Planet Drupal

Authors: Arian, Christoph, Piyuesh, Rakhi (alphabetical)

While Artificial Intelligence is evolving rapidly, many applications remain experimental and difficult to implement in professional production environments. The Drupal AI Initiative addresses this directly, driving responsible AI innovation by channelling the community's creative energy into a clear, coordinated product vision for Drupal.

Dries Buytaert presenting the status of Drupal AI Initiative at DrupalCon Vienna 2025

In this article, the third in a series, we highlight the outcomes of the latest development sprints of the Drupal AI Initiative. Part one outlines the 2026 roadmap presented by Dries Buytaert. Part two addresses the organisation and new working model for the delivery of AI functionality.

Converting ambition into measurable progress

To turn the potential of AI into a reliable reality for the Drupal ecosystem, we have developed a repeatable, high-velocity production model that has already delivered significant results in its first four weeks.

A Dual-Workstream Approach to Innovation

To maximize efficiency and scale, development is organized into two closely collaborating workstreams. Together, they form a clear pipeline from exploration and prototyping to stable functionality:

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It was fantastic to see Ivan Zugec diving deep into our ecosystem! We actually popped into the chat during the stream (he jokingly referred to us as the "End Boss"), and it was great to see him exploring the capabilities of Display Builder alongside UI Suite DaisyUI.Here is our recap of his session available on WebWash youtube channel:

The UK's largest Drupal event arrives at the University of Salford, Manchester on 28th February – 1st March — and there's something for everyone, whether you're a seasoned Drupal professional or simply curious about what open source technology can do for your organisation.

Now that some of the projects that opted-in for GitLab issues are using them, they are getting real world experience with how the issue workflow in GitLab is slightly different. More and more projects are being migrated each week so sooner or later you will probably run into the following situations.

Creating new issues

When creating issues, the form is very simple. Add a title and a description and save, that's it!

GitLab has different work items when working on projects, like "Incidents", "Tasks" and "Issues". Our matching type will always be "Issue". Maintainers might choose to use the other types, but all integrations with Drupal.org will be made against "Issue" items.

Labels (issue metadata)

As mentioned in the previous blog post GitLab issue migration: the new workflow for migrated projects, all the metadata for issues is managed via labels. Maintainers will select the labels once the issue is created.

Users without sufficient privileges cannot decide things like priority or tags to use. Maintainers can decide to grant the role "reporter" to some users to help with this metadata for the issues. Reporters will be able to add/edit metadata when adding or editing issues. We acknowledge that this is probably the biggest difference to working with Drupal.org issues. We are listening to feedback and trying to identify the real needs first (thanks to the projects that opted in), before implementing anything permanent.

Reporters will be able to add or edit labels on issue creation or edit:

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Mutagen has been a part of DDEV for years, providing dramatic performance improvements for macOS and traditional Windows users. It's enabled by default on these platforms, but understanding how it works, what can go wrong, and how to debug issues is key to getting the most out of DDEV.

Just Need to Debug Something?

If you're here because you just need to debug a Mutagen problem, this will probably help:

ddev utility mutagen-diagnose

See more below.

Contributor Training Video

This blog is based on the Mutagen Fundamentals and Troubleshooting Contributor Training held on January 22, 2026.

See the slides for the training video.

What Mutagen Does

Mutagen is an asynchronous file synchronization tool that decouples in-container reads and writes from reads and writes on the host machine. Each filesystem enjoys near-native speed because neither is stuck waiting on the other.

Traditional Docker bind-mounts check every file access against the file on the host. On macOS and Windows, Docker's implementation of these checks is not performant. Mutagen solves this by maintaining a cached copy of your project files in a Docker volume, syncing changes between host and container asynchronously.

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Why I Do Not Trust Independent AI Agents Without Strict Supervision Image Imagen Article body

I use Claude Code almost exclusively. Every day, for hours. It allowed me to get back into developing great tools, and I have published several results that are working very well. Plugins, skills, frameworks, development workflows. Real things that real people can use. The productivity is undeniable.

So let me be clear about what this post is. This is not a take on what AI can do. This is about AI doing it completely alone.

The results are there. But under supervision.

The laollita.es Moment

When we were building laollita.es, something happened that I documented in a previous post. We needed to apply some visual changes to the site. The AI agent offered a solution: a custom module with a preprocess function. It would work. Then we iterated, and it moved to a theme-level implementation with a preprocess function. That would also work. Both approaches would accomplish the goal.

Until I asked: isn't it easier to just apply CSS to the new classes?

Yes. It was. Simple CSS. No module, no preprocess, no custom code beyond what was needed.

