Plain-English definitions of Drupal terms, from alias and block to Twig and user 1, with examples, sources and answers to common questions.

In this section

A

Ajax
The Drupal API behind in-place updates such as the Add another item button: an #ajax property, a PHP callback and JSON commands.
Anonymous
Anonymous is the status of a visitor who is not logged in to Drupal. All of them share user ID 0 and one role, so one permission set governs them.
Authenticated
Authenticated is the status of a logged-in Drupal account. Every such account gets the built-in Authenticated user role, so its permissions apply to all.
Automatic Updates
Automatic Updates lets an administrator apply Drupal core patch releases from the browser, with core's Package Manager staging the Composer changes.

B

Block
In Drupal a block is a reusable unit of page output, from a module or written as a content block, that you place per theme and limit by page or role.
Block layout
The screen that decides which blocks appear in each region of a Drupal theme and in what order; every change is saved as configuration.
Breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs are the Home › Section links above a page's content; in Drupal, builder services compute them and a block prints them.
Breakpoint
A Drupal breakpoint is a labeled screen condition defined in YAML, which responsive image styles use to pick the right image file for each screen.
Bundle
A bundle is a subtype of a Drupal entity type that shares one set of fields, such as a content type for nodes or a vocabulary for taxonomy terms.

C

Cache
Drupal's cache keeps results that are slow to compute, such as rendered HTML and whole pages, and invalidates them through cache tags when data changes.
CKEditor 5
Drupal core's visual editor for text fields, set up per text format, where the toolbar and the allowed HTML tags are configured together.
Claro
Drupal core's default administration theme since 9.4, based on the Drupal Design System; set to give way to the Gin-based Default Admin theme.
CMS (content management system)
A CMS stores a site's content and settings and builds its pages on request. Drupal is a free, general-purpose CMS released under the GPL.
Code freeze
A stretch of time before a release or launch when only approved fixes get merged. In Drupal core, a beta deadline and commit freezes play that role.
Composer
Composer is the PHP dependency manager that downloads and updates Drupal core, modules, themes and libraries from a list in composer.json.
Configuration
Configuration is a Drupal site's setup, apart from its content: content types, fields, views and enabled modules. It can be exported as YAML files.
Configuration management
The Drupal practice of deploying settings such as content types, fields and views through files and Drush, instead of repeating them by hand.
Content
In Drupal, content is the information shown to visitors, such as pages, tags, comments and files, kept apart from the configuration that sets up the site.
Content moderation
Content Moderation is a Drupal core module that gives content states such as Draft, Published and Archived and limits who may move it between them.
Content translation
The core module that adds a Translate tab to pages, terms, blocks and other content entities, where editors create and manage their language versions.
Content type
A content type is a named template for content items in Drupal, such as Article or Basic page, that sets the fields and publishing defaults of every item.
Contextual filter
A contextual filter narrows a Drupal View by a value found at run time, such as an ID in the URL, so one view can show different results on each page.
Contextual link
An in-place admin shortcut, such as Edit or Configure block, that opens the right admin page for the element you are looking at.
Contributed
Contrib is the Drupal name for community projects on Drupal.org outside core, each with its own maintainers, releases and issue queue.
Core
Drupal core is the code in the core directory that every Drupal site runs, maintained as one project and released in monthly windows.
Core committers
Core committers are the small group of people with commit access to Drupal core. They are the final reviewers who decide when a change is merged.
Core contributor
A core contributor is someone whose work on Drupal core is accepted and credited: code, testing, review, documentation or triage on Drupal.org.
Cron
Cron runs Drupal's scheduled jobs. The Automated Cron module starts it every three hours by default; a server job or Drush can start it instead.
Cross-site scripting (XSS)
Cross-site scripting (XSS) lets an attacker run their own JavaScript in your visitors' browsers; Drupal guards against it by escaping or filtering output.
Custom module
A module written for one site only and kept in that project's own code, next to the site's core and contributed modules.

