Directus

The flexible backend for all your projects 🐰 Turn your DB into a headless CMS, admin panels, or apps with a custom UI, instant APIs, auth & more.

Open source alternative to:

WordPress

Contentful

Directus is a headless CMS and backend-as-a-service platform that wraps any SQL database and instantly exposes it through REST and GraphQL APIs. Rather than enforcing a rigid content model, Directus connects to an existing database and provides a visual admin interface for managing data, without altering the underlying schema. Teams can model content freely while developers consume it through standardised APIs.

Key features include granular, policy-based access control, a visual workflow automation builder, support for multiple databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, and others), a media library with asset transformation, and built-in internationalisation. The same interface serves developers, content editors, and business users, making it practical for diverse team structures.

Directus is used for headless content management, backend-as-a-service for web and mobile apps, product information management, and any project that needs a flexible data platform without committing to a specific frontend or application framework.