This project provides a starter kit for evaluating a headless Drupal setup with Next.js. It combines Drupal 11 as the content backend with a Next.js 15 frontend, including JSON:API, OAuth, TypeScript, and Tailwind. The environment is containerized using Docker/Docksal, and the repository can be cloned and initialized for testing. The kit is intended to help assess Drupal’s suitability as a backend for a modern Next.js application.

Project Date

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 - 06:00

Drupal 11 + Next.js Starter Kit

A modern headless CMS starter that combines Drupal 11 as the content management backend with Next.js 15 as the frontend framework.

Features

Backend: Drupal 11 with JSON:API, Simple OAuth authentication
Frontend: Next.js 15 with App Router, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS
Content Types: Pages, Articles, Events with image fields
Authentication: OAuth2 client credentials flow
Development: Docksal containerized environment

Prerequisites

Docksal is installed and running
Docker and Docker Compose (installed with Docksal)

Installation

1. Clone and Initialize

git clone git@github.com:willjackson/drupal-nextjs-starter.git d11-nextjs-starter
cd d11-nextjs-starter
fin init

Initialize with Options:

# Initialize with sample content
fin init --content

# Initialize with AI Tools
fin init --ai

# Initialize with both content and AI Tools
fin init --content --ai

Explore this project to try out Drupal and see its utility as a viable, well-supported backend for Next.js. Start managing content with Drupal while leveraging Next.js for a dynamic frontend experience. Invitation is open to use this starter kit and discover its capabilities.