fidzu : Drupal

One of the most surprising moments at Drupal Dev Days Leuven? Getting a phone call from Drupal. Yes, really.

Marcus Johansson gave me a spontaneous demo of a Twilio-powered AI agent built for Drupal, which triggered a phone call right from within the Drupal interface. It was unexpected, fun, and a perfect example of the kind of creative energy in the room.

That moment reminded me why I love Drupal. People were building, sharing, and exploring what Drupal can do next. The energy was contagious.

From MCP (Model Context Protocol) modules to AI-powered search, I saw Drupal doing things I wouldn't have imagined two years ago. AI is no longer just an idea. It's already finding its way into Drupal in practical, thoughtful ways.

Outside of doing a Q&A session, I spent much of my time at Drupal Dev Days working on the next phase of Drupal's AI strategy. We have an early lead in AI, but we need to build on it. We will be sharing more on that in the coming month.

In the meantime, huge thanks to the organizers of Drupal Dev Days for making this event happen, and to Paul Johnson for the fantastic photo. I love that it shows so many happy faces.

17 Apr 2025 7:14pm GMT

17 Apr 2025 4:45pm GMT

17 Apr 2025 1:14pm GMT

17 Apr 2025 9:23am GMT

DrupalSouth Melbourne 2025 was a reset and a revelation-innovation, community, and bold ideas from AU/NZ are shaping Drupal's global future. Next stop: New Zealand 2026!

17 Apr 2025 7:08am GMT

DrupalCon Atlanta saw amazee.io and FreelyGive unveil the latest evolution of their collaboration to deliver private open source AI for Drupal Drupal CMS + AI.

17 Apr 2025 12:00am GMT

michaelemeyers Wed, 04/16/2025 - 06:34

16 Apr 2025 1:34pm GMT

It's been almost 5 years since Apple introduced its ARM64-based Macs, and the world has loved them. But they threw a complete monkey wrench into the software works, which had expected the Intel/AMD64 architecture for many, many years. (Read more: ARM64! Apple Silicon! M-Series! DDEV! What does it all mean?)

Almost all systems that distributed binary artifacts had extensive troubles. That included compiled binaries, Docker images, libraries, etc. In some cases the problem was just the fundamental assumptions in the software.

Apple released Rosetta 2 with the initial Apple Silicon macs, and it was great for simple situations, but it was initially quite unpredictable for Docker-based applications. You may know that I resisted any use of Rosetta for some years because of initial experiences of unpredictability. However, everything has gotten better around Rosetta over the years, but more than that, almost everything is available as a native app or native Docker image these days (and that has always included all DDEV apps and Docker images, from the very beginning).

But it doesn't include everything. Microsoft continues to publish AMD64-only binaries and Docker images, and Oracle is just as guilty. Surely they'll come around.

In the meantime, here are some techniques to get niche AMD64-only applications going with DDEV. I recommend these techniques only if you have no good alternative, because native performance and reliability are much higher.

• Run a service as platform: linux/amd64 if only AMD64 Docker images are available
• Run the DDEV web container as platform: linux/amd64 if you absolutely must install AMD64-only software in there (this happens most often with npm packages).
• Run your entire Docker environment as AMD64 with emulation.

Running an External Service as linux/amd64

There are still a few Docker images that have not been properly updated to multi-platform builds, including typo3solr and mssql/server.

With these, if you have a docker-compose.*.yaml file that names an image which is only available as AMD64, you can just add to it this line:

platform: linux/amd64

And if you're using a Docker provider like Orbstack or Docker Desktop that has robust Rosetta support (and you have Rosetta enabled) then it will "just work". It will have reduced performance, but it may work just fine for your application.

I recently added this setup to the ddev-sqlsrv DDEV add-on, which previously was limited to Intel users only. Adding these lines to the service's docker-compose.sqlsrv.yaml made the add-on work fine on Apple Silicon:

# On macOS Apple Silicon, this only works with Rosetta enabled
image: ${MSSQL_DOCKER_IMAGE:-mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-CU18-ubuntu-22.04}
platform: linux/amd64

Adding AMD64-only Software to the DDEV Web Container

Sometimes the problem is adding software that is Intel-specific to the DDEV web container. For example, the classic npm packages node-sass and puppeteer had this problem for years. (Now both seem to build somewhat successfully on ARM64 and they also have clear "no-longer-maintained" notices sending you to other packages.)

