Drupal 11.3.0 increases performance by up to 33 percent

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The Drupal Association has released version 11.3.0 of the open-source content management system. According to the association, this is the biggest performance boost in a decade – since Drupal 8. The release combines numerous optimizations in the rendering and caching layers and, for the first time, uses the HTMX JavaScript library.

The developers report 26 to 33 percent more processable requests with the same database load. Automated tests show up to 33 percent fewer cache operations for “cold” caches (when cache entries are missing or expired) and up to 25 percent for partially “warm” caches (relevant data is already cached and can be quickly made available). Independent tests by the company MD Systems on complex websites showed even more significant improvements, especially for sites with high database load.

HTMX drastically reduces JavaScript overhead

A central component of the performance optimization is the switch to HTMX in BigPipe. The JavaScript library without external dependencies enables AJAX requests, CSS transitions, WebSockets, and Server-Sent Events directly via HTML attributes. This allows HTMX to replace previous Drupal-specific solutions such as the Form State API and the AJAX API. The JavaScript overhead for browser-server interactions is reduced by up to 71 percent.

BigPipe now only loads JavaScript when needed and proactively intercepts placeholders to replace them with already “pre-warmed” render caches. This significantly speeds up rendering. In future versions, the developers plan to activate BigPipe for anonymous site visitors as well.

PHP Fibers enable parallel entity loading

Drupal 11.3.0 uses PHP Fibers, a feature since PHP 8.1, for optimized entity loading. The cooperative multitasking technique allows combining database and cache queries without blocking processes. Additionally, the hook and field discovery processes have been revised, reducing database and cache I/O and memory consumption for “cold” caches.

An experimental MySQLi driver is available for MySQL and MariaDB users. This uses the mysqli extension instead of PDO and enables parallel rather than sequential queries. Asynchronous support is planned. The driver is not yet found in the regular user interface and does not yet receive full support.

Navigation module becomes stable

The navigation module is now considered stable and offers a more modern alternative to the old toolbar. It is particularly suitable for sites with complex admin structures but is not yet enabled by default. The developers recommend it for all installations.

The CKEditor natively supports on-site links via autocomplete and dropdown for entity references. New options for bullet points and numbering facilitate content creation. A dedicated permission “Administer node published status” separates the rights to publish from general node administration.

OOP Hooks for Themes and Content Export

Themes, like modules, can use the #[Hook()] attribute. Implementations are located in src/Hook/ and are registered via namespaces in the container. This allows for cleaner, more structured code.

A new CLI command php core/scripts/drupal content:export ENTITY_TYPE_ID ENTITY_ID exports entities, including dependencies such as images or taxonomy terms. The function uses the same format as the Default Content module.

Drupal 11.3.0 fully supports PHP 8.5, which was released in November 2025. Core tests run on the new PHP version, which serves as the minimum requirement for Drupal 12 in 2026. Drupal 10 will continue to receive security support until December 2026. The visual page builder Drupal Canvas, released in early December, complements the new performance features with more convenient site-building options.

(fo)