News Roundup

Platform.sh has rebranded as Upsun, marking a new era in cloud application management. The company is doubling down on AI-assisted development, with features like AI-generated configuration and multi-runtime support. Upsun promises speed for developers, sustainability for enterprises, and continuity for existing customers.

1xINTERNET explains how a new standard called llms.txt can help websites stay visible in AI-powered search. It points large language models to clean Markdown versions of content, making indexing easier and more accurate. For Drupal, modules like llms_txt and markdownify make implementation straightforward.

SparkFabrik is spotlighting Drupal headless as a powerful option for omnichannel content. By separating backend content from front-end displays, Drupal’s APIs help serve websites, apps, and even kiosks. Case studies in retail and publishing show faster sites, smoother workflows, and a consistent user experience across every channel.

Damon Serhiienko from Drupfan explains how AI modules are transforming Drupal workflows. From content creation and SEO optimization to chatbots and moderation, tools like AI Core, OpenAI, and Augmentor are becoming essential. The takeaway: Drupal’s modular design makes it a strong platform for adopting AI responsibly.

Metadrop has released Aljibe, a DDEV-based toolkit designed to streamline Drupal development. It includes robust QA tools like PHPStan, Behat, Pa11y, and visual testing via BackstopJS. Aljibe’s opinionated setup helps teams launch high-quality Drupal projects faster, with automation and consistency built in.

DrupalCamp Scotland 2025 is now accepting session proposals for its November 7 event in Edinburgh. Organizers invite talks on development, UX, content strategy, and more. Submit by October 10 for a chance to speak and join the UK Drupal community.

The Drupal Association is hosting a webinar on “Drupal AI at DrupalCon Vienna” this September 25. It offers a first look at AI workshops, sessions, and BoFs planned for DrupalCon Vienna 2025. Drupalers can preview how the AI Initiative is shaping this year's biggest community event.

The Drop Times explores a powerful roundup of 17 AI-enhanced search modules for Drupal. These modules extend Drupal's Search API with semantic, vector-based, and recommendation capabilities, utilising providers such as Pinecone, Milvus, and Azure AI. Site builders can now deliver smarter, context-aware discovery features with minimal integration overhead.

Pri Scarabelli at Pivale compares Drupal SDC to Storybook in a six-round "component showdown." SDC wins on workflow simplicity, performance, and Drupal-native integration, while Storybook leads in cross-platform sharing. The judges declare SDC the winner for Drupal-specific component development—but Storybook remains strong for broader design systems.

This month’s Drupal contrib highlights include Swup for smoother page transitions, Role Request to streamline user permissions, and AI Document OCR to make scanned PDFs searchable. Other notable modules improve security, autocomplete UX, weather integration, and load control against bots.

Dripyard is building premium Drupal themes using only Drupal core—no contrib modules, no npm, no extras. In a new post, Andy Giles explains how they created a custom class loader to support PSR-4 autoloading, Layout Builder, and even batch recipe installers—all from within the theme itself. It’s a clean, fully self-contained approach that rethinks what Drupal theming can be.

Search is changing fast, and AI is at the center of it. Acquia and Conductor say your site needs to be structured, searchable, and ready for LLMs like ChatGPT. It’s not just about ranking—it’s about being the trusted source AI models turn to.

GDPR fines are serious—up to 4% of global revenue—and many sites still aren't ready. Kyle Knight from Sucuri lays out a step-by-step plan for developers: map your data, separate consent clearly, and automate deletion requests. His guide also shows how tools like firewalls and logging help meet GDPR security requirements.

Suzanne Dergacheva headlines the next A11y Talks with “When Accessibility Isn’t Easy.” She’ll unpack tricky web features—like maps, filters, and sliders—that often complicate accessibility. Join this free virtual event to learn how to address these issues early and build more inclusive experiences.

This week in Drupal events, from September 22 to 28, the community is in motion worldwide.
Highlights include sessions on accessibility, ephemeral environments, Drupal Canvas, and a relaunch from the London Drupal Group.

Nextide has released Maestro Template Builder v2.0 as part of Maestro 4.2. Built on diagram-js, it adds zoom, panning, and a drag-and-drop task palette. Just update Maestro and clear the cache to start using the new visual workflow editor.