However, as I recently experience with Oracle client-side ddev-oci8 DDEV add-on, you can make the DDEV web container run as linux/amd64 in the same exact way, and then if you need to npm-install some odd package that is Intel-only, you can do it. Add a .ddev/docker-compose.amd64.yaml like this:

services:
  web:
    # Force the DDEV web image to run as `linux/amd64` on Apple Silicon with Rosetta
    platform: linux/amd64

Run Your Entire Docker System as AMD64

As well as those techniques work, it seems unlikely that you'd want to run everything as AMD64, but DDEV on Intel... on Apple Silicon tells you how!

Wrapping Up: Try to Use Native Software When You Can

I don't recommend using either of these techniques if you have the option of updating to native software or images, but they're pretty nice if you can't!

Do you have specific examples of Intel-focused software or images that you've had trouble with? I'd love to hear about it, and hear your solutions. I'd love to update this article with more specific examples.

I'd love to hear your experience. Join us in Discord or open an issue or send an email if you have success (or failure 😀).

Thanks for your support and engagement with DDEV!

16 Apr 2025 12:00am GMT

Dear Readers,

Open-source communities depend on more than just code. They rely on discussion, disagreement, and collaboration to shape projects' progress. In Drupal, dialogue is the anatomy of every decision. When the stakes are high or the path isn't apparent, the process often begins with people asking questions, sharing use cases, and voicing concerns. DrupalCon Atlanta is in the books, but one update by Dries Buytaert is just getting started. During the Driesnote, Dries officially announced the launch of the Drupal Marketplace Initiative. Think of it as shelf space for the community's best work, not just a place to download themes but a real way to explore, test, and launch starter sites confidently.

Marketplace Initiative is a clear example of an approach through dialogues. It's a proposal with practical goals but also a test of how Drupal makes decisions as a community. The core idea is to build a public marketplace for Drupal site templates, giving users easier ways to get started while making real examples of Drupal's capabilities more visible. The proposal includes both free and commercial templates. That last part has sparked debate, not because it's technically difficult, but because it touches on long-standing questions about values, equity, and direction.

Rather than settle those questions behind closed doors, the initiative is designed to gather input from across the Drupal ecosystem. It's about how decisions get made in a project that serves many users with different needs. Whether you're excited about the potential or cautious about the trade-offs, this is the right time to speak up, and what comes next will be shaped by the people who show up now.

Right now, there are multiple ways to get involved. The working group has opened a Slack channel #drupal-cms-marketplace where you can jump into discussions, share ideas, and react to ongoing prompts. They've also released the first in a series of community surveys, starting with one focused on contributors, agencies, and Drupal Certified Partners. There are live community sessions planned too, open to anyone who wants to help shape how this all unfolds.

Dries didn't take a side but made the case for a conversation. Many organizations already pay for templates off-platform through agencies or contractors. Bringing that activity into the open could create better options, reward contributors, and strengthen the ecosystem. But it also raises questions about fairness, values, and long-term sustainability. Those questions are now on the table; everyone is invited to weigh in.

This is how decisions happen in Drupal: not with final announcements but with open discussions that invite more people into the room. Dialogue remains the structure we build on. With that, let's move on to the important stories from last week.

INTERVIEW

• UI Suite Is Announcing a New Display Builder: Pierre Dureau

DISCOVER DRUPAL

• Building Drupal Europe: Local Communities, Global Vision
• Chris Kelly Releases Sheephole Update for Simplified Drupal Site Management
• Drupal CMS Launcher Simplifies Local Setup with Desktop App
• Claude Code Module Introduces AI Integration for Drupal Development
• Dries Buytaert Tests Claude Code for Real-World Module Development and Refactoring
• AI Module 1.1.0 to Introduce Logging, UI Tools, and Expanded Agent Support in Drupal
• Drupal.org Updates Event Categories to Improve Clarity and Usability

EVENT

• What the Keynote Speakers Are Bringing to Drupal Developer Days 2025
• DrupalCamp Finland 2025, Free Registration Open
• NEDCamp 2025 Scheduled for November 14-15 at Rhode Island College
• Drupal Events for the Week: April 14 - April 20, 2025

ORGANIZATION NEWS

• Dotsquares Joins Drupal CMS 1.0 Development Group, Launches First Website
• Digital Garden Shortlisted for 2025 Australian Web Awards for NLA Website
• Dotsquares Introduces AI-Powered No-Code Drupal Platform at March 2025 Event
  

We acknowledge that there are more stories to share. However, due to selection constraints, we must pause further exploration for now.

