webjoke.de

At Acquia Engage NYC this week, our partner and customer conference, we shared how Acquia's Digital Experience Platform (DXP) helps organizations deliver digital experiences through three key capabilities:

• Content: Create, manage and deliver digital content and experiences - from images and videos to blog posts, articles, and landing pages - consistently across all your digital channels.
• Optimize: Continuously improve your digital content and experiences by improving accessibility, readability, brand compliance, and search engine optimization (SEO).
• Insights: Understand how people interact with your digital experiences, segment audiences based on their behavior and interests, and deliver personalized content that drives better engagement and conversion rates.

Since our last Acquia Engage conference in May, roughly six months ago, we've made some great progress, and we announced some major innovations and updates across our platform.

The Acquia Open DXP platform consists of three pillars - Content, Optimize, and Insight - with specialized products in each category to help organizations create, improve, and personalize digital experiences. Simplify video creation in Acquia DAM

Video is one of the most engaging forms of media, but it's also one of the most time-consuming and expensive to create. Producing professional, branded videos has traditionally required significant time, budget, and specialized skills. Our new Video Creator for DAM changes this equation. By combining templating, AI, and DAM's workflow functionality, organizations can now create professional, on-brand videos in minutes rather than days.

Make assets easier to find in Acquia DAM

Managing large digital asset libraries can become increasingly overwhelming. Traditional search methods rely on extensive metadata tagging and manual filtering options. Depending on what you are looking for, it might be difficult to quickly find the right assets.

To address this, we introduced Acquia DAM Copilot, which transforms the experience through conversational AI. Instead of navigating complicated filter menus, users can now simply type natural requests like "show me photos of bikes outside" and refine their search conversationally with commands like "only show bikes from the side view". This AI-powered approach eliminates the need for extensive tagging and makes finding the right content intuitive and fast.

Easier site building with Drupal

I updated the Acquia Engage audience on Drupal CMS (also known as Drupal Starshot), a major initiative I'm leading in the Drupal community with significant support from Acquia. I demonstrated several exciting innovations coming to Drupal: "recipes" to simplify site building, AI-powered site creation capabilities, and a new Experience Builder that will transform how we build Drupal websites.

Many in the audience had already watched my DrupalCon Barcelona keynote and expressed continued enthusiasm for the direction of Drupal CMS and our accelerated pace of innovation. Even after demoing it multiple times the past month, I'm still very excited about it myself. If you want to learn more, be sure to check out my DrupalCon presentation!

Improving content ranking with Acquia SEO

Creating content that ranks well in search engines traditionally requires both specialized SEO expertise and skilled content writers - making it an expensive and time-consuming process. Our new SEO Copilot, powered by Conductor, integrated directly into Drupal's editing experience, provides real-time guidance on keyword optimization, content suggestions, length recommendations, and writing complexity for your target audience. This helps content teams create search-engine-friendly content more efficiently, without needing deep SEO expertise.

Improving content quality with Acquia Optimize

We announced the rebranding of Monsido to Acquia Optimize and talked about two major improvements to this offering.

First, we improved how organizations create advanced content policies. Creating advanced content policies usually requires some technical expertise, as it can involve writing regular expressions. Now, users can simply describe in plain language what they want to monitor. For example, they could enter something like "find language that might be insensitive to people with disabilities", and AI will help create the appropriate policy rules. Acquia Optimize will then scan content across all your websites to detect any violations of those rules.

Second, we dramatically shortened the feedback loop for content checking. Previously, content creators had to publish their content and then wait for scheduled scans to discover problems with accessibility, policy compliance or technical SEO - a process that could take a couple of days. Now, they can get instant feedback. Authors can request a check while they work, and the system immediately flags accessibility issues, content policy violations, and other problems, allowing them to fix problems while the content is being written. This shift from "publish and wait" to "check and fix" helps teams maintain higher content quality standards, allows them to work faster, and can prevent non-compliant content from ever going live.

FedRAMP for Acquia Cloud Next

We were excited to announce that our next-generation Drupal Cloud, Acquia Cloud Next (ACN), has achieved FedRAMP accreditation, just like our previous platform, which remains FedRAMP accredited.

This means our government customers can now migrate their Drupal sites onto our latest cloud platform, taking advantage of improved autoscaling, self-healing, and cutting-edge features. We already have 56 FedRAMP customers hosting their Drupal sites on ACN, including Fannie Mae, The US Agency for International Development, and the Department of Education, to name a few.

Improved fleet management for Drupal

Acquia Cloud Site Factory is a platform that helps organizations manage fleets of Drupal sites from a single dashboard, making it easier to launch, update, and scale sites. Over the past two years, we've been rebuilding Site Factory on top of Acquia Cloud Next, integrating them more closely. Recently, we reached a major milestone in this journey. At Engage, we showcased Multi-Experience Operations (MEO) to manage multiple Drupal codebases across your portfolio of sites.

Previously, all sites in a Site Factory instance had to run the same Drupal code, requiring simultaneous updates across all sites. Now, organizations can run sites on different codebases and update them independently. This added flexibility is invaluable for large organizations managing hundreds or thousands of Drupal sites, allowing them to update at their own pace and maintain different Drupal versions where needed.

Improved conversion rates with Acquia Convert

Understanding user behavior is key to optimizing digital experiences, but interpreting the data and deciding on next steps can be challenging. We introduced some new Acquia Convert features (powered by VWO) to solve this.

First, advanced heat-mapping shows exactly how users interact with your pages, where they click first, how far they scroll, and where they show signs of frustration (like rage clicks).

Next, and even more powerful, is our new Acquia Convert Copilot that automatically analyzes this behavioral data to suggest specific improvements. For example, if the AI notices high interaction with a pricing slider but also signs of user confusion, it might suggest an A/B test to clarify the slider's purpose. This helps marketers and site builders make data-driven decisions and improve conversion rates.

Privacy-first analytics with Piwik Pro

As data privacy regulations become stricter globally, organizations face growing challenges with web analytics. Google Analytics has been banned in several European countries for not meeting data sovereignty requirements, leaving organizations scrambling for compliant alternatives.

We announced a partnership with Piwik Pro to address this need. Piwik Pro offers a privacy-first analytics solution that maintains compliance with global data regulations by allowing organizations to choose where their data is stored and maintaining full control over their data.

This makes it an ideal solution for organizations that operate in regions with strict data privacy laws, or any organization that wants to ensure their analytics solution remains compliant with evolving privacy regulations.

After the Piwik Pro announcement at Acquia Engage, I spoke with several customers who are already using Piwik Pro. Most worked in healthcare and other sectors handling sensitive data. They were excited about our partnership and a future that brings deeper integration between Piwik Pro, Acquia Optimize, Drupal, and other parts of our portfolio.

Conclusion

The enthusiasm from our customers and partners at Acquia Engage always reinvigorates me. None of these innovations would be possible without the dedication of our teams at Acquia. I'm grateful for their hard work in bringing these innovations to life, and I'm excited for what is next!

I'm excited to share an experiment I've been working on: a solar-powered, self-hosted website running on a Raspberry Pi. The website at https://solar.dri.es is powered entirely by a solar panel and battery on our roof deck in Boston.

My solar panel and Raspberry Pi Zero 2 are set up on our rooftop deck for testing. Once it works, it will be mounted properly and permanently.

By visiting https://solar.dri.es, you can dive into all the technical details and lessons learned – from hardware setup to networking configuration and custom monitoring.

As the content on this solar-powered site is likely to evolve or might even disappear over time, I've included the full article below (with minor edits) to ensure that this information is preserved.

Finally, you can view the real-time status of my solar setup on my solar panel dashboard, hosted on my main website. This dashboard stays online even when my solar-powered setup goes offline.

Background

For over two decades, I've been deeply involved in web development. I've worked on everything from simple websites to building and managing some of the internet's largest websites. I've helped create a hosting business that uses thousands of EC2 instances, handling billions of page views every month. This platform includes the latest technology: cloud-native architecture, Kubernetes orchestration, auto-scaling, smart traffic routing, geographic failover, self-healing, and more.