Accessible intranets are still far from standard, says Esmeralda Tijhoff of DICTU. She’ll speak on embedding accessibility from day one at the NNDT Autumn Meeting this October. The event brings together Dutch digital professionals to share practical strategies for making internal tools more inclusive.

Tag1 Consulting applied AI to improve load testing on a government Drupal site. Using Goose with secure, in-house AI, they achieved consistent validation and better documentation. The project shows how AI can act as a reliable collaborator in performance engineering.

Sass is phasing out @import rules, and Dart Sass 3.0 will drop them completely. ComputerMinds has published a quick guide on using the Sass migrator tool to upgrade. Drupal themers can resolve deprecation warnings in minutes with this step-by-step process.

A new tutorial by jofitz walks through how to pull Composer packages directly from GitHub—or any VCS repo—when they’re not on drupal.org. It covers manual edits, composer config, and risks like desync with composer.lock.

The European Accessibility Act is raising the bar for digital inclusion in the EU. Drupal’s accessibility leader Mike Gifford outlines how core features, contrib tools, and AI can help. His Drupal Association post positions Drupal as ready for the EAA era and beyond.

DrupalSouth Community Day 2025 has opened its call for sessions for the November 6 event in Canberra. Presenters can propose 30- or 60-minute in-person talks, workshops, or discussions across two content tracks. Submissions are due by September 21—this is your chance to help shape the program and share your insights.

In Part 2 of his six-part series on unmanaged files in Drupal, Jeff Greenberg takes us from concept to code. He builds a lightweight service that scans a folder tree and fetches one random image, showing how Drupal can use files without managing them as entities.

DrupalCamp Scotland 2025 returns on Friday, November 7 at the University of Edinburgh.
The event features full-day sessions for both technical and non-technical audiences, plus an evening social.
Tickets are now available, with session proposals open through October 10 at camp.drupal.scot.

The London Drupal Users Group is back on September 24 with its first hybrid meetup since the pandemic. Marcelo from Northern will demo a custom module for content audits, including ROT analysis and translation reviews. Join in person at Northern HQ in London, Ontario, or online. RSVP via Meetup.

Droptica has released Open Intranet version 1.5.0, now upgraded to Drupal 11.2. This update adds the Gin 5.x admin theme, enhancing usability for editors and intranet users. Open Intranet remains a free, scalable, and secure Drupal-based platform for enterprise collaboration.

In today’s AI-driven search world, SEO is no longer about chasing keywords. In a recent Cheppers blog, CTO Bálint Pekker explains how Drupal websites can stay visible when AI assistants and Google summaries answer questions directly. His advice: focus on structured content, schema markup, freshness, and demonstrating expertise. For Drupal site owners, the goal is clear—become the source that AI trusts to summarize.

Specbee explores how AI is reshaping Drupal with new modules and community initiatives. From Starshot’s recipes to AI Core, automation tools, and guided content workflows. With funding and growing installs, Drupal AI is moving fast into real-world adoption.

DrupalCamp Ruhr 2025 welcomed nearly 100 attendees to Essen for a collaborative barcamp. Sessions covered AI Core 1.2.0, Figma-to-Drupal theming, and the Drupal AI Initiative. The event blended technical insights with community fun, reaffirming Drupal’s grassroots spirit.

BADCamp 2025 brings AI to the forefront with a three-hour summit and multiple sessions. Drupal contributors will share practical workflows on moderation, chatbots, and headless builds. It’s a community-driven approach to shaping Drupal’s AI future.

DrupalFit has launched its Vienna Challenge ahead of DrupalCon 2025. Participants will submit websites for audits in performance, security, accessibility, and SEO. Winners will be announced live at DrupalCon Vienna on October 16.

Pantheon has launched Content Publisher in public preview with a free trial tier. It enables teams to publish from Google Docs to Drupal, WordPress, or Next.js sites. Governance, SEO metadata, and AI tools streamline workflows across content and tech teams.