D

Database API
Drupal's PDO-based database abstraction layer: query builders, placeholders and drivers that let one set of code run on MySQL, PostgreSQL or SQLite.
Dependency injection
How Drupal classes get services such as the current user: declared in services.yml or a create() method and passed to the constructor.
Devel
Devel is a contributed Drupal module of debugging tools that developers install to inspect code and site internals while they build.
Development site
The environment where Drupal changes are built, for example a local DDEV copy with its own database and settings.local.php, before they ship to live.
Distribution
A Drupal distribution is Drupal core bundled with modules, themes and configuration for one kind of site, installed through an install profile.
Drupal 7 end of life
Drupal 7 end of life was 5 January 2025: the Drupal Security Team stopped issuing advisories and fixes for Drupal 7 core, modules and themes.
Drupal Association
The Drupal Association is the nonprofit focused on accelerating Drupal and fostering the growth of its community, separate from the project.
Drupal Canvas (formerly Experience Builder)
Drupal Canvas, formerly Experience Builder, is a contributed visual page builder for Drupal 11.3 and later, shipped by default with Drupal CMS 2.0.
Drupal CMS
Drupal CMS is the Drupal project's own starting point for new websites, aimed at marketers and site builders, set up from a site template.
Drupal coding standards
Drupal's coding standards are the always-current style guide for Drupal code, enforced for PHP by PHP_CodeSniffer with the Coder rules.
Drupal Console
A developer command-line tool for Drupal 8 and later. Drupal.org now marks it unsupported and obsolete, and Drush has taken over its role.
Drupal release cycle
Drupal's published policy for when each core version ships and how long it gets bug and security fixes, so owners can plan updates ahead.
Drupal Security Team
Drupal.org's security group, whose SA-CORE and SA-CONTRIB advisories and PSAs tell site owners which releases fix a vulnerability.
DrupalCon
DrupalCon is the Drupal community's continent-wide conference, organized by professional event planners together with the Drupal Association.
Druplicon
The Druplicon is the Drupal icon: a stylized drop with infinity-shaped eyes, a curved nose and a mischievous smile, used as the project's symbol.
Drush
Drush is the command-line tool for Drupal. It runs cache rebuilds, database updates and configuration imports from a terminal or a script.
Drush Make
A former Drush feature that assembled a Drupal codebase from a makefile. It is no longer maintained; Composer now builds and updates Drupal codebases.

E

Editorial workflow
A Drupal editorial workflow is a set of moderation states, such as Draft and Published, with a role permission for each move between them.
Entity
An entity in Drupal is a single item of content or configuration, such as one page, user, taxonomy term or content type, handled through one common API.
Entity API
The Entity API is the set of Drupal core classes and interfaces for creating, loading, querying, saving and deleting entities such as nodes and users.
Entity type
An entity type is a kind of entity a Drupal module defines, such as node, user or taxonomy term, with its own class, storage and handlers.

F

Field
In Drupal, a field stores one kind of data on an entity; its type, widget and formatter decide what is stored, how it is entered and how it is shown.
Field API
The Field API is the Drupal core layer for fields: modules extend it with field type, widget and formatter plugins, and Field UI is built on top of it.
Field formatter
A field formatter is the Drupal plugin that turns a field's stored values into page output, such as plain text or the label of a referenced item.
Field widget
A field widget is the Drupal plugin that builds the edit-form input for a field and turns what the editor submits into values the field can store.
File API
Drupal's services for saving, copying, moving and deleting files by stream wrapper URI, plus file entities and usage records that track each managed file.
Filter
In Drupal, a text filter is one ordered step of a text format, such as Convert URLs into links, that rewrites stored text as it is rendered.
Form API
Drupal's Form API defines each form as one PHP class and supplies the shared parts: CSRF tokens, required-field checks and alter hooks for other modules.
FOSS
FOSS means free and open-source software: public source code under a license that lets anyone use, change and share it. Drupal is FOSS under the GPL.

G

Gin admin theme
Gin is a contributed Drupal admin theme with dark mode, accent colors and table density options. Core's Default Admin theme is built from it.
Git
The version control tool behind Drupal.org's projects: it tracks source code changes, and GitLab at git.drupalcode.org adds the web interface.
GPL
The GNU General Public License, published by the Free Software Foundation. Drupal.org requires GPL version 2 or later for core and every hosted project.