This project is the complete opposite. It's a hobby project focused on sustainable, solar-powered self-hosting. The goal is to use the smallest, most energy-efficient setup possible, even if it means the website goes offline sometimes. Yes, this site may go down on cloudy or cold days. But don't worry! When the sun comes out, the website will be back up, powered by sunshine.

My primary website, https://dri.es, is reliably hosted on Acquia, and I'm very happy with it. However, if this solar-powered setup proves stable and efficient, I might consider moving some content to solar hosting. For instance, I could keep the most important pages on traditional hosting while transferring less essential content – like my 10,000 photos – to a solar-powered server.

Why am I doing this?

This project is driven by my curiosity about making websites and web hosting more environmentally friendly, even on a small scale. It's also a chance to explore a local-first approach: to show that hosting a personal website on your own internet connection at home can often be enough for small sites. This aligns with my commitment to both the Open Web and the IndieWeb.

At its heart, this project is about learning and contributing to a conversation on a greener, local-first future for the web. Inspired by solar-powered sites like LowTech Magazine, I hope to spark similar ideas in others. If this experiment inspires even one person in the web community to rethink hosting and sustainability, I'll consider it a success.

Solar panel and battery

The heart of my solar setup is a 50-watt panel from Voltaic, which captures solar energy and delivers 12-volt output. I store the excess power in an 18 amp-hour Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP or LiFePO4) battery, also from Voltaic.

A solar panel being tested on the floor in our laundry room. Upon connecting it, it started charging a battery right away. It feels truly magical. Of course, it won't stay in the laundry room forever so stay tuned for more ...

I'll never forget the first time I plugged in the solar panel – it felt like pure magic. Seeing the battery spring to life, powered entirely by sunlight, was an exhilarating moment that is hard to put into words. And yes, all this electrifying excitement happened right in our laundry room.

A 18Ah LFP battery from Voltaic, featuring a waterproof design and integrated MPPT charge controller. The battery is large and heavy, weighing 3kg (6.6lbs), but it can power a Raspberry Pi for days.

Voltaic's battery system includes a built-in charge controller with Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) technology, which regulates the solar panel's output to optimize battery charging. In addition, the MPPT controller protects the battery from overcharging, extreme temperatures, and short circuits.

A key feature of the charge controller is its ability to stop charging when temperatures fall below 0°C (32°F). This preserves battery health, as charging in freezing conditions can damage the battery cells. As I'll discuss in the Next steps section, this safeguard complicates year-round operation in Boston's harsh winters. I'll likely need a battery that can charge in colder temperatures.

The 12V to 5V voltage converter used to convert the 12V output from the solar panel to 5V for the Raspberry Pi.

I also encountered a voltage mismatch between the 12-volt solar panel output and the Raspberry Pi's 5-volt input requirement. Fortunately, this problem had a more straightforward solution. I solved this using a buck converter to step down the voltage. While this conversion introduces some energy loss, it allows me to use a more powerful solar panel.

Raspberry Pi models

This website is currently hosted on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W. The main reason for choosing the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W is its energy efficiency. Consuming just 0.4 watts at idle and up to 1.3 watts under load, it can run on my battery for about a week. This decision is supported by a mathematical uptime model, detailed in Appendix 1.

That said, the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W has limitations. Despite its quad-core 1 GHz processor and 512 MB of RAM, it may still struggle with handling heavier website traffic. For this reason, I also considered the Raspberry Pi 4. With its 1.5 GHz quad-core ARM processor and 4 GB of RAM, the Raspberry Pi 4 can handle more traffic. However, this added performance comes at a cost: the Pi 4 consumes roughly five times the power of the Zero 2 W. As shown in Appendix 2, my 50W solar panel and 18Ah battery setup are likely insufficient to power the Raspberry Pi 4 through Boston's winter.

With a single-page website now live on https://solar.dri.es, I'm actively monitoring the real-world performance and uptime of a solar-powered Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W. For now, I'm using the lightest setup that I have available and will upgrade only when needed.

Networking

The Raspberry Pi's built-in Wi-Fi is perfect for our outdoor setup. It wirelessly connects to our home network, so no extra wiring was needed.

I want to call out that my router and Wi-Fi network are not solar-powered; they rely on my existing network setup and conventional power sources. So while the web server itself runs on solar power, other parts of the delivery chain still depend on traditional energy.

Running this website on my home internet connection also means that if my ISP or networking equipment goes down, so does the website – there is no failover in place.

For security reasons, I isolated the Raspberry Pi in its own Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN). This ensures that even if the Pi is compromised, the rest of our home network remains protected.

To make the solar-powered website accessible from the internet, I configured port forwarding on our router. This directs incoming web traffic on port 80 (HTTP) and port 443 (HTTPS) to the Raspberry Pi, enabling external access to the site.

One small challenge was the dynamic nature of our IP address. ISPs typically do not assign fixed IP addresses, meaning our IP address changes from time to time. To keep the website accessible despite these IP address changes, I wrote a small script that looks up our public IP address and updates the DNS record for solar.dri.es on Cloudflare. This script runs every 10 minutes via a cron job.

I use Cloudflare's DNS proxy, which handles DNS and offers basic DDoS protection. However, I do not use Cloudflare's caching or CDN features, as that would somewhat defeat the purpose of running this website on solar power and keeping it local-first.

The Raspberry Pi uses Caddy as its web server, which automatically obtains SSL certificates from Let's Encrypt. This setup ensures secure, encrypted HTTP connections to the website.

Monitoring and dashboard The Raspberry Pi 4 (on the left) can run a website, while the RS485 CAN HAT (on the right) will communicate with the charge controller for the solar panel and battery.

One key feature that influenced my decision to go with the Voltaic battery is its RS485 interface for the charge controller. This allowed me to add an RS485 CAN HAT (Hardware Attached on Top) to the Raspberry Pi, enabling communication with the charge controller using the Modbus protocol. In turn, this enabled me to programmatically gather real-time data on the solar panel's output and battery's status.

I collect data such as battery capacity, power output, temperature, uptime, and more. I send this data to my main website via a web service API, where it's displayed on a dashboard. This setup ensures that key information remains accessible, even if the Raspberry Pi goes offline.

My main website runs on Drupal. The dashboard is powered by a custom module I developed. This module adds a web service endpoint to handle authentication, validate incoming JSON data, and store it in a MariaDB database table. Using the historical data stored in MariaDB, the module generates Scalable Vector Graphics (SVGs) for the dashboard graphs. For more details, check out my post on building a temperature and humidity monitor, which explains a similar setup in much more detail. Sure, I could have used a tool like Grafana, but sometimes building it yourself is part of the fun.

A Raspberry Pi 4 with an attached RS485 CAN HAT module is being installed in a waterproof enclosure.

For more details on the charge controller and some of the issues I've observed, please refer to Appendix 3.

Energy use, cost savings, and environmental impact

When I started this solar-powered website project, I wasn't trying to revolutionize sustainable computing or drastically cut my electricity bill. I was driven by curiosity, a desire to have fun, and a hope that my journey might inspire others to explore local-first or solar-powered hosting.

That said, let's break down the energy consumption and cost savings to get a better sense of the project's impact.

The tiny Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W at the heart of this project uses just 1 Watt on average. This translates to 0.024 kWh daily (1W * 24h / 1000 = 0.024 kWh) and approximately 9 kWh annually (0.024 kWh * 365 days = 8.76 kWh). The cost savings? Looking at our last electricity bill, we pay an average of $0.325 per kWh in Boston. This means the savings amount to $2.85 USD per year (8.76 kWh * $0.325/kWh = $2.85). Not exactly something to write home about.

The environmental impact is similarly modest. Saving 9 kWh per year reduces CO2 emissions by roughly 4 kg, which is about the same as driving 16 kilometers (10 miles) by car.

There are two ways to interpret these numbers. The pessimist might say that the impact of my solar setup is negligible, and they wouldn't be wrong. Offsetting the energy use of a Raspberry Pi Zero 2, which only draws 1 Watt, will never be game-changing. The $2.85 USD saved annually won't come close to covering the cost of the solar panel and battery. In terms of efficiency, this setup isn't a win.

