directus

The Collaborative Backend for Builders & AI

Connect any SQL database and get instant REST and GraphQL APIs, a visual management Studio, and a native MCP server for AI agents.

45M+ downloads · 500K+ projects deployed

[!NOTE] Free for most organizations. Under $5M annual revenue and 50 employees? Directus is completely free. Apply for an Open Innovation Grant license and get a key in minutes. Learn more about our license.

🐇 Introduction

Directus wraps any SQL database with a REST and GraphQL API layer and a visual Studio. Engineers control schema and access. Non-technical teammates and AI agents work directly with live data. No tickets, no boilerplate.

• REST & GraphQL APIs: Automatically generated from your database schema. No configuration required.
• Visual Studio: A full management interface for non-technical teammates.
• AI Assistant: Embedded in the Studio. Creates, translates, and takes direct action on your content.
• Native MCP Server: Connect Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT, or any MCP-compatible tool directly to your data.
• Policy-based Access Control: Granular permissions down to the field level, for humans and AI agents alike.
• Bring your own database: Postgres, MySQL, MariaDB, MS SQL, SQLite, OracleDB, CockroachDB, and more.
• Fully extensible: Custom endpoints, hooks, interfaces, and modules.
• Self-host or cloud: Run locally, on your own infrastructure, or on Directus Cloud.

Learn more about Directus · Documentation

🤖 AI & MCP

Directus includes a built-in AI Assistant and a native MCP server. AI works with your live data, not a copy of it.

• AI Assistant: Creates content, runs translations, and triggers workflows directly from the Studio.
• Native MCP Server: Any MCP-compatible agent or tool can connect to Directus. Same access policies that apply to your team apply to AI.
• Governed by default: AI agents operate under the same role-based permissions as human users. No special cases, no workarounds.

Read the AI & MCP docs

🚀 Directus Cloud

Directus Cloud provisions a fully managed project in under 90 seconds.

• Centrally managed: Self-service dashboard to create and monitor all your projects in one place
• All-in-one solution: Database, storage, and auto-scaling included with a global CDN
• Simple setup: Select a region and get a running instance immediately

Create a Directus Cloud Project

⚡ One-Click Deployment Options

Deploy on Railway

One click. Fully provisioned with PostgreSQL, Redis, and S3-compatible storage, connected via Railway's private network.

🙋 Community Help

The Directus Documentation is a great place to start, or explore these other channels:

• Community Forum (Questions, Discussions)
• Discord (Live Chat)
• GitHub Issues (Report Bugs)
• Roadmap (Roadmap & Feature Requests)
• Resources (Latest News)
• YouTube (Video Tutorials)

❤️ Contributing

Read our Contributing Guide before submitting pull requests.

Report security vulnerabilities per our Security Policy.

Built by our core team and contributors. Thank you.

📄 License

Directus is licensed under the Monospace Sustainable Core License (MSCL) 1.0, a source-available license derived from the Fair Core License.

Free for most builders. Organizations under $5M in annual revenue and 50 employees can use Directus for free under the Open Innovation Grant.

Free Core Tier. A free tier is available to everyone to explore and build on Directus without a commercial license.

Commercial License. Organizations above those thresholds using advanced or enterprise features require a commercial license. See pricing for details.