H

HEAD
HEAD is Git's pointer to your checked-out commit, the old name for Drupal core's development line, and an HTTP request that returns headers only.
Headless Drupal
A decoupled architecture in which Drupal stores content and enforces access, and one or more separate front ends read it through an API.
Hook
A hook is a named extension point that lets a module add to or change Drupal's behavior without editing core or another module's code.
Hook system
The hook system is Drupal core's machinery for hooks: it collects implementations when the container is built and runs them through the module handler.
Human readable
Text meant for people instead of code: the label an editor sees for a content type, field or style, and a URL made of words such as /about-us.

I

Image style
A named, reusable recipe of image effects such as scale or crop, used to show one uploaded image at several sizes without editing the original file.
InnoDB
The MySQL and MariaDB storage engine that Drupal requires as its primary engine; it adds transactions, row-level locking and foreign key checks.
Input format
Input format is the name Drupal 6 and earlier gave to text formats. Drupal 7.0 renamed it, and the Drupal 11 admin screens say text format.
Install profile
An install profile defines the modules, themes and configuration a new Drupal site starts with. You choose it once, when you run the installer.
Issue
A Drupal issue is a tracked record in a project's issue queue, with a category, priority and status, that follows one change from report to fix.

J

JSON:API
A core module that serves Drupal content as JSON in the JSON:API format, shaped by filter, sort, include and paging parameters.

L

LAMP stack
LAMP is the classic Drupal hosting stack: Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP. Drupal 11 also runs on nginx, MariaDB, PostgreSQL and SQLite.
Layout Builder
A core Drupal module that sets how content is displayed with sections and blocks, using a default layout per content type and optional per-item overrides.
Legacy code
Older custom or contributed code that targets APIs Drupal has deprecated or removed, and so blocks or complicates the next major upgrade.
Localization
Adapting a Drupal site to a language and region: translated interface, configuration and content, plus regional settings such as time zone.
Log
The record of events, errors and warnings that Drupal and its modules write through the logger, kept by Database Logging or sent on by Syslog.

M

Machine name
A machine name is the lowercase identifier Drupal gives to a content type, field, vocabulary or view, used by code and configuration instead of its label.
Media Library
Media Library is the core Drupal module that lets editors upload a media item once and pick it again from any media field or the text editor.
Module
The installable unit of Drupal code. Core ships some, Drupal.org hosts contributed ones, and a site team can write its own custom ones.
Multisite
Multisite is a Drupal feature that runs independent sites, each with its own database, configuration and files, from one shared codebase.

N

NID (Node ID)
The NID is the unique number Drupal gives each node. It is the number in /node/42, and it stays the same when a URL alias is added or changed.
Node
A node is one content item in Drupal, such as a page or article, stored as an entity with a title, author, published status and a URL like /node/1.

O

Olivero
The front-end theme that Drupal 11.4 installs by default: responsive, made with accessibility experts, with 13 regions and color presets.

P

Paragraphs
Paragraphs is a contributed module that adds the paragraph entity: a small, typed content item with its own fields, owned by one parent entity.
Patch
In Drupal, a patch is a diff file you apply with Git, the patch command or Composer to change core or module code you do not maintain.
Path
The path is the part of a Drupal address after the domain, such as /node/7. It names a page or function, not a file, and can carry a readable alias.
Pathauto
Pathauto builds URL aliases from patterns such as /blog/[node:title], so items of one type get consistent addresses without anyone typing them.
Permission
A Drupal permission is one row on the Permissions page. Every role ticked in that row may then do one thing, such as view published content.
Plugin API
In Drupal's Plugin API, a manager service discovers classes, caches their definitions and creates them on request, so modules add interchangeable options.
Project Browser
Project Browser lets site builders find and add Drupal modules from inside the admin UI, instead of searching drupal.org in another tab.
Published
Published is the Drupal status that makes a content item, such as a node, visible to visitors who may view content; unchecked, the item is unpublished.

Q

Queue API
Drupal's way to store tasks as named queue items and process them later, by default in the database table queue, with worker plugins that cron can run.