But the optimist in me sees it differently. When you compare my solar-powered setup to traditional website hosting, a more compelling case emerges. Using a low-power Raspberry Pi to host a basic website, rather than large servers in energy-hungry data centers, can greatly cut down on both expenses and environmental impact. Consider this: a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W costs just $15 USD, and I can power it with main power for only $0.50 USD a month. In contrast, traditional hosting might cost around $20 USD a month. Viewed this way, my setup is both more sustainable and economical, showing some merit.

Lastly, it's also important to remember that solar power isn't just about saving money or cutting emissions. In remote areas without grid access or during disaster relief, solar can be the only way to keep communication systems running. In a crisis, a small solar setup could make the difference between isolation and staying connected to essential information and support.

Why do so many websites need to stay up?

The reason the energy savings from my solar-powered setup won't offset the equipment costs is that the system is intentionally oversized to keep the website running during extended low-light periods. Once the battery reaches full capacity, any excess energy goes to waste. That is unfortunate as that surplus could be used, and using it would help offset more of the hardware costs.

This inefficiency isn't unique to solar setups – it highlights a bigger issue in web hosting: over-provisioning. The web hosting world is full of mostly idle hardware. Web hosting providers often allocate more resources than necessary to ensure high uptime or failover, and this comes at an environmental cost.

One way to make web hosting more eco-friendly is by allowing non-essential websites to experience more downtime, reducing the need to power as much hardware. Of course, many websites are critical and need to stay up 24/7 – my own work with Acquia is dedicated to ensuring essential sites do just that. But for non-critical websites, allowing some downtime could go a long way in conserving energy.

It may seem unconventional, but I believe it's worth considering: many websites, mine included, aren't mission-critical. The world won't end if they occasionally go offline. That is why I like the idea of hosting my 10,000 photos on a solar-powered Raspberry Pi.

And maybe that is the real takeaway from this experiment so far: to question why our websites and hosting solutions have become so resource-intensive and why we're so focused on keeping non-essential websites from going down. Do we really need 99.9% uptime for personal websites? I don't think so.

Perhaps the best way to make the web more sustainable is to accept more downtime for those websites that aren't critical. By embracing occasional downtime and intentionally under-provisioning non-essential websites, we can make the web a greener, more efficient place. The solar panel and battery mounted on our roof deck. Next steps

As I continue this experiment, my biggest challenge is the battery's inability to charge in freezing temperatures. As explained, the battery's charge controller includes a safety feature that prevents charging when the temperature drops below freezing. While the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W can run on my fully charged battery for about six days, this won't be sufficient for Boston winters, where temperatures often remain below freezing for longer.

With winter approaching, I need a solution to charge my battery in extreme cold. Several options to consider include:

1. Adding a battery heating system that uses excess energy during peak sunlight hours.
2. Applying insulation, though this alone may not suffice since the battery generates minimal heat.
3. Replacing the battery with one that charges at temperatures as low as -20°C (-4°F), such as Lithium Titanate (LTO) or certain AGM lead-acid batteries. However, it's not as simple as swapping it out – my current battery has a built-in charge controller, so I'd likely need to add an external charge controller, which would require rewiring the solar panel and updating my monitoring code.

Each solution has trade-offs in cost, safety, and complexity. I'll need to research the different options carefully to ensure safety and reliability.

The last quarter of the year is filled with travel and other commitments, so I may not have time to implement a fix before freezing temperatures hit. With some luck, the current setup might make it through winter. I'll keep monitoring performance and uptime – and, as mentioned, a bit of downtime is acceptable and even part of the fun! That said, the website may go offline for a few weeks and restart after the harshest part of winter. Meanwhile, I can focus on other aspects of the project.

For example, I plan to expand this single-page site into one with hundreds or even thousands of pages. Here are a few things I'd like to explore:

1. Testing Drupal on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W: As the founder and project lead of Drupal, my main website runs on Drupal. I'm curious to see if Drupal can actually run on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W. The answer might be "probably not", but I'm eager to try.
2. Upgrading to a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5: I'd like to experiment with upgrading to a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5, as I know it could run Drupal. As noted in Appendix 2, this might push the limits of my solar panel and battery. There are some optimization options to explore though, like disabling CPU cores, lowering the RAM clock speed, and dynamically adjusting features based on sunlight and battery levels.
3. Creating a static version of my site: I'm interested in experimenting with a static version of https://dri.es. A static site doesn't require PHP or MySQL, which would likely reduce resource demands and make it easier to run on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W. However, dynamic features like my solar dashboard depend on PHP and MySQL, so I'd potentially need alternative solutions for those. Tools like Tome and QuantCDN offer ways to generate static versions of Drupal sites, but I've never tested these myself. Although I prefer keeping my site dynamic, creating a static version also aligns with my interests in digital preservation and archiving, offering me a chance to delve deeper into these concepts.

Either way, it looks like I'll have some fun ahead. I can explore these ideas from my office while the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W continues running on the roof deck. I'm open to suggestions and happy to share notes with others interested in similar projects. If you'd like to stay updated on my progress, you can sign up to receive new posts by email or subscribe via RSS. Feel free to email me at dries@buytaert.net. Your ideas, input, and curiosity are always welcome.

[newsletter-blog] Appendix Appendix 1: Sizing a solar panel and battery for a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W

To keep the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W running in various weather conditions, we need to estimate the ideal solar panel and battery size. We'll base this on factors like power consumption, available sunlight, and desired uptime.

The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W is very energy-efficient, consuming only 0.4W at idle and up to 1.3W under load. For simplicity, we'll assume an average power consumption of 1W, which totals 24Wh per day (1W * 24 hours).

We also need to account for energy losses due to inefficiencies in the solar panel, charge controller, battery, and inverter. Assuming a total loss of 30%, our estimated daily energy requirement is 24Wh / 0.7 ≈ 34.3Wh.

In Boston, peak sunlight varies throughout the year, averaging 5-6 hours per day in summer (June-August) and only 2-3 hours per day in winter (December-February). Peak sunlight refers to the strongest, most direct sunlight hours. Basing the design on peak sunlight hours rather than total daylight hours provides a margin of safety.

To produce 34.3Wh in the winter, with only 2 hours of peak sunlight, the solar panel should generate about 17.15W (34.3Wh / 2 hours ≈ 17.15W). As mentioned, my current setup includes a 50W solar panel, which provides well above the estimated 17.15W requirement.

Now, let's look at battery sizing. As explained, I have an 18Ah battery, which provides about 216Wh of capacity (18Ah * 12V = 216Wh). If there were no sunlight at all, this battery could power the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W for roughly 6 days (216Wh / 34.3Wh per day ≈ 6.3 days), ensuring continuous operation even on snowy winter days.

These estimates suggest that I could halve both my 50W solar panel and 18Ah battery to a 25W panel and a 9Ah battery, and still meet the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W's power needs during Boston winters. However, I chose the 50W panel and larger battery for flexibility, in case I need to upgrade to a more powerful board with higher energy requirements.

Appendix 2: Sizing a solar panel and battery for a Raspberry Pi 4

If I need to switch to a Raspberry Pi 4 to handle increased website traffic, the power requirements will rise significantly. The Raspberry Pi 4 consumes around 3.4W at idle and up to 7.6W under load. For estimation purposes, I'll assume an average consumption of 4.5W, which totals 108Wh per day (4.5W * 24 hours = 108Wh).

Factoring in a 30% loss due to system inefficiencies, the adjusted daily energy requirement increases to approximately 154.3Wh (108Wh / 0.7 ≈ 154.3Wh). To meet this demand during winter, with only 2 hours of peak sunlight, the solar panel would need to produce about 77.15W (154.3Wh / 2 hours ≈ 77.15W).

While some margin of safety is built into my calculations, this likely means my current 50W solar panel and 216Wh battery are insufficient to power a Raspberry Pi 4 during a Boston winter.