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Our webinar on Drupal CMS + Meridian theme is up on YouTube! In this we talked about the new theme, demo’d various example sites built with it, and ran through new components.

We also talked about our differences with Drupal CMS’s built in Byte theme and site template.

Enjoy!

1xINTERNET and React online have joined forces, React Online will become the Dutch subsidiary of 1xINTERNET. Same great people, same trusted partnerships, now backed by a team of 90+ experts across Europe.

Integrating AI with Drupal content creation works well for text fields, but taxonomy mapping remains a significant challenge. AI extracts concepts using natural language, while Drupal taxonomies require exact predefined terms and the two rarely match. This article explores why common approaches like string matching and keyword mapping fail, and presents context injection as a production-proven solution that leverages AI’s semantic understanding to select correct taxonomy terms directly from the prompt.

On a busy Drupal website, content rarely lives on its own in a silo. Presentations and webinars are linked to speakers, academic programs will reference courses, and events are tied to locations, the list goes on. Update one of these pieces on its own page, and the change shows up everywhere it’s used, reflecting Drupal’s strength as a coherent, interconnected system.

More content through AI? Too short-sighted. In 2026, it’s about scalable quality, governance, and learning websites. We analyze the newly released Drupal AI Roadmap for 2026.

   

Join AmyJune and Avi as they discuss the complexities of organizing large events in changing times. The discussion covers topics from past DrupalCons, the crucial coordination behind community health and safety, accessibility, and the evolving challenges involving inclusivity. They also touch on the intersection of community dynamics, the importance of creating shared realities, and the engaging experience of the Drupal community. Additionally, expect an overview of upcoming events, including keynotes and fun activities like the Drupal Coffee Exchange.

For show notes visit: https://www.talkingDrupal.com/cafe014

Topics

• Catching Up with Abby and June
• Memories of DrupalCon and Camps
• The $2 Bill Tradition
• Open Y and Community Contributions
• Community Working Group and Governance
• Initial Reactions and Reflections
• Challenges of Organizing DrupalCon
• Accessibility and Safety Concerns
• Event Planning and Community Involvement
• Learning from Other Events
• Upcoming Keynote and Event Highlights
• Community and Collaboration

AmyJune Hineline

AmyJune works with the Linux Foundation as the Certification Community Architect, supporting the Education team in developing and maintaining exams and related documentation across the foundation's certification portfolio.

She's also a DrupalCamp organizer (Florida DrupalCamp, DrupalCamp Asheville, and DrupalCamp Colorado), a member of the Community Working Group's Conflict Resolution Team, and serves on the board of the Colorado Drupal Association.

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Sharing your local development environment with clients, colleagues, or testing services has always been a valuable DDEV feature. DDEV v1.25.0 makes this easier and more flexible than ever with a complete redesign of ddev share. The biggest news is that you can now share your projects for free using Cloudflare Tunnel—no account signup or token setup required.

What Changed in ddev share

Previous versions of DDEV relied exclusively on ngrok for sharing. While ngrok remains a solid choice with advanced features, v1.25.0 introduces a modular provider system allowing more options and flexibility. DDEV now ships with two built-in providers:

• ngrok: The traditional option (requires free account and authtoken)
• cloudflared: A new, cost-free option using Cloudflare Tunnel (requires no account or token)

You can select providers via command flags, project configuration, or global defaults. Existing projects using ngrok continue working unchanged, and ngrok remains the default provider.

Free Sharing with Cloudflare Tunnel

Cloudflare Tunnel provides production-grade infrastructure for sharing your local environments at zero cost. After installing the cloudflared CLI, getting started is:

ddev share --provider=cloudflared

No account creation, no authentication setup, no subscription tiers—just immediate access to share your work. This removes barriers for individual developers and teams who need occasional sharing without the overhead of managing service accounts.

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• This is cross-posted from Dries Buytaert's blog

For the past months, the AI Initiative Leadership Team has been working with our contributing partners to define what the Drupal AI initiative should focus on in 2026. That plan is now ready, and I want to share it with the community.

This roadmap builds directly on the strategy we outlined in Accelerating AI Innovation in Drupal. That post described the direction. This plan turns it into concrete priorities and execution for 2026.

The full plan is available as a PDF, but let me explain the thinking behind it.

Producing consistently high-quality content and pages is really hard. Excellent content requires a subject matter expert who actually knows the topic, a copywriter who can translate expertise into clear language, someone who understands your audience and brand, someone who knows how to structure pages with your component library, good media assets, and an SEO/AEO specialist so people actually discover what you made.

Most organizations are missing at least some of these skillsets, and even when all the people exist, coordinating them is where everything breaks down. We believe AI can fill these gaps, not by replacing these roles but by making their expertise available to every content creator on the team.

