, aiming for nonprofit status by spring 2026. Alongside this, DrupalCamp Tokyo 2026 is set for June 27—spotlighting Asia-Pacific growth.

Rajat Kumar Verma has released CSS Class Collector, a module for safe CSS purging in Drupal. It scans used classes from content, building safelists for tools like PurgeCSS and Tailwind. Useful for trimming CSS in bootstrap_barrio and custom themes without breaking layouts.

Wassim Ben Sassi recaps a landmark year in Drupal and maps out what’s next. He highlights key tools like the React-based Experience Builder and AI that accelerates development. If you're building with Drupal, this is the year to level up.

Dries Buytaert just marked 20 years of blogging. From his early Drop.org experiments to launching a Drupal-powered blog in 2005, Dries has used writing to explore, connect, and reflect. His minimalist blog stays true to its purpose: thinking out loud — without ads, tracking, or noise.

Wassim Bensassi asks: should developers still learn Drupal in 2026? His answer: yes—for those seeking enterprise-grade skills, high salaries, and long-term roles. The post includes a full roadmap from site building to module dev and DevOps mastery.

Shibin Das introduces FlowDrop—a visual, self-hosted workflow editor built for developer control. It decouples config from execution, outputs JSON, and integrates with CI/CD, policies, and your stack. Designed for teams who want orchestration speed without vendor lock-in or compliance risks.

Drubernetes v3.0.0 replaces Nginx Ingress with Envoy Gateway to modernize Kubernetes support for Drupal. The move improves performance, security, and aligns with CNCF best practices for container architecture. Maintained by Backup Scale, the update ensures a stable, future-ready stack for Drupal on Kubernetes.

Talking Drupal episode 534 features Fons Vandamme on how Webhaven.io accelerates site creation. It combines Drupal Recipes with a visual setup tool for faster, standardized project starts. Ideal for agencies and builders seeking speed without losing Drupal’s flexibility.

Kevin Quillen has released offline .htaccess testing plugins for VS Code and JetBrains IDEs. These tools let you validate rewrite rules locally, without pushing to a server or relying on online testers. Ideal for CMS devs working in Drupal, WordPress, or Symfony who need fast, private rule validation.

Specbee’s latest blog explains why schema markup matters for SEO—especially during Drupal migrations. It covers JSON-LD, Google validation tools, and key Drupal modules like Schema.org Metatag. Site owners can protect search rankings by validating structured data before and after migration.

Ivan Zugec’s WebWash tutorial shows how to index PDFs and Word docs in Drupal using Solr. It walks through Search API Attachments, Solr config in DDEV, and building faceted search views. Perfect for content-heavy sites needing full-text file search inside Drupal.

Dries Buytaert reflects on AI workflow failures and why structure still matters. He contrasts “outside-in” vs. “inside-out” orchestration models using tools like n8n and Activepieces. His message: real-world AI needs accountability—where open source can play a central role.

The Boston Drupal Group hosts a meetup Jan 7 from 6–7:30 p.m. EST with Mike Herchel on “Drupal Canvas.” Expect Drupal‑focused demos, networking, and free food at Pegasystems in Waltham, MA.
In‑person attendees must RSVP for building access; hybrid Zoom participation aligns with the Eastern Time Zone meetup.

Droptica’s Rafał Węglarz highlights 11 Drupal distributions that fast-track specialized site builds. These prepackaged profiles bundle modules and themes for use cases like LMS, intranets, and publishing. They save setup time and help teams adopt best practices from day one.

Emma Horrell explains how UX research is helping make Drupal CMS easier to use. She shares how her team studies real users to improve onboarding, content creation, and site-building. Future plans include AI and site templates, all guided by feedback from the Drupal community.

Day 24 of the Drupal Advent Calendar by James Shields features Eric Davila’s “Listening Like a Dungeon Master.” From DrupalCamp Colorado, the talk links RPG strategies to stakeholder facilitation and team trust. Key takeaway: great collaboration starts with listening, not controlling outcomes.

Saroj K’s Weekly Drupal Module 2.9 explains REST and web services in Drupal for Acquia exam prep. Covers REST core modules, HTTP methods, permissions, and when to use REST vs. Views. A solid primer for developers working on API access and decoupled site features.

Saroj K’s Weekly Drupal Module 2.8 covers multilingual best practices for site builders and developers. It distinguishes config, content, and interface translation using Drupal core and translation APIs. Essential for preparing Drupal sites—and Acquia exams—for structured multilingual success.