R

Recipes
A Drupal recipe is a one-time set of setup instructions that adds a ready-made feature, such as an editor role or a media type, to a Drupal site.
Redirect
Redirects keep old links working. A request for a moved URL is forwarded to the new one, and the status code tells crawlers if the move is permanent.
Reference field
A reference field in Drupal stores a link from one entity to another, such as a recipe to its vendor, its taxonomy terms or the user who wrote it.
Region
Regions are the slots a theme offers for blocks. Site builders fill them in the admin, but only the theme's code decides which slots exist and where.
Render API
In Drupal, pages, blocks and forms are built as PHP data first and turned into HTML last, so themes can change the markup and caches can reuse it.
Repository
Drupal source code sits in one Git repository per project on git.drupalcode.org; Composer finds releases through packages.drupal.org.
Responsive
Responsive web design uses fluid grids, flexible images and CSS media queries so one page reflows to fit any screen width.
Revision
A revision is a saved version of a Drupal content entity, such as a node. Drupal keeps earlier versions so editors can review the history and restore one.
Role
Drupal roles bundle permissions under one name. Change a role once, and every account that holds it gains or loses the same rights.
RSS
Really Simple Syndication, a family of XML feed formats. Drupal core writes RSS 2.0 through Views, for example /rss.xml and one feed per taxonomy term.

S

Search API
A contributed module, separate from core's Search module, that indexes chosen entity data on a pluggable server such as the database or Solr.
Security update
Drupal security updates are releases announced in SA-CORE or SA-CONTRIB advisories, rated by a risk score and flagged on your site by Update Status.
Service container
The object Drupal code gets its services from, such as the database or mailer, built by the kernel from core and module services.yml files.
Services API
The Services API is Drupal's dependency injection container, a registry of replaceable objects that classes receive through their constructors.
Session
A session lets Drupal recognize one visitor across page requests. The server keeps the data and a cookie holds the ID that points to it.
Simpletest
Drupal's old in-core test module, with a web page for running tests. Core dropped it for Drupal 9.0 in February 2020; tests now use PHPUnit.
Single Directory Components
Single Directory Components (SDC) is the Drupal core API, stable since Drupal 10.3, for reusable UI components with typed props and slots.
Site building
Turning a content plan into a working Drupal site by configuring content types, fields, views, blocks, roles and modules in the admin interface.
Site configuration
The settings that control how a Drupal site behaves, edited mostly under the Configuration menu and stored as configuration that can move between sites.
Site information
The Drupal settings page, labeled Basic site settings, where an administrator sets the site name, slogan, From email address, front page and error pages.
Site maintenance
Keeping a Drupal site secure and working: update it, back it up, read the status report. Maintenance mode is the optional switch that takes it offline.
Staging site
Staging is the last stop before production: a Drupal copy where the exact release commit is deployed and checked against a recent copy of live data.
Symfony
Symfony is the PHP project whose components carry requests, routing, events and the service container in Drupal core; Drupal 11.4 requires Symfony 7.4.
System administration
System administration is keeping a Drupal site's server, software and access healthy, using core's Status report, admin pages and restricted permissions.

T

Taxonomy
Taxonomy is Drupal's system for classifying content with terms grouped into vocabularies, such as tags and categories that can be flat or nested.
Taxonomy term
The taxonomy_term entity: a revisionable, translatable item that content references to classify it, with its own page, parents and permissions.
Teaser
The node.teaser view mode: the listing display of a node, which core's content types fill with the body summary or a trimmed body.
Text format
Text formats such as Basic HTML or Full HTML are the per-role choices under a formatted text field that control which markup reaches the page.
Theme
A Drupal theme is an installable extension that renders the markup and styling of pages; one theme serves visitors and another can serve the admin pages.
Token
Drupal tokens are bracketed codes such as [site:name] that the core Token API fills with live site, user or content data, in emails or URL patterns.
Twig
Twig is the PHP template engine behind Drupal themes. Files ending in .html.twig turn Drupal's data into HTML and escape output by default.