For example, with an average power draw of 4.5W, the Raspberry Pi 4 requires 108Wh daily. In winter, if the solar panel generates only 70 to 105Wh per day, there would be a shortfall of 3 to 38Wh each day, which the battery would need to cover. And with no sunlight at all, a fully charged 216Wh battery would keep the system running for about 2 days (216Wh / 108Wh per day ≈ 2 days) before depleting.

To ensure reliable operation, a 100W solar panel, capable of generating enough power with just 2 hours of winter sunlight, paired with a 35Ah battery providing 420Wh, could be better. This setup, roughly double my current capacity, would offer sufficient backup to keep the Raspberry Pi 4 running for 3-4 days without sunlight.

Appendix 3: Observations on the Lumiax charge controller

As I mentioned earlier, my battery has a built-in charge controller. The brand of the controller is Lumiax, and I can access its data programmatically. While the controller excels at managing charging, its metering capabilities feel less robust. Here are a few observations:

1. I reviewed the charge controller's manual to clarify how it defines and measures different currents, but the information provided was insufficient.
   • The charge controller allows monitoring of the "solar current" (register 12367). I expected this to measure the current flowing from the solar panel to the charge controller, but it actually measures the current flowing from the charge controller to the battery. In other words, it tracks the "useful current" – the current from the solar panel used to charge the battery or power the load. The problem with this is that when the battery is fully charged, the controller reduces the current from the solar panel to prevent overcharging, even though the panel could produce more. As a result, I can't accurately measure the maximum power output of the solar panel. For example, in full sunlight with a fully charged battery, the calculated power output could be as low as 2W, even though the solar panel is capable of producing 50W.
   • The controller also reports the "battery current" (register 12359), which appears to represent the current flowing from the battery to the Raspberry Pi. I believe this to be the case because the "battery current" turns negative at night, indicating discharge.
   • Additionally, the controller reports the "load current" (register 12362), which, in my case, consistently reads zero. This is odd because my Raspberry Pi Zero 2 typically draws between 0.1-0.3A. Even with a Raspberry Pi 4, drawing between 0.6-1.3A, the controller still reports 0A. This could be a bug or suggest that the charge controller lacks sufficient accuracy.
2. When the battery discharges and the low voltage protection activates, it shuts down the Raspberry Pi as expected. However, if there isn't enough sunlight to recharge the battery within a certain timeframe, the Raspberry Pi does not automatically reboot. Instead, I must perform a manual 'factory reset' of the charge controller. This involves connecting my laptop to the controller – a cumbersome process that requires me to disconnect the Raspberry Pi, open its waterproof enclosure, detach the RS485 hat wires, connect them to a USB-to-RS485 adapter for my laptop, and run a custom Python script. Afterward, I have to reverse the entire process. This procedure can't be performed while traveling as it requires physical access.
3. The charge controller has two temperature sensors: one for the environment and one for the controller itself. However, the controller's temperature readings often seem inaccurate. For example, while the environment temperature might correctly register at 24°C, the controller could display a reading as low as 14°C. This seems questionable though there might be an explanation that I'm overlooking.
4. The battery's charge and discharge patterns are non-linear, meaning the charge level may drop rapidly at first, then stay steady for hours. For example, I've seen it drop from 100% to 65% within an hour but remain at 65% for over six hours. This is common for LFP batteries due to their voltage characteristics. Some advanced charge controllers use look-up tables, algorithms, or coulomb counting to more accurately predict the state of charge based on the battery type and usage patterns. The Lumiax doesn't support this, but I might be able to implement coulomb counting myself by tracking the current flow to improve charge level estimates.

Appendix 4: When size matters (but it's best not to mention it)

When buying a solar panel, sometimes it's easier to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission.

One day, I casually mentioned to my wife, "Oh, by the way, I bought something. It will arrive in a few days."

"What did you buy?", she asked, eyebrow raised.

"A solar panel", I said, trying to sound casual.

"A what?!", she asked again, her voice rising.

Don't worry!", I reassured her. "It's not that big", I said, gesturing with my hands to show a panel about the size of a laptop.

She looked skeptical but didn't push further.

Fast forward to delivery day. As I unboxed it, her eyes widened in surprise. The panel was easily four or five times larger than what I'd shown her. Oops.

The takeaway? Sometimes a little underestimation goes a long way.

Transparency and accountability are core values we uphold at The Drop Times (TDT). Every image used in our articles, interviews, and event coverage captures moments that define the Drupal community. As we refine our approach to image attribution, we want to share our thought process and the steps we're taking to ensure fairness and proper credit.

What's Going on with EditTogether? demet Wed, 02/19/2025 - 15:13

A February 2025 update on Palantir’s module for real-time, secure collaborative editing in Drupal
 

In 2023, Palantir’s team started building EditTogether — a field-level content collaboration framework for Drupal 10 and 11 which uses the Yjs shared editing framework to facilitate real-time field-level collaboration using peer-to-peer WebRTC connections.

EditTogether enables users to change content collaboratively on node edit forms in real time, and do so securely. To ensure data privacy, content does not go into a third-party cloud. Instead the module leverages STUN/TURN, signaling server microservices, and Javascript so your data does not need to leave the browser for you to edit it together. EditTogether is in use and usable today.

During this private beta phase, we have been developing, demoing, and listening to users. This has helped us identify the minimum viable features needed for initial backend and front-end use (the project's MVP release). We spoke to a dozen publishing departments and agencies over the Fall of 2024, gaining insight on features to ship with MVP, and features that have enough interest to attend to after an initial community release. People are looking to suggest and approve edits, mention a user, track changes, do external pre-publishing review, and view changelogs.

Members of Palantir’s team will present demos at Florida DrupalCamp and DrupalCon Atlanta – come see it for yourself! We’re also available to offer private demos upon request.

Only one end-user-facing feature is blocking us from MVP release: the ability to draft content collaboratively on any field (currently, seven fields are enabled). Additionally, before public launch we will need to address various end-user UX and accessibility requirements, allow for mitigation of conflicting edits in edge-case scenarios, and enable back-end tooling sovereignty by making it possible to use EditTogether with the microservices of your choosing.

The current and launch state feature workflow of EditTogether EditTogether workflow roadmap. PDF version available.

While demoing, we heard functional questions about what EditTogether does natively versus what other modules support. You can read our FAQ if you want deeper technical answers, but here are answers to some frequent questions folks have asked:

• When will it be released publicly? 
  EditTogether will be released as a fully open source module only once it’s at a viable MVP that enables self-managed use. We had initially targeted a Q4 2024/Q1 2025 release, but the pace has slowed and our work continues on it as we are able. While the initial development work on EditTogether was sponsored by one of our clients, since last summer it has been self-funded by Palantir. 
• How can I help? 
  We’re seeking organizations that want to use EditTogether as part of the Early Access program (we’ll install and configure so you can use the module as it is) and/or are able to sponsor feature development.  Such early support is also an important indicator that there is sufficient commercial interest to sustain the ongoing development and module maintenance necessary to justify Palantir’s continued investment in EditTogether. We are not looking for development assistance at this time.
• Can I edit in a private draft before opening it up to my colleagues to view, comment, and collaborate on? 
  Yes, you can set the visibility status of your draft content using Content Moderation and Workbench Approver. Naturally, some teams may prefer people to draft in a different tool altogether, then copy into EditTogether once they are ready to collaborate.
• Can I use Paragraphs, Layout Builder, or Experience Builder to lay out and comment on placement as well as content? 
  Currently, EditTogether works with Paragraphs, but we expect to see that capability expand after community release since EditTogether is built to be plugin extensible.
• What about my stakeholders (who avoid Drupal) who need to review and want to suggest edits to content? 
  Today, EditTogether works with Workflows, Workbench Approver and Content Moderation for users within the logged-in workflow. We have heard an interest in creating views for users to review, comment, and suggest changes outside of the editor experience, which are features we expect to see developed after community release.
• How does EditTogether align with Drupal CMS? 
  EditTogether’s architecture is designed to integrate natively with other Drupal subsystems and modules. We are actively monitoring innovations in the larger Drupal ecosystem - especially with content moderation, workspaces, and Experience Builder (XB) for Drupal CMS. The rapidly evolving and emergent nature of these developments has also influenced our decision to slow down our timeline to allow time for the broader Drupal decisions to shake out so that we release a module compatible with the future of Drupal.  
   

