A Drupal Couple

Drupal Drupal Planet AI AI Agents Claude Code Human-in-the-Loop Development AITools Best practices Supervision Technical Architect Team Orchestration Drupal AI

Why I Believe in Agentic Recipes

I built my AI tooling one layer at a time, each piece added because something was breaking when I did not have it: scope, atomic guides, the curl rule, validators, the playbook. Working on the biggest tool I am still building, I hit a wall I had to name. Use drush is a rule. Wire responsive images for this project is an orchestration. Both are opinions, but they are not the same artifact shape. This post walks that journey to the layer I think is missing, and asks whether other people building AI tooling on real projects feel the same gap.

Carlos Ospina 7 min read

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My DrupalCon Chicago Retrospective

A retrospective on DrupalCon Chicago 2026 covering the Driesnote AI demos, the push for the International Federation, Drupal for the little guy, the IXP Initiative, the AI community debate, and the path toward DrupalCon Latin America.

Carlos Ospina 6 min read

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The Blueprint for Affordable Drupal Projects

Drupal CMS 2.0, Canvas, Recipes, and Dripyard have changed the economics of Drupal for regional markets. This is the blueprint for building professional Drupal sites at $1,000 to $2,000 with real margin, for LATAM, Africa, Asia, and similar markets that Drupal could not serve before.

Carlos Ospina 3 min read

Drupal Drupal Planet AI AI Agents Human-in-the-Loop Claude Code Development Supervision

Why I Do Not Trust Independent AI Agents Without Strict Supervision

A developer who uses AI coding tools daily shares real examples of why autonomous AI agents still need human supervision. From unnecessary technical debt to context pollution to confidently wrong outputs, AI works best when a human is asking the right questions.

Carlos Ospina 7 min read

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I Wanted to Celebrate Drupal's 25th. So I Built Something for Our Moms.

For Drupal's 25th anniversary, I built laollita.es—a multilingual recipe site—in 3 days using AI. Here's what modern Drupal can actually do today.

Carlos Ospina 4 min read

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Why Web Development Simplicity Beats AI-Generated Complexity

When AI generates unlimited code, value lies in choosing better over creating more. Why simplicity defines modern web development leadership.

Ana Coto 3 min read

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From Job Rejection to Enterprise Kubernetes Platform in 6 Days

After a job rejection for lacking hands-on experience with specific tools, I demonstrated that systematic "black box" learning methodology can produce enterprise-grade results. Built complete Kubernetes platform with monitoring, security, and real applications in 17 hours over 6 days, leading to community contribution.

Carlos Ospina 5 min read

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Orchestrating Development Teams Like Kubernetes

Applying Kubernetes orchestration principles to development teams. How technical architects coordinate talent based on what each task actually requires.

Carlos Ospina 2 min read

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Why Drupal's Global Community Needs More Than Good Intentions

Community enthusiasm without systematic support fails to enable authentic global participation. The Federation initiative represents a historic opportunity to move beyond good intentions toward structures that actually enable regional representation and sustainable development in Drupal's global ecosystem.

Carlos Ospina 4 min read

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Running for the Drupal Association Board Again Because the Work Isn't Finished

oard nomination statement presenting Carlos Ospina's vision for global Drupal community representation, highlighting experience with International Federation development, cross-cultural business expertise, and sustainable talent pipeline creation through the IXP Initiative. Advocates for balanced community-business sustainability.

Carlos Ospina 5 min read

Drupal Drupal Future Drupal Planet Drupal Community

Community First, Business Second, Build Everything with Drupal

After DrupalCon Atlanta's packed BOF on Drupal's economic future, it's time for community-led solutions. This post proposes three initiatives: regionalized business-focused DrupalCons, positioning Drupal.org as the expertise hub, and creating a community-driven certification system based on educational standards frameworks. The Drupal Association must focus on current revenue priorities while the community builds this foundation – putting community first, business second, to truly build everything with Drupal.

5 min read

Drupal Planet Drupal Drupal Community IXP Program Drupal Future

IXP Graduates from Initiative to Program: Companies Can Start Using It Now!

The IXP Fellowship has officially evolved from an initiative to a functional program, creating structured pathways for companies to hire and mentor inexperienced Drupal developers. Companies completing engagements receive 250 contribution credits per hire, strengthening the Drupal ecosystem's sustainability. Seed EM, Bluefly, Digital Projex, and Digital Polygon are the first participating organizations. The program addresses the catch-22 of needing experience to get hired while broadening Drupal's talent base. Registration is now open at drupal-ixp.site.

Carlos Ospina 5 min read

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Creating Real Business Value: Transforming Drupal.org into a Genuine Business Hub

Drupal.org has untapped potential to become more than a technical platform—it could transform into a genuine business hub connecting clients with service providers worldwide. This post explores how we can create a system where contribution naturally leads to business opportunities through regionalized partnership programs, globally supported initiatives for new developers, and reimagined events. By acknowledging regional economic differences and embracing the full ecosystem pyramid, we can build a Drupal community where contribution and business growth naturally align.

