Directus

Directus wraps an existing SQL database with a REST and GraphQL API layer and a visual management Studio, positioning itself as an open source alternative to Contentful. Rather than storing content in a proprietary format, Directus connects to a database engineers already control, so schema and access stay in the database while non-technical teammates and AI agents work with the live data through the Studio or the generated APIs. The project reports more than 45 million downloads and 500,000 projects deployed.

Key features

• Any SQL database: supports PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MS SQL, SQLite, OracleDB, and CockroachDB, so an existing production database can be wrapped without migrating data first.
• Auto-generated REST and GraphQL APIs: derived from the database schema with no manual configuration required.
• Visual Studio: a full management interface for teammates who don't write queries directly, covering both content editing and data management.
• Native MCP server: connects Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT, or other MCP-compatible tools directly to project data under the same access policies as human users, rather than a separate copy of the data.
• Policy-based access control: granular, field-level permissions applied consistently to people and AI agents, described as governed by default with no special cases.
• Built-in AI Assistant: creates content, runs translations, and triggers workflows from inside the Studio.
• Fully extensible: custom endpoints, hooks, interfaces, and modules can be added on top of the core.

Self-hosting and deployment

Directus can run on your own infrastructure, deploy with one click to Railway (provisioned with PostgreSQL, Redis, and S3-compatible storage connected over a private network), or run on the managed Directus Cloud, which provisions a project in under 90 seconds and includes a dashboard for monitoring multiple projects, database and storage, and a global CDN.

Licensing

Directus is licensed under the Monospace Sustainable Core License (MSCL) 1.0, a source-available license derived from the Fair Core License. Organizations under $5M in annual revenue and 50 employees can apply for a free Open Innovation Grant license and receive a key within minutes. A free Core Tier is available to everyone for exploring and building on Directus, while advanced and enterprise features require a commercial license above those thresholds. Security vulnerabilities are handled through a documented security policy rather than public issue reports.

Beyond the core documentation, support channels include a Community Forum for questions and discussions, a Discord server for live chat, GitHub Issues for bug reports, a public Roadmap for tracking feature requests, and a YouTube channel with video tutorials. The project is built by a core team alongside outside contributors, with pull requests expected to follow the published Contributing Guide, and a Resources page collects the latest project news and case studies.