Project: Drupal coreDate: 2025-February-19Security risk: Moderately critical 14 ∕ 25 AC:Complex/A:Admin/CI:All/II:All/E:Theoretical/TD:UncommonVulnerability: Gadget ChainAffected versions: >= 8.0.0 < 10.3.13 || >= 10.4.0 < 10.4.3 || >= 11.0.0 < 11.0.12 || >= 11.1.0 < 11.1.3Description: 

Drupal core contains a potential PHP Object Injection vulnerability that (if combined with another exploit) could lead to Arbitrary File Inclusion. Techniques exist to escalate this attack to Remote Code Execution. It is not directly exploitable.

This issue is mitigated by the fact that in order for it to be exploitable, a separate vulnerability must be present to allow an attacker to pass unsafe input to unserialize(). There are no such known exploits in Drupal core.

Solution: 

Install the latest version:

• If you use Drupal 10.3.x, update to Drupal 10.3.13
• If you use Drupal 10.4.x, update to Drupal 10.4.3
• If you use Drupal 11.0.x, update to Drupal 11.0.12
• If you use Drupal 11.1.x, update to Drupal 11.1.3

All versions of Drupal 10 prior to 10.3 are end-of-life and do not receive security coverage. (Drupal 8 and Drupal 9 have both reached end-of-life.)

Reported By: 

• anzuukino
• shin24

Fixed By: 

• ghost of drupal past
• Dave Long (longwave) of the Drupal Security Team
• Drew Webber (mcdruid) of the Drupal Security Team
• nicxvan
• shin24

Project: Drupal coreDate: 2025-February-19Security risk: Moderately critical 13 ∕ 25 AC:Basic/A:User/CI:Some/II:Some/E:Theoretical/TD:DefaultVulnerability: Access bypassAffected versions: >= 8.0.0 < 10.3.13 || >= 10.4.0 < 10.4.3 || >= 11.0.0 < 11.0.12 || >= 11.1.0 < 11.1.3Description: 

Bulk operations allow authorized users to modify several nodes at once from the Content page (/admin/content). A site builder can also add bulk operations to other pages using Views.

A bug in the core Actions system allows some users to modify some fields using bulk actions that they do not have permission to modify on individual nodes.

This vulnerability is mitigated by the fact that an attacker must have permission to access /admin/content or other, custom views and to edit nodes.

In particular, the bulk operations

• Make content sticky
• Make content unsticky
• Promote content to front page
• Publish content
• Remove content from front page
• Unpublish content

now require the "Administer content" permission.

Solution: 

Install the latest version:

• If you are using Drupal 10.3, update to Drupal 10.3.13.
• If you are using Drupal 10.4, update to Drupal 10.4.3.
• If you are using Drupal 11.0, update to Drupal 11.0.12.
• If you are using Drupal 11.1, update to Drupal 11.1.3.

All versions of Drupal 10 prior to 10.3 are end-of-life and do not receive security coverage. (Drupal 8 and Drupal 9 have both reached end-of-life.)

Reported By: 

• jeff cardwell

Fixed By: 

• Benji Fisher (benjifisher) of the Drupal Security Team
• jeff cardwell
• Mingsong (mingsong) Provisional Member of the Drupal Security Team
• Juraj Nemec (poker10) of the Drupal Security Team

Project: Drupal coreDate: 2025-February-19Security risk: Critical 17 ∕ 25 AC:Basic/A:None/CI:Some/II:Some/E:Proof/TD:AllVulnerability: Cross site scriptingAffected versions: >= 8.0.0 < 10.3.13 || >= 10.4.0 < 10.4.3 || >= 11.0.0 < 11.0.12 || >= 11.1.0 < 11.1.3Description: 

Drupal core doesn't sufficiently filter error messages under certain circumstances, leading to a reflected Cross Site Scripting vulnerability (XSS).

Sites are encouraged to update. There are not yet public documented steps to exploit this, but there may be soon given the nature of this issue.

This issue is being protected by Drupal Steward. Sites that use Drupal Steward are already protected, but are still encouraged to upgrade in the near future.

Solution: 

Install the latest version:

• If you use Drupal 10.3.x, update to Drupal 10.3.13
• If you use Drupal 10.4.x, update to Drupal 10.4.3
• If you use Drupal 11.0.x, update to Drupal 11.0.12
• If you use Drupal 11.1.x, update to Drupal 11.1.3

All versions of Drupal 10 prior to 10.3 are end-of-life and do not receive security coverage. (Drupal 8 and Drupal 9 have both reached end-of-life.)

Reported By: 

• Arne (arkepp)
• bdanin
• Douglas Groene (dgroene)
• Dragos Dumitrescu (dragos-dumi)
• Flo Kosiol (flokosiol)
• Gerardo Cadau (juanramonperez)
• Justin Christoffersen (larsdesigns)
• nuwans
• Sven Decabooter (svendecabooter)
• Will Gunn (wgunn_e)

Fixed By: 

• catch (catch) of the Drupal Security Team
• Drew Webber (mcdruid) of the Drupal Security

Team

Florida DrupalCamp 2025 will be held from February 21 to 23 at Florida Technical College in Orlando. It will feature expert-led workshops and diverse sessions on Drupal development, design, and project management. The Drop Times interviewed speakers Christian Burk, Steve Wirt, Aubrey Sambor, and Josh Fabean to preview their insights and key takeaways. With hands-on training and networking opportunities, the event promises to be a must-attend for Drupal professionals and enthusiasts alike.

Giorgi Jibladze announces the Beta release of the Google Gemini Provider module for Drupal. This update enhances AI-powered search, CKEditor support, and Drupal Recipes integration. It also improves compatibility with Drupal CMS and introduces automated testing via GitLab CI. The Drupal community is encouraged to test and provide feedback.

Attending conferences is essential for refueling and recharging your business —  and DrupalCon Atlanta 2025 is the perfect opportunity to do just that. Taking place 24-27 March, this event is a must for agency and business owners looking to gain fresh insights, connect with industry peers, and explore potential partnerships. 

DrupalCon gathers nearly 1,500 participants from the global Drupal community — people who use Drupal or build digital experiences with it. Whether you already have a Drupal-powered website or are searching for a robust enterprise-level open-source CMS, DrupalCon Atlanta will offer valuable perspectives. You’ll hear from Drupal leaders about the latest advancements and how they can enhance your online impact.

But DrupalCon isn’t just about technology — it’s also about strategy, leadership, and growth. Beyond Drupal-focused sessions, you’ll find insights on topics like building strong teams and navigating business challenges. Let’s dive into some key sessions — both Drupal and beyond — that might be of specific interest to you as an agency or business owner.

Top sessions for agency and business owners at DrupalCon Atlanta 2025

“What the WordPress Conflict Means for Open Source Businesses” — by George DeMet

Open-source software is a smart choice for businesses because it’s free to use, highly customizable, and backed by a vibrant community that drives continuous innovation. It offers freedom, flexibility, and the ability to tailor solutions to specific needs — without being locked into a single software vendor.

A recent dispute between WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg and WP Engine sparked important discussions in all open-source communities. WordPress and Drupal are both well-known open-source CMSs, so it’s no surprise that the Drupal community has been following the debate closely. Beyond the immediate conflict, this debate raised deeper questions about the social and philosophical responsibilities of open-source software.

What does this mean for agencies and businesses that rely on open-source platforms and tools? Join this DrupalCon 2025 session by George DeMet (gdemet) to explore this topic. Through the lens of social contract theory, George will examine the obligations of maintainers, contributors, and companies.

This session will explore how communities like Drupal have addressed challenges like this, the lessons learned, and practical strategies for fostering a sustainable and cooperative future — one where both businesses and developers can thrive in open source.

“AI with Drupal - Using LLM technology is easy, but how do you actually build useful applications?” — by Christoph Breidert

AI tools like ChatGPT are easy to use, and integrating them with Drupal websites has long since become a streamlined practice. But what about taking AI further — building custom applications that would fit your specific business goals?

