Directus

Overview

Directus is an open-source headless CMS and data platform that wraps any SQL database with auto-generated REST and GraphQL APIs, a visual admin dashboard, role-based access control, file storage, and automation flows. Unlike Strapi (which defines its own schema), Directus mirrors your existing database — add columns in the admin UI or directly in SQL, and the API updates instantly. Use it for content management, internal tools, data APIs, and backend-as-a-service.

Instructions

Step 1: Deployment

Current release is Directus 12 (12.4.x, Sept 2026; directus on npm needs Node 22+). Pin a version tag in production instead of latest. The license is MSCL-1.0 (source-available, converts to GPL-3.0 after four years), not MIT/GPL today; since v12 some features (SSO, custom permission rules) need a license key, see https://directus.com/license.