Project History and Future

Key features in version 1.0

Release date: January 15th, 2015

Backdrop 1.0 (announcement and release notes) was the first release of the Drupal fork, Backdrop. It included a number of major improvements over Drupal 7 while maintaining a high degree of compatibility. This release was in development for 16 months of development to deliver a next-generation CMS platform. Key features included:

  1. Configuration Management System
  2. Built-in Content Listing Generator
  3. Revamped Layout System
  4. Improved Performance
  5. Improved Mobile Support
  6. Reduced Theme System Complexity
  7. An upgrade path from Drupal 7

Key features in version 1.1

Release date: May 15th, 2015

Backdrop 1.1 (announcement and release notes) included new out-of-box abilities. Including:

  1. More tokens and a token UI in core.
  2. Automated URL alias creation for Users, Taxonomy Terms, and Nodes.
  3. A fresh new look to the administration theme!

Key features in version 1.2

Release date: September 15th, 2015

Backdrop 1.2 (announcement and release notes) expands the out-of-box experience with critical features, specifically:

  1. Built-in Rich text editor.
  2. Built-in Date fields.
  3. Simple Link field.
  4. Simple E-mail field.

Key features in version 1.3

Release date: January 15th, 2016

Backdrop 1.3 (announcement and release notes) focused on user experience (UX) improvements, polishing existing functionality rather than adding new major modules. New features included:

  1. Expanding the capabilities of the Layout edit (more out-of-box blocks and features)
  2. Easier and more powerful configuration of content types, vocabularies, and user accounts.
  3. Notification icon in the administrative toolbar for status report problems.
  4. Faster page loads with Background Fetch and Cron jobs.

Key features in version 1.4

Release date: May 15th, 2016

Backdrop 1.4 (announcement and release notes) focused on providing new site-building tools, making it easier than ever to build a Backdrop site.

  1. 10 new responsive layouts based on the Bootstrap 4 grid system.
  2. Automatic and manual path redirection ability when path aliases change (Redirect module).
  3. A project browser module (Installer) that allows finding and installing modules from within the Backdrop UI.
  4. The Layout module UI has been improved with new terminology, more descriptive listings, and improved configuration of conditionals.

Key features in version 1.5

Release date: September 15th, 2016

Backdrop 1.5 (announcement and release notes) focused on creating an all-new out-of-box experience.

  1. A new front-end theme.
  2. A new default home-page layout.
  3. Responsive and drop-down menus by default.
  4. Emoji support.

Key features in version 1.6

Release date: January 15th, 2017

Backdrop 1.6 (announcement and release notes) focused on improving the user experience.

  1. Add an image & file management User Interface
  2. Add support for custom view modes
  3. Add a hamburger-menu toggle for responsive menus.

Key features in version 1.7

Release date: May 15th, 2017

Backdrop 1.7 (announcement and release notes) focused on improving the administrative style.

  1. Views that contain Block Displays have substantially increased powers, allowing per-placement overrides of pager settings, contextual filters, and more.
  2. Page titles, tabs, messages, and action links may now be placed as blocks and moved around within layouts.
  3. Images can be uploaded in the Rich-Text editor via Drag and Drop or Clipboard Paste.
  4. Add the ability to add links to Images in the Rich-Text editor.
  5. Allow adding links to local paths in the Rich-Text editor via an autocomplete dialog.
  6. Clean up the User Interfaces for Views, Status & Update reports, the Autocomplete widget, and the Rich-Text editor.

Key features in version 1.8

Release date: Sept 15th, 2017

Backdrop 1.8 (announcement and release notes) focused on interface changes that continue to improve on the overall experience of using Backdrop.

  1. Administrative interface design and usability improvements.
  2. Enhancements to Menu blocks.
  3. Unpublished content indicators in the Basis theme.

New features planned for version 1.9

Scheduled release date: Jan 15th, 2018

  1. Add new files independent from other content, and edit existing files.
  2. Other features for this release are still TBD.
  3. See the GitHub issue tracker for 1.9 issues.

Goals for 2.0

Backdrop 2.0 will work on improving systems that require API breaks. In particular, this likely includes expanding language support, further reducing theme system complexity, and moving more systems into configuration, including menu links and module state (enabled/disabled). See the GitHub issue tracker for more 2.x issues.