These apps can be built based on Large Language Models (LLMs). Welcome to the session by Christoph Breidert (breidert) to discover how LLMs work, the public models available, how to use them effectively, what potential challenges you may encounter, and when customization is needed.

This DrupalCon Atlanta 2025 session will be focused on two robust techniques that improve the accuracy and relevance of AI apps:

• In-context learning. This allows AI models like GPT to adapt to the current context it’s given during a conversation with no need for any formal retraining.
• RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation). This combines the power of retrieving relevant information from external sources with the AI’s ability to generate content.

For maximum usefulness and interactivity, the session will feature an exciting demo and a lively brainstorming process on various AI use cases. The session description assures that attendees of all experience levels can follow along.

“The Neurodivergency SuperPower - How Diverse Teams Function Better” — by Matthew Saunders

Embracing diversity — including neurodiversity — is key to building successful teams. This approach has benefits you might not have thought of. Find out how neurodivergent team members can enhance collaboration and spark innovation in the session by Matthew Saunders (matthewS).

Neurodivergent individuals, such as those with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and other cognitive differences, bring fresh perspectives and unique problem-solving abilities that can strengthen your team. From heightened attention to detail to creative thinking, these individuals contribute valuable skills that drive productivity and foster a more inclusive, empathetic team culture. 

Matthew will share personal insights and research to help you understand how to support and empower neurodiverse team members. You’ll learn practical strategies for creating neuro-inclusive work environments that enable every team member to thrive and contribute their best. Embracing cognitive diversity not only improves team dynamics but also leads to better outcomes and long-term success.

“Using Your Superpowers to Lead in a Male-Dominated Industry” — by Shanice Ortiz, Theresa Jacobs, Elia Milán, and Adam Erickson

Despite progress, women leaders still face challenges in male-dominated industries. Here comes a great chance to gain insights and inspiration to challenge traditional gender norms and embrace the strengths that make you a great leader. You can do it by attending this DrupalCon Atlanta session. 

Shanice Ortiz (shaortiz728), Theresa Jacobs (tgjacobs), Elia Milán (elia.milan), and Adam Erickson (americkson) will speak about their journeys to leadership and explore challenges and opportunities in this realm. They will discuss their experiences navigating gender expectations, overcoming imposter syndrome, and breaking stereotypes.

Through personal stories, they will share insights on developing an authentic leadership style and fostering high-performing, inclusive teams. You’ll leave with renewed confidence in your ability to lead with purpose and empower your team. This DrupalCon Atlanta 2025 session isn’t just for women in leadership — it could also be valuable for men who want to better understand these barriers and contribute to a more inclusive, collaborative, and thriving workplace.

“Scaling quality mental health support in low income settings with two UN agencies” — by Elaman Imashov

Here’s a success story showcasing how Drupal powers a truly impactful social initiative. EQUIP (Ensuring Quality in Psychological Support), a World Health Organization & UNICEF project, is addressing a critical issue through a digital platform built as a Drupal-based Progressive Web App (PWA).

Mental health support is essential worldwide, yet many communities lack access to proper training and assessments. The mission of EQUIP is to deliver them in low and middle-income settings with low connectivity. By March 2024, this digital platform had been used in 794 training programs in 36 countries, delivering 10,000+ competency assessments.

Elaman Imashov (elaman) will take you through the journey of EQUIP’s development. This session will be a full case study. It will cover key aspects such as the project’s background, the reasons for choosing a Drupal PWA, the technical stack, the process of feature prioritization, the project’s impact via a wide range of delivery organizations, and much more.

This could inspire you to launch a meaningful social project supported by the power of Drupal or take your existing nonprofit website to the next level.

“IXP-Fellowship: Using Contribution Credits to encourage organizations to hire new Drupal talent” — by Michael Anello, Carlos Ospina, and Ana Laura Coto Tristan

If you're a Drupal development agency, you might want to know about a fantastic opportunity to hire the next generation of enthusiastic Drupal talent. By bringing fresh developers onto your team, you not only contribute to Drupal’s growth but also earn valuable drupal.org credits. Credits represent a solid reputation and recognition for your organization. This can lead to increased trust from clients, improved collaborations, and more growth opportunities.

If you want to know more about it, join the session by Michael Anello (ultimike), Carlos Ospina (Camoa), and Ana Laura Coto Tristan. They will uncover a Drupal community initiative called IXP-Fellowship. It encourages organizations to hire and mentor new talent by using Drupal’s contribution credit system. This helps aspiring Drupal developers land their first paid roles, bridging the gap between learning and real-world experience.

The speakers will walk you through the program’s goals, and the progress made so far, and tell you more details about how your Drupal agency or organization can benefit from getting involved.

Driesnote by Dries Buytaert

The Driesnote at DrupalCon Atlanta is more than just a keynote — it’s a roadmap for the future of Drupal. Dries Buytaert, Drupal’s founder, will unveil the latest insights on Drupal’s evolution, major releases, and groundbreaking innovations.

What else are the best Drupal minds crafting right now to make your digital experiences even better? What’s next for Drupal in an AI-driven world? When to expect the new version of Drupal? Driesnote is often the place for news that the wide audience has never heard before. 

It’s a great chance to stay ahead of the curve. Discover how these developments can shape your services, influence client expectations, and strengthen your competitive edge. Walk away with fresh perspectives and a clearer vision of how Drupal can help your business thrive.

Summits for various industries (and a special discount for nonprofits)

DrupalCon Atlanta 2025 offers a wonderful opportunity for agency and business owners to dive deeper into specific industries through its summits. These specialized sessions are tailored for sectors such as Healthcare, Higher Education, Government, Nonprofit, and Community, providing targeted insights, networking, and collaboration. They provide actionable insights, helping you better understand how Drupal can support and elevate your industry-specific goals.

While summits are available for an additional $250, the Community Summit is free to all attendees, making it a great option for those who want to connect with the Drupal community and share insights.

For those in nonprofit organizations and local governments, there’s a special perk. In addition to a huge discount for the main conference ticket, they have the option to attend the Nonprofit Summit for free — a $250 value. See more details about all ticket prices and eligibility guidelines and never miss a chance to get tickets for yourself and your team.

Final thoughts

Reading about these sessions can never match the experience of being at this extraordinary event in person. Immerse yourself in the vibrant energy of DrupalCon Atlanta 2025, where the brightest and most passionate Drupal enthusiasts share their expertise and ignite inspiration. Scale up your strategies, expand your horizons, and build lasting connections. We can’t wait to see you there on 24-27 March!

Join us THURSDAY, February 20 at 1pm ET / 10am PT, for our regularly scheduled call to chat about all things Drupal and nonprofits. (Convert to your local time zone.)

We don't have anything specific on the agenda this month, so we'll have plenty of time to discuss anything that's on our minds at the intersection of Drupal and nonprofits.  Got something specific you want to talk about? Feel free to share ahead of time in our collaborative Google doc: https://nten.org/drupal/notes!

All nonprofit Drupal devs and users, regardless of experience level, are always welcome on this call.

This free call is sponsored by NTEN.org and open to everyone. 

• Join the call: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81817469653

  • Meeting ID: 818 1746 9653
    Passcode: 551681

  • One tap mobile:
    +16699006833,,81817469653# US (San Jose)
    +13462487799,,81817469653# US (Houston)

  • Dial by your location:
    +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
    +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
    +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
    +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
    +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
    +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

  • Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kpV1o65N

• Follow along on Google Docs: https://nten.org/drupal/notes

View notes of previous months' calls.

Florida DrupalCamp 2025 will take place from February 21 to 23 at Florida Technical College in Orlando. The event will bring together the Drupal community for a weekend of learning and networking. It will start with expert-led training workshops and be followed by a variety of sessions on development, theming, usability, and more. Organizers and speakers will express their enthusiasm as attendees prepare for an interactive and insightful experience.

