From Drupal Console to Drupal Decoupled: Contributing to Making Drupal Community Stronger

When I first started working with Drupal, I quickly realized that open source is not only a licensing model, but a philosophy that shapes how we build software and create constant innovation.

But a healthy open-source project requires a critical mass of contributors who understand that their individual efforts create collective value.

This article explores two projects I've been deeply involved with: Drupal Console and Drupal Decoupled, examining how they emerged from community needs and evolved into tools that strengthen Drupal's position in the modern development landscape.

The Open Source DNA: Why We Contribute

At its core, open source thrives on the balance between consumption and contribution. While anyone can use open-source software, the ecosystem only sustains itself when enough participants give back.

Dries Buytaert has framed this as the "Makers and Takers" dynamic. It's a useful concept, though the reality on the ground is often more complex. 

Sometimes, great code comes from developers who aren't in the spotlight, people who might be working in different languages, from different regions, or simply not moving in the same social circles as the project's leadership.

I've learned that meaningful contributions come in many forms. What matters isn't the recognition but the actual problems being solved for users and developers.

Drupal Console: Solving Real Problems at Scale

The transition from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8 represented the most significant architectural shift in Drupal's history at that moment. 

By embracing Symfony components, Composer dependency management, and modern PHP practices, Drupal 8 became more powerful but also more complex.

This complexity created a significant challenge: developers needed new tools to work efficiently with this modern architecture. While Drush had long been the CLI tool of choice, it wasn't initially designed with Symfony's component-based approach in mind and did not provide any code generation features. We saw an opportunity to create something that would make Drupal 8 more accessible by leveraging the same Symfony foundations.

Developers who had been productive for years suddenly felt lost in a maze of new concepts and patterns. The standard documentation wasn't enough: we needed something interactive that would help people generate code and understand this new paradigm.

That's why we created Drupal Console, which became an essential companion for developers navigating Drupal 8's complexity. 

The numbers tell the story of its impact: 557 forks, 302 contributors, and over 8.4 million downloads. 

But what made Drupal Console different? Here are some thoughts:

1. It taught while it worked - Each command didn't just generate code; it showed you the right patterns to follow
2. It was built for real-world use cases - We focused on the tasks developers do repeatedly
3. It embraced modern standards - We used Symfony Console from the start, embracing the same foundation as Drupal 8 itself
4. It was truly multilingual - We made sure non-English speakers could use it in their native language

People would tell me at events how Drupal Console had saved their projects or assisted their teams transition to Drupal 8 when they were ready to give up.

The tool helped thousands of developers become productive in Drupal 8 faster than would have otherwise been possible. It bridged a gap that might have caused many to abandon Drupal altogether during a critical transition period.

Below is a timeline of how the project came to be and its current status.

Timeline of the Drupal Console Project

2013: Conception

The idea for Drupal Console emerged during the early development of Drupal 8. While working on client projects, we repeatedly encountered the same pain points: setting up new modules, generating boilerplate code, and navigating the new object-oriented architecture. We started exploring how Symfony Console could provide a foundation for a more intuitive CLI specifically designed for Drupal 8.

2014: Early Development

Our early prototypes focused on code generation, creating controllers, services, and other Drupal 8 components with a simple command. We built on Symfony Console for its powerful interactive features and consistent interface. As word spread, a small but dedicated group of contributors began helping refine the concept.

2015: First Public Release

By the time Drupal 8 reached beta, Drupal Console had matured into a robust tool featuring:

• Interactive command prompts for improved user experience
• Multi-language support for a global community
• Code scaffolding for rapid module development
• Debugging and site inspection tools

As developers faced the learning curve of Drupal 8, Drupal Console offered a way to accelerate the adoption process. It wasn't just about automating tasks; it was about teaching developers how Drupal 8 worked through practical examples.

2016-2018: Growth and Adoption

The community around Drupal Console grew rapidly. Training programs began featuring it alongside Drush, and it gained recognition at DrupalCons worldwide. The project's structure evolved to support this growth, with dedicated maintainers, documentation teams, and translation contributors.