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• This is cross-posted from Dries Buytaert's blog

For the past months, the AI Initiative Leadership Team has been working with our contributing partners to define what the Drupal AI initiative should focus on in 2026. That plan is now ready, and I want to share it with the community.

This roadmap builds directly on the strategy we outlined in Accelerating AI Innovation in Drupal. That post described the direction. This plan turns it into concrete priorities and execution for 2026.

The full plan is available as a PDF, but let me explain the thinking behind it.

Producing consistently high-quality content and pages is really hard. Excellent content requires a subject matter expert who actually knows the topic, a copywriter who can translate expertise into clear language, someone who understands your audience and brand, someone who knows how to structure pages with your component library, good media assets, and an SEO/AEO specialist so people actually discover what you made.

Most organizations are missing at least some of these skillsets, and even when all the people exist, coordinating them is where everything breaks down. We believe AI can fill these gaps, not by replacing these roles but by making their expertise available to every content creator on the team.

Read more

Scaling the Drupal AI Initiative

The Drupal AI Initiative officially launched in June 2025 with the release of the Drupal AI Strategy 1.0 and a shared commitment to advancing AI capabilities in an open, responsible way. What began as a coordinated effort among a small group of committed organizations has grown into a substantial, sponsor-funded collaboration across the Drupal ecosystem.

Today, 28 organizations support the initiative, collectively pledging more than 23 full-time equivalent contributors representing over 50 individual contributors working across time zones and disciplines. Together, sponsors have committed more than $1.5 million in combined cash and in-kind contributions to move Drupal AI forward.

The initiative now operates across multiple focused areas, including leadership, marketing, UX, QA, core development, innovation, and product development. Contributors are not only exploring what’s possible with AI in Drupal, but are building capabilities designed to be stable, well-governed, and ready for real-world adoption in Drupal CMS.

Eight months in, this is more than a collection of experiments. It is a coordinated, community-backed investment in shaping how AI can strengthen content creation, governance, and measurable outcomes across the Drupal platform.

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For the past months, the AI Initiative Leadership Team has been working with our contributing partners to define what the Drupal AI initiative should focus on in 2026. That plan is now ready, and I want to share it with the community.

This roadmap builds directly on the strategy we outlined in Accelerating AI Innovation in Drupal. That post described the direction. This plan turns it into concrete priorities and execution for 2026.

The full plan is available as a PDF, but let me explain the thinking behind it.

Producing consistently high-quality content and pages is really hard. Excellent content requires a subject matter expert who actually knows the topic, a copywriter who can translate expertise into clear language, someone who understands your audience and brand, someone who knows how to structure pages with your component library, good media assets, and an SEO/AEO specialist so people actually discover what you made.

Most organizations are missing at least some of these skillsets, and even when all the people exist, coordinating them is where everything breaks down. We believe AI can fill these gaps, not by replacing these roles but by making their expertise available to every content creator on the team.

Read more

EverLMS, developed by Hai Nguyen, is an open-source, Drupal-based learning management framework designed for self-hosted deployment. Built for agencies and enterprises, it integrates AI-assisted authoring tools, SCORM and H5P support, structured reporting, and role-based access control within a single-tenant architecture. Rather than functioning as an LMS add-on, EverLMS presents a full learning system built directly on Drupal.

Switching from WordPress to Drupal raises many concerns. Will the migration be too complicated? Will I find equivalents for the tools I use every day? In this article, I compare five of the most important WordPress tools with their Drupal counterparts: Custom Post Types, ACF, WP Query, WP Forms, and Page Builders like Elementor. For each one, I show what working in Drupal looks like with real examples and a live demo in Drupal CMS. After reading this post, you’ll see that Drupal isn’t hard at all, and concepts familiar from WordPress translate to Drupal almost one-to-one. Feel free to read the article or watch the episode from the Nowoczesny Drupal series.

The Drupal Community Working Group (CWG) recently posted about Health and Safety at DrupalCon Chicago. We encourage all attendees to review their blog post and the updated DrupalCon Chicago 2026 Health & Safety information.

Have questions or concerns about DrupalCon Chicago? Feel free to drop by the Community Working Group's public office hours this Friday, February 13 at 10am ET / 1200 UTC.

Join the #community-health Drupal Slack channel for more information. A meeting link will be posted there a few minutes before office hours.

Chicago was booked as the venue for DrupalCon North America in late 2024. Since then, there has been a lot of news from Chicago.

Chicago has been the target of “enhanced” immigration enforcement operations by the US federal government under the name “Operation Midway Blitz”. Local news outlet Block Club Chicago has written in-depth about the ongoing situation:

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