In the previous article, we learned how to migrate paragraphs and create custom process plugins. Good exercise for the brain. Today, we will do some exercises for the body. Get ready for a strength training session — Drupal style — where we will learn about creating custom source plugins, extending existing ones, and writing media migrations from scratch.

mauricio Tue, 02/18/2025 - 06:00

Are you struggling with CSS overrides? Here’s your chance to learn about CSS specificity - how it works, how to calculate it, and best practices to ensure your styles apply as intended.

Drupal CMS 1.0: Simplifying Content Management for Non-Technical Users bhavinhjoshi Tue, 02/18/2025 - 11:00 Introduction to Drupal CMS 1.0

Drupal CMS 1.0 is a pre-configured version of Drupal 11, designed to make website creation and management accessible for non-technical users. Unlike the standard Drupal 11, which offers extensive customization for developers, Drupal CMS 1.0 comes with pre-installed tools and a simplified interface, making it ideal for small businesses, non-profits, and content editors who want to focus on content rather than technical setup. If you're looking for an easy way to launch and manage a website without diving into code, Drupal CMS 1.0 is worth exploring.

Key Features for Non-Technical Users

Drupal CMS 1.0 is packed with features that simplify content management. Here’s what makes it stand out:  

• Pre-Installed Tools:
  Out of the box, Drupal CMS 1.0 includes essential tools like SEO optimization, analytics tracking, and content workflows. These features help you improve search engine rankings, monitor site performance, and streamline content publishing without needing extra plugins.
• User-Friendly Interface:
  The admin dashboard is designed for simplicity. Non-technical users can easily navigate menus, create pages, and manage media without feeling overwhelmed. The intuitive layout reduces the learning curve, making it accessible for beginners.
• AI Integrations:
  Drupal CMS 1.0 includes AI-powered tools, such as content suggestions and automated tagging, to help editors create and organize content more efficiently. These features save time and improve content quality.
• Out-of-the-Box Templates:
  The platform comes with pre-designed themes and layouts, allowing you to set up a professional-looking site quickly. Whether you need a blog, portfolio, or business site, these templates provide a solid starting point.

Benefits for Small Businesses and Non-Profits

Drupal CMS 1.0 is particularly valuable for organizations with limited resources. Here’s why:  

• Cost-Effective Solution:
  Unlike custom Drupal builds, which require developer expertise and significant investment, Drupal CMS 1.0 is ready to use with minimal setup costs. It’s an affordable option for small businesses and non-profits.
• Faster Deployment:
  With pre-configured features and templates, you can launch a website in days, not weeks. This is ideal for organizations that need an online presence quickly, such as event organizers or new businesses.
• Scalability:
  While Drupal CMS 1.0 is designed for simplicity, it’s built on Drupal 11, which means it can scale as your organization grows. You can add more features or transition to standard Drupal 11 if needed.

Comparison with Standard Drupal 11

While Drupal CMS 1.0 and standard Drupal 11 share the same core, they serve different purposes:  

• Simplified Complexity:
  Drupal CMS 1.0 removes much of the complexity of standard Drupal 11. It comes with fewer modules to manage and pre-configured settings, making it easier for non-technical users. Standard Drupal 11, on the other hand, offers more flexibility for developers who need advanced customization.

   

• Limitations for Advanced Customization:
  If you require highly customized features or complex workflows, standard Drupal 11 might be a better fit. Drupal CMS 1.0 prioritizes ease of use over extensive configurability, which may limit advanced development options.

Getting Started with Drupal CMS 1.0

Ready to try Drupal CMS 1.0? Here’s how to get started:

1. Download and Installation:
   • Visit the official Drupal website and download Drupal CMS 1.0.
   • Follow the installation guide to set up the platform on your hosting provider. Most hosts offer one-click installation for Drupal.
2. Initial Setup:
   • Choose a theme from the pre-installed options.
   • Configure basic settings, such as site name, logo, and SEO metadata.
   • Set up user roles (e.g., content editor, administrator) to manage access.
3. Tips for Content Editors:
   • Creating Pages:
     Use the content creation tool to add pages like "About Us," "Services," or "Contact." Start by selecting a content type (e.g., Basic Page) and filling in the title and body fields. Customize layouts using drag-and-drop blocks to add text, images, or forms. For example, you can add a contact form block to the "Contact" page for visitor inquiries. Preview your page before publishing to ensure it looks right on desktop and mobile.  
   • Managing Media:
     Upload images, videos, and documents to the media library for easy reuse across your site. To add an image, go to the Media section, upload the file, and add alt text for accessibility. You can then insert the image into a page or blog post using the content editor. For videos, upload or embed them from platforms like YouTube. Use the media library’s search and filter options to quickly find files, and organize them with tags for better management.
   • Publishing Content:
     Schedule posts or publish immediately using the built-in workflow tools. To schedule, set a future publish date in the content editor, and Drupal CMS 1.0 will automatically make it live. For immediate publishing, click "Save and Publish" after editing. Use the moderation states (e.g., Draft, Review, Published) to manage team workflows. For example, a content editor can mark a post as "Review," and an admin can approve it for publishing.
4. Resources for Learning:
   • Drupal Community Forums:
     Join the Drupal.org forums to connect with other users and ask questions. The "Support" section is ideal for troubleshooting, while the "Drupal CMS" group discusses specific features. For example, you might find threads on optimizing SEO with Drupal CMS 1.0 or fixing common installation issues.
   • Official Drupal CMS Documentation:
     The Drupal CMS documentation on Drupal.org provides detailed guides for beginners. Topics include installation, content creation, and theme customization. For instance, the "Content Authoring" section explains how to use the content editor, while the "Media Management" guide covers file uploads. Bookmark this resource for step-by-step instructions.
   • Webinars and Local Drupal Meetups:
     Check the Drupal events page for upcoming webinars, such as "Getting Started with Drupal CMS 1.0" or "Best Practices for Content Editors." These sessions often include live demos and Q&A. Additionally, search for local Drupal meetups in your area (e.g., via Meetup.com) to network with other users. For example, a meetup might feature a workshop on using AI tools in Drupal CMS 1.0.

Real-World Use Cases

Here are two detailed examples of how Drupal CMS 1.0 can be used in practice:  

Example 1: A Local Non-Profit Launching a Donation Site
A community organization, "Green Future," wants to create a website to promote environmental events and collect donations. They choose Drupal CMS 1.0 for its simplicity and affordability. After downloading and installing the platform, they select a clean, pre-installed theme with a green color scheme to match their branding. They set up the site in a day, adding pages like "Our Mission," "Upcoming Events," and "Donate." On the "Donate" page, they embed a PayPal donation form using a pre-configured block. For the "Events" page, they create a content type with fields for date, location, and description, and use the scheduling tool to publish event updates. The AI tagging feature helps organize blog posts about their initiatives, such as "Recycling Tips" and "Community Cleanups," making them easier to find. They use the built-in SEO tools to optimize meta descriptions and titles, attracting local visitors searching for environmental causes. Analytics tracking shows increased engagement, and the non-profit’s team manages updates without technical help, saving time and resources.  
 

Example 2: A Small Business Creating a Blog and Product Catalog
A boutique owner, "Crafty Designs," needs a website to showcase handmade products and share industry insights. They opt for Drupal CMS 1.0 to avoid hiring a developer. After installation, they choose a pre-installed theme with a gallery layout to highlight products. They create a product catalog by adding a custom content type with fields for product name, price, description, and images. For example, they upload photos of handmade jewelry and add alt text for accessibility. The media library allows them to reuse images across pages, such as featuring a necklace on both the "Shop" and "Featured Products" pages. For the blog, they use a pre-configured template to start posts like "How to Care for Handmade Jewelry" and "Behind the Scenes: Crafting Process." They schedule blog posts for weekly publication, ensuring consistent content. The AI content suggestion tool helps generate ideas for new posts, such as "Top Jewelry Trends for 2025." Analytics tools track visitor engagement, showing which products and posts are most popular. The owner updates content weekly using the simple interface, adding new products and blog posts without technical assistance.

Drupal CMS 1.0 is great for non-technical users who want a powerful yet easy-to-use content management system. With its pre-installed tools, user-friendly interface, and scalability, it’s an excellent choice for small businesses, non-profits, and content editors. If you’re looking for a simple way to manage your website, give Drupal CMS 1.0 a try and see how it can streamline your workflow.  

