Directus Has a Free Headless CMS With REST & GraphQL — Here's How to Use It

#cms #api #database #webdev

WordPress is bloated. Contentful charges per entry. Directus turns any SQL database into a REST & GraphQL API with a beautiful admin panel — free and open-source.

What Is Directus?

Directus is an open-source data platform that wraps any SQL database with a real-time REST & GraphQL API, plus a no-code admin app. It's not just a CMS — it's a complete backend.

Quick Start

npx create-directus-project my-project
cd my-project && npx directus start

Visit http://localhost:8055 — instant admin dashboard.

How It Works

Point Directus at any SQL database (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, etc.)
It auto-generates REST & GraphQL APIs for all tables
The admin app lets non-developers manage content
Developers use the API in their frontend

REST API (Auto-Generated)

# Get all articles
GET /items/articles

# Get with filtering + relations
GET /items/articles?filter[status][_eq]=published&fields=*,author.name&sort=-date_published

# Create
POST /items/articles
{ "title": "My Post", "content": "...", "status": "published" }

# Update
PATCH /items/articles/42
{ "title": "Updated Title" }

GraphQL API (Also Auto-Generated)

query {
  articles(filter: { status: { _eq: "published" } }, sort: ["-date_published"]) {
    id
    title
    content
    author {
      name
      avatar
    }
    tags {
      name
    }
  }
}

Key Features

Any SQL database — bring your existing data
Real-time — WebSocket subscriptions
Authentication — SSO, OAuth, 2FA
Roles & permissions — granular access control
File storage — S3, Azure, GCS, local
Flows — visual automation builder
Extensions — custom endpoints, hooks, modules
Webhooks — trigger on data changes

Self-Hosted vs. Cloud

	Self-Hosted	Directus Cloud
Cost	Free	$15/month+
Control	Full	Managed
Hosting	Your server	Their infra
Updates	Manual	Automatic

Why Directus

Feature	Directus	Strapi	Contentful
Database	Any SQL	SQLite/PostgreSQL	Proprietary
API	REST + GraphQL	REST + GraphQL	REST + GraphQL
Existing DB	Yes (introspection)	No	No
Pricing	Free (self-host)	Free (self-host)	Per entry
Admin UI	Polished	Good	Polished
Real-time	Yes	No	No