Acquia and the Drupal Association will host a live session on September 24 to demo Drupal Canvas. Speakers Lauri Timmanee and Tim Lehnen will show how low-code tools can speed site-building and integrate with existing architectures. The session also previews Acquia Source, a new tool shaping Drupal’s enterprise future.

Four Kitchens has released a white paper pushing higher ed to move beyond AI hype. It offers a strategic guide to implementing AI in websites, marketing, and student support.

DrupalCon Vienna will host a special Drupal Business Dinner on October 15 at DaRose Restaurant. Leaders from Drupal agencies will network and hear findings from the 2025 Drupal Business Survey. A follow-up session takes place the next morning, with registration required for both events.

More than 20 participants gathered at Liip’s Zürich office for the Swiss Drupal AI Hackathon. Six teams showcased AI tools built on Drupal, from alt text automation to form input via speech. The event showed how open-source AI can extend Drupal in practical, creative directions.

A major NPM supply chain attack has compromised dozens of open-source packages. Drupal’s Security Team issued a PSA confirming the threat and outlining mitigation steps. Drupal core is unaffected, but site owners must secure third-party dependencies and CI setups.

On Talking Drupal #520, Mike Herchel and Andy Giles introduce Dripyard, a premium Drupal theme. Built for accessibility and developer efficiency, it supports Webform, sub-theming, and future Canvas integration. The episode also warns developers about a major NPM supply chain attack—dependency audits are strongly recommended.

Cheppers CTO Bálint Pekker unpacks how AI is reshaping SEO for Drupal sites. Success now depends on structured content, schema markup, and proving authority to AI systems. Drupal’s architecture gives site owners a head start—but strategic adaptation is essential.

A blog by Arttus Inc argues enterprise adoption of headless Drupal is accelerating in 2025. With 40% of Drupal projects going headless, the platform’s strength lies in handling complexity and compliance. For enterprise leaders, Drupal isn’t just viable—it’s architecturally built for the reality of large-scale digital transformation.

MPACER Solutions outlines what modern websites must deliver in 2025: speed, scalability, and accessibility. They argue for AI-ready, mobile-first, and secure-by-design platforms that evolve with user expectations. For brands using Drupal, this is a push to future-proof architecture and rethink content as a living system.

Glenn Hilton, Founder and CEO of ImageX, will join the Drupal Association Board of Directors starting November 1. He says his focus will be on stronger feedback from agencies and enterprise users, and clearer communication of Drupal’s value. Hilton also hopes to open new paths for commercial growth while supporting the community that shaped his career.

Théodore Biadala explores HTMX integration now available in Drupal 11.3 core. Using the new Htmx object, developers can build dynamic forms with minimal JavaScript and robust validation. It’s a flexible approach for AJAX-like UX that stays true to Drupal’s Form API.

Engineer Carlos Ospina turned a job rejection into a challenge, building a Kubernetes platform in under a week. He also released the ECA Kafka Integration module, enabling Drupal to publish messages directly to Apache Kafka. This contribution adds new event streaming options for Drupal sites while showcasing rapid, practical learning.

Pavel Kasianov has released a new Drupal 11 module called Node Temporary. It lets you mark content as temporary, assign an expiration date, and then automatically unpublish or delete it when time’s up. Perfect for cleaning up test or demo content without manual effort.

The LocalGov Drupal community meets in Brighton & Hove on Sept. 25 at Town Hall. Council teams will share platform learnings and work through real-world challenges. Registration is open—approval required—via the event page.

DrupalCon Chicago 2026 opens Early Bird registration for March 23–26. Tickets are $575 and include sessions, keynotes, contribution time, and community events. The Call for Speakers closes September 26—submit soon to shape the program.

Drupal Academy has released a hands-on tutorial showing how to build an AI content generator in Drupal 11. By integrating ChatGPT and DeepSeek via OpenRouter, developers can wire up forms, connect APIs, and generate content directly in CKEditor 5.

With Drupal 7 now end-of-life, Ala Batayneh from Vardot shares a readiness checklist for migrating to Drupal 10 and beyond. It’s not just an upgrade, but a rebuild—covering audits, content cleanup, AI strategy, and infrastructure prep. The roadmap sets a 6–12+ month path to modernization.