Have questions or experiences to share? Let us know in the comments below— we’d love to hear from you!

Drupal Drupal CMS Drupal Planet Share this Copied to clipboard Add new comment

Any non-trivial software needs maintenance during its lifespan; tests are no different. We initially started with Webdriver.IO tests, which was a great start in building test coverage for client projects. However, after implementing Moshe Weitzman’s Test Traits, we noticed several improvements, for instance, a decrease in false positives and faster execution speed. The WDIO JavaScript- and browser-based tests, executed in real browsers, were fragile due to timing issues, accidental slowdowns in the CI environment, and even changes in browser versions, which could break the process. Large legacy projects that even survived Drupal 8, 9, and 10 upgrades still have WDIO tests alongside the PHPUnit test suites. The issue of having WDIO tests is twofold. First, executing and debugging those tests is especially inefficient for developers with no experience in WDIO. Second, it slowed down the CI pipeline as it was necessary to install all those extra packages required by WDIO. But let’s face it: It’s a boring refactor, and the business value is hard to sell since only the developers see it. Still, eliminating technical debt is a wise move in the long run, and we had the chance to act.

Today we are talking about The IXP Fellowship Initiative, Workplace Developer Training, and making Drupal better for the little guy with guests Carlos Ospina & Mike Anello. We’ll also cover Cloudflare Turnstile as our module of the week.

For show notes visit: https://www.talkingDrupal.com/489

Topics

• What is the IXP initiative
• Why does the community think this is important
• What is the current status
• What changed in the last 10 years
• How do we encourage businesses to do this
• How can people get involved

Resources

• Turnstile
  • Intro blog post from Cloudflare
  • Irvine reCAPTCHA Study
  • Deep dive on Google Scholar
  • Alternatives
    • https://www.drupal.org/project/hcaptcha - privacy-focused alternative, still image-based
    • https://www.drupal.org/project/altcha - open, self-hosted option. Seems more basic.
  • Posts referencing Irvine study
    • https://boingboing.net/2025/02/07/recaptcha-819-million-hours-of-wasted-human-time-and-billions-of-dollars-google-profit.html
    • https://www.theregister.com/2024/07/24/googles_recaptchav2_labor/
    • https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/a-2023-study-concluded-captchas-are-a-tracking-cookie-farm-for-profit-masquerading-as-a-security-service-that-made-us-spend-819-billion-hours-clicking-on-traffic-lights-to-generate-nearly-usd1-trillion-for-google/
• Widgets
• IXP Fellowship
• Drupal Couple
• Talking Drupal 488 - Drupal Open University
• Get Involved in IXP
  • #ixp-fellowship on the Drupal Slack Workspace

Guests

Carlos Ospina - adrupalcouple.us camoa Mike Anello - drupaleasy.com ultimike

Hosts

Nic Laflin - nLighteneddevelopment.com nicxvan John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi Avi Schwab - froboy.org froboy

MOTW Correspondent

Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu

• Brief description:
  • Have you ever wanted to use Cloudflare’s Turnstile web service to secure Drupal web forms, as an alternative to more intrusive CAPTCHA widgets that force users to select squares that contain traffic lights, cars, or bicycles? There’s a module for that.
• Module name/project name:
  • Cloudflare Turnstile
• Brief history
  • How old: created in Sep 2022 by Adam Weiss (greatmatter)
  • Versions available: 1.1.13 which works with Drupal 9.4, 10, and 11
• Maintainership
  • Actively maintained
  • Security coverage
  • Number of open issues: 6 open issues, 3 of which are bugs, with 2 of them postponed
• Usage stats:
  • 3,981 sites
• Module features and usage
  • Anyone who maintains a Drupal site is well acquainted with the need to mitigate form spam submissions. Best practices around which tool to use are an ever-changing conversation.
  • Recently Google announced that reCAPTCHA implementations will need to be associated with a Google Cloud account, and will need to enable payment for anything that exceeds the free allowance of 10,000 assessments per month
  • reCAPTCHA v2 widgets are notorious for the challenges they can present to actual users, particularly image challenges. In addition, a 2023 UC Irvine study concluded that “the true purpose of reCAPTCHAv2 is as a tracking cookie farm for profit masquerading as a security service”, so it’s definitely worth considering other solutions
  • Cloudflare developed turnstile as a CAPTCHA alternative, designed to provide security while minimizing the friction for actual users. More importantly, Turnstile never harvests data for ad retargeting.
  • A free Turnstile account can create up to 10 widgets, with unlimited usage.
  • The turnstile module plugs into the existing Drupal CAPTCHA ecosystem, so it can be an easy swap out for anywhere you’re currently using CAPTCHA widgets.

AI (artificial intelligence) has become a powerful tool to improve the process of making and managing digital content. Drupal, the most famous content management system (CMS) known for its flexibility and robustness, has already started to integrate this new technology. This adds exceptional capabilities for creating and enhancing content. 

In this read, we will highlight how to install and configure the modules AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Image Genie AI in Drupal. The AI module improves CKEditor by adding AI-powered features such as tone adjustment, text generations, and translations. On the other hand, Image Genie AI allows image generation, for the efficient and rapid creation of complete content. 

Prerequisites 

To make everything function smoothly it is necessary to ensure that certain requirements are fulfilled before starting to integrate AI capabilities. 

Recently, The Drop Times reported a discussion within the Drupal community regarding the use of the term “Add-ons” in the Drupal CMS Dashboard. The term was flagged as inconsistent since the Project Browser module uses “Recipes” to describe similar features.

Members of the development teams addressed the concern, explaining that the change aligns with efforts to simplify Drupal’s language for broader accessibility. However, some community members pointed out that uncoordinated terminology shifts could lead to confusion. Drupal CMS was designed to attract new users and empower non-technical users with greater control over technical aspects, making consistency in terminology crucial. A structured approach to managing such discrepancies could help ensure clarity.

For now, perspectives within the community vary. However, with user testing, further discussions, and potential governance decisions, a resolution may soon emerge.

As Drupal CMS continues to evolve, terminology debates like this will likely become more frequent. The challenge remains to modernize Drupal’s language for wider adoption while preserving the terminology that defines its identity.

Let's have a look at the important stories from the past week.

Discover Drupal

• 57 Expert-Picked Modules Powering the All-New Drupal CMS
• Drupal Trash Module: The Ultimate Solution for Managing Deleted Content
• Drupal Public Data, Statistics & Silver Linings? An Exploration #3
• Drupal’s Hidden Power: Lazy Loading for Better Performance, UX, and SEO

Event

• Drupal Global Contribution Weekend in Lutsk: A Success Story
• Drupal Bhopal Meetup Set for February 21
• Drupal Delhi Meetup Feb 2025: Event Details and Registration
• DrupalCon Atlanta 2025 Schedule Released
• Ripple Makers Networking Breakfast at DrupalCon Atlanta 2025
• Drupal Kochi Monthly Meetup Scheduled for February 27

Organization News

• Metadrop Launches Monthly Update Series to Highlight Drupal Innovations
• Dropsolid Acquires Pictonio to Expand AI-Driven Drupal Solutions in Europe
• React Online Marks 25 Years of Digital Innovation

Drupal Community

• Drupal’s ‘Add-ons’ vs. ‘Recipes’ Terminology Sparks Debate

 

That is for the week. While there were many stories worth mentioning, we cannot include more. Thanks for your continuing support. Be our patrons for the months and years to come. We could support the community together. 

Warm regards,
Thomas Alias K. 
Sub Editor, The Drop Times. 

This was a with few user-facing changes in Experience Builder (XB). But some of the invisible changes are crucial for XB’s future though.

The biggest user-facing change of the week: Jesse Baker, Harumi “hooroomoo” Jang, Ben “bnjmnm” Mullins, hemanshu_412 and utkarsh_33 landed copy/paste support for individual component instances — and entire (sub)trees, of course! That’s ⌘+C/⌘+V on macOS and Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V on Windows