Directus — Open Source Backend & Headless CMS for Any Database

What Directus Does

Directus provides a complete backend toolkit:

• Instant APIs: REST and GraphQL APIs auto-generated from your database schema
• Admin App: No-code admin panel for content management, built with Vue.js
• Authentication: Email/password, SSO (OAuth 2.0, OpenID, LDAP, SAML), and API tokens
• Access Control: Granular role-based permissions at collection, field, and record level
• File Storage: Asset management with transforms (resize, crop) and CDN support
• Flows (Automation): Visual workflow builder for triggers, conditions, and actions
• Webhooks: Real-time notifications on data changes
• Insights: Built-in analytics dashboard builder with charts and metrics

Architecture

┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐
│  Admin App   │────▶│  Directus    │────▶│  Your SQL DB │
│  (Vue.js)    │     │  Server      │     │  (Postgres / │
│              │     │  (Node.js)   │     │  MySQL / etc)│
└──────────────┘     └──────┬───────┘     └──────────────┘
                            │
│  Your Frontend │───▶ REST / GraphQL API
│  (Any framework)│

Self-Hosting

Docker Compose

services:
  directus:
    image: directus/directus:latest
    ports:
      - "8055:8055"
    environment:
      SECRET: your-random-secret-key
      DB_CLIENT: pg
      DB_HOST: postgres
      DB_PORT: 5432
      DB_DATABASE: directus
      DB_USER: directus
      DB_PASSWORD: directus
      ADMIN_EMAIL: admin@example.com
      ADMIN_PASSWORD: your-admin-password
    depends_on:
      - postgres

  postgres:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: directus
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: directus
      POSTGRES_DB: directus
    volumes:
      - pg-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  pg-data:

Key Features

Database-First Approach

Directus never modifies your database schema:

-- Your existing database tables work as-is
CREATE TABLE products (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    name VARCHAR(255),
    price DECIMAL(10,2),
    category_id INTEGER REFERENCES categories(id),
    created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- Directus automatically provides:
-- REST: GET /items/products
-- GraphQL: query { products { id name price } }
-- Admin UI with forms, filters, and relations

Supported Databases

Flows (Visual Automation)

Build automations without code:

Trigger: Item Created in "orders"
  → Condition: order.total > 1000
    → Action: Send Email to sales team
    → Action: Create record in "high_value_orders"
    → Action: Call webhook to fulfillment API

Extensions System

Directus is fully extensible:

// Custom endpoint extension
export default {
  id: 'custom-reports',
  handler: (router, context) => {
    router.get('/sales-report', async (req, res) => {
      const { ItemsService } = context.services;
      const orders = new ItemsService('orders', { schema: req.schema });
      const data = await orders.readByQuery({ aggregate: { sum: ['total'] } });
      res.json(data);
    });
  },
};

Extension types:

• Interfaces: Custom input components
• Displays: Custom value renderers
• Layouts: Custom collection views
• Modules: Full custom pages
• Endpoints: Custom API routes
• Hooks: Event-driven logic

Directus vs Alternatives

FAQ

Q: Will Directus modify my existing database? A: It won't modify your business tables. Directus only creates its own system tables (prefixed with directus_) for configuration, permissions, and metadata. Your business data tables stay untouched.

Q: Is it suitable for traditional CMS websites? A: Very much so. Directus works as a headless CMS paired with Next.js, Nuxt.js, Gatsby, and other frontends. Built-in asset management, multi-language support, and versioning are all CMS essentials.

Q: Directus or Strapi? A: If you have an existing database to connect to, choose Directus (database-first). If you're building a content model from scratch, either works. Directus has stronger no-code capabilities; Strapi has a larger developer ecosystem.