To get timely updates, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. You can also join us on Drupal Slack at #thedroptimes.

Thank you,
Sincerely
Alka Elizabeth
Sub-editor, The DropTimes.

15 Apr 2025 3:17pm GMT

mauricio Tue, 04/15/2025 - 06:24

15 Apr 2025 1:24pm GMT

The newly released Book Library API module by Frank Thoeny provides structured book management for Drupal sites, including RESTful API access, taxonomy integration, and role-based permissions. It supports Drupal 9 and above and is designed for both traditional and headless architectures.

15 Apr 2025 11:06am GMT

Want a way to easily reorder nodes, users, taxonomy terms, media, or any entity type in Drupal? Meet Entity Queue - an extremely handy Drupal module that helps you sort items your way. Find out more!

15 Apr 2025 6:07am GMT

15 Apr 2025 1:15am GMT

Drupal gives us a lot-field formatters, and fancy layout builders modes. But what if you don't need all that? If you're a developer or themer looking for a simpler, more direct way to render content-without jumping through the usual hoops-the Pluggable Entity View Builder (PEVB) might be for you. See more about PEVB and our Drupal-starter in this video, from a presentation given in the (hallways) of DrupalCon Atlanta 2025

15 Apr 2025 12:00am GMT

Today we are talking about Drupal Forge, how it works, and why it's changing Drupal with guest Darren Oh. We'll also cover ECA VBO as our module of the week.

For show notes visit: https://www.talkingDrupal.com/497

Topics

• Elevator pitch for Drupal forge
• What is Drupal Forge built on
• What is the pricing model
• Does Drupal Forge only allow you to install Drupal CMS
• Drupal Forge and templates, was there an influence on Site Templates
• Why offer templates for Drupal Forge Camps
• Is Drupal Forge open source
• What is on the Roadmap
• How can people get involved

Resources

• Drupal Forge on Drupal.org
• Drupal Forge
• DevPanel

Guests

Darren Oh - drupalforge.org Darren Oh

Hosts

Nic Laflin - nLighteneddevelopment.com nicxvan John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi Kathy Beck - kbeck303

MOTW Correspondent

Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu

• Brief description:
  • Have you ever wanted a powerful and flexible way to create views bulk operations without writing code? There's a module for that.
• Module name/project name:
  • ECA VBO
• Brief history
  • How old: created in May 2022 by mxh, a prolific maintainer in his own right, and an active member of the group that has made the ECA ecosystem so far-reaching
  • Versions available: 1.1.1 and 2.1.1, the latter of which supports ^10.3 || ^11
• Maintainership
  • Actively maintained
  • Security coverage
  • Documentation: sort of. The README has step-by-step instructions, and the project page has links to both an example model and a tutorial video
• Number of open issues: 7 open issues, 1 of which are bugs against the current branch
• Usage stats:
  • 320 sites
• Module features and usage
  • With the module installed, your site will have a number of Events available within ECA, specifically for defining models that can perform bulk actions on the selected items in a view. In my own experience the most useful event is VBO: Execute Views bulk operation (one by one)
  • From there, you can define the logic of what needs to happen to the selected items. I've used it for fairly simple operations like changing content to a specific moderation state, but you could define complex logic that is conditional on field values, site configuration, or even global factors like the time of day
  • With one or more models defined, you can now add a field to your view for ECA bulk operations and then select which eligible models you want available in that specific view
  • It's worth adding that the ECA model can also include logic to define who should have access to perform a particular operation, which could be as simple as checking the role of the current user, but can be as complex as you need
  • I came across ECA VBO during some recent work on the Drupal Event Platform, which is already available to try out on Drupal Forge, but there should be a more formal announcement on that front soon

14 Apr 2025 6:00pm GMT

The experimental MCP Client module for Drupal, created by Marcus Johansson and co-maintained by James Abrahams, allows Drupal sites to connect with MCP-enabled systems like Slack, Figma, and Google Docs. The module supports MCP version 2 and OAuth authentication and is currently intended for local testing only.

14 Apr 2025 3:53pm GMT