2019-Present: Transition and Lessons Learned

As Drupal 8 matured, the ecosystem evolved. Drush incorporated many of the interactive features that had made Drupal Console distinctive, and the transition to Drupal 9 presented new challenges. The pace of development for Drupal Console slowed as resources shifted to other priorities.

At the moment, Drupal Console remains in use for legacy projects. While newer solutions have taken the spotlight, its impact persists in workflows that still rely on it.

More importantly, Drupal Console stands as a testament to open-source collaboration. It was built by and for the community, demonstrating how shared effort can drive innovation. Even as the landscape shifts, the lessons learned from its development continue to shape how we build and improve open-source tools today.

Personally, I've learned that contribution sometimes means creating solutions outside the standard pathways. Sometimes the most needed contributions come from addressing pain points that the core community hasn't yet recognized.

Drupal Decoupled: The Next Chapter in Our Open Source Contributions

As technology landscapes shift, so do community needs. 

The emergence of Drupal CMS has emphasized a more intuitive, low-code experience, introducing tools like the Experience Builder to empower site builders. While this direction enhances traditional content management, it doesn’t always align with the needs of developers building modern, headless applications powered by JavaScript frameworks and API-first approaches.

At Octahedroid, we’ve seen an opportunity to contribute again by addressing these emerging needs through Drupal Decoupled: an opinionated headless Drupal approach that simplifies API-driven development, while ensuring a seamless editorial experience for non-technical users.

Just as Drupal Console helped developers navigate that transition, Drupal Decoupled provides the tools and conventions needed to make headless development more accessible and efficient.

The core philosophy remains unchanged: identify friction points in the developer experience and remove barriers to innovation. As Drupal expands its focus on empowering site builders, we believe headless developers need a solution tailored to their workflows, one that prioritizes flexibility, scalability, and performance without compromising content management and editing workflows.

Drupal Decoupled’s Modern Stack

Drupal Decoupled represents our vision for making Drupal an ideal backend for modern front-end technologies. It combines:

1. A pre-configured Drupal backend with GraphQL API support.
2. Front-end starters for Remix, Next.js and other modern frameworks.
3. Development workflows that streamline the decoupled experience.
4. Preview capabilities to maintain strong editorial experiences.

This isn't a complete departure from traditional Drupal: it's an extension that embraces Drupal's strengths as a content management system while addressing the demands of modern front-end development.

Contributions Beyond Drupal Decoupled

Our contributions to the decoupled Drupal ecosystem extend beyond just the Drupal Decoupled project itself. We've been actively developing and maintaining several key modules that facilitate decoupled implementations:

• GraphQL Compose: Simplifies the creation of GraphQL schemas from Drupal data structures
• Decoupled Preview iframe: Enables real-time content previewing in decoupled setups
• Build Hooks: Improves build and deployment processes for static sites

These tools address specific pain points we've encountered in client work, turning practical solutions into community resources. This pattern—identifying common challenges and converting internal solutions into shared tools—has guided our approach to open-source contribution.

The Full Circle: From Users to Contributors

The journey from Drupal Console to Drupal Decoupled represents a fundamental aspect of open source: the cycle from user to contributor and back again. We started as Drupal users encountering problems, became contributors creating solutions, and have continuously evolved our approach based on real-world needs.

What makes this approach sustainable is the direct connection to business value. Our contributions aren't separate from our client work: they're extensions of it. By converting internal needs into community resources, we create tools that serve both our immediate requirements and the broader ecosystem.

This isn't unique to our experience. The most valuable open-source contributions often come from organizations solving real problems, not abstract exercises. When contribution aligns with practical needs, it becomes sustainable over the long term.

At Octahedroid, we'll continue developing Drupal Decoupled and related tools, focused on making Drupal more accessible, flexible, and powerful in modern architectures. We might not always follow the standard playbook, but we remain committed to creating genuine value for the Drupal community.

To learn more about Drupal Decoupled and how you can get involved, visit drupal-decoupled.com or find us on GitHub. The strength of Drupal has always been its community, and together, we can ensure it remains a relevant, powerful platform for years to come.

And explore more about Drupal Decoupled in our full article here.