Directus Has a Free Open-Source Headless CMS

Directus is a free, open-source headless CMS that wraps any SQL database with a real-time API and a beautiful admin dashboard.

What Is Directus?

Directus is not your typical CMS. Instead of forcing you into a predefined schema, it connects to YOUR existing SQL database and instantly generates REST and GraphQL APIs.

Why developers choose it:

• Connects to existing PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MS SQL, MariaDB, CockroachDB
• Auto-generates REST + GraphQL APIs
• Beautiful admin app for content editors
• Role-based access control
• File management with transformations
• Webhooks and automation flows
• Self-hostable or cloud-hosted
• 100% open source (no vendor lock-in)

Quick Start

Docker

docker run -d \
  -p 8055:8055 \
  -e SECRET=your-secret-key \
  -e DB_CLIENT=sqlite3 \
  -e DB_FILENAME=/directus/database/data.db \
  -e ADMIN_EMAIL=[e-mail] \
  -e ADMIN_PASSWORD=admin123 \
  directus/directus

Open http://localhost:8055. Full CMS ready.

npm

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

The API You Get

Directus auto-generates APIs for all your tables:

REST

# Get all blog posts
curl http://localhost:8055/items/posts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"

# Create a post
curl -X POST http://localhost:8055/items/posts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title": "My Post", "content": "Hello world", "status": "published"}'

GraphQL

query {
  posts(filter: { status: { _eq: "published" } }, sort: ["-date_created"]) {
    id
    title
    content
    author {
      first_name
      avatar {
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

JavaScript SDK

import { createDirectus, rest, readItems } from "@directus/sdk";

const client = createDirectus("http://localhost:8055").with(rest());

const posts = await client.request(readItems("posts", {
  filter: { status: { _eq: "published" } },
  sort: ["-date_created"],
  fields: ["id", "title", "content", "author.first_name"]
}));

Admin Dashboard

The admin app includes:

• Content editor: Rich text, markdown, WYSIWYG, code
• File manager: Upload, crop, transform images
• User management: Roles, permissions, SSO
• Data studio: Custom dashboards and analytics
• Flows: Visual automation builder (like Zapier)

Content editors get a beautiful UI. Developers get clean APIs. Everyone's happy.

Directus vs Alternatives

Feature	Strapi	Contentful	Directus
Database	Own DB	Proprietary	YOUR existing DB
API	REST	REST + GraphQL	REST + GraphQL
Open source	Yes	No	Yes
Self-host	Yes	No	Yes
Existing DB	No	No	Yes
Admin UI	Basic	Good	Excellent
Free tier	Self-host	1 space	Self-host
Vendor lock-in	Some	High	None

Real-Time Updates

// Subscribe to changes
const subscription = await client.subscribe("posts", {
  event: "create",
  query: { fields: ["id", "title"] }
});

for await (const message of subscription) {
  console.log("New post:", message.data);
}

Flows (Visual Automation)

Build automations without code:

• Trigger: New item created → Send email notification
• Trigger: Item updated → Call webhook → Update external service
• Trigger: Scheduled → Generate report → Save to files

Who Uses Directus?

With 29K+ GitHub stars:

• Companies with existing databases needing an admin UI
• Developers building headless CMS-powered sites
• Teams needing both API and visual content management
• Organizations avoiding vendor lock-in

Get Started

1. Run Docker container or use npm
2. Connect to your database (or start fresh with SQLite)
3. Create collections in the admin UI
4. Use REST or GraphQL APIs in your app

Your database. Your API. Your rules.

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