Carlos Ospina 8 min read

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Makers, Takers, and What I Call 'Fakers': A Nuanced Look at Drupal Contribution

This post explores the concept of "fakers" in open source communities – those who create an appearance of contribution without truly engaging. While we all begin as relative novices, there's a key difference between newcomers honestly building skills and those misrepresenting expertise. Using personal experiences from the Drupal community, I examine how to distinguish authentic contributors and why drupal.org should be our source of truth, despite challenges in establishing it as the definitive standard.

Carlos Ospina 4 min read

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Rebuilding Drupal's Ecosystem Pyramid: A Path to Sustainable Growth

This post introduces my "ecosystem pyramid" model for visualizing Drupal's sustainability challenges. I examine how Drupal's evolution has narrowed its user base, contrasting it with WordPress's approach. I highlight how Drupal CMS and IXP initiatives can rebuild the ecosystem's foundation by lowering entry barriers, especially in regions with differently-scaled pyramids. The key to long-term sustainability lies in rebuilding from the base up while strengthening the middle layers of our ecosystem.

Carlos Ospina 6 min read

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Building the Bridge: How Drupal CMS and IXP Could Empower Digital Agencies

Drupal CMS creates opportunities for agencies at every stage - from freelancers starting out to established enterprise firms. By supporting both simple site builds and enterprise solutions on the same platform, agencies of all sizes can build diverse teams of site builders and developers. The expanded IXP Initiative supports this ecosystem by developing talent at all levels, offering every agency a path to sustainable growth beyond what closed platforms can provide.

Carlos Ospina 3 min read

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Understanding Drupal Caching: From Basic Concepts to Practical Strategy

Understanding Drupal's caching system is key to building high-performance sites. Think of caching as taking snapshots of your content instead of rebuilding everything on each visit. From internal caching to CDNs, each layer serves a purpose. This guide explains how these pieces work together and how to implement an effective caching strategy that balances performance with content freshness.

Carlos Ospina 7 min read

Drupal Drupal Community Open Source Contribution Drupal Planet

Beyond Makers and Takers: Being a Faker in Open Source

Recent events in the WordPress community have reignited discussions about open source contribution, echoing Dries Buytaert's insights on "makers" and "takers" in the ecosystem. However, there's a third category worth examining: those who create an appearance of contribution without truly engaging with the community's needs. Through Drupal's mature contribution recognition system, we can explore ways to encourage more meaningful participation and help everyone find their authentic path to contributing, moving beyond surface-level engagement to genuine community involvement. This reflection isn't about criticism, but about fostering a culture where various forms of contribution are valued and authentic engagement is encouraged.

Carlos Ospina 4 min read

Drupal Drupal Community Technical Architect Development ECA Efficiency Drupal Planet

Rethinking Custom Modules: How ECA Blew My Mind

During Palcera's implementation of the IXP Initiative platform, the power of ECA (Event, Condition, Action) challenged my assumptions about when custom modules are truly necessary. This experience demonstrates how mature contributed modules can efficiently handle complex business logic that traditionally required custom code. As a technical architect, I'm excited to help organizations leverage Drupal's ecosystem more effectively, improving development efficiency while reducing maintenance overhead through strategic use of existing solutions.

Carlos Ospina 3 min read

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DrupalCon Barcelona 2024: The Drupal Couple's Journey

As the Drupal Couple, we attended DrupalCon Barcelona 2024 and want to share our week at the conference. Here's how we experienced the sessions, community moments, and Drupal's future through our different perspectives.

Carlos Ospina 4 min read

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BLT End of Life: When Technical Decisions Forget About Users

Acquia's Build and Launch Tool (BLT) reaches end-of-life on December 31, 2024. As a Technical Account Manager who has helped numerous organizations with their Drupal implementations, I've seen how this transition highlights a common challenge in our industry: technical decisions that sometimes lose sight of user needs. Let's explore what this means for teams and what it tells us about the broader pattern of technical decision-making.

Carlos Ospina 4 min read

Drupal Drupal Migrations Drupal Community Drupal Planet

Drupal 7 EOL: Choosing the Right Path for Your Site

With Drupal 7's end-of-life approaching in January 2025, organizations face critical migration decisions. Drawing from my decade of experience as a Technical Account Manager, this article explores practical migration paths based on your site's purpose and complexity. We'll examine community-supported tools, share real migration experiences, and discuss how innovations like Retrofit and the upcoming Drupal CMS can help shape your migration strategy.

Carlos Ospina 5 min read

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Simplifying Drupal Updates: A Structured Approach to Worry-Free Maintenance

Regular Drupal updates are critical for site maintenance, but many organizations find them challenging. Drawing from nearly ten years of experience as a Technical Account Manager (TAM) at Acquia, this article presents a structured approach that transforms updates from a source of stress into a reliable process.

Carlos Ospina 6 min read

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The Future of Drupal: Overcoming Challenges with Community Initiatives

Drupal has evolved to meet enterprise demands, but lost ground with beginners and small businesses. Our blog explores how initiatives like Drupal CMS, IXP Fellowship, and the Drupal Open Curriculum aim to address this by making Drupal more accessible and sustainable for all users.

Carlos Ospina 2 min read