fidzu : cms

Hey experienced developers! You know how to tame Drush, charm Composer, debug like a detective, juggle configs, and wrestle with tricky modules. But there's an event that will max out your RAM with Drupal hacks, insights, and wisdom.

Chicago may be famous for deep-dish pizza, but this spring it's serving up something even more satisfying: deep dives into Drupal. DrupalCon Chicago 2026 is the place for seasoned developers to sharpen their skills, swap stories, and maybe laugh at a few module mishaps along the way.

It's a code playground with a side of professional growth - sessions designed to challenge, inspire, and connect. Ready to level up your craft and enjoy a few geeky chuckles? The program is packed with standout sessions, but here are a few you absolutely won't want to miss.

Top DrupalCon Chicago 2026 Sessions for Experienced Developers

"The state of JavaScript Code Components in Drupal Canvas" - by Bálint Kléri

Drupal Canvas, the new-generation page builder, offers multiple ways to create pages for different audiences. Non-tech users will enjoy intuitive drag-and-drop tools, ready-made components, and even building pages from a prompt to an AI agent. But what's in it for developers? First of all, it's Code Components.

JavaScript in Drupal keeps evolving, and Code Components in Drupal Canvas are the latest twist worth watching. First unveiled at DrupalCon Atlanta, they came with a zero‑setup, in-browser editor and instant support for React and Tailwind CSS.

Things have moved fast: data fetching and Next.js-style image optimization are now supported, and experiments with server-side rendering and third-party imports are in progress. And editing isn't limited to the browser anymore - a new CLI lets you work with Code Components anywhere, opening doors to decoupled frontends and fresh workflows.

Catch Bálint Kléri (balintbrews), the technical lead for JavaScript components in Drupal, in his insightful session, where he will walk through what's stable, what's experimental, and what's next. You'll discover specific approaches and techniques for working with Code Components.

"AI Agents for Site Builders" - by Marcus Johansson

AI-driven automation is changing the ways organizations handle content personalization, workflows, customer support, and data insights. One of the most exciting tools to emerge from the Drupal AI initiative is AI agents - autonomous systems that carry out tasks, make decisions, and pursue goals on behalf of users.

You can learn more about Drupal's new AI Agents framework from Marcus Johansson (marcus_johansson). On his drupal.org page, Marcus describes himself simply: "I tinker with AI." But his "tinkering" is transforming Drupal from the ground up: Marcus leads the Drupal AI initiative in Drupal, shaping its architecture, driving its development roadmap, and steering the future of AI-powered tools in Drupal.

In this session, Marcus will show you how Drupal's Agents framework lets you create business-specific agents without writing a single line of code. Instead of slogging through implementation details, you'll see how prompt writing and communication skills can drive the interaction, while Drupal quietly handles the complexity behind the curtain.

Join Marcus as he unpacks what agents are, how the framework was built, and how it connects with the MCP (Model Context Protocol). For experienced developers, this session is a chance to explore a tool that cuts through the noise and unlocks fresh possibilities.

"Advanced Site Building with Drupal Canvas" - by Ted Bowman

Drupal Canvas is gaining serious momentum, and it deserves a closer look from more than one angle. Alongside the earlier-mentioned session on Code Components, this one is a hands-on exploration of how Canvas works hand in hand with some of Drupal's most powerful tools.

Ted Bowman (tedbow), a long-time Drupal contributor, will show how Drupal Canvas can be combined with core features like Views and popular contributed modules to build advanced setups - all without writing a single line of code.

You'll see an exciting demo packed with practical examples: creating dynamic landing pages, formatting structured content with Canvas templates, linking field data to SDC (Single-Directory Components) and Code Component properties, building Views inside Canvas templates, and using template slots to give editors more control.

As Canvas continues to evolve, Ted will also spotlight the latest features and contributed modules that extend its capabilities even further.

"Next Generation ECA - Vision and Progress update" - by Jürgen Haas

Drupal offers many ways of workflow automation. But having tasks quietly carried out in the background - triggered by events, checked against conditions, and completed through actions - is a special kind of magic.

Experienced developers may remember the Rules module that pioneered this idea. Today, its modern successor, the Event-Condition-Action (ECA) module, takes the concept further, reimagined for Drupal's current ecosystem. With a no-code/low-code approach and graphical modeling tools like BPMN, ECA makes building workflows more intuitive and far less intimidating.

