RethinkConn 2026
The largest annual NATS-only conference
Watch architectural deep dives, real-world NATS use cases, and live demos.
Brought to you by Synadia, the creators of NATS
The Biggest NATS Event of 2026
RethinkConn is the conference that proves virtual events can be exceptional. Fast-paced, deeply technical, and built around real conversations — all in a single focused day.
Welcome to RethinkConn 2026
OpeningKick off the day with the host.
Andrew Connolly, Head of Marketing at Synadia
Keynote with Derek Collison
KeynoteState of NATS, vision, and community growth.
Derek Collison, Creator of NATS and Founder & CEO of Synadia
What's New in NATS
ProductThe latest from the NATS project.
Neil Twigg and Maurice van Veen, NATS Server team
NATS & Synadia at Verrus
Customer StoryThe world's most flexible and sustainable data centers.
Christopher Coco, Software Infrastructure Lead at Verrus
Synadia Protect
ProductThe secure gateway for NATS: inline inspection and filtering of NATS traffic.
Alberto Ricart and Joe Riddle, Software Engineers at Synadia
NATS & Synadia at Calix
Customer StoryThe end-to-end platform for modern communications service providers.
Hari Rajaram, Chief Architect at Calix
Synadia Insights
ProductNATS-native observability for mission-critical NATS deployments.
Byron Ruth, VP of Engineering at Synadia
Synadia Fleet Management
ProductConfiguring and managing your user-defined edge fleet.
Jordan Rash, Software Engineer at Synadia
Synadia Agent SDK: Agents on the (Message) Bus
ProductInside the agent platform you already run on NATS.
Mario Schallner, Software Engineer at Synadia
Synadia Agent SDK: Towards the Meta Agent
ProductDemo: don't break the factory!
Rene Schallner, Software Engineer at Synadia
Q&A: Derek and Friends
Closing Q&AA live discussion of everything we just saw.
What Attendees Said About 2025
This was by far the best online software conference I've attended.
Surprisingly GOOD!
Not an overproduced sales pitch. The format worked extremely well.
This has been a great conf, thanks to all presenters and to the team!
Replacing a bunch of gRPC servers with NATS has been the most satisfying task I've worked on.
Love how fast this conference is moving along! I get bored easily otherwise.
Connectivity is a gateway drug.
Thanks for a great conference with a lot of Q&A. Great that it was mostly about architecture and use cases!
Great information and demos! Looking forward to what comes next.
All presenters and client testimony presenters were great. Very nice, thanks so much! Go NATS!
NATS have saved me lots of time! All my components talk to each other nicely and happily.
This was by far the best online software conference I've attended.
Surprisingly GOOD!
Not an overproduced sales pitch. The format worked extremely well.
This has been a great conf, thanks to all presenters and to the team!
Replacing a bunch of gRPC servers with NATS has been the most satisfying task I've worked on.
Love how fast this conference is moving along! I get bored easily otherwise.
Connectivity is a gateway drug.
Thanks for a great conference with a lot of Q&A. Great that it was mostly about architecture and use cases!
Great information and demos! Looking forward to what comes next.
All presenters and client testimony presenters were great. Very nice, thanks so much! Go NATS!
NATS have saved me lots of time! All my components talk to each other nicely and happily.
Watch RethinkConn 2026 On-demand
Watch your fellow engineers, architects, and builders talking NothingButNATS.
Recorded on: Thursday, June 4, 2026.
Common Questions
What is RethinkConn about?
RethinkConn is Synadia's annual virtual conference dedicated to NATS and the future of distributed systems. It features real-world use cases, architecture deep dives, live demos, and updates on NATS and the Synadia platform — all in a single virtual event.
Who is RethinkConn for?
Engineers, architects, and builders working on distributed systems, edge computing, IoT, or distributed AI infrastructure. Whether you're new to NATS or running it in production at scale, RethinkConn is built for practitioners who want to get more out of NATS.
Why is it called RethinkConn?
The name is a play on "rethink connectivity" — the idea that modern distributed systems deserve a fundamentally different approach to how services, devices, and data connect. NATS was built from the ground up around that rethinking, and RethinkConn is where that community gathers. Want to go deeper on how and why NATS rethinks connectivity? Start here.
Where is RethinkConn hosted?
RethinkConn is a fully virtual event — no travel required. Anyone can attend from anywhere in the world. Session recordings are also made available after the event so you can watch at your own pace.
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