Drupal AI Quick Start - 15 Minutes to First AI Agent

Time: 15 minutes Difficulty: Beginner Requirements: DDEV installed, GitLab account

Step 1: Install Drupal with AI Modules (5 min)

# Create DDEV project
mkdir drupal-ai && cd drupal-ai
ddev config --project-type=drupal --php-version=8.3 --database=postgres:16
ddev start

# Install Drupal + AI modules
ddev composer create drupal/recommended-project
ddev composer require drupal/ai:^1.2.5 drupal/ai_agents:^1.2.1 drupal/eca:^2.0 drupal/key:^1.17
ddev drush site:install --account-name=admin --account-pass=admin -y
ddev drush en ai,ai_agents,eca,key -y

# Launch site
ddev launch

Step 2: Configure GitLab AI Gateway (3 min)

# Create GitLab Personal Access Token
# https://gitlab.com/-/user_settings/personal_access_tokens
# Scopes: api, ai_gateway

# Store token in Drupal
ddev drush key:create gitlab_ai_gateway \
  --key-type=authentication \
  --key-provider=config \
  --key-input=glpat-YOUR-TOKEN-HERE

Step 3: Enable GitLab AI Provider (2 min)

Admin UI: /admin/config/ai/providers

1. Enable "GitLab AI Gateway" provider
2. Select key: gitlab_ai_gateway
3. Test connection should see " Connected"
4. Save configuration

Step 4: Create Your First AI Agent (3 min)

Admin UI: /admin/ai/agents/add

Name: content-summarizer
Description: Summarizes article content
Provider: GitLab AI Gateway
Model: claude-sonnet-4
System Prompt: |
  You are a content summarizer.
  Create 2-sentence summaries.

Tools:
  - summarize_node (built-in)

Save

Step 5: Test the Agent (2 min)

# Via Drush
ddev drush ai:agent:execute content-summarizer \
  "Summarize this: Drupal is a free and open-source content management system."

# Output:
#  Agent executed successfully
# Response: Drupal is a free CMS. It's open-source and widely used.

Or via Admin UI: /admin/ai/agents/content-summarizer/execute

Next Steps

Create ECA Workflow (Auto-Summary)

Admin UI: /admin/config/workflow/eca

1. Click "Add Model"
2. Event: "Node Pre-save" (article bundle)
3. Condition: "Field is empty" (field_summary)
4. Action: "AI Generate Text"
   • Provider: GitLab AI Gateway
   • Model: claude-sonnet-4
   • Prompt: Summarize: [node:title] - [node:body:summary]
   • Target: field_summary
5. Save

Test: Create an article Summary auto-generated!

Add More AI Actions

• Auto Meta Description: Use eca_ai:generate_text with 150-char limit
• Spam Detection: Use eca_ai:classify on comments
• Auto Tagging: Use eca_ai:extract_entities on articles

Common Issues

"GitLab token invalid"

# Regenerate token with correct scopes: api, ai_gateway
# Update key: ddev drush key:edit gitlab_ai_gateway

"Module not found"

# Clear cache
ddev drush cr

# Verify installation
ddev drush pm:list --filter=ai

Full Example: AI-Powered Article Workflow

# ECA Model: complete-article-workflow
events:
  article_created:
    plugin: 'node:insert'
    configuration:
      bundle: article

actions:
  generate_summary:
    plugin: 'eca_ai:generate_text'
    configuration:
      prompt: "2-sentence summary: [node:body:value]"
      target: field_summary

  generate_meta:
    plugin: 'eca_ai:generate_text'
    configuration:
      prompt: "150-char meta: [node:title]"
      target: field_meta_description

  extract_tags:
    plugin: 'eca_ai:extract_entities'
    configuration:
      text: '[node:body:value]'
      entity_types: [topics, keywords]

  apply_tags:
    plugin: 'taxonomy:apply_terms'
    configuration:
      vocabulary: tags
      terms: '[ai_entities]'

  moderate_content:
    plugin: 'eca_ai:classify'
    configuration:
      text: '[node:body:value]'
      categories: [appropriate, spam, offensive]

  publish_if_appropriate:
    plugin: 'node:publish'
    condition: '[ai_category] == "appropriate"'

Result: Articles get AI-generated summaries, meta descriptions, tags, and moderation automatically!

Resources

• Architecture: architecture/ai-architecture.md
• GitLab AI Gateway: integrations/gitlab-ai-gateway-drupal.md
• ECA AI Actions: integrations/eca-ai-actions-drupal.md
• OSSA Bridge: integrations/ossa-bridge-drupal.md