Despite the amazing graphical interface with diagrams for ECA workflows, ECA needed to become even more approachable, especially for people without prior Drupal experience. So after solid real-world use and plenty of feedback from the community, ECA is entering its next phase. In his session, ECA's creator, Jürgen Haas (jurgenhaas), the creator of ECA, will share how things are going with the revamp.

By lowering the barrier for site builders and project managers, the evolving ECA creates more room for developers to extend, integrate, and scale automation. The refreshed interface makes workflows easier to work with, while the underlying architecture opens fresh opportunities for custom plugins, enterprise integrations, and performance tuning.

"A Taste of the Future: Site Templates and Recipes in Drupal" - by Jim Birch

Drupal has always had a knack for ambitious site building, but the Recipes Initiative is cooking up something new. Instead of distributions that lacked flexibility, we now have lightweight, composable recipes and site templates that make functionality easier to share, remix, and extend.

For experienced developers, it's about speeding up the boring parts so you can focus on the interesting ones. Default content APIs and config actions are steadily maturing, and the community is already serving up recipes that cut down setup time while keeping flexibility intact.

Step into this session led by Jim Birch (thejimbirch), a renowned Drupal core committer and initiative coordinator. He will walk you through the progress so far, highlight examples from the community, and demonstrate practical authoring workflows. You'll leave with a clear sense of how recipes fit into Drupal's future, how to find and apply them effectively, and how to contribute your own to the growing ecosystem.

"Beyond Iframes: Modern Embedding in Drupal with Media and oEmbed" - by Pedro Cambra

Embedding external content in Drupal has become trickier as platforms tighten security rules and content policies. If iframes keep letting you down, this session offers a cleaner, more future-proof approach.

Join Pedro Cambra (pcambra), an experienced Drupal contributor, as he shares practical guidance on embedding external content with oEmbed. He explores how Drupal uses the oEmbed standard together with core Media tools and contributed modules like oEmbed Providers to embed third-party content safely and reliably. You'll get a clear look at how oEmbed works behind the scenes, which modules fit best for different use cases, and how CKEditor handles embedded objects.

The session also touches on enhancing embeds with authentication or privacy controls and building your own oEmbed resources for custom content. Practical examples keep things grounded, with plenty of tips you can apply right away. If you've ever wrestled with embeds or want a more robust setup that plays nicely with modern platforms, this session is well worth your time.

"Future Proof Theming: Best Practices for Drupal's New Era" - by Mike Herchel and Andy Blum

Theming in Drupal is entering a new era, and this training is designed to keep even seasoned developers ahead of the curve. It will be led by Mike Herchel (mherchel) and Andy Blum (andy-blum), key contributors driving theming innovations in Drupal. The training session dives into Single Directory Components, Drupal Canvas, and modern CSS/JS techniques that will shape how we build themes going forward.

Through hands‑on exercises, you'll learn to craft reusable components, streamline workflows with Storybook, and deliver designs that are fast, accessible, and maintainable.

You'll pick up strategies to dodge common page‑builder pitfalls and keep your themes flexible for whatever comes next. If you're ready to sharpen your skills and future‑proof your toolkit, this training belongs on your schedule. It must be noted that training sessions require an additional ticket.

Driesnote - by Dries Buytaert

Every DrupalCon has its traditions, and the Driesnote is one of the most anticipated. For developers who spend their days building and maintaining Drupal sites, the Driesnote is a chance to catch a glimpse of what's emerging in the platform.

Beyond the usual updates, it's the place to hear the newest features, initiatives, and announcements that set the stage for what's coming next for Drupal. You'll discover new tools, architectural changes, and exciting directions for core and contributed projects, all straight from Dries Buytaert. Right in the main auditorium, you'll catch demos that haven't been shown anywhere else yet.

This session is Drupal's roadmap in real time. Experienced developers will walk away with inspiration for their own projects, and an insider's view of upcoming improvements that could change how we work with the platform.

Final thoughts

Wrapping up the developer sessions at DrupalCon Chicago, the vibe is clear: Drupal keeps giving us new tools, and it's up to us to explore them, stress-test them, and help shape what comes next. Canvas, ECA V2, Recipes, Site Templates, and other cool innovations are all evolving fast, and the fun part is digging into the details to see how they really work.

For experienced developers, the focus shifts away from shiny demos to spotting patterns, catching edge cases, and laughing when the "easy" stuff turns into a rabbit hole. These sessions are a reminder that Drupal's future is being built in real time - and that we still get to shape it through commits, patches, and the occasional late-night debugging marathon.

Authored By: Nadiia Nykolaichuk, DrupalCon Chicago 2026 Marketing & Outreach Committee Member