U

UID (User ID)
The UID is the number Drupal uses to identify a user account. It appears in addresses like /user/42, and 0 and 1 are reserved for special accounts.
Unpublished
Unpublished content is a Drupal item whose Published status is off. It stays in the database and editable, but only users with special access can view it.
Update
An update moves a Drupal site to a newer release of core, a module or a theme; the core Update Status module reports which releases are available.
Update API
The Update API is Drupal's set of hooks, such as hook_update_N() and hook_post_update_NAME(), that bring existing sites' stored data up to date.
URL
The URL is the full address people type, share and bookmark; on a Drupal site its readable form comes from the page's alias, if one exists.
URL alias
A URL alias is a readable address, such as /about, that Drupal maps to the internal system path of a page, such as /node/7.
User
A Drupal user is the account a person signs in with. Its roles decide what that person may view, create and change on the site.
User 1
User 1 is the first account created when Drupal is installed. It skips permission checks, so keep it as a recovery login, not a daily one.
User authentication
User authentication is how Drupal knows which account is asking. Core checks a password at login, then recognizes the account by its session cookie.
User experience (UX)
UX in Drupal is how smoothly editors can publish and visitors can read, shaped by form setup, permissions, the theme and accessibility.
User interface (UI)
In Drupal the UI is what you click and fill in: the admin menu, forms and tables, plus core modules like Field UI and Views UI that add screens.

V

Views
The Drupal core module for lists: each view is saved configuration that queries content, users or files and renders the matching items.
Views Bulk Operations (VBO)
Views Bulk Operations (VBO) is a contributed Drupal module that adds checkboxes and actions to a View, so editors can change many items in one step.
Views display
A display is one output of a Drupal View, such as a page, a block or a feed. One view can hold several displays that share or override settings.
Views exposed filters
An exposed filter is a Views filter shown to visitors as a form control, so they can narrow a list themselves by title, category, author or another field.
Views filter
A filter in a Drupal View is a condition each item must meet to be listed, such as content type or published status. Visitors can set it if exposed.
Views global filters
Views Global Filter is a contributed Drupal 6 and 7 module that applies one visitor filter choice to several views. It has no Drupal 11 release.
Views grouping
A Drupal Views format setting that files rows under a heading for each value of one field, for example products listed under their brand.
Views relationships
A Views relationship links a second table to a view, which opens up that table's fields, filters and sorts in the same list.
Views sort criteria
Sort criteria are the rules in a Drupal View that set the order of its results, such as newest first or by title. A view can apply several.
Views templates
Views templates are the Twig files that produce a Drupal View's HTML. A theme overrides one by copying it, under the same or a more specific name.
Views UI
Views UI is the Drupal core module with the admin screens where site builders create, edit and preview views, the configurable lists of content on a site.
Vocabulary
In Drupal taxonomy, the vocabulary is the container for terms: it sets which fields terms have, who may edit them and which parents they can take.

W

Webform
Webform is a contributed Drupal module for building forms, collecting submissions and sending them on by email or to other systems, with no code.
Weight
Weight is a number Drupal uses to order items such as menu links, blocks and form fields: lower or negative numbers come first, larger ones later.
Widget
Drupal uses the word widget for the input control of one field on an edit form, set on Manage form display. Pieces placed in page regions are blocks.
Wizard
Guided, multi-part form: Views uses one to start a new list of content, and developers build their own with a form rebuild or the CTools wizard base class.
Workflow
A workflow in Drupal is a configuration entity of the core Workflows module: a named set of states and the transitions allowed between them.
Workflow states
A workflow state is one named stage in a Drupal workflow, such as Draft, Published or Archived. Content Moderation gives each state a published flag.
WYSIWYG
In Drupal, WYSIWYG refers to the visual editor on formatted text fields, CKEditor 5 in core, which writes the HTML for you as you format.

X

XML-RPC
Remote procedure call protocol that Drupal 8 moved out of core into a contributed module; JSON:API and REST are the web services core ships.

Z

Zebra striping
Alternating row shading in tables. Claro, the Standard profile's admin theme in released Drupal 11.4, does not stripe rows, so striping is a theme choice.