After joining QED42, we kept hearing about Drupal meetups—what they were like, who showed up, and what kind of conversations happened there. And then, eventually, we walked into one.
A room full of people who care about this open-source tech at an almost unreasonable level.
Well, we were there for a few reasons. To listen. To learn. To see if Drupal, AI agents, Recipes, and Distributions are as interesting in conversation as they sound in documentation. Spoiler: they are!
First impressions
Walking into our first Drupal Meetup, we stepped into a space filled with developers, designers, and open-source enthusiasts.
Conversations sparked over coffee, ideas flowed, and within minutes, we weren’t just attendees anymore—we were part of the conversations, part of the momentum—loved it.
Drupal — more than a CMS
Yes, AI is a big deal right now and we love everything about it too, but what really stood out at the meetup was the people. The energy, the passion, the way everyone brought something to the table—it’s what makes Drupal and any tech community what it really is.
That’s the real hook that keeps people coming back to these meet ups. Maybe it’s also the modularity, the way Drupal CMS lets you shape content however you want. Maybe it’s the Entity System, which doesn’t just store content but structures it in ways that make scaling easy.
Or maybe it’s the fact that Drupal isn’t just for websites anymore. It powers applications, manages content across platforms, and handles workflows that most CMS platforms can’t or the fact it's always evolving, accepting changes and being relevant with what people really need today.
So that being said, Drupal is more than a CMS. It’s a way of thinking. A way of building. A way of solving problems.
And behind that? Thousands of people. The energy they bring into the room is something you have to experience firsthand.
A focus on discussions
1.AI agents in Drupal: What’s actually happening?
AI is everywhere. But the real question is: how is it being used in Drupal?
The discussion around AI agents wasn’t about hype—it was about real implementation. Things like:
- Chatbots that go beyond basic automation and understand user intent.
- Personalized content that adjusts dynamically based on user behavior.
- Automated moderation that filters content efficiently, reducing manual work.
AI isn’t something that might be useful in the future. It’s already here. The only question is how far teams will take it.
2.Drupal recipes and distributions: Because no one likes starting from scratch
Abishek Mazumdar (Drupal and Mautic Engineer at Dropsolid) walked us through Drupal Recipes and distributions, which, in simple terms, make building a Drupal site feel less like setting one up from scratch.
- Recipes – Prebuilt configurations that developers can drop into a project to speed things up.
- Distributions – Full pre-packaged versions of Drupal with everything set up for specific industries (publishing, community platforms, etc.).
If you’ve ever spent hours setting up Drupal from scratch, you understand why this matters.
Not to be redundant—but the people make all the difference
Drupal has been around for years, and there’s a reason it continues to thrive. It’s not just the software (while that’s great too). It’s the community.
The best part of the meetup wasn’t the talks. It was the conversations in between—people sharing real experiences, problems they’ve solved, things they’re still figuring out.
The kind of knowledge you don’t get from documentation.
Final thoughts
We left with a better understanding of Drupal’s future, AI’s role in content management, and why meetups like this are worth attending.
If you’re working with Drupal, thinking about it, or just curious—go to a meetup. It’s where ideas turn into projects, and where open-source really comes